Ayahuasca, a brew made by sorcerers living along the Amazon River in South America
usenet flotsom
Ayahuasca is made by brewing the stems of a vine called Banisteriopsis
with parts of at least one other variety of plant. The spirit of the
banisteriopsis plant is supposed to act as a guide for the spirits of the
additive plants and potentiate their effects. Different additive plants are
used for different purposes: soul travel, telepathy, healing, communicating
with spirits, visions, divination, or learning spirit songs (something in which I am particularly interested - I occasionally hear music in dreams and
write it down or play it after I wake up), etc. Some of the main
additive plants are Psychotria,
Justicia, and Tetrapteris. Strangely enough,
all three of these plants contain DMT. The guide plant itself contains a drug
called Harmaline.
Normally DMT is not active when taken orally - it has to be smoked (and there are several other snuffs and smoking mixtures in jungle sorcery that do contain only DMT). But it's been found that harmaline prevents the breakdown of DMT by the digestive system and allows it to enter the bloodstream when one drinks Ayahuasca. Harmaline also extends DMT's visionary effects for up to 6 hours. So it turns out that DMT, which I had always considered to be an exotic laboratory drug, has actually been used by sorcerers in the Amazon for thousands of years.
In Europe and the Middle East, there are also plants which contain harmaline and DMT: Syrian Rue and the Giant River Reed. Though there's no clear evidence that either plant was ever used for sorcery.
Now Syrian Rue itself is quite interesting. Seeds of Syrian Rue are made into a red dye which is used by middle eastern carpet weavers for coloring Persian Rugs. It has been said that the hallucinogenic properties of a brew made from these seeds may be responsible for the legends about flying carpets. Perhaps the red dye doubled as a beverage, and the patterns on the carpets were actually maps into a magical world. These seeds also contain Harmaline.
The Giant River Reed is significant as well; it's considered the best reed to use for musical instruments, and is the reed traditionally used in the construction of Pan Pipes. And it's roots contain DMT.
Another funny thing is that toad skins (often listed as an ingredient in European witches brews) contain a hallucinogen called bufotenine. I've heard stories of people in Australia actually smoking the skins of roasted Cane Toads as a psychedelic. However, I'm a bit of a vegetarian, so this has limited appeal.