Ah Grandpa Cactus. He has many names – San Pedro, Wachuma, Trichocereus/Echinopsis pachanoi, Peruvian Torch; to me he will always be Huachuma. He is the unsung hero of the plant medicine realm; only now starting to realize more and more awareness and reverence. He’s been used as a sacrament for thousands of years by tribes like the Mochi, Q’ero, and Chavin, but hasn’t permeated Western culture like his sister Ayahuasca. And yet his medicine and gifts are utterly essential in our evolution as a species, and if I hear him correctly, he keeps insisting that his renaissance is about to burst.

I am ridiculously honored to get to carry the title of Huachuma / San Pedro shaman. I first began my work with this impeccable source of healing about 13 years ago with one of the modern age’s most revered and powerful Huachumeros, Don Howard Lawler. He founded and ran the incredible SpiritQuest Sanctuary in Peru, which is where I landed for my first dance with Ayahuasca. I was hooked on Madre from the get-go, but Howard, whose medicine was indisputably all about the cactus, kept luring me in to the clutches of San Pedro.

After a couple of years of back and forth trips for Aya, I decided to dip my toe in with Grandfather.

From the first sip, I fell madly, ridiculously, insanely in love. With both Huachuma and Howard. And the abyss of heaven has just kept growing.

As Howard taught me, Huachuma brings us back to our hearts. He is the path to heaven on earth, which resides deep inside each of us. He is the medicine that holds our hands and walks us home.

Huachuma’s History and Superhero Powers

Grandfather Cactus has a documented history of usage dating back at least three thousand years. There are multiple temples in Peru that were built for ceremonial usage of the sacred cactus; my favorite is a place called Chavin de Huantar, which is high up in the Andes and boasts the most incredible underground temple these peepers will ever behold.

The temple is both an homage to Huachuma, and the spirit of the Jaguar. It’s built at the headwaters of the Amazon and at the base of two holy mountain ranges. Chavin means “center of the center”, and I promise you, the combination of cactus medicine and this temple will burst open even the most cemented heart.

The Chavin people did Huachuma ceremonies at this amazing temple, and many of their magical tools remain. There’s an Earth flute carved in the ground, where holes of various depths would be flooded with water, and the shaman would use a rock to cover the holes and create music. There’s also a contraption Howard called the “cosmic telephone”—a series of carvings that would align with various stars and constellations throughout the year, so as to connect with the tribe in the sky. But the money shot is the Lanzon; an indescribably magical rock carving that I can only express is God In a Rock. It beams holiness, joy, and heart-centered love. It will send you to your knees in awestruck tears. It is the holiest of the holy.

You just have to go there and see for yourself. It’s tough to get to, but that’s the magic of Huachuma. He’s sometimes difficult to stomach, but he’s worth the effort every time.

Huachuma’s medicine is mescaline based; that is the most prominent alkaloid, and the main one that provides the psychotropic effects. But his spirit and his alkaloidal structure are very complex.

On a physical level, he is pure heart medicine. His vibration matches the heart exactly, in that a deep experience with him creates an intense sensation of pulsing; a continuous expansion/contraction feeling that mirrors the heart’s function. The skin will get splotchy, the veins will pulse and appear, sweating is common, as is the incredible sensation of having your heart blown wide open.

He’s a blood tonic, and heart strengthener, and he’s also amazing at highlighting any physical aliments we might dismiss as small and insignificant, but that have the propensity to become bigger deals down the road. Like most psychotropic medicines, he amplifies both body sensations and emotions. Huachuma is a teacher of what we are hiding on the physical.

I once sat a ceremony with debilitating sciatica pain—something I had never experienced on that level before. It was a horrible feeling, but I know he was making me aware of tightness and alignment issues that could have easily worsened had I not felt the urgency to focus on better stretching, strengthening movements, and posture adjustments. He’s very “in the body”, and he’ll show you what you might be missing.

He also lifts the veil of what we see; and shows us how to view the world as it really is. Huachuma allows us to see the life force and energetic aura of all things; rocks, plants, clouds, people, and animals. The clouds put on puppet shows. Nature dances and sings and waves and whisks into her vibrations. Just as it should be.

