Category: Plants
Victoria Regia and White Lotus
The Mayans used the white lotus for ulcers and considered it sacred. In the Amazon, the lapuna has greater symbolic value.
Trumpet
Traditional pre-Columbian cultures used Trumpet in shamanic rituals, linked to healing practices and spiritual experiences of expanding consciousness.
Tobacco
The use of tobacco in indigenous practices integrates spirituality, medicine and culture, with women guardians of ancestral knowledge.
Chili pepper
Chili peppers, seen as "primitive" by European elites, were transgressive when used by women, associated with lack of control and excessive sexuality.
Orchids
Orchids aroused intense passion during the European "orchidomania" of the 19th century. But they also inspired horror stories associated with evil women.
Basil
Basil has medicinal properties. A symbol of fertility and prosperity, it was associated with witchcraft in medieval Europe,
Wild yucca
Manioc is fundamental to the subsistence and identity of many indigenous peoples. Women play a central role in its preparation...
Manacá-de-cheiro
The manacá-de-cheiro has medicinal properties and is part of purification rituals in candomblé and umbanda.
Jurema
Jurema is used by the indigenous peoples of north-eastern Brazil to treat physical and mental ailments, as well as being an aphrodisiac and an element of love magic.
Jaborandi
Linked to female shamans, jaborandi reflects the role of female spiritual and medicinal leadership in indigenous traditions.
Guinea
Guinea, used by enslaved people in Brazil, combined bodily and spiritual healing. Its sedative effect made it known as "amansa-senhor".
Guarana
Guaraná is sacred to the Sateré-Mawé (Amazon). It symbolizes vitality and renewal. Its origin is linked to the eyes of a child who died prematurely.
Morning glory
Mayan women used morning glory seeds in healing rituals and to induce childbirth, and the Aztecs considered them divine
Yerba Mate
The arrival of Jesuit priests in South America in the 16th century brought mistrust of yerba mate, a sacred plant for the indigenous Guarani, associated with spiritual connection.
Cat grass
Cat grass (nepeta) is used in initiation ceremonies to induce altered states of consciousness among peoples of the present-day USA, Canada and Mexico.
Coke
Coca has been used for more than 4,500 years. Pre-Columbian societies considered it a gift from the Sun God.
Carnivores
The fascination with carnivorous plants began in the 18th century and from the beginning linked them to female sexuality and stereotypes.
Cannabis
In ancient traditions, such as Egypt, cannabis was used to treat menstrual pain and women's health problems.
Rue
Rue is traditionally used by mothers-of-saints and benzedeiras in purification rituals.
Absinthe
Artemisia absinthium has a long history of use in women's health, relieving menstrual cramps and reproductive problems.