In shamanic cultures, a dieta (shamanic diet) does include the known concept of a nutritional diet but it is much more than that. Fasting as well as the intake of processed food are probably the only commonalities.
Basically, everything we ingest physically, we ingest its spirit (energy) as well. There is a merging that happens between two beings and what to come out of this union is a whole new being.
During a shamanic diet, the food is blend, neutral, simple. Something that the earth likes and that does no harm for the proper growth of that plant spirit inside of us.
As shamans commonly express, the plants were the ones who told them. They know the poisonous plants as well as the antidotes, which usually grow near the latter. They know what part of the plant to use, when, where and how to use it, the period of time to take it and in combination with what other plant, food and ritual.
Healing plants that grow on the land are usually dieted and to each its pharmacopeia which is usually taught to the shaman (directly or through another shaman). By shaman here, I mean a medicine wo/man too.
Plants, flowers, tree barks and roots, crystals, stones, … are teachers. They have been here far longer than us and they carry so much wisdom as well as their own sense of humor.
Those teachers can be dieted to heal specific ailments and learn their medicine. This can fall under healing the cause of illness, cleansing and straightening twisted energies (psychic attacks, spells, envy…), balancing the body and the mind, bringing clarity and connection… as well as many other tools, gifts and insights that one can learn during a dieta and afterwards.
A shamanic diet is usually recommended for the sick as well as for the shaman.
For the sick who is seeking help, a dieta includes one or more plant or tree with additional rituals offered and a basic food intake to cleanse the body, mind and spirit from the underlying causes of an illness.
For the shaman, the dieta is essential to maintain a clear vision in line with their medicine practice.
The shaman, as the traditional doctor in the community, has the responsibility to be clean physically, clear emotionally and mentally in order to be an empty vessel for the medicine.
This is not only a requirement from the people but more so from Spirit.
In both cases, during the dieta, one is acting as a sick person. This includes slowing down, turning inwards, doing nothing, resting more, eating blend food, water and calming herbal teas… and not engaging with the world in order to listen again and remember.
My initiation to dietas started as soon as I went for my first retreat with plant medicine.
Over time, as I did more dietas, I started seeing the difference between dieting with others and dieting alone, dieting many medicine trees and dieting only one tree, dieting while engaging in discussions and being silent in isolation. Each dieta offered so much healing and lessons and it laid a great foundation in my life.
For the last four years, since I was guided to shift my medicine practice to working with the Little Saints, the Holy Children as Maria Sabina used to call them, I have been setting my own dietas in the land of Mexico.
This year, as I was in the diet space, I noticed that it was happening in parallel with the Christian lent before Easter and the Muslim Ramadan before the Eid.
How interesting is that? Fasting was in the air.
Imagining for a second that we all had the same intention: Being in Love, aligning with Truth & creating from Joy.
I wonder how this would look like…
In Love and Medicine.
Maya Abou Chedid
