CSV Permission to Use Ayahuasca

Our facilitators in Canada have been granted permission to use the sacred ayahuasca plant by Master Onanya Noe Lopez and Tony Lopez or they have studied and been granted permission by other recognized Shipibo Onanya Masters. The Lopez brothers are direct descendant 7^th generation lineage Onanyas in the Ucayali Region in Peru.

Only recognized Axeti Nete Master Onanyas can grant initiates permission to serve the ayahuasca sacrament in the CSV.

Regardless of the mixed ethnicities prevalent throughout the Peruvian Amazon, the prehistoric Axeti Nete religion as held and practiced by those who have been raised to live and survive in the jungle has not changed substantially since pre-historical times (see – History of the Shipibo Axeti Nete below).

The primary Axeti Nete religious practice, whether it is practiced by indigenous Shipibo Indians or persons initiated into the teachings is centered around the Ayahuasca Vine, which is referred to as the “Mother of the Plants.” In Axeti beliefs “Mother Ayahuasca” works with a multitude of other spiritual plant teachers, each with their own unique character, characteristics and temperaments. This means that all knowledge of the Amazon teacher plants is available to all devoted practitioners of the Axeti Nete through the Mother Plant Ayahuasca.

Permission to carry on the traditions of sacred ayahuasca is granted by Onanya Masters only when they recognize that the person(s) carrying on the beliefs have been sufficiently grounded in the use of ayahuasca to serve Mother Ayahuasca in the sacred ceremonies.

In the Axeti Nete, esoteric wisdom and the ability to heal are passed on to initiates by working directly with Mother Ayahuasca and other plants, which are considered to be spiritual beings and lineages. The Onanya does not convey information directly to the initiate in a ceremony, but rather manages the relationship between the initiate and the spirit beings, who are the true teachers and healers.

The Axeti Nete religion is an oral tradition however all knowledge held in the religion is accessible by a properly-prepared practitioner when he travels to the various realms of the Axeti. We believe Mother Ayahuasca guides initiates to the correct knowledge needed by the practitioner for healing, right conduct and community guidance. This knowledge is sometimes accessed by the practitioner slowly or it can be granted in one ayahuasca session, depending on the devotion and preparation by the initiate and the judgement of the plant spirits.

By developing a relationship with these spirits, we believe the initiate gains wisdom and skill in healing and spiritual guidance. We believe the knowledge and wisdom of the forest as a whole, quite literally, becomes accessible to the practitioner and the spirits of the master plants in the Amazon forest become the teacher(s). This is a living network of hormonal, cellular, biochemical and electric or energetic information that is accessible to a devotee through our sacred sacrament. This is the essence of Shipibo Axeti Nete. The Onanya is only one element or node within this vibrant ecology of knowledge, energy and spiritual practices.

During an initiation, the Onanya guides the initiate in an orderly and structured way. The Onanyas give permission, stage by stage within this immersion process, in a non-verbal and non-conceptual manner as we believe that the plant spirits hold the sacred knowledge and will guide the initiate directly to the wisdom and healing required for each individual’s progress.

Onanyas are highly skilled at managing all aspects of a seeker’s relationship with ayahuasca, including the energies that may appear around a practitioner during a ceremony or throughout a retreat. In order for an initiate to be granted permission to serve ayahuasca under Axeti Nete, the Onanya must be convinced that the initiate has sufficient personal qualities, strength of character and integrity to serve ayahuasca to the best of their abilities.