The ancient

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

employed a variety of

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoac ...

ic plants and animals within their society. The various species have been identified through their depiction on murals, vases, and other objects.

History

There are many pieces of archaeological evidence in reference to the use of entheogens early in the history of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...

burial sites with remains of the Bufo toad (''

Bufo marinus The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania ...

''),

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

mushroom effigies, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

writings all point to a heavy involvement with

psychoactive A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. Th ...

substances in the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

lifestyle. The

Florentine codex The ''Florentine Codex'' is a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Sahagún originally titled it: ''La Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España'' (in English: ''The ...

contains multiple references to the use of psychoactive plants among the

. The 11th book of the series contains identifications of five plant

s. R. Gordon Wasson,

Richard Evans Schultes Richard Evans Schultes (''SHULL-tees'';Jonathan Kandell ''The New York Times'', April 13, 2001, Accessed April 26, 2020. January 12, 1915 – April 10, 2001) was an American biologist. He may be considered the father of modern ethnobotany. He is ...

, and

Albert Hofmann Albert Hofmann (11 January 1906 – 29 April 2008) was a Swiss chemist known for being the first to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Hofmann's team also isolated, named and synthesiz ...

have suggested that the statue of Xochipilli, the Aztec 'Prince of Flowers,' contains effigies of a number of plant based

entheogens Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoacti ...

. The plants were primarily used by the priests, or ''tlamacazqui'', other nobility, and visiting dignitaries. They would use them for

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

much as the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

groups of central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

do today. The priests would also ingest the entheogens to engage in

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

, interpret

visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

, and heal.

Entheogens

Ololiuqui and Tlitliltzin

Ololiuqui ''Ipomoea corymbosa'' is a species of morning glory, native throughout Latin America from Mexico as far south as Peru and widely naturalised elsewhere. Its common names include Christmasvine, Christmaspops, and snakeplant. Description and names ...

(Coatl xoxouhqui) was identified as

Rivea corymbosa ''Ipomoea corymbosa'' is a species of morning glory, native throughout Latin America from Mexico as far south as Peru and widely naturalised elsewhere. Its common names include Christmasvine, Christmaspops, and snakeplant. Description and names ...

in 1941 by

. The name

refers to the brown seeds of the

(Morning Glory) plant.

Tlitliltzin ''Ipomoea tricolor'', the Mexican morning glory or just morning glory, is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae, native to the New World tropics, and widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere. It is an herbaceous annual or ...

was identified later as being

Ipomoea violacea ''Ipomoea violacea'' is a perennial species of ''Ipomoea'' that occurs throughout the world with the exception of the European continent. It is most commonly called beach moonflower or sea moonflower as the flowers open at night. Description The ...

by R. Gordon Wasson. This variation contains black seeds and usually has bluish hued flowers. The seeds of these plants contain the psychoactive

d-lysergic acid amide Ergine, also known as d-lysergic acid amide (LSA) and d-lysergamide, is an ergoline alkaloid that occurs in various species of vines of the Convolvulaceae and some species of fungi. The psychedelic properties in the seeds of ololiuhqui, Hawaiian ...

, or LSA. The preparation of the seeds involved grinding them on a ''

metate A metate (or mealing stone) is a type or variety of quern, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican cultures, metates are typically used by women who would grind nixtamalized maize and other organic ma ...

'', then filtering them with water to extract the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s. The resulting brew was then drunk to bring forth visions. The

Florentine Codex The ''Florentine Codex'' is a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Sahagún originally titled it: ''La Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España'' (in English: ''The ...

Book 11 describes the

intoxication:

It makes one besotted; it deranges one, troubles one, maddens one, makes one possessed. He who eats it, who drinks it, sees many things which greatly terrify him. He is really frightened y thepoisonous serpent which he sees for that reason.

The

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...

was also utilized in healing rituals by the ''ticitl''. The ''ticitl'' would often take

ololiuqui ''Ipomoea corymbosa'' is a species of morning glory, native throughout Latin America from Mexico as far south as Peru and widely naturalised elsewhere. Its common names include Christmasvine, Christmaspops, and snakeplant. Description and names ...

to determine the cause of diseases and illness. It was also used as an

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

to ease pain by creating a paste from the seeds and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

leaf, then rubbing it on the affected body part.

Mushrooms

Called "Teonanácatl" in Nahuatl (literally "god mushroom"—compound of the words ''teo(tl)'' (god) and ''nanácatl'' (mushroom))—the mushroom genus ''

Psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Most or nearly all species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the mole ...

