When people first feel the call to yagé, the next feeling is often fear. Is it safe? Could it hurt me? Is it even legal? These are good questions, and you deserve straight answers. This page gives them, plainly and without alarm. Our promise is simple: we would rather lose a booking than put you at risk.
The honest summary is this. For a healthy, well-screened person, sitting with yagé in a traditional, supported setting is generally considered low risk. The serious risks that do exist are almost always tied to one of three things: a contraindicated medication, an unscreened medical or psychiatric condition, or an unsafe setting held by untrained hands. Our work is to remove all three from the picture before you ever drink. That is what screening is for.
Can you die from yagé?
This is the question behind the fear, so let us meet it directly. Deaths are rare. Where they have happened, they are almost always linked to one of a few avoidable causes: mixing yagé with a contraindicated medication or drug (especially antidepressants that act on serotonin), an undisclosed heart condition, or a ceremony run without proper screening, experienced guides, or care.
None of those is the medicine acting alone. Each one is something that careful, honest preparation is designed to prevent. This is exactly why we ask detailed health questions, why we ask you to disclose every medication, and why we never skip the screening conversation, no matter how ready you feel.
Medications that are contraindicated
This is the most important section on this page. Yagé contains natural MAOIs, and certain medications combined with it can be genuinely dangerous. Please never stop any medication on your own. The purpose of this list is not to frighten you, but so that you arrive at your screening call knowing what we will talk through together.
Antidepressants and anything affecting serotonin
Any medication that acts on the serotonin system is the central concern. This includes SSRIs and SNRIs such as Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, Effexor and Cymbalta, as well as MAOIs and tricyclic antidepressants. Combined with yagé, these can cause serotonin syndrome, an excess of serotonin in the body that can be severe and, in rare cases, life-threatening. Most of these need to be discontinued for a period of weeks beforehand, always under the supervision of your prescribing doctor, to allow your system to clear.
Other substances that matter
- St John's Wort, the herbal antidepressant, acts on serotonin and must also be set aside.
- Stimulants, including some ADHD medications and recreational stimulants.
- Some blood-pressure and cold medications, including pseudoephedrine.
- Other MAOIs of any kind must never be combined with yagé.
This is not a complete list, and new medications appear all the time. The only safe approach is to tell us everything you take, including supplements and over-the-counter remedies, and to involve your doctor. We will review it with you, and where needed we will ask you to work with your prescriber on a safe plan. If the timing is not safe, we will say so honestly.
Medical conditions to tell us about
Yagé works on the body as much as the spirit. It can raise heart rate and blood pressure and it asks something of your system, so a few conditions need an honest conversation before anything is confirmed:
- Heart conditions and uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Significant liver or kidney disease, as the body processes the medicine through these organs.
- A personal or family history of seizures or epilepsy.
- Unstable or poorly controlled diabetes.
- Recent surgery, or any serious ongoing medical condition.
Having one of these does not mean a closed door. Some ask only for extra care or a little more preparation, and a few, for genuine medical reasons, are better met by looking toward a retreat a little further out, once the timing is safely right for you. We look at each situation individually and personally, and advise you based on your own case rather than a list.
Mental health and the medicine
Yagé can be profoundly supportive for people carrying depression, anxiety, grief and trauma, and many arrive for exactly these reasons. At the same time, a personal or close family history of schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar disorder is something we always talk through personally. It is not an automatic yes or no. In rare cases the medicine can destabilise these conditions, so if this is part of your history, we simply want to understand it together with you. You are just as welcome to reach out; it means a deeper conversation, not a closed door.
A note for women
Out of respect for the medicine and for safety, women do not sit with yagé while menstruating, on their moon cycle, or while pregnant. If you are pregnant, it is important that your partner lets us know too. Please share this during screening so we can guide you with care and find the right timing.
Alcohol, cannabis and other plants
Alcohol and recreational drugs should be set aside in the lead-up to a retreat, both for safety and to gather your energy inward. For cannabis, we recommend a break of at least two weeks, and ideally a month if you use it regularly. This is partly for safety and partly because heavy cannabis use can make it harder to connect with the medicine. If any of this feels difficult, tell us; it is a normal part of the conversation, not a test.
Is yagé legal in Colombia?
Yes. In Colombia, yagé (ayahuasca) is legal when used within traditional indigenous and spiritual contexts. The Colombian Constitutional Court has recognised its cultural and spiritual significance and protects its ceremonial use. This is one of the quiet gifts of sitting in the Putumayo, the birthplace of the medicine: you are not in a legal grey area, but in a place where this lineage is honoured, lawful, and unbroken, held by recognised indigenous taitas.
What about the purge and side effects?
The most common effects of yagé are physical and temporary: vomiting, and sometimes diarrhoea, tears or trembling. In the tradition this is called the purge, and it is understood as a cleansing rather than a problem. It is worth knowing it is normal so it does not frighten you in the moment. We keep you hydrated and cared for throughout, and the facilitators are beside you the whole night.
How we keep you safe
Safety with this medicine is not a single act; it is a way of working, before, during and after:
- Personal screening. Every guest has a private conversation and a review of health history and medications before anything is confirmed. There are no instant bookings here.
- Honest guidance. We look at your health and history with you personally. If the timing is better a little further out for genuine medical reasons, we will say so with care and help you look toward a future retreat. Our aim is always to find the safest way to support you, never to turn you away lightly.
- Experienced indigenous taitas. The medicine is prepared traditionally and held by elders who carry decades on this path, with trained facilitators present throughout each ceremony.
- Small, attended groups. You are personally watched over through the night, never left alone in the experience.
- Preparation and integration. Through Miranda Vires you are guided before you arrive and supported long after you return home.
Questions worth asking any retreat
You should vet anyone you sit with, carefully, and not only us. The plant-medicine world has been called the wild west, and a responsible team will welcome your questions rather than dodge them. Before you book anywhere, ask: Who are the facilitators, and how were they trained? Is there a real screening process and a health review? What is actually in the medicine? Who holds the space, and how many people are in a ceremony? What support is there afterward? If a retreat offers instant booking with no medical questions, or grows evasive when you ask, treat that as a red flag.
The honest bottom line
Yagé is powerful, and power deserves respect, not fear. Used in the right body, with the right preparation, in a setting held by experienced hands, it is generally safe and can be deeply healing. The way to know if that is true for you is not to guess from a website, but to talk with us. We will be honest with you, every time.
Not sure where you stand? Our two-minute readiness check is a gentle, private place to begin, and when you are ready, the next step is simply a conversation.
