Identified as the Aztec visionary plant Ololiuqui, Rivea corymbosa seeds have been found to contain LSA. In the early 1960s, Albert Hofmann isolated the active components of Rivea corymbosa (contained in the seeds, the leaves and the roots), which he recognised to be alkaloids closely related to the constituents of Claviceps purpurea.
Ololiuqui seeds have a long history of use in Central Mexico and have been used ritualistically since Pre-Hispanic times by the Aztecs and related tribes on the level of importance of sacred mushrooms and the cactus, all of which played important roles in magic and religious ceremonies. Ololiuqui is still used today by certain tribes, such as the Zapotecs, Chinantecs, Mazatecs, and the Mixtecs, all who reside in the remote mountains of southern Mexico in relative isolation, with little or no outside influence of Christianity.
Judging from the numerous ancient writers quoted in Schultes’ monograph on the subject, one is able to conclude that Ololiuqui must have been widely and extensively used in the valleys of Mexico in Pre-Hispanic times. In many accounts, Ololiuqui appears to have been more important in divinity than cactus. Ololiuqui was deemed to possess a deity of its own, that which could work miracles if properly propitiated to the gods.
Francisco Hernandez, a Spanish physician who between 1570 and 1575 carried out extensive research on the flora and fauna of Mexico for King Philip II of Spain, provided the first descriptive account and detailed illustration of Ololiuqui. In his famous works which was presented in Rome in 1651, Hernandez described and classified Ololiuqui. An excerpt of a free translation of Hernandez’s 1651 Latin version reads as follows:
“Oliliuhqui, which some call Coaxihuitl, or Snake-Plant, is a twining herb with thin, green, cordate leaves, slender, green terete stems, and long white flowers. The seed is round and very like coriander.” In this work, Hernandez describes the preparation of Ololiuqui in medicine, where one would grind the seeds to a course powder, then add the ground seeds to Spanish pepper and milk. This concoction was drunk to alleviate pain and heal all sorts of ailments, inflammations, and ulcers”.
Hernandez also claimed that Indian priests embarking on a journey to communicate with the spirit world would eat Ololiuqui seeds to induce an altered state during which they were able to receive messages from the supernatural and commune with the gods. He reported that these priests saw visions and went into trance while working with the medicine.
It is noted in other Spanish colonial literature that Ololiuqui is a known sacred plant. Another use was as a “psychic serum” – one would take the medicine in order to find things that had been stolen, lost or misplaced and the plant would assist the individual in discovering where the items were, and/or who took or stole them.
The same principle applied to lovers scorned; a man whose wife left him, or a wife whose husband left her, would take the Ololiuqui drink to learn the underlying cause of the relationship break-up – often adultery would be discovered this way, with the cheating partner’s lover being identified in the process. This use of Ololiuqui seeds still continues today, with only slight variations, among the Zapotec, Mixtec, Mazatec, and Mixe peoples.
Reko described in detail the ceremonial use of Ololiuqui in his monograph “Magical Poisons”. Usually professional Soothsayers, or “Piuleros,” guide their clients by presenting them with advice while working with the drink “Piule” (another name for the decoction of Ololiuqui). Sometimes these Shaman also give the Ololiuqui drink to their client or patient, who then reply to the Piulero’s leading questions in the hypnotic state induced by the medicine, thus revealing facts about their condition, sometimes even diagnosing a particular illness, for which the Piulero determines the appropriate medicines and course of treatment.
Ololiuqui was used by the ancient Aztecs not only as a potion but also as an ingredient in magical ointments. Literature from the colonial period describes an ointment known as “Sacred Flesh” that was prepared from the ashes of burned insects, Mapacho, and Ololiuqui seeds. This preparation had many ritualistic uses, and was also used in cases of gout. In addition to the seeds, the leaves and the roots of this plant have active properties. These parts are used for divinatory purposes as well, however the exact preparation of these parts of the plant is not known.
