Mapacho Dieta 2026

Mapacho medicine is ancient as it gets. Long before Ayahuasca came to the people of the Amazon, Mapacho was revered as a sacred plant ally and master teacher. Prior to ayahuascero(a)s, there were mapachero(a)s offering mapacho ceremonies.

To meet this plant through dieta is to enter into relationship with one of the most powerful and uncompromising spirits in the Amazonian pharmacopeia.

Mapacho (Nicotiana rustica) has been used for thousands of years throughout the Amazon basin as a plant of prayer, purification, and protection, similarly to Tobacco in the North.

Indigenous healers work with Mapacho to clear heavy energies, fortify the spirit, focus prayer and intention, and call in guidance from the Great Spirit. It is considered a foundational plant to Ayahuasca work as it strengthens, protects, and seals up the energetic body.

Mapacho is not approached casually and can be considered an advanced dieta. The Spirit of mapacho is known to be stern, paternal and direct as a master teacher of discipline, presence, and integrity.

For those willing to meet it with respect and discipline, he becomes a powerful ally for those wanting to walk with greater integrity, steadiness, honesty, and mastery.

Often Mapacho dietas can reveal where we leak energy, where we need clarity and directness, where we are out of integrity, where we compromise ourselves, and where protection and boundaries need strengthening.

In ceremony, Mapacho smoke is used to protect the energy field, seal the bodies. Across cultures of the Americas, sacred tobacco has been honoured as a bridge between worlds—a plant that carries prayers to the Great Mystery.

It is an offering plant, a protector plant, and a truth-teller. In dieta, Mapacho works not only as a purifier, but as a builder of inner strength and energetic protection. It is known to cut through confusion, dispel intrusive energies, and sharpen perception. It brings grounding, focus and a strong backbone.

Through the fusion of Amazonian shamanic traditions and ancient herbal wisdom, we will create a focused and disciplined container for profound connection with Mapacho as a master teacher. This work is about your direct relationship with the spirit of this plant—listening, learning, and allowing it to strengthen the foundations of your inner temple.

"I have sat in ceremonies and events that Athena has hosted, facilitated, or organized, many, many times now. Each time is as transformative as the last and I always walk away grateful and filled with life again. Athena has a gift for intuiting the direction and creating the space needed for the people who show up. Her medicine, skill, knowledge, and presence are unique and down to earth. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found her and to know that I can always come back to sit in ceremony with her and remember the beauty of life again."

Alexandra

Participant

Athena, born in Greece and enriched by her diverse heritage as a South African-Venezuelan, is a profoundly skilled and authentic teacher of plant medicine. With over 18 years of experience in indigenous ceremonial practices from both North and South America, her formal apprenticeship was with the Shipibo Mahua lineage in the Peruvian Amazon.

Known to her students as a renegade lightworker, Athena channels a cosmic grandmother energy in her space holding of dieta, and ceremony, offering an incredibly potent yet gentle transmission of the plant spirits. Her space holding is uniquely safe, authentic, and infused with eternal love—an experience that remains rare in the realm of plant medicine work.

Jason, an energy healer and shamanic herbalist, embodies the spirit of plants with his rooted and lifelong connection to the plant world. Since 2010, he's worked extensively with ayahuasca, cultivating and preparing it in Hawaii on his family’s property.

Specializing in tailor-made shamanic medicines, he addresses emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, aiming to deepen individuals' connection to the Earth. Known for his incredible humor and nurturing presence in ceremony, Jason strengthens the container by holding the masculine while allowing the feminine to lead.

What is the time commitment? What is expected of me?
You’ll have the option to join us for a 2-hour live call every Sunday and Wednesday for 6 weeks.

These calls are not mandatory, though they certainly help to dieta process. If you can make one call a week, that would be ideal to receive the Ikaros from Athena. Ikaros are an important healing tool of dieta that supports your energy body.

All live calls will be recorded for later viewing. The calls would be a 2-4 hour optional commitment every week.

Outside of the calls, setting aside time to be with your dieta means more walks in nature, more time with water, time contemplating and taking care of yourself in various simple and therapeutic ways. This is a time commitment that varies that you would ideally have available to you when entering dieta to get the most out of it.
When are the live calls?
Our weekly live calls will be Wednesdays at 2pm PST / 5pm EST, and Sundays at 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST. The first live call is Sunday, April 19, 2026. The last call is Sunday May 31, 2026. You do not need to make all the calls to benefit from this container. Making one a week is more than enough. You can listen to the recordings for added support if some days don't line up for you.
What is your refund policy?
Given the nature of shamanic work, we encourage full participation to unlock the program's maximum benefits. By committing to this journey, you honor the value of the experience and allow the process to unfold in its entirety. We do not offer refunds. If you have any concerns or challenges, please reach out to us. We are here to support you and will work together to find a solution that supports you.
What are Ikaros? Why do I need them in dieta?
Ikaros are an energy channelling and direct transmission of plant healing through song and voice in the Shipibo language. They are the songs you hear most often in Shipibo Ayahuasca ceremonies. Ikaros support plant dietas immensely, and act as energetic tune-ups and clearings, and are an integral part of the healing and strengthening process with dieta.

We encourage participants of dieta to come to live calls and listen to the recordings not only to benefit from the teachings and wisdom from the space holders, but even if just to listen to the Ikaros.
Are there any dietary restrictions?
The practice of plant dieta does require a monastic lifestyle that includes adjustments to ones spiritual, psychological, and physical habits.

Removing certain foods and habits is to become more attuned to the subtle energy field of life, and the teachings of a particular plant teacher to support you and those around you in your life.

This includes a particular list of foods to eliminate from your diet, as well as certain consumptive patterns and exposures to avoid such as alcohol, drugs, porn, sex, masturbation, pork, beef, dairy, coffee, sugars, oils, salt etc.

Upon registering, you will receive a detailed guideline for your dieta preparation protocol. You can always reach out to our organizer with clarification questions.

Athena is a bit more flexible with dieta protocols than other practitioners, and encourages one to self-monitor indulgence patterns to maintain as much as possible, a strong diet with few distraction and habits from regular life. There's no pass/fail of dieta. The push and pull of one's cravings and behaviours become points of awareness and teachings that benefit you whether or not you are strict with dieta.
Can I work or travel while in dieta?
Unlike in-person isolation dietas, remote social dietas allow you to integrate in live time. Yes you can continue working your job in a remote dieta, and most do.

Many participants have and do also travel in dieta, though it's not as ideal as deepening in your own space. Exposing oneself to excessive stress and stimulus in the world, and foods that are not dieta-friendly takes away from the depth of the experience, and can be stressful.

Participants can certainly work, but because of the openness of your energy field during dieta, its important to have ample time to yourself to process. Having the ability to approach work with more sensitivity to your emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs is only going to support your dieta.

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