Saint himself. Textiles from the same region and period depict the cactus with jaguars and hummingbirds, two of its guardian spirits, with stylised spirals representing the visionary experience.
In contrast to ayahuasca, however, little has been written about San Pedro and no research has been conducted into its effects. We know that it was used to heal illnesses, to see the future through its prophetic and divinatory qualities, to overcome sorcery or saladera (an inexplicable run of ‘bad luck’), to ensure success in one’s ventures and to rekindle love and enthusiasm for life. We also have an account from the ethnobotanist, Richard Evans Schultes, in his book, Plants of the Gods, of how San Pedro works.
It is ‘in tune with beings that have supernatural powers’, he writes. ‘Participants [in ceremonies] are ‘set free from matter’ and engage in flight through cosmic regions… transported across time and distance in a rapid and safe fashion.’
He quotes an Andean shaman who describes its effects: “First, a dreamy state… then great visions, a clearing of all the faculties… then detachment, a type of visual force inclusive of the sixth sense, the telepathic state of transmitting oneself across time and matter, like a removal of thoughts to a distant dimension.”
That, however, is more-or-less it.
I put this dirth of information to La Gringa during one of my trips to Peru and asked her to describe the plant. “It is a master teacher”, she said. “It helps us heal, grow, learn and awaken, so we reach higher states of consciousness. I have been blessed to have experienced many miracles: people being cured of all sorts of illnesses just by drinking this