Master Plant Dietas
By Neil Kirwan
It’s become glaringly obvious to even the most diehard of materialists that, as a species, we have lost and continue to lose our connection to nature. It’s reflected in our systems, our culture, and how we treat the ecological terrain around us, and more importantly, how we treat the terrain that is out of sight and out of mind. Not even necessarily directly but indirectly, with our purchases, lifestyle choices, and the words we don’t say. Our apathy, our ignorance, our helplessness at the enormity of the global destruction we’ve witnessed during our lifetime.
At no point did nature hang up the phone; she is waiting for us to pick up the line once more; whenever we’re ready, she’ll be there. And no greater connection can be found than in the holiest, most reverent of containers, the master plant dieta or master plant diet (dieta simply being the Spanish word for diet). Dieta or diet is a tradition carried by many of the tribes of the Amazon rainforest. In the Shibipo tradition, this process is called Sama—a process that keeps them attuned to nature, reveals the gifts of our healing process, and the teachings mother nature has to offer us. A direct line of connection is held and conducted by the plants for and with the people.
It is arguably the deepest form of plant medicine work we can embark upon. One that has altered the course of many lives and keeps those that serve these potent medicines in alignment and clear to be a conduit for this sacred path. These incredible and wise teacher plants call upon a collective consciousness that provides a memory bank of untold wisdom and healing deep wounds.
What is a Master Plant Dieta?
For the connection to be initiated with any given plant, we must create the container within which this will happen. There are two ways to diet with a plant or tree. One is an isolation diet, and the other is the social master plant dieta also known as a soft diet or dieta suave. Both diets involve making a set of agreements and conditions for the duration of the master plant diet.
As the name suggests, the isolation diet is usually done in isolation for a minimum of ten days, sometimes a year or more for those learning to be ayahuasqueros or medicine carriers. During this time, the dietero (participant) will only have contact with the curandero (healer/shaman) holding the diet and perhaps the people who serve the food. The volume and kind of food one is served are restricted. To what level can vary between traditions, cultures, and individual curanderos.
Some people may be served basic food such as tortillas, eggs, rice, fish, and plantains. More luxurious centers may offer more thrills, such as salads and certain fruits. A dieta with a more traditional lineage usually involves one meal a day consisting of bony river fish and plantain.
The meal in this situation is the same every day. It is purposefully basic as a form of discipline and simply to take food and the energy of consuming food out of the equation so we can focus on connecting with the plant. There are also some foods that need excluding as they are energetically disruptive to the process.
When I dieted the tree Noya Rao, the diet began with a five-day total fast and no water for the first 24 hours. This allows for the deep cleansing necessary to enter into this relationship and was the strictest diet I have partaken in.
The only time the dietero leaves their tambo (accommodation) is for ceremony, ablutions, or sometimes a short walk for exercise is permitted. It is an intense process. And the amount of discipline required will vary from lineage to lineage and center to center.
Isolation master plant dietas usually begin with a vomitivo which involves cleansing the stomach using a plant concoction such as pinon colorado or lemongrass and drinking large amounts of water before inducing oneself to vomit. This may include jumping up and down to create a washing machine effect in the stomach before sticking fingers down throats to begin vomiting gloriously and copiously.
The opening ceremony of the diet normally involves sitting in an ayahuasca ceremony, or a number of them, alongside the chosen teacher plant one is dieting. During this ceremony the curandero will open the portals between you and the particular plant spirit and thus begins the contract of connection. It is common to have ayahuasca ceremonies during the dieta; indeed they can become the only form of social life accessible to you. Some stricter diets may dictate these ayahuasca ceremonies are done in isolation too.
The rest of the master plant isolation dieta you spend… well… isolated. No phones, no internet, no tv, no books, no magazines or reading material. It’s a time for you to connect with your plant, through song and prayer, through dream states and meditations. You with your thoughts and emotions without the candy of any distractions to help you lasso your way back into avoidance.
Psychologically speaking it can be very demanding and confronting. There is no hiding in those small tambos. You have all the time in the world to relive your past and your memories. Which creates the perfect environment for healing. And you’re not actually alone, you’re with your plant.
