What people ask us most

It is a preparation of Amazonian plants, usually the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and chacruna leaves (Psychotria viridis), which the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon have used for generations for healing, spiritual and community purposes. For many of them, and for us too, it is a teacher plant: a source of knowledge and healing.

The name comes from Quechua: aya, spirit, and waska, rope or vine; it is usually translated as «vine of the spirits». Depending on the people and the tradition, it has many other names:

• Indigenous peoples: yagé (Cofán), caapi (Nheengatu), natem (Shuar and Achuar), nixi pae (Huni Kuin), uni (Yawanawá), kamarampi (Asháninka), nishi cobin (Shipibo-Konibo), shori (Yaminahua) or kahpi (Tukano).
• Brazilian ayahuasca religions: Daime in Santo Daime and Barquinha, where the vine is called jagube and chacruna rainha («queen»); Vegetal or hoasca in the União do Vegetal, where the vine is mariri and chacruna, chacrona.
• Popular names: cipó («vine», in Brazil), soga, bejuco or la purga («the purge»).

Traditional knowledge about ayahuasca →

The word entheogen means, in Greek, “that which generates the divine within”. It was proposed in 1979 to name the plants and preparations that different cultures use in ritual and spiritual settings to facilitate experiences of connection, understanding and healing: ayahuasca, peyote, San Pedro or certain mushrooms, among others.

What defines an entheogen is not only the plant but the way of relating to it: with intention, respect, preparation and a setting that holds the experience.

Documentaries on sacred plants and other entheogens →

For the original peoples of the Amazon, ayahuasca is a sacred medicine and a teacher, and we share this view. We do not consider it a drug, and research supports it too:

• It does not create dependence. Studies of people who have taken it ritually for years find no compulsive use or withdrawal symptoms; their addiction severity is equal to or lower than that of the general population.
• It is associated with lower use of alcohol and other drugs. The Global Ayahuasca Survey, with more than 8,000 people, and addiction treatment programmes in the Amazon consistently show this trend.
• Its use is ritual and accompanied, not recreational: it is taken rarely, with preparation, in a caring space and followed by an integration process.

This does not mean it has no risks: it is an intense experience, with real contraindications and interactions. That is why we work with preparation, a prior interview and harm reduction.

See the studies behind this →

In Spain ayahuasca is not prohibited, although it is not regulated either. The plants it is made from are not controlled; one of its components, DMT, is on the lists of controlled substances. Most court cases related to its ritual use have been dismissed.

Even a study by the Spanish National Police confirms this: in the journal Ciencia Policial (2020), sub-inspector Marcos Quinteiro concludes that ayahuasca is not a controlled substance in Spain, acknowledges its therapeutic benefits and places the risk mainly on who administers it and how.

At AYNI we act as a non-profit association, with private activity for adult members, without advertising or sales, and with harm-reduction criteria.

The legal framework in detail → · National Police study →

Most experiences unfold without complications, but there are risks worth knowing about:

• Physical: nausea and vomiting (common and expected), and increased blood pressure and heart rate.
• Psychological: the experience can be overwhelming, and in people with a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder it can trigger a crisis.
• Interactions with some medicines, especially many antidepressants (see the next question).

On mortality: ICEERS analysed the 58 deaths that the media linked to ayahuasca between 1994 and 2022, in a context in which more than four million people have taken it. No autopsy has attributed a death to intoxication from traditional ayahuasca; in those cases other factors were involved, such as pre-existing health conditions, other substances or a lack of care. ICEERS report.

That is why each person goes through a prior interview and a harm-reduction questionnaire, and we apply exclusion criteria.

Safety studies → · How we reduce risks →

It depends on the medicine, and the answer must always come from an individual assessment.

Ayahuasca contains alkaloids (harmine and harmaline) that inhibit the MAO enzyme. Combined with many antidepressants, such as SSRIs (fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine…), SNRIs or MAOIs, and with other medicines, it can cause serotonin syndrome, which can be serious.

• Never stop a treatment on your own. Any change must be made by your doctor, over the time each medicine requires.
• In the prior interview we review all the medication you take with you. If there is a risk, you do not take part.
• Beforehand, you can check possible interactions with your medication free of charge using the ICEERS medication interaction service. It is for guidance only and does not replace your doctor.

ICEERS Support Center →

We talk it through calmly in the prior interview. A personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder is a contraindication. With other conditions, we recommend consulting a mental health professional first, and we assess together whether this is the right moment.

What preparation involves →

No. Only members can take part, after going through a preparation process with us, in which we check together that there are no contraindications. This allows us to get to know each person and accompany them with care and responsibility.

Becoming a member →

Any adult who shares the aims of the association can become a member. The process is simple:

1. Write to us using the contact form or on WhatsApp.
2. We have a welcome conversation to get to know each other and answer questions.
3. You accept the Statutes and the Code of Ethics of the Federación Red Micelio (FERM).

To then take part in a ceremony, each person goes through a preparation process with us: prior interview, harm-reduction questionnaire, written information and informed consent.

They are gatherings in small groups, with at least two guides —a woman and a man— and trained helpers when the group is larger. The gatherings take place in private spaces and for members only: some in an urban setting and others over several days in nature. In the urban ones, at the end we share a rest period and each person goes home to sleep once they are in a fit state to do so.

How we accompany →

A central one. Like Ariadne's thread in the labyrinth, music is the thread that holds the whole process: it lets us go into unknown places of the unconscious knowing there is always something to hold on to. And it is medicine in itself. In the ceremonies we sing icaros, hymns and mantras, and medicine music of our own creation.

The music that accompanies →

Being a member of AYNI means being part of a community: people who share part of the path, get to know each other and can support one another. Each person takes part freely: they decide which activities to join and how often, and can leave the association whenever they wish. We respect everyone's beliefs and encourage people to look after their ties with family, friends and their own trusted professionals. The association is governed by its General Assembly, under its Statutes and the Code of Ethics of the Federación Red Micelio (FERM). Together we take part in:

• Circles and gatherings: sharing circles, medicine music, mantra and sound bath circles, spaces for listening and integration, days of reflection, four retreats a year, an annual trip to Peru (a diet with teacher plants) or Brazil (to Indigenous communities we work with through other associations), and alcohol-free barbecues and calçotadas.
• Well-being practices: yoga, meditation, family constellations, mindful walks and forest bathing.
• Learning: ethnobotany workshops, talks and lectures.
• Support network: a list of like-minded therapists and psychologists to turn to when someone needs professional support.

Community and activities →