Cacao and Ayahuasca. Both are plant medicines. One is known to be gentle, the other to be intense. Intuitively, or by experience, one can know that both have a very different role to play.
Alku holding two different cacao pods, in a farm of Northern Peru.
Ayahuasca vine of the Amazon, in Northern Peru.
Let’s begin with what differentiates them, in simple terms:
Cacao: virtually everyone can take it, on a daily basis.
Ayahuasca: not everyone can take it, and not too frequently.
But beyond that, what is the main difference?
To answer this question, the shamanic perspective reminds us that our human experience is made out of three levels:
Upper World — The superconscious, our future self, our descendants
Middle World — The conscious life, our present self, our human family
Lower World — The unconscious, our past self, our ancestors
Ayahuasca can bring you to visit closely all three levels. But most likely, you won't spend much time in the middle world, and be drawn mostly in the lower and/or upper world of existence.
You might have great insights about your personal life, but it will probably be mixed with revelations about what is beyond your conscious experience, and will often be hard to remember, or to integrate into your daily life.
Bundles of Ayahuasca vines of the Amazon, in Northern Peru.
Diana holding a small baby cacao pod, in a farm of Northern Peru.
Cacao, on the other hand, is the master plant of the middle world. You cannot get lost or confused, as it accompanies you safely to better understand the messages of your emotions, the origin of your emotional core wounds, and the spiritual gifts that were buried (completely or partially).
Both medicines have an important role to play for humanity to evolve.
What is essential to develop is your capacity to know which one you need to ingest, when, and how often.
Hope it helps.
Blessings from Northern Peru.
Alku