Social Master Plant Dietas
The social diet has become more and more popular in recent years. It involves dieting a plant whilst continuing with your daily life, including any job or work you have. Like the isolation diet, it involves a set of restrictions and agreements that you make with your plant before opening the diet. Contact with your maestra/maestro (the human teacher holding the diet) is usually done online rather than face to face, as is the way in an isolation diet.
The diet is usually more open and amenable to the modern world, especially considering bony Amazonian river fish are not widely available in most supermarkets. A clean diet of organic white meats, vegetables, and certain grains and fruits is normally prescribed. Caffeine, sugar, salt, spices, onions, sex, masturbation (including of the ego), heavy reading material, soaps, competing fragrances, busy spaces, and movies are out.
Although the diet is called a social diet, it’s not recommended that you stay social to the level you usually might be. Whilst interactions with other people are permitted and may be necessary for work and family life, social events and parties must be avoided. As are people with intense or compromised energies that may impact the balance of your diet.
It requires balance, discipline, and sometimes negotiation to navigate a social diet. Each plant has a different energy and set of characteristics; some may be more lenient with restrictions whilst others may be more demanding. Some may be more forgiving of a transgression whilst others may lay some hard lessons and trying times at your door.
Breaking or Crossing Your Master Plants
What happens if you don’t stick to the rules of the game? As laid out, a master plant dieta involves creating a set of agreements with your chosen plant and sticking to those agreements for the duration of your diet. It’s important we segway into this subject before going any further. Particularly if dieting a plant is something you’re currently considering. The consequences of crossing your diet can range from a playful telling off, to death, depending on the nature of your plant and the way in which you crossed the diet.
There is the accidental cross, for example, where you put something in your mouth and then realize it contains salt perhaps or some kind of spice after being told it didn’t. Even if it takes a few bites to realize, the point is, it was an accident. As soon as you become aware, you correct yourself. It’s likely, at most, you’ll receive a slap on the wrist if anything. Most plants are gracious and understanding enough to know accidents happen.
The more tricky cross involves the medicinal plants intentionally setting you up for failure by way of a test. This can often come at night in the dream space. Remember we said no sex or masturbation? Well, that includes your dreams. The plants will often appear provocatively in dreams as a sexual partner, either known or fantasy, to elicit sexual responses and even pull you into a tryst with them. It’s your responsibility to master your consciousness in the dream space during diet and say no. I’ve been tested many times like this, sometimes, I pass, on occasion, I fail.
Crossing your diet in this way won’t necessarily lead to repercussions. I actually think the plants and trees get a kick out of it when they get you to fail like this. It’s a great opportunity to test your dreaming consciousness and master your sexual energy. Don’t be hard on yourself though (no pun intended) keep your humor whilst pursuing this kind of discipline.
Getting frisky in dreams is not the only way the plants can go trickster mode on us. I remember during my first dieta with Mugwort whom I call Artemesia; we eased into a beautiful relationship with early doors that were bordering on friendship. At the time, I lived in England and had begun a process of dieting local plants that grew outside my window to connect more deeply to the soil I walked on. We spent nights out in the woods under a full moon and dreamed regularly together during the diet, and I felt fully tuned into the land.
One day she balked at the dieta I was doing, asking me why I would work with an Amazonian practice whilst living in England and dieting a plant of the northern hemisphere. I care not for these practices; I care for these lands and the wilds and the hunt. It would be better for you to eat wild venison like your ancestors.’ She said, knowing I needed no further invitation.
I occasionally eat duck during a soft diet, but the idea of eating venison was mouth-watering, so I did, and it was delicious. The next day I started to feel flu-like symptoms and knew it was connected to the venison I had eaten. Frustrated, I drank mugwort and sat with her to ask why I was being punished for her suggestion. She had this to say.
‘Whatever I think or say, when we started this process, you made agreements with me; we entered into a contract with each other. I’m fine with you eating venison, I’m not ok with you breaking our agreement. When you make an agreement with another being, you must honor that agreement.’
