Shamans, plants, and spirits: Health and disease in the Plantocene
Etnografia Praktyki Teorie Doświadczenia December 16, 2024 Anna Zadrożna
People in Poland who use psychoactive plants like ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, and mescaline-containing cacti for healing and personal growth describe health and disease through holistic, plant-centered frameworks rather than conventional biomedical models. Based on interviews and online discussions, the paper introduces the concept of the "Plantocene" to explore how these plants are viewed as agentive beings that communicate with humans and influence planetary futures. Ethical concerns arise when attributing ultimate agency to the Plants or appropriating them as "Slavic" or "global," which can legitimize extraction from indigenous communities and deepen global inequalities.