Guarana
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THE DIVINE MASCULINE
Divine masculine herbs: gods, initiations and plants.
The lettuce of the god Min, cacao born from the body of the Maize God, the guarana of the Sateré-Mawé before the ordeal of the ants, the guayusa that Shuar men drink before dawn: the plants that peoples have bound to their gods and to the passage into manhood.
Ritual
In Egypt, lettuce was the plant of the god Min, and its white sap was taken for his seed.
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Guayusa, the Jaguar Spirit. The Kichwa sum it up in one word: *Runa*, fully alive. A calm energy, present, available, playful, the heart open, and one that carries its clarity all the way into dreams. In a gourd, or as a twenty-minute decoction.
The path · 4 thresholds
A method.
The lettuce of the god Min, cacao born from the body of the Maize God, the guarana of the Sateré-Mawé before the ordeal of the ants, the guayusa that Shuar men drink before dawn: the plants that peoples have bound to their gods and to the passage into manhood.
01
Ritual
The shared çapó
Among the Sateré-Mawé, a woman grates the guarana stick into water, the host drinks first, then the gourd passes from hand to hand, to the elders and the guests. At home: a teaspoon of powder in hot water, in the morning.
02
Ritual
Guayusa before dawn
Shuar and Achuar men drink it together before daybreak, telling one another their dreams. At home: in a gourd, or as a twenty-minute decoction.
03
Ritual
The iris bath of 5 May
In Japan, for the Boys’ Festival, iris and mugwort hang under the eaves, and people bathe in water with iris leaves floating in it. Mugwort also hangs in a bunch above the door.
04
Ritual
A grain of rock in the morning
Shilajit, “the Conqueror of the Mountains”: one grain, about 400 mg, in hot water, in the morning on an empty stomach.
What the divine masculine covers
Gods have their plants, like Min in Egypt or the Maize God of the Maya; peoples walk boys into manhood; men share a drink before dawn. This page gathers these plants and these traditions, with the texts that keep their trace.
Gods and their plants
| God or figure | Tradition | The plant | At INFUSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Min | ancient Egypt | wild lettuce, whose white sap, when cut, was taken for the god’s seed; it was laid on his altars, at Coptos and at Akhmim | Wild lettuce, its cousin |
| the Maize God | Classic Maya | cacao: on painted vases, the god becomes a tree whose limbs bear ripe pods (Martin, 2006) | Ceremonial cacao |
| Woden | Anglo-Saxon England | the nine glory-twigs of the Nine Herbs Charm, where mugwort is invoked first | Mugwort |
| Shiva | Hinduism | bilva leaves, and the flowers and fruits of datura, offered to him | datura, not sold |
| the child with guarana eyes | Sateré-Mawé, Amazon | guarana, born from the eyes of a child; the Sateré-Mawé call themselves the children of guarana | Guarana |
Initiations and rites
- The Tucandeira of the Sateré-Mawé. To become men, boys slide their hands into gloves woven from palm, decorated with macaw and hawk feathers, where dozens of tucandeira ants live. The men drink çapó, guarana grated into water, during the diet that comes before the festival, and during the days of recovery after it (Instituto Socioambiental).
- Guayusa of the Shuar and Achuar. Before dawn, the men drink the decoction together for about an hour, sharing their dreams and reading the day ahead; to see guayusa boiling in a dream foretells a good hunt (Karsten, 1935; Dueñas et al., 2016).
- 5 May in Japan. Tango no sekku became the Boys’ Festival in the Kamakura period: shōbu, iris, sounds like the word for the warrior spirit. Iris and mugwort hang under the eaves, and people take shōbu-yu, the iris bath. Before that, the day belonged to women.
- Min’s lettuce. At his festival, the god’s statue went out in procession; on temple reliefs, lettuces stand behind him.
The herbs on this page
- Guayusa: the Jaguar Spirit, a calm energy, present, the heart open.
- Guarana: warana, the eye-shaped fruit of the Sateré-Mawé.
- Ceremonial cacao: the fruit of the Maize God; a gift of the gods for the Maya.
- Wild lettuce: cousin of Min’s lettuce, a white sap where it is cut.
- Ashwagandha: in Sanskrit, the smell of the horse, heard as the strength of the horse.
- Shilajit: “the Conqueror of the Mountains”, the black gold of the mountains, a resin born of rock.
- Mugwort: the first of Woden’s nine herbs, and the herb of the Japanese 5 May.
Precautions
Guarana and guayusa contain caffeine: drink them in the morning, without piling them on top of coffee or tea; set them aside during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and with a heart rhythm disorder. Ashwagandha and shilajit: ask your doctor if you are on treatment, especially for the thyroid or blood pressure. Wild lettuce is taken in small doses, on an evening without alcohol or sleeping pills. Datura is a poison: it is for reading, never for taking. Our plants are freely sold in France and the European Union; the law varies from country to country, so check yours before ordering.
Sources
- Min and lettuce: Wikipedia). Cacao and the Maize God: S. Martin, “Cacao in Ancient Maya Religion”, in C. McNeil (ed.), Chocolate in Mesoamerica, 2006 (PDF).
- Sateré-Mawé, guarana, çapó and Tucandeira: Instituto Socioambiental, Povos Indígenas no Brasil (pt).
- Guayusa: R. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, 1935; J. F. Dueñas et al., “Amazonian Guayusa”, Economic Botany 70, 2016.
- Shiva: Maha Shivaratri, Datura. Japan: Tango no sekku, 端午 (ja). Nine Herbs Charm: Wikipedia.
⊹ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ⊹
Divine masculine herbs, in questions
What are the herbs of the divine masculine?
The ones traditions link to their gods and to men: the lettuce of the god Min, the cacao of the Maya Maize God, the guarana of the Sateré-Mawé, the guayusa of the Shuar, the mugwort of Woden and of the Japanese 5 May, the bilva and datura offered to Shiva. The table above gives the source of each.
What is the divine masculine?
A phrase of today for old realities: gods and their plants, initiations that carry boys into manhood, drinks men share before dawn. This page keeps to traditions that are named and sourced, from Egypt to the Amazon.
Which plant marks the passage into manhood?
Among the Sateré-Mawé, guarana: the men drink çapó during the diet before the Tucandeira, the boys’ initiation with the gloves of ants. In Japan, the iris and mugwort of 5 May, the boys’ day.
Why is lettuce the plant of the god Min?
When cut, the wild lettuce of Egypt lets a white sap run, which the Egyptians likened to the seed of the god of fertility. It was laid on his altars, and it stands behind him on temple reliefs.
Where can I read further?
In the Forest: guayusa, the Jaguar Spirit, guarana, the eye of the gods and ashwagandha, the strength of the horse.
⊹ OTHER INTENTIONS · RITUAL ⊹ ✷
Explore other paths of this pillar.
· THE FOREST ·
A precise question about this intention?
Ask the Forest: ethics of a plant, dose, lineage, synergy. It shares what peoples have transmitted and what books have written.