The conversation with Artemesia the previous day led me to break our agreement without consent. She gave an opinion, she did not give consent for me to break our original agreement, and this meant I had broken my diet intentionally, albeit under tricky wordplay circumstances. Yet isn’t that life, we make agreements, and we find opportunities and loopholes wherever our egos can find them? Or do we hear what we want to hear and jump the gun completely?
Importance of Integrity with a Plant Spirit
As mentioned, some plants are willing to negotiate terms; you may have a job where not using soap and wearing no makeup isn’t realistic. It may be that one of the omissions in the foods is dangerous to your health and therefore not possible for you. When good reasons exist, the plants will usually acquiesce a little during the soft diet. We can negotiate with them before and also if something unprecedented and unexpected comes up that’s beyond our control.
It all comes down to integrity, what’s real, and what’s a game being played by our ego. There are times when only we can answer that, but the plants will always know, even if they act like they don’t.
The worst kind of cross we can do during a diet is an intentional cross. We know it’s wrong, we know for sure it doesn’t line up with the dieta, but we do it anyway. When dieting at home, having resistance to this is more likely. A grey blur occurs as our ego rampantly tries to convince us that some things that are not ok might be ok. It weaves and creates situations and thought patterns that will test us to our limits.
When we know for sure though, beyond any doubt, and we still do it, whether it’s smoking a joint, drinking alcohol, or having sex with someone, there are usually consequences. There needs to be.
When we engage in a master plant dieta of any kind, not only are we entering a contract with that plant, but we are merging fields of consciousness with them. They are therefore exposed to whatever energy we expose them to, and they have their own limits and boundaries.
Consequences can be small, as per my flu-like symptoms with mugwort; sometimes they are life-changing. There are stories of deaths and hospitalizations which I was always skeptical of. At least until I started hearing accounts firsthand; this is not said to scare you but more to ensure that anyone considering a Master Plant Dieta understands the gravity of what they are getting into. It’s a serious business.
Isolation Dieta or Suave Dieta?
Well, that depends on many things, and my advice to anyone would be to try both. You might find that one way is unsuitable for you or you have a personal preference. To some people, the idea of trying to hold a dieta in the temptations of daily life and around friends and family may seem ludicrous. To others, the thought of being away and out of contact for ten days or more may be unrealistic. There are challenges along with pros and cons to both ways of dieting.
An isolation diet is a deep process, and you’re usually in the jungle or at least in wild nature. There are no distractions other than the ones in your own mind. The container is tightly held for you, and you have no logistical problems to navigate other than perhaps your daily war of attrition with the mosquitoes.
There are some plants that demand this container, particularly the bigger trees. I could not imagine dieting Noya Rao, Ayahuma, or Chiric Sanago in a social setting until I had at least dieted them in isolation. It’s a general rule of thumb that it’s better to diet some smaller, more gentle plants before dieting trees, which tend to be harder, stricter diets to hold. That said, some people will diet a tree on their first diet, and there is no hard right or wrong.
I dieted the Chuchuhuasi tree early on in my dieting experiences and found the tree to be a lot of energy and information to hold. My most recent diet was with the Noya Rao tree, and I felt like I’d built the energy and the experience necessary to work with a tree like this.
When working with a social diet, it’s best to diet energetically smaller plants, and I say that with the utmost respect. Plants that have a reputation for gentleness or beauty, such as Rose and Lavender, can sometimes pack the biggest punches and lessons during the dieta process.
When I opened my first diet with sunny dandelion, I was immediately scolded and told to start all over again with the following instructions.
Choose your harvest time more wisely; when we first bloom, we are the only flower feeding the bees adequately. Wait until the other flowers bloom before you harvest.
Harvest with reverence and respect, make offerings, ask for permission, and sing as you harvest.
Treat an opening ceremony with every plant the same way you would treat an Ayahuasca ceremony. Treat all plants with the same level of respect and reverence.
