The difference between ayahuasca and psilocybin (magic mushrooms)
We often get asked the difference between Ayahuasca and Psilocybin (magic mushrooms).
Both are incredibly powerful. Both can access deep states of healing and higher states of consiousness. Both offer the opportunity to heal the mind, the body, and soul. Both are naturally occurring DMT substances which in high enough doses can access the same states of consciousness. Both I believe have a spirit or intelligence beyond us humans. And both should be treated with deep reverence and respect.
It is a very personal thing which medicine is right for you, and we trust the wisdom of your inner healer or your intuition to guide you on the right path that resonates for you. Different people have different medicines, and it is always important to check in with yourself with what feels right for you.
That said, there are some significant differences between ayahuasca and psilocybin.
Ayahuasca is native to the Amazonian rainforest: Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia. It has been used for thousands of years by the indigenous tribes of the Amazon.
Different tribes have different ways of working with ayahuasca: the Shipibo or example working in the dark, singing icaros for deep healing, the Yawanawa and Huni Kuin often serve the medicine in more group tribal settings.
Shipibo curandera, Peru
My own experiences with ayahuasca with the Shipibo in Peru have some of the greatest, and most challenging, gifts of my life. Ayahuasca is from the Amazon, it is inseparable from the rainforest.
From my experience, ayahuasca tends to be more physically challenging than psilocybin. It is more common to purge physically during an ayahuasca ceremony. It is common to purge with psilocybin too but it tends to be more energetic than physical.
My experience is that psilocybin tends to be a slightly gentler (but no less powerful) teacher than ayahuasca. In some traditions Ayahuasca is called ‘la madre’ (the great mother), and magic mushrooms are ‘los nïnos sagrados’, the sacred children. Sometimes psilocybin can have a playful energy.
Unlike ayahuasca which comes from the very specific culture of the Amazonian rainforest, psilocybin, I believe, is the shared birthright of humanity. It grows all around the world including in my own native land of Ireland. I believe it to be the native indigenous shamanic medicine of Ireland, used by the druids in ancient times. For this reason, it feels more familiar to me than ayahuasca. No matter your culture of origin, going back far enough, there was probably an ancestral use of psilocybin.
Psilocybin for me, like the mycelium network itself, is the great connector.
Our core vision at Inwardbound since our foundation in 2018 has been to reconnect people to themselves, each other, and the natural world. For this magic mushrooms or psilocybin Is the perfect guide and teacher, to remind us of our connections.
Ayahuasca is a vine reaching up to the stars from the muddy roots. Psilocybin is the mycelium network or a cosmic super intelligence.
At Inwardbound we work with psilocybin in the broad tradition of Dr Stan Grof, while honoring our ancestral usage of magic mushrooms as the indigenous medicine of Ireland. If this resonates please reach out to us to schedule an exploratory call to discuss your options on coming on a psilocybin retreat with us.
Interested in joining one of our Psilocybin retreats?
