SoulLiana is a living archive of Amazonian master plants, the Ayahuasca tradition, and the discipline of the plant dieta.
The name mirrors the Quechua etymology of ayahuasca — aya (soul, spirit) and huasca (vine, cord) — rendered through liana, the woody climbing vine that roots in the forest floor and reaches toward the canopy: a way of naming the experience without naming the medicine itself.
What This Is
This site exists to be a reference — honest, detailed, and free — for anyone exploring plant medicine. It brings together botanical science, traditional knowledge, and first-hand experience in one place.
The plant profiles here document taxonomy, pharmacology, spiritual properties, and safety information for the master plants of the Amazonian tradition. Where scientific evidence exists, it is cited. Where knowledge comes from oral tradition and practitioner experience, that is clearly stated. Where there are gaps in the record, they are left visible rather than filled in with speculation; an incomplete entry is more honest than a fabricated one.
Who Writes This
SoulLiana is written by a practitioner, not a professional. The author has participated in many Ayahuasca ceremonies and completed multiple Master Plant Dietas in the Shipibo tradition — the most demanding form of engagement with these plants.
The perspective here is that of a respectful outsider learning from a tradition that is not their own. The Shipibo people are the source and custodians of this knowledge. This site shares one person's experience of learning from the tradition, with gratitude and humility, rather than claiming authority over it.
What This Is Not
This is not medical advice, therapy, or a guide to obtaining or using controlled substances.
The author is not a shaman, doctor, or certified therapist. The content here reflects personal experience, published research, and traditional knowledge, offered as education and reflection.
Ayahuasca contains DMT, which is a controlled substance in many jurisdictions. The legal status of plant medicine varies significantly around the world. If you are considering engaging with these traditions, do your own research, consult qualified professionals, and understand the laws where you live.
Why This Exists
Because the information people need before, during, and after working with plant medicine is scattered, gatekept behind expensive services, or buried in academic papers.
Because the default online narrative is either uncritical enthusiasm or sensationalised fear — and neither serves the person genuinely trying to understand.
Because someone who has walked this path and is willing to be honest about it — the beauty, the difficulty, the confusion, the integration that never really ends — can offer something that a retreat brochure or a clinical paper cannot.
Traditional Knowledge
The plant medicine traditions documented on this site originate with the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, particularly the Shipibo-Conibo. Their knowledge, developed and refined over millennia, is the foundation upon which everything here rests.
Content relating to Shipibo tradition is being reviewed in consultation with Shipibo elders to ensure respectful and accurate representation. This is an ongoing process, not a completed one.
Contact
If you have questions, contributions, or want to share your own experience of these plants, write to [email protected]
Support
SoulLiana is a free resource with no ads, no paywalls, and no sponsors. If it has been useful to you, you can buy me a coffee.