'' has a long history of use within Mesoamerica. The members of the Aztec upper class would often take ''teonanácatl'' at festivals and other large gatherings. According to

Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

, it was often a difficult task to procure mushrooms. They were quite costly as well as very difficult to locate, requiring all-night searches. Both Fray

Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún, OFM (; – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, he ...

and Fray

Toribio de Benavente Motolinia Toribio of Benavente, O.F.M. (1482, Benavente, Spain – 1565, Mexico City, New Spain), also known as Motolinía, was a Franciscan missionary who was one of the famous Twelve Apostles of Mexico who arrived in New Spain in May 1524. His publis ...

describe the use of the mushrooms. The Aztecs would drink

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

and eat the mushrooms with

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

. Those partaking in the mushroom ceremonies would fast before ingesting the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

. The act of taking mushrooms is known as ''monanacahuia,'' meaning to "mushroom oneself". Some written observations under the influence of the doctrine of Catholicism recount the use of the mushroom among the Montezumanic people. Allegedly, during the emperor's coronation ceremony, many prisoners were sacrificed, had their flesh eaten, and their hearts removed. Those who were invited guests to the feast ate mushrooms, which

Diego Durán Diego Durán (c. 1537 – 1588) was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs, ''The History of the Indies of New Spain'', a book that was much criticised in hi ...

describes as causing those who ate them to go insane. After the defeat of the Aztecs, the Spanish forbade traditional religious practices and rituals that they considered "pagan idolatry", including ceremonial mushroom use.

Sinicuichi

Not much is known of the use of

sinicuichi ''Heimia salicifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the Loosestrife family, Lythraceae. It is native to the Americas, ranging from the southwestern United States (Texas and New Mexico) through Mexico and Central America to Argentina ...

(alternate spelling ) among the

. R. Gordon Wasson identified the flower on the statue of Xochipilli and suggested from its placement with other entheogens that it was probably used in a ritualistic context. Multiple alkaloids have been isolated from the plant; with cryogenine, lythrine, and nesodine being the most important.

Sinicuichi ''Heimia salicifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the Loosestrife family, Lythraceae. It is native to the Americas, ranging from the southwestern United States (Texas and New Mexico) through Mexico and Central America to Argentina ...

could be the plant ''tonatiuh yxiuh'' "the herb of the sun" from the

Aztec Herbal of 1552 The ''Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis'' (Latin for "Little Book of the Medicinal Herbs of the Indians") is an Aztec herbal manuscript, describing the herbalism, medicinal properties of various plants used by the Aztecs. It was translated ...

. ''tonatiuh'' means sun. This is interesting because today in Central and South America,

is often called ''abre-o-sol,'' or the "sun opener." ''Tonatiuh yxiuh'' is described as being a summer blooming plant, as is

Heimia ''Heimia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the loosestrife family, Lythraceae. It contains two or three species of closely related shrubs commonly known as sun opener or shrubby yellowcrest. They are native to the Americas, from northern Argen ...

. The Herbal also includes a recipe for a potion to conquer fear. It reads:

Let one who is fear-burdened take as a drink a potion made of the herb ''tonatiuh yxiuh'' which throws out the brightness of gold.

One of the effects of

is that it adds a golden halo or tinge to objects when ingested.

Tlapatl and Mixitl

'' Tlapatl'' and '' mixitl'' are both ''

Datura ''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets (not to be conf ...

'' species, ''

Datura stramonium ''Datura stramonium'', known by the common names thorn apple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), devil's snare, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a species belonging to the ''Datura'' genus a ...

'' and ''

Datura innoxia ''Datura innoxia'' (often spelled ''inoxia''), known as pricklyburr, recurved thorn-apple, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, lovache, moonflower, nacazcul, toloatzin, toloaxihuitl, tolguache or toloache, is a species of flowering plant in the fami ...

'', with strong hallucinogenic (

deliriant Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics and dissociatives such as LSD and ketamine, respectively, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as oppose ...

) properties. The plants typically have large, white or purplish, trumpet-shaped flowers and spiny seed capsules, that of ''D. stramonium'' being held erect and dehisceing by four valves and that of ''D. innoxia'' nodding downward and breaking up irregularly. The active principles are the

tropane alkaloid Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkal ...

atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given i ...

, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine. The use of

datura ''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets (not to be conf ...

spans millennia. It has been employed by both many indigenous groups in North, Central, and South America for a variety of uses. Called '' toloache'' today in Mexico,

species were used among the

for medicine, divination, and malevolent purposes. For healing, ''tlapatl'' was made into an ointment which was spread over infected areas to cure

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

, as well as applied as a local anesthetic. The plants were also utilized to cause harm to others. For example, it was believed that ''mixitl'' would cause a being to become paralyzed and mute, while ''tlapatl'' will cause those who take it to be disturbed and go mad.

