Ayahuasca Champaign

Here are some details on the brew used in Luna's retreats, from someone who has attended them:


Luis's brew is considered to the "Champaign" of Ayahuasca. It uses the B. caapi and P. viridis. blend but likely heavy on the P. viridis (DMT source). Less purgative & more powerful on the visions. He uses the same brew-master for all his seminars. A senior x-maestro of the UDV, I believe. The brew is considered to be strong and normal dosage is 100ml. People who want more or less in succeeding sessions can dial up and down the amount of Ayahuasca taken based on their personal & specific reactions to Ayahuasca. "Boosters" are usually given about 1 - 1.5 hrs after the first dose. I've taken as little as 80ml and as much as 250ml. The brew is not standardized and chemically analyzed after each brewing. Even if Luis went to the time and expense of doing this, the properties change over time as the brew matures (like a fine wine). I've heard ageing increases it's chemical impact as if ferments AND where to take your dose (top of bottle or bottom) makes a big difference in the actual amounts of DMT in the cup taken.

Sometimes, Luis has brought a "special treat" - Diez Matas" - 10 plant is a UDV alternate brew that includes the two primaries, but also has an additional 10 in admixtures. This special brew is called " La Medicina" as it's intended for special healing. Visions are not necessarily stronger here, but rather the somatic and healing effects are different. I don't know if this will be available in 2/05 as it's only available by luck and whim. However, for visions/OBEs - I'd recommend the standard brew and experiment with boosters to dial in your right level of DMT/Vision saturation and psychonaut control. There's often a trade-off with too little or too much for an in control OBE/Visionary expedition.

As for the brewing, I understand it takes about 5 days to make brew for a Luis group. The method is hot boiling ,with pour offs over several days , adding more B.caapi and P.viridis which generally guarantees a powerful brew. I suggest you read R. Metzner's book if you are interested in the mixing method, types of Ayahuasca, and variations that change the nature of brew. You'll note that variables he details include no only the specific species, but color and location of the vine, # knots, time of year, top of vine or lower, hot vs cold infusion, add mixtures etc. All very complicated as I'm sure you'll agree!

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Ayahuasca is such a complex brew! La Medicina sounds quite intriguing - I hope the gods and godesses smile on me and I have access to that during the retreat, it could be quite healing. I feel apprehensive about doing ayahuasca again, but that needn't stop me - rather I can see it as motivation to do a lot of prepatory work beforehand so that I can make the most of it when I'm there. The fact that this brew is less purgatory and more visionary is scary, but again, it can be quite helpful for me if I can rise to the challenge. Someone's advice on the iboga discussion forum is quite relevent here: muster up all the courage you can, and take the plunge...