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WACHUMA – SAN PEDRO CACTUS
Wachuma medicine
This medicine has been a legacy to humanity from the Chavín culture, who started using it in the Andes of Peru approximately 3000 years ago. The cactus known as San Pedro in Spanish is considered by indigenous people of the Andes (Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, and Chile) as the medicine of love, which clarifies thoughts and softens the heart.
The womb of Mother Earth gives us the opportunity to connect with this medicine, but it is important to use it in a ceremonial setting, accompanied by chants and prayers. Andean practices are simple yet entail profound transformations. The disconnection from Pachamama (Mother Earth) has created imbalances that make us feel physically and mentally unwell. This medicine can help restore the connection and awareness of the sacredness of our nature.
The active ingredient within this plant is mescaline, also found in another plant called peyote. Mescaline acts as an antagonist to serotonin receptors, binding to them and inducing various physiological responses such as deep states of introspection, euphoria, a sense of “no time,” and improved creativity, among others. This active ingredient does not generate addiction or physical dependence.
Echinopsis pachanoi is a cactus native to South America, with traditional religious and medicinal uses spanning more than 3,000 years. Out of the various alkaloids it contains, mescaline is responsible for its psychoactive effects. San Pedro is a columnar cactus traditionally used for medical and religious purposes in certain parts of South America.
In traditional cultures it is known by different names, such as huachuma, achuma, wachuma, and aguacolla. The earliest evidence of San Pedro use has been found in Peru, in the Guitarrero cave of the Callejón de Huaylas valley. Fossil remains of the cactus dating from 6800-6200 BCE have been found in these caves, including the presence of samples from different eras. Thus, the use of E. pachanoi is among the oldest of the different ancestral psychoactive plants.
The ongoing use of San Pedro until the Spanish colonial period can be deduced from the writings of the colonizers describing San Pedro’s effects when ingested by native peoples, and from archaeological evidence. Just as they did with mushrooms and peyote, the colonizers and the Catholic Church fought against the religious use of E. pachanoi. The usual effects are of presence, grounding and connection to the environment, to nature, to yourself and your own body, and to those around you. Visions with eyes open and closed can occur but are not as common with lower – average doses.
The consumption of San Pedro can induce deep changes in cognition, perception, and consciousness, insightful psychological experiences, spiritual experiences and changes in the perception of time and space.
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