Ayahuasca, or yage, is a traditional Amazonian admixture of plants used for healing and divinatory purposes within a number of shamanic traditions. Although a brew may contain a number of different plants, two components are essential – the ayahuasca vine itself, along with plants rich in DMT (dimethyltryptamine). The MAOI action of the vine allows the DMT to become orally active and thereby expose the practitioner to an inner journey – which can be spectacularly psychedelic and psychologically harrowing – but considered by many to be akin to ‘seven years of therapy in one night.’

Ayahuasca has been used traditionally for diagnosing and curing almost every ailment imaginable, including many that modern medicine does not even acknowledge as disease, let alone know how to approach – from drug addiction to demonic possession. Perhaps most significantly, ayahuasca shows amazing promise as a truly systemic medicine, addressing the full-spectrum of issues within any individual in a holistic and appropriate fashion, going directly to root causes rather than symptoms. The fact that long-term users show increased levels of serotonin in the brain, suggests that ayahuasca use may genuinely lead to a happier society.