The Spirits of Ayahuasca – why we can see mystical creatures in the other world

From a scientific point of view, these visions are just hallucinations caused by the DMT, comparable to high-dose substances like LSD or psilocybin. From the point of view of the indigenous tribes in the Amazonas, however, who have been using Ayahuasca for countless generations, these supposed mythical creatures and spirits are very real. Not directly in the visible world, our reality, but in the intermediate worlds of the ancestors and jungle spirits. They are like parallel realms that are interwoven with our reality.

That sounds like mumbo-jumbo at first, especially when you’ve grown up in a civilisation that gradually abandoned the connection to the spirit world thousands of years ago in favour of science, rationality and technology. A high-dose psilocybin experience or ayahuasca medicine can reawaken even the coolest head to the forgotten worlds of spirits. That’s what happened to me too – and it was shocking at first.

Fantasy creatures have always been present in human history

I have never believed in spirits or believed mythical creatures and other spirit animals to be real, only imputing them to the imaginations of madmen, poets, film or game makers. Nevertheless, I’ve always been interested in fantasy stories and video games with such beings. And I’m not the only one, of course: Fantasy films are booming worldwide. Billions of people consume these stories: the witches from Harry Potter or The Witcher, hobbits and orcs from Lord of the Rings, or dragons from Game of Thrones.

There are countless fantasy books, video games and testimonials about mythical creatures. Many sculptures and written documents depicting and addressing mythical creatures have been found since antiquity. It is interesting that similar creatures can be found in many cultures around the world since the early days of humankind: for example, dragons can be found in historical documents in Europe as well as in Asia. The same applies to witches.

I’m not suggesting that a few thousand years ago dragons flew around or witches roamed the streets and then died out or were wiped out. No, they have always existed and are still with us today – in the parallel worlds that we usually do not perceive. But how can that be?

The “spirit liana” Ayahuasca is not called that for nothing

What historians, ethnologists and archaeologists can prove is that humans have used various plant medicines, mostly psychoactive substances, for rituals since the beginning of human times. Mushrooms in particular have been used worldwide. Cave paintings and archaeological finds unequivocally show mushroom forms. These rituals may not only have laid the foundation for cultural formation because they strengthened the cohesion of tribes, but may also be the starting point for spiritual experiences and thus the early forms of polytheistic religions and animism.

Polytheism means believing in several deities, such as in Hinduism or the Greco-Roman gods around Zeus Olympus. Roughly speaking, animism means believing that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. In other words: Animals and plants have spirits. And not only that: people themselves are connected to these animal or plant souls. This type of world view is still widespread today in the Amazon region among indigenous tribes of South America. In the area of origin of Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca means in the Quechua language: “vine of the souls” or “spirit liana”. In Native American myths, the discovery of ayahuasca is synonymous with the emergence of human kind.

The two most powerful shamanic animals of Ayahuasca

Not surprisingly, people who drink ayahuasca keep reporting sightings of anacondas and jaguars. Why is that? Ayahuasca is composed of two ingredients of plants: a type of liana and the DMT-containing leaves of chacruna or chaliponga. If you take a closer look at the liana, you can see that it twines around other branches like a snake. In some Native American myths, the liana plant represents the cosmic anaconda, which also resembles the Amazon river. The small flower shoots of the liana are also reminiscent of snake tongues.

The leaves containing DMT, on the other hand, are associated with the jaguar power. Jaguars have been reported repeatedly consuming the leaves. Anaconda and jaguar are the two most powerful shamanic animals of the Amazon, they represent the basic forces of ayahuasca within the indigenous mythical world. Ayahuasca, incidentally called Yagé in Colombia, contains the plant spirits in the form of anaconda and jaguar. At least that explains why these two animals keep showing up when people consume ayahuasca. But what about the witches, dragons and other mythical creatures?

Soul connections from the other world

This is where scientific evidence or verifiability ends. Because it cannot be explained with rational arguments why some people see dragons through ayahuasca or realize that they themselves are a witch or fairy in the other world. Only the most stubborn agnostics and atheists doubt that all human beings have a soul.

But to assume that we are also connected to an animal or mythical creature soul in the other world might be going too far for most people. In normal life we have no reference and insight into this world. However, that does not change the fact that people can have these experiences. I’ve had this experience several times – and many others have reported it as well.

Experienced shamans, called Taita in Colombia, have a different appearance in the spirit world. They are the representatives and mediators of Mother Earth, whose heart beats in the Amazon. They make the connection with their medicine – even if the participants in a ceremony don’t notice anything and go through their personal processes. A Taita has the responsibility of looking after all participants, protecting them from evil spirits and promoting their healing process. A Taita is always present and there for the person concerned at the right moment.

This is what separates an experienced Taita from a self-proclaimed Neo-Shaman. Neo-Shamans are jugglers who want to profit from ayahuasca. They brew ayahuasca and give it to people without the proper training and years of experience. That can be dangerous. Because they do not know how to protect and guide the participants in the other world. But back to topic: what can we actually see?

In our reality we see the Taita sitting on a stool and hear him playing the guitar and singing his songs. Through medicine and in connection with music, a Taita can accompany people in the other worlds in their processes. Sometimes they are seen wandering around. Besides their human form in our reality, Taita in the other world are animals, plants, or mythical creatures. A Taita I often work with is an ancient tree in the Amazon that is always surrounded by snakes; another is an aged lion; I have seen young Taita as a leopard. I have also heard of a dragon and a giant puma working as Taita in the Amazonas.

Experiences about yourself – in this reality and in the other world

Of course, I can’t prove anything, I can only report from my experience and that of other people. It is impossible for us to explain such an experience with reason. However, that is not necessary. Because Ayahuasca is about having experiences. Not to think in the usual patterns, but to experience who we are – and why we are here. To learn more about yourself and others, to see how you are connected to other people, animals and nature. These are the existential and important insights one can gain through Ayahuasca.

Getting glimpses of the other world is just a side effect, a second setting connected to our world. I don’t know why I keep seeing this other world. At first it scared me, I doubted my sanity. But now I accept it calmly, observe with fascination and learn from these beings. The biggest shock was realizing who I am in this other world. But this is another story.

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