Calea Zacatechichi
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Calea zacatechichi, also known as Dream Herb, Cheech, and Bitter Grass, is a plant used by the indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca for oneiromancy (a form of divination based on dreams.) It has been scientifically demonstrated that extracts of this plant increase reaction times and the frequency and/or recollection of dreams versus placebo and diazepam. It is also employed by the Chontal people as a medicinal herb against gastrointestinal disorders, and is used as an appetizer, cathartic anti-dysentery remedy, and as a fever-reducing agent.
Use
The Chontal medicine men, who assert that this plant is capable of "clarifying the senses", call it thle-pela-kano, meaning "leaf of God". Whenever they desire to know the cause of an illness or the location of a distant or lost person, dry leaves of the plant are smoked, drunk in infusions, and put under the pillow before going to sleep. Reportedly, the answer to the question comes in a dream.
List of Calea Zacatechichi Products
Preparation
Crushed dried leaves are steeped in hot water, and the resulting tea is drunk slowly, after which the user lies down in a quiet place and smokes a cigarette of the dried leaves of the same plant. The human dose for divinatory purposes reported by the Chontal people is a handful of the dried plant. The user knows that he or she has taken a large enough dose when a sense of tranquility and drowsiness is experienced and when he or she hears the beats of his or her own heart and pulse. Calea is a rather bitter herb. Many users prefer to smoke it rather than drinking the tea. There are no reports of hangover or other undesirable side effects.
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