What is Peyote Cactus?

The oldest cacti date from approximately 20,000 years ago. Their specific appearance enables the cactus to survive drought and heat. The thorns, of course, are the most characteristic feature of cacti. Thorns are actually leaves which doesn't contain moisture. They protect the cactus against bright sunlight and prevent them being eaten by animals. Some species, however, have no thorns, but instead protect themselves with toxic substances. Examples include the Peyote, Sunami, Pata de Venado, Pezuna the Venado, Tsuwiri, Bishop's cap, Aztekium Retterii and Astropytym Astrias.

Cacti store water in their tribe. The spherical of the cactus creates an effective relationship between surface and content. The hotter the habitat of the cactus, the more spherical it is. This is the case with the Peyote.

History 

The hallucigene operation of the Peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii)  isn't known yet for a long time in the Netherlands. The Indians, on the contrary, used this round, thornless cactus already for centuries and it became known as the "sacred mushroom". Also in the Netherlands the cactus increasingly began to be used as hallucigeen plea.

The Peyote plays a major role in the religion and culture of the Indians of Central America. The Peyote was imaged allready long before the Christian era.  It's been already 7000 years since Peyote was found for the first time.  The huichol, the original people of this Central American regions, still give a high status to the Peyote.  Nowadays, the mushroom is known amongst entheogene  researchers around the whole world.

Peyote as a central place in the rituals of an ancient shamanistische, but still lively religion,  that remained surprisingly free from the influence of Spanish colonists and the church.

In the course of the last century North American Indians were almost entirely robbed of their country and their culture. Many turned back to the ancestral peyote cult of the huichol. The Native American Church arose. The ritual use of the cactus spread among many tribes and even reached Canada. The rituals enclosed many Christian elements. At the beginning of this century, the Comanche-chairman Quanah Parker said: "The whites go to their churches and talk about Christ, while we remair in our tipis and talk with Christ."

The huichol are well aware of the sanctity of Peyote. Since the Mexican independence, they are hardly bothered by the church or the authorities. Across Mexico the cactus is for sale as a medicine against many diseases, infections and indeed all harmfulness, because "the spirit" gives advices for healing.

When a journalist asked an Indian about Peyote, he was told that aspirin is a drug, but that Peyote is holy. The first report on peyote use from a white person dates from 1897. Soon thereafter, the famous psychologist Havelock Ellis wrote about his experiences  in the British Journal of Medicine. In 1897 the substance entheogene was discovered in Peyote, asubstance we call 'mescaline. " This material was for the first time synthetically created in 1919 and in subsequent years it has been  examined by many scientists, artists and other researchers.

The English writer Aldous Huxley is probably the most famous desriber of mescaline and LSD experiences, but is certainly not the only one who has described mescaline. One of the first whites who participated in an Indian peyote ritual was the French writer Antonin Artaud. Antonin Artaud traveled to Mexico in the thirty's and wrote a number of fascinating reports about his adventures in the Tarahumaras. He wrote:  "I have taken a quantity Peyote in the Mexican mountains which, for the Tarahumaras, is enough for two or three days. I believe that these three days are the happiest days of my life. I no longer had enough of myself, Iwas no longer searching a reason to continue living, I didn't need to drag body no longer around ... " In the large-Peyote ritual the curandero (priest, shaman, chotacine) sings: "Chew good, chew good, then you'll see your life."

The Indians didn't only use the cactus to be clairvoyant, but it was also used as a medicine. Somebody said: "The woman took a large cactus and cut off the bottom. She lifted her long, beautifully embroidered skirt. Then she stroke with the moist underside of the cactus along her legs, especially in places of scratches and wounds caused by the long trip through the desert. She explained that the Peyote didn't only expel hunger and thirst and elevates the spirit, but could also heal wounds and infections. "

Thousands of Indians make an annual pilgrimage to Wirikuta, the spiritual land of the ancestors, where the Peyote is originated. The pilgrims come along places that you won't find on the map, but that are sown on the mental map of the peyote passengers. For example: Gateway to the Clouds,Vagina and Where Our Mothers Live. Under the influence of the plant the pilgrims hike through a fantastic landscape where their ancestors designed the history of the universe. The trip to Wirikuta has for Indians the same meaning as a trip to Mecca for a Muslim or a trip to Benares for  a Hindu.

The writer Carlos Castenada has done much to spread the knowledge of the Peyote religion to the West. In a long series of books Castenada describes his experiences with the curandero Don Juan Matiz.

Each participant in a Peyote meeting may use the same magical tool as the most experienced curandero. In this way he can make direct contact with the spirit without the intervention of priests and gurus. The Indians share their deepest secrets with the interested foreigners who in large numbers come from the United States: 
"Because we are all, we are all, we are all children of a beautifully colored flower. There is nobody, there is nobody who regrets what we are."

