Ayahuasca and Time Travel
When consuming ayahuasca, the usual sense of being located in a present distinct from the past and future can dissolve or stretch, giving rise to vivid encounters with multiple and alternating temporalities. In Amazonian cosmogenic myths and initiation rituals, ayahuasca has long been used to transport neophytes to the origins of life, inviting the presence of creator beings and planetary ancestors. As ayahuasca use has globalized, it has also entered networks steeped in psychological and therapeutic frameworks that emphasize trauma healing—extending experience backward in time as drinkers seek to revisit the source of their suffering in search of healing.
Ayahuasca has likewise provided visionary encounters with possible futures, including among Indigenous specialists seeking support for hunting or drinking the brew to access futurist underwater cities filled with skyscrapers where shamans obtain powers and a vast array of tools like X-ray machines, large bright surgical lights, hypodermic needles, as well as jet fighters and flying saucers. This talk explores the altered temporalities afforded by this wondrous brew.
