28/05/2026
The Danger of Ayahuasca in the Hands of ‘Plastic Shamans’
A message I received recently:
"Hi Claudia, we met last year when Pajé Mana, Radusha and Vesku were in Edinburgh. I wanted to share something that's been on my mind. Over the years, I've known a number of people who took part i so-called Ayahuasca ceremonies led by people who've been to the Amazon and come back claiming to be shamans qualified to lead these ceremonies. I think it is really, really bad news. I've seen people develop what I consider to be incurable mental illnesses through doing these things - they are no longer able to function properly in everyday society, and it's hard to see how they will come back in this lifetime.
I always say: if people like Pajé and Vesku lead these ceremonies within the specific environment and cultural context of the Amazonian tribes, it works, because they hold the tradition of how to do these things and have been working with this plant for possibly tens of thousands of years.
But when white people who are 'plastic shamans' get hold of th run alleged ceremonies - charging money for them - it is very dangerous. This is just my opinion, based on what I've observed.”
My response:
My dear friend, this subject is very close to my heart and very what I wrote about in my book Shamanism as Medicine. Ayahuasca is a sacred medicine that demands respect and reverence - it's not something to approach casually.
I'm unequivocal about this: people should never participate in ceremonies facilitated by non-indigenous practitioners. They lack t spiritual knowledge and training necessary to work with these medicines and their forces. Most problematic are those who attend handful of ceremonies in the Jungle, then position themselves as legitimate facilitators. That's precisely why I bring people to Brazil to work with Pajé Mana, Vesku, and Radusha - authentic practitioners who hold this medicine as their ancestral inheritance and truly understand what they're doing. They've been immersed in a living tradition since childhood, a lineage that safeguards the medicine's sacredness.
continue in comments below….👇🏽
