So, let us return to the question… How is it that plant dietas–and not ceremony itself– are the main practice of the shamanic apprentice and primary means to developing capacity to pour Medicine?
Let me begin at the beginning.
Our root lineage in the plant medicine realm was begun by Don Julio Llerena Pinedo. You may have heard me thank him after ceremony. Though I never met him (he passed away in 2007), I have heard much about him, and I would say I connect more with him than anyone else “upstream” in our lineage (if you’re curious, that would be Mami, Papi, and Gumercindo Galindo– “Toda la familia, los lindos Galindos”).
Many things were special about Don Julio– these things in particular:
He was taught directly by the spirits in isolation in the jungle (this is why he’s the progenitor of the lineage).
He was a Maestro Palero. (He was a Maestro of MANY disciplines, but for our purposes, we’ll just address this particular mastery.)
He was a Banco.
Okay… I probably just threw out some terms that could use explaining. I’ll use this as an opportunity to go a little more deeply into the “technical” side of titles within the Medicine space. This is the progression:
- Ayahuasquero – one who has gained capacity to serve the Medicine and hold space for ceremony
- Curandero– This is a catch all term that can apply to anyone who has the ability to cure physical and spiritual ailments. This capacity usually comes with the completion of many shamanic plant dietas.
- Maestro– A Maestro has the ability to call on any of their medicines (mainly meaning plants they have dieted) inside and outside of ceremony to heal physical and spiritual ailments. In ceremony, they have the ability to increase or decrease the mareación (effects of the Medicine) via song and other techniques. One can be a Maestro of many different specializations. E.g.:
- Maestro Ayahuasquero– Self explanatory (↑)
- Maestro Vegetalista– Mastery of the Small Plants
- Maestro Sanaguero– Mastery of the Sanango Plants
- Maestro Tabaquero– Mastery of Tobacco
- Maestro Toéro– Mastery of Datura (Toé)
- Maestro Perfumero– Mastery of Flowers and Perfumes
- Maestro Palero– Mastery of Tree Medicine (we’ll return to the importance of this…)
- Banco– One who is a Banco is a Maestro of all of the above and more. Typically, they have developed many spiritual powers (in the Śaiva-Tantra branch of our lineage tree, we refer to these as “siddhis”). Additionally, a Banco must have mastered the four magics without having fallen prey to any of the traps that come with such abilities (universally– sex, money, power). Surely, this will be the subject of a later writing.
Of all the things I have heard of Don Julio, what I hear most was his insistence and focus on working with the Tree Spirits. Hence, we are a lineage primarily of Paleros.
If you have attended ceremony with us often, you have certainly noticed that there are always three primary icaros (Medicine Songs) at the beginning of ceremony– the first two are for protection.
The third icaro– the one that seems to go on forever…
…the one where most are experiencing the peak effects of the medicine…
This is the Tree Icaro.
This long string of icaros, one after the other, is called “calling the Arcana.” The magic and the medicine in this icaro– transmitted to us from Don Julio Llerena Pinedo– is palpable and undeniable.
The effects of calling the Arcana are as follows:
- Lines the perimeter of the ceremony space with the protective aspect of the Tree Spirits named.
- Creates a crystalline netting or web of light that encompasses and protects the ceremony space– sealing the alchemical container of the ceremony itself
- Calls Medicine into the space and amplifies the mareación (the effects of the Medicine)
This is the crux moment in ceremony for whomever is serving. Not only is it usually the most intense period of the ceremony for the participants, but it is also generally the most challenging part of the ceremony for whomever is leading it. It is during the period of calling the arcana– which names anywhere from 5 to 15 different Trees– that those serving are targeted by any resistance or contrary energies in the space which do not wish to be transmuted. And it’s during these moments that we truly rely on the tree allies we are calling into the space and the relationships we’ve developed with them through…
…you guessed it– the practice of shamanic plant dietas.
But wait… There’s more…
So… why did Don Julio focus so much on the trees? How is it exactly that the relationships with the trees work? How do they help in ceremony?
Allow me to explain…
Next Installment:
By the Grace of Trees Part 3– The Center of the Universe and the Principle of Verticality