Each Indian tribe has or had its own name for the Peyote, for example: Comanche-wokowi or wohoki, Cora-huatari, Delaware-biisung, huichol-hícouri, híkuli, hícori, Kickapoo-pee-yot, Kiowa-seni, Mescalero Apache - - ho, Navajo-azee, Omaha-makan, Opata-pe jori, Otomi-beyo, Taos-walena, Tarahumara-híkuli, híkori, híkoli, Tepehuane-kamba or kamaba Wichita-nezats, Winnebago-hunka

Botany 

The Peyote cactus is a small, blue-green, thornless, balloon-like plant. The top of the plant is covered with small quantities of wool and the plant has a thick root. The cactus possibly has pink flowers. There is a large variety of Peyote kinds. Most common are Lophophora williamsii decipiens and Lophophora diffusa. 
The cactus grows very slowly and flourishes in the wilderness after ten years. It is rarely larger than 15 centimetres. The Peyote grows in Mexico and in southern Texas.

Chemistry 

Active ingredients are mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxy-B-phenethylamine) which makes up 10% of the dried material. Peyote mescaline also contains tyramine, hordinenine, anhalaninine, anhalonidine, pellotine, Methylmescaline-N, N-Acetylmescaline, Anhalonnine, Anhalonine, Anhalamine, R-Methyllanhalonidine and Lophophorine.

Effects 

It may take a while before you notice the effects. But after you can have one of the most beautiful and most delightful experiences of your life. Mescaline reminds you of LSD, but it is softer, more colorful, warmer, friendly and pleasant. You experience the divine side of nature. Sometimes you can move through space and time, or you can communicate with your own spirit. The total experience lasts between six and twelve hours. Peyote trips are more severe than those of San Pedro and also thee nausea is more severe.

Medical use 

In traditional sense, the cactus is used as a painkiller, in toothache, rheumatism, asthma and colds. In the psychotherapy Peyote is available for the treatment of neurasthenia. Similarly in cardiology. Peyote appearded to have a strong antibacterial effect and it can kill bacteria that are resistant to penicillins.

Use 

The Peyote cactus should be eaten together with its carrot and should be chewed for a  long time. The mescaline namely has to be absorbed through the mucous membrane of the mouth. It is also possible to make tea of the Peyote. Cut the cactus in small pieces and stir them for half an hour. After stirring, it can be drunk as tea.  Thedried Peyote cactus can also be be eaten. Cut the cacti in one centimeter thick discs and dry them in the sun, or in an oven set at 50 degrees C. Peyote cacti works best on an empty stomach. Try not to eat six hours before using. This cactus tastes very bitter anyhow and some people can resist the taste better than others. One way to expel the bitter taste  is to drink unsweetened grapefruit juice or pineapple juice while chewing the cactus. Side effects which occur during the first hour after consuming mescaline cactus are for example: nausea, cramps and crying fits. These symptoms disappear as soon as the trip begins. Some people say that the nausea can be prevented by eating some ginger together with the cactus. If you decide to let the Peyote cactus grow, realize that it is a tough plant that grows slowly. The plant needs much sunlight and little water.

Dosage 

How much mescaline one Peyote cactus contains is difficult to tell. This depends on the age and living circumstances of the cactus. An average dose of Peyote is about 12-30 grams, which corresponds to approximately 6 to 15 cactuses of 2 grams each. The strength of the Peyote can vary enormously. Therefore, it is best not to consume the entire dose at ones, but to consume gradually. Take the first half of the dosage and wait 60 to 90 minutes until you are familiar with the effect. As you wish, take half of what is still left and, when needed, repeat this. The lowest limit for a noticable effect is a dose of 150 mg Mescaline. A mild to average dose equals 150 to 300 mg. 300 to 400 mg is a correct doses for a strong trip that takes six to twelve hours. In the case of 450 to 500 mg the ego will possibly get lost and will result in a trip of about 12 hours. To be guaranteed of loosing the ego and having a trip of about 24 hours, you'll have to take 500 to 600 mg.

Warnings 

Don't combine Pwyote with alcohol, MAO inhibitors or other medication. Neither use it when you are pregnant or breast-feeding, you suffer from a depression or if you're younger than 18. Don't take part in the trafic after using Peyote. Make sure there's a sober person in the neighbourhood  that can take care of you.

Side effects--

The so-called hangover will enter even before the actual trip begins. This may include cramps, nausea, vomiting and fits of crying. The symptoms disappear within one hour, whereafter the trip begins.

Breeding 

Peyote likes heat and light. In nature, he mostly grows on open spots in the sun, but the Payot grows even under bushes or under other cactusses. The best place for breeding the cactus inside is behind a window on the south. However, when the cactus is still young he'd better be kept away from the sun. A little water on hot days will do good. 
Peyote is a slow-growing cactus which is easy to cultivate and multiply. You can start with seeds or with a plant. Keep the cuttings dry for 15 days. Peyote grows best in alkaline calcareous soils which is well drainaged and with a ph of 6 or 7. Peyote needs water only when placed in a pot. If the cactus is transplanted every year, no additional nutrient is needed. If the drainage is doesn't function properly, the small cactus will be susceptible to infections via fungus in its roots. In that case you should  disroot the cactus. Subsequently add your fungicide and let the cactus dry for a few days together with the fungicide. After that, the cactus is ready to be planted again.