Medicine
Retreats
in Tenerife
San Pedro
The key to the heart that awakens eternal love within your soul.
San Pedro, also known by its indigenous name Huachuma, is a cactus that grows in the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador — and in Tenerife! Its use for ritual purposes dates back more than 3,000 years, as evidenced by archaeological findings, including ceramics and rock carvings.
The name “San Pedro” appeared during the colonial period, when the Spanish associated the plant with the apostle Peter, “keeper of the keys to heaven,” since the cactus opens the “gates” to the spiritual worlds.
The main psychoactive component of San Pedro is mescaline — a phenylethylamine alkaloid that affects the brain’s serotonin receptors. It causes changes in perception, emotional state, and consciousness.
In addition to mescaline, the cactus also contains other alkaloids, such as hordenine and anhalonine, which have calming and antibacterial effects.
Traditionally, San Pedro is used in the form of a brew prepared from the green flesh of the cactus. The cooking process can take up to 12 hours.
During the ceremony, participants drink the brew, often accompanied by shamanic chants and cleansing rituals, such as the use of tobacco smoke and aromatic tinctures.
The effects of San Pedro appear 30–60 minutes after intake and can last from 6 to 12 hours, usually it’s an 8-hour trip, so pleasant that you don’t even feel tired afterwards:
- Changes in the perception of time and space
- Deep emotional experiences, heart opening
- A feeling of unity with nature and the surrounding world
- Insights and awareness of personal issues and their solutions
- A state of pure consciousness without Ego, similar to Nirvana
Physical effects may include nausea and vomiting, which are considered part of the cleansing process, but this doesn’t always happen — it depends on how “loaded” the person is.
San Pedro does not always give visuals, or they may come only with conscious immersion into depth.
It is more of a state of pure open consciousness, extreme clarity, and inner silence — wide open eyes that, for the first time, see how beautiful all living things are.
In this trip, you won’t be overloaded with a stream of information, as with other psychedelics.
Here, your Ego will be gently dissolved, your heart will open, and you’ll be allowed to float in a space of simplicity and intuitive clarity, where all the necessary insights come on their own, and the state of peace with the world warms the soul.
San Pedro is the kindest and gentlest psychedelic, which is why every one of my retreats begins with it.
The cactus is ideal for helping:
- Beginners overcome their fear of psychedelics and enter deep trust.
- Open consciousness while staying in the here and now, feeling the basic energies of the earthly plane, rather than flying off into other dimensions.
- Bring up emotional layers for release and cleanse the heart.
- Synchronize with the retreat space, the guide, and other participants: in this state, everyone becomes open and loving, gladly engaging in soulful conversations and joyful states.
- Create a real shamanic celebration — with fire and drum, ritual music and full moon, where you can fully feel yourself part of one big Tribu, tribe.
- Look at the world, yourself, and your life through the eyes of pure love, feeling peace with yourself and others.
After the ceremony, participants often note:
- improved mood and reduction of depression symptoms,
- increased empathy and improvement in interpersonal relationships,
- deep understanding of their life path and purpose,
- and most clearly — especially valuable for anxious people — a deep inner peace, an absolute stillness within, which can last for a long time after the trip.