Peyotl

The cactus known as ''

peyotl The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains Psychoactive cactus, psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar Pupa#Cocoo ...

'', or more commonly peyote (''

Lophophora williamsii The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to ...

''), has a rich history of use in

. Its use in northern

among the

Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California ...

has been written about extensively. It is thought that since

peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to gl ...

only grows in certain regions of

, the

would receive dried buttons through long-distance trade. Peyote was viewed as being a protective plant by the

. Sahagún suggested that the plant is what allowed the

warriors to fight as they did.

Pipiltzintzintli

R. Gordon Wasson has posited that the plant known as ''pipiltzintzintli'' is in fact '' Salvia divinorum''. It is not entirely known whether or not this plant was used by the

as a

psychotropic A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. Th ...

, but

Jonathan Ott Jonathan Ott (born 1949 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an ethnobotanist, writer, translator, publisher, natural products chemist and botanical researcher in the area of entheogens and their cultural and historical uses, and helped coin the term "'' ...

(1996) argues that although there are competing species for the identification of ''pipiltzintzintli'', '' Salvia divinorum'' is probably the "best bet." There are references to use of ''pipiltzintzintli'' in

arrest records from the conquest, as well as a reference to the mixing of ''

'' with ''pipiltzintzintli''. Contemporaneously, the

Mazatec The Mazatec are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit the Sierra Mazateca in the state of Oaxaca and some communities in the adjacent states of Puebla and Veracruz. Language family The Mazatecan languages are part of the Popolocan family wh ...

, meaning "people of the deer" in

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

, from the

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

region of

utilize '' Salvia divinorum'' when ''

spp.'' mushrooms are not readily available. They chew and swallow the leaves of fresh salvia to enter into a shamanic state of consciousness. The

use the plant in both divination and healing ceremonies, perhaps as the Aztecs did 500 years ago. Modern users of Salvia have adapted the traditional method, forgoing the swallowing of juices due to

Salvinorin A Salvinorin A is the main active psychotropic molecule in ''Salvia divinorum''. Salvinorin A is considered a dissociative hallucinogen. It is structurally distinct from other naturally occurring hallucinogens (such as DMT, psilocybin, an ...

being readily absorbed by the mucous membranes of the mouth.

Toloatzin

Toloatzin refers to

specifically, although it is often confused with

in general.

Ad-hocs

Cacahua

Aztecs combined cacao with

psilocybin mushroom Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include ''Psilocybe'', '' ...

s, a polysubstance combination referred to as "cacahua-xochitl", which literally means "chocolate-mushrooms".Wasson G. Soma: Devine Mushroom of Immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; 1968.

At the very first, mushrooms had been served...They ate no more food; they only drank chocolate during the night. And they ate the mushrooms with honey. When the mushrooms took effect on them, then they danced, then they wept. But some, while still in command of their senses, entered and sat there by the house on their seats; they did no more, but only sat there nodding.

References

Sources

* De Rios, Marlene Dobkin. "Hallucinogens, cross-cultural perspectives." University of New Mexico Press. Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1984. * Dibble, Charles E., et al. (trans). "Florentine Codex: Book 9." The University of Utah. Utah, 1959. * Dibble, Charles E., et al. (trans). "Florentine Codex: Book 11 - Earthly Things." The School of American Research. Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1963. * Elferink, Jan G. R., Flores, Jose A., Kaplan Charles D.
The Use of Plants and Other Natural Products for Malevolent Practices Among the Aztecs and Their Successors
" Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl Volume 24, 1994. * Furst, Peter T. "Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens." Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Illinois, 1972. * Gates, William. "The De La Cruz-Badiano Aztec Herbal of 1552." The Maya Society. Baltimore, Maryland, 1939. * Hofmann, Albert. "Teonanácatl and Ololiuqui, two ancient magic drugs of Mexico." UNODC Bulletin on Narcotics. Issue 1, pp. 3–14, 1971. * Ott, Jonathan.

Eleusis, n. 4, pp. 31–39, April 1996. * Schultes, Richard Evans. "The Plant Kingdom and the Hallucinogens." UNODC Bulletin on Narcotics. Issue 4, 1969. * Steck, Francis Borgia. "Motolinia's History of the Indians of New Spain." William Byrd Press, Inc. Richmond, Virginia, 1951. * Townsend, Richard F. "The Aztecs." Thames & Hudson Inc. New York, New York, 2000. * Lyncho Ruiz 1996 Balancing Act Research and Education Founder, President, Ecosystem Management Director and Ethnobotanist

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aztec Use Of Entheogens Entheogenic Complex Entheogens Mesoamerican medicine