María Sabina

A Mazatec shaman who introduced sacred psychedelic mushrooms to Western consciousness, revolutionizing psychotherapy and spirituality.

María Sabina (1894–1985) was an indigenous Mazatec healer from Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, Mexico. Her use of Psilocybe mushrooms in traditional veladas (healing ceremonies) attracted global attention after ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson documented her rituals in the 1950s. This exposure marked the first time Western science acknowledged the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, influencing figures like Timothy Leary and catalyzing the 1960s psychedelic movement.

Despite backlash from her community for sharing sacred practices, Sabina's legacy persists in modern mental health research. Studies at institutions like Johns Hopkins University now explore psilocybin for treating depression and PTSD. Sabina famously said, The children are born, but they no longer know the secret language of the mushrooms, lamenting cultural erosion while unknowingly bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary science.

Her life exemplifies how indigenous knowledge can make a difference in global paradigms, challenging colonial biases and reshaping medical frontiers.