But by far my favorite effect of cactus is his ability to slowly yet deftly diminish the attachment to “I”. Our identification with the ego slowly fades away as the heart opens and takes our attention. It’s a slow ride up, but once you’ve landed, the “you” that is the default steering wheel hog has somehow faded to the backseat for nappies. And the true, authentic, vibrant, heart-opened feeler can instead emerge and make him/herself known.

San Pedro is Our Natural State of Being

I like to joke that while I’m not known for my epic powers of maturity on a good day, Huachuma is my tonic for playfulness. He really calls forth our natural state of being; for me, it turns out that’s off the charts silly, giggly, and childlike. Grandpa is aptly named; he gives us the permission a sacred grandparent does to be in our innocence and joy. He strips away attachments and stories the ego tells us about appearances, limitations on behaviors, and what an adult really looks like, and helps us tap back in to the incredible healing power of innocence and unbridled happiness.

Yet like all plant medicines, grandpa can take us to the dark side. It’s a lot less common than a medicine like Ayahuasca, but when he deems it time to bond with death, and darkness, and fear. . .he is unstoppable. He can pulsate to the surface our deepest, darkest terrors, and that’s when he’s most likely to bring on a purge as well.

Typically, people who are very uncomfortable feeling their emotions have a hard time with Huachuma out of the gate. If you don’t want to feel, which is the pathway to the heart, he isn’t your medicine. Likewise, some souls have a really profound contract with him, which entails a lot of difficult twists and turns in journeys with him. While these bonds are indescribably deep and difficult, those with a soul contract for deep work with cactus medicine are going to go big, struggle, and yet have the most miraculous breakthroughs.

Working With Huachuma in Ceremony vs Alone

Because cactus medicine is easy to procure (he grows indigenous in many parts of the US), and due to his reputation of joy and love, many people attempt to make a home brew and go into the process solo.

As per usual with powerful plant teachers, this isn’t a recommended route.

First of all, part of his magic is that he is *very* difficult to make into a strong, effective, beautiful brew. It can take a Huachuma brewmaster many years to perfect their craft, as every energy touch point matters, and he is very sensitive to heat, water to cactus ratios, and the entire process of making his medicine. If you want to get to heaven, you gotta work for it.

Likewise, taking him solo or in a container that isn’t professionally held as sacred and safe has lots of potential not-so-fabulous ramifications. This is why a shaman trains for years and years before pouring medicine; there is a lot to it, this process of creating safety, of knowing every vibration of the medicine, and of keeping people aligned and calm. That said, in gentle doses, he is a magical medicine to bring in as an ally, and many have subtly powerful experiences on their own.

Finally, Huahcuma is a fascinating entheogen as he doesn’t make it as easy to have a breakthrough with him versus a medicine like Ayahuasca, who can be so full throttle balls-out STRONG she’s impossible to miss. Many people without training have experiences with cactus that are flat and uneventful. This is because he is so sensitive to intention and the relationship between his spirit and the energy of the person leading the experience, if there isn’t a deep connection, there often isn’t a deep experience. This is one of the was Huachuma protects us from ourselves; it’s very difficult to have a big experience with him if you don’t have the know- how around making his medicine, and meeting him halfway in the hallway of surrender.

Like I said, he makes us work for it; but with great effort comes great reward.

The San Pedro Summary

Because Huachuma has very little written or spoken about him as of yet, I am committed to bringing him more and more into the limelight, so I’ll go deeper in some of these topics in the near future. I trust his message to me that the big renaissance is coming. We all could use a little more heart medicine in our lives, no?

For all of you who have the Broken Heart Syndrome, or have had problems expressing the breakthrough into joy, Huachuma can help. He is so benevolent, so playful, powerful and kind, and he is the reason I know how to experience an all-in expression of love. He lets us be who we are without apology or resistance. And he brings us home to our hearts. If this is a destination you are seeking, than Huachuma is most certainly calling.

Journey well, and much love.

NEXT BLOG: Ayahuasca is not a Healer. Healers Do Not Exist.

About the Author

Tina “Kat” Courtney, The Afterlife Coach, has worked as an Ayahuasca and Huachuma shaman for almost 15 years. Kat is always a vocal advocate for all plant medicines and sacred spaces, and for the proper integration of peak experiences. Additionally, Kat works with people confronting issues around death, fear, trauma, and shadow as an Ayahuasca Coach and Shamanic Therapist. She’s a transformational junkie with a major love of polarities, and she adores helping others love their darkness too.