Iboga is often considered the most powerful plant in the visionary medicine kingdom. Known as the “grandfather” or “great grandfather” plant, it spawns two-day journeys that connect people with their ancestors, teach them about the galaxy and beyond, and reset their brains. Many have healed from drug addictions with its assistance.
However, it must be used wisely and is quite literally not for the faint of heart. Reputable retreats will collect people’s ECGs beforehand and take their pulse during ceremonies to ensure their heart rate doesn’t get dangerously low. Transformative healing is possible, but vigilant monitoring is required.
Iboga is a part of the Bwiti spiritual tradition, which uses it in initiation rituals in Gabon, Africa. Due to the spread of the medicine — which comes from the roots of the tabernanthe iboga plant — throughout the world, the supply is being depleted. Those who desire to help sustain iboga and the communities that grow it can donate to Blessings of the Forest.
Here are some words from Bwiti elders and Westerners who work with iboga about the plant itself and the wisdom gleaned from it.
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“Iboga is a plant that came to save the world. The natural drug from God. It helps against addiction. It will take away the desire.”
— Queen Mother of Sacred Waters
“Iboga is sometimes associated with Saturn or the metal lead due to its intense, introspective effects and its reputation for facilitating deep self-reflection, discipline, and personal transformation. It is the harsh teacher like Saturn, directly and truthfully communicating.”
— Tricia Eastman
“We all share ancestors … because humanity is humanity.”
— Bernadette Rebienot
“I’ve seen people come in who had no color, no life in their eyes whatsoever — the lights are out. They don’t know what else to do. They’ve tried it all. They’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars on rehab; their families have risked their homes and their cars, everything to help them. During the ceremony, which goes from 8 or 9 p.m. until sunrise, the guest takes the medicine and lies down as we play music, dance, shake rattles, and assist them when needed. It’s beautiful to see someone come out of the ceremony and that light is on. You don’t really know what’s in there, but you see that the light is on. Something wakes up in them. I can’t think of a single guest focused on [overcoming addiction] who did not leave with that awakening to the self, like ‘I matter. I am of value.’ That can be a game-changer.”
— Raven Marie
“In the philosophy of our tradition, it’s not only for one person. It’s not only for Africans. It’s for the universe. … People talk about iboga — they want to use iboga, iboga, iboga — and I don’t know if they care about what is around iboga. What has come from iboga. The story behind iboga. I don’t know if they care about it. I don’t know. And it’s important for me because when something is connected with your spirituality, it is good .. if you are a really spiritual person, to try to understand the spiritual movement around it. Because when you talk about cosmology, philosophy, and things like that, in Africa, when we do the spirituality, we do it fully. For us, it’s not something to be just calm and relaxed and feel zen. Some people want to use iboga to be calm. Yes, this is good. This is to help them. But for us in Africa, for me for example, it is to understand the movement inside me and outside me. … It’s not only me. Because European people, when they talk, they talk about me, myself, and I. Me, me, me. In Africa, we can’t talk about you, only you. It’s community.”
— Nganga Apollon
“Some foreigners, after having a great experience with iboga, come back to their countries with the sacred wood and start a business out of it. They don’t know the tradition and all the tools. They’re not connected and recognized by the communities here or the spiritual world. It’s not a business or a game. This science needs to be studied thoroughly. It takes many years to learn and receive authorization to do this kind of work.”—Mar Lébou
“Man in its true form is the soul. It’s eternal, it never dies. To become aware of their nature, of their being, and to acquire knowledge, souls need to go to school. And school is the material planet, planet Earth.”
— Maître Atome Ribenga
“Often perceived as the most ‘out there’ plant medicine, iboga is actually the most grounding. While many medicines explore our existence in the universe, iboga focuses on our human experience on Earth. Iboga helps us understand who we are deeply, allowing us to identify what we want in life. With the clarity of knowing ourselves and what we want in life, the path opens for us to move forward and achieve our goals.”
— Levi Barker *
“To reveal sacred knowledge when it cannot be received and understood appropriately can weaken the power held within it. On the other hand, if you don’t transmit, you take the risk of cutting the lineage, ending a living knowledge, letting the flame you’ve nurtured all your life go out. Transmission remains first and foremost an altruistic act, serving the divine and humanity, and I will always do my best to perform it in the most accurate way.”
— Bernadette Rebienot
*This was an original quote provided for this piece.