Dieting at home creates a whole new field of learning opportunities; the plants are with you in your daily life and interactions. You can feel their responses to energies and situations in real-time and get more specific guidance on how you live your life, practicing and learning lessons in situ. In a sense, it combines the diet and the integration in an overlap.
Plus, dieting at home (or in the jungle) can support you at an ayahuasca retreat. By working with a Master Plant, you're expanding your strength and capacity to navigate these landscapes. You can begin calling in your plant spirits to support you in many ways, and sometimes, the spirit might show up to aid you in your process when you're in need of a helping hand.
And for those serving the medicine, a master plant dieta allows them time and space to cleanse their channel so they can show up in alignment as they hold space for anywhere between a few people to a few dozen guests at ayahuasca retreats week after week.
How to Choose Which Plant
This is where things can get very mystical. Choosing which plant to diet is an extremely fluid process. We may have plants that we know we want to diet, but we’re actually not ready for. There may be plants we’re not even aware of that will come into our field at the last minute. Our first diet may be with a plant that we’ve had a lifelong affiliation or connection with.
For me, it usually happens in a magical way where the fields of consciousness, both seen and unseen, begin to dance together to ordain a destined plant for a particular space and time in our journey through life. Sometimes it can be very specific to promote physical healing that we need at this moment in our lives.
I didn’t think I’d ever diet Noya Rao. I’d placed that tree beyond my reach and abilities as a sacred and rare tree that belonged to and was held by the Shipibo people. The idea of dieting her felt like the act of a trespasser. I also knew that some of the agreements made during a Noya Rao dieta were not just for the diet, but for life. It was only when Noya Rao appeared to me in dreamtime during a Bobinsana diet that the agreement to diet was made. I was invited and given clear instructions on where to go.
Other plants move into our field during waking more conscious hours; traditionally, the two main reasons for dieting a plant are to heal or to learn. Ask yourself, what do you need to heal and what do you need to learn?
Be Intentional
How and why you diet are perhaps the two most important things when dieting. Some people are viewing master plant dietas as the fast track to becoming a practitioner in the world of plant medicines. Often dieting many plants in a short space of time to acquire them as qualifications to load up a resume. Whilst it’s true that dieting plants is the traditional Ayahuasquero path, how we diet is of far greater importance.
We can go through the motions and endure until the end of each diet in our attempts to notch yet another plant's scalp in our grand collection of diets. Or we can diet with grace and presence, fully connecting and listening to our plant or tree, honoring the sacredness of the diet, and immersing ourselves in its teachings and energy. A well-nurtured and honest diet is worth ten rushed unconscious diets.
Your First Dieta
It’s a life-changing process and one I wish for all human beings. When held correctly, they are deeply healing and create an expansive portal for learning, growth, and self-discovery. Dietas provide a glimpse into living an intentional life with daily prayer, meditation, and awareness. This process conditions our bodies and minds into unwavering discipline and commitment. Most profoundly, they create a lifelong alliance with a master plant teacher.
They become our greatest resource, in daily life, in ceremony, and during our darkest night. Sometimes they can kick us right into our darkest night; somewhere, I’d much rather go with a plant to light the way.
It can be tough love. Some of the toughest love, but I wouldn’t change any of my diets. They have shaped me into the person I am today. And when I look back, I’ve come a long way with the aid of these incredible plant teachers… No doubt I still have a long way to go. Closing each diet often involves a lot of emotions and happy tears. It’s a feeling that can’t be described fully, only felt, and I wholeheartedly encourage each and every person to know that feeling.
Plant Medicine People have some gorgeous social diets available this year - click here to see the latest offerings.
If you have any questions about whether a master plant dieta is right for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
About the Author
Neil Kirwan has many years of experience behind and in front of the altar, apprenticing with Ayahuasca in the Shipibo-Conibo and Huni Kuin traditions. He has completed multiple Master Plant Dietas, including work with the potent, transformative Noya Rao tree. Neil is a trauma-informed, highly compassionate shamanic coach and guide with an expertise in helping folks prepare for and integrate challenging Plant Medicine ceremonies, as well as leading Master Plant Dietas with dreamy, psychically connected Mugwort.
