Ayahuasca is a plant-based sacrament used for centuries by the Indigenous peoples of South America. She is known as Mother (or Grandmother) Ayahuasca by all who work with her. Ayahuasca, also called the tea, the vine, and la purga, is a brew made from the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub combined with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. Other plants may be added as well, chosen at the discretion and expertise of the shaman and elders. This brew is prepared for those participating in an Ayahuasca ceremony, always supervised by experienced facilitators. It is not recommended that anyone attempt to prepare or use this sacrament alone.

​

Spiritually, Mother Ayahuasca is described as a journey to the center of the soul. Many who work with her report increased mindfulness, a greater sense of well-being, and support in navigating anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD. Every journey is different. Our trained staff will be with you throughout to answer questions and help you process your experience. Before participating in an Ayahuasca ceremony, it's important that you read our preparation materials and fully understand what the journey may involve. She is both a plant and an experience. When you sit with Mother Ayahuasca in ceremony, you may move through any one of a thousand different healing paths, no two journeys are ever alike. Ayahuasca is considered sacred across many cultures, and those who work with her often describe encountering a spirit that lifts and serves all of humanity. In ceremony, you may walk with spirit guides, commune with loved ones who have passed, or come to know the oneness of all things. Your experience will be shaped by the intention you set.

​

It's important to enter ceremony with a calm mind and open heart. In the days before, take time to reflect on your dieta and your spiritual practice, and to release anything that doesn't serve your physical and mental nourishment. Clearing these impurities of body and mind allows the spirit of Mother Ayahuasca to work more deeply with your soul, meeting you exactly where healing is needed. Remember, plants live and breathe. They carry spirit and energy. Mother Ayahuasca's calling to us as humans is to help us rise above the ego and return home to the heart.

​

Our Approach

​

We hold this sacrament with deep respect for its origins and the lineages who have safeguarded it for generations. The role of curandera and curandero is a closed practice, earned through years of apprenticeship and initiation within Indigenous communities. Our facilitators have trained and been initiated in Peru under traditional lineage holders, and we approach this work as students and stewards of that teaching, not as shamans. Leaf and deVine is a church based in Colorado, and we hold ceremony in that context.

​

We are committed to engaging with this sacrament in a way that is non-appropriative and rooted in relationship rather than extraction. Our aim is never to separate the sacrament from the traditional practices, prayers, and lineage it comes from, but to honor that lineage directly, while also bringing modern, trauma-informed facilitation techniques into the container we hold. We believe this sacrament deserves both reverence for where it comes from and care for the nervous systems and life circumstances of those who sit with it today.

​