Spiritual and Psychological Medicine
In this image derived from the Digital Florentine Codex, we are presented with the teonanacatl plant, a term that is defined both as “little mushrooms” and “flesh of the gods” (Guzmán, 2008), lying atop a hill. Its artistic framework appears easily approachable, with little yellow buds, lush greenery alongside the river, and soft painterly display. It may appear as a harmless plant, however they have the power to alter your visions and cognitive state. These mushrooms can grow in hay, fields, or on the plains as displayed. As described in the Spanish-English translation of the Florentine Codex, these mushrooms alter people's visions to range from frightful to funny, and create feelings of high anxiety in their heart. While these are the psychedelic symptoms of teonanacatl, its traditional medicinal purpose was to treat those with fevers and gout. What is interesting to unpack, is the Spanish vs Nahuatl English translation of their significance. Both descriptions explain how they are used to treat fevers and gout, however the Nahuatl translation further explains the hallucinogenic effects, explaining that it makes one feel troubled, deranged, and depressed. It goes on to say that more symptoms include hurling yourself off a cliff, screaming in fear, and taking fright. Given that this is the Nahuatl translation for this particular strain of mushrooms, it suggests that these descriptions are a more accurate representation of the psychological effects teonanacatl had on those who took them, having heavier mental symptoms rather than physical and medicinal ones.
With 53 hallucinogenic species of teonanacatl noted in Mexico, it is considered to be one of the most important and diverse organisms that is considered to be sacred in the indigenous cultures. Researchers and historians continue to remain unsure on the details, but have hypothesized that there are particular ceremonial-used teonanacatl, showing that they served a variety of purposes (Guzmán, 2008). Several indigenous groups have been revealed practicing the ceremonial and medicinal practice of mushrooms in Mexico, including the Nahuatls, the Matlazincs, and the Totonacs.
In this set of images from the Digital Florentine Codex, viewers are presented with different strains of teonanacatl mushrooms and their purposes. The lower-left image depicts the classic mushroom, used to treat fevers through eating or drinking it, and grounded and rubbed on to treat gout or swollen flesh, taking away the pain. The Nauhtl-English translation does not explain the significance of the human-like bird dancing atop the mushrooms, disproportional in size. This suggests that artists might have been giving the viewers an idea of what visions you may see if you took the psychedelic organism. As described in other texts in the Codex, visions might be funny or not make sense, as displayed in this image. The upper-right image depicts how humans engaged with teonanacatl to assist them how they saw fit. The image depicts a man figure who appears to have cut off the tops of the teonanacatl and has taken its supplements to drink. Given his dark colored eyes and slumped appearance, it suggests he is suffering from a fever and using teonanacatl or as described in this section of the Codex as peyotl for its medicinal purposes. The lower-left image shows the toloatzin strain of mushroom, described and depicted as tall and blossoms with upward facing foliage. All of these images combined show not only the visual structure and usage of teonanacatl, but also relationship between the psychedelic and medicinal usages they provide.
This image derived from the Digital Florentine Codex presents viewers with yet another form of hallucinogenic mushroom called peyotl. It is a green and white herb that grows in a northern region entitled Mictlan, as described in the Nauhtl-English translation in the Florentine Codex. With its cactus-like shape and orange buds, it is yet another artistic depiction of other psychedelic plants in the Aztec world that are not just mushrooms. It shows that artists wanted viewers to see them within the same realm as all other plant-based medicines used during this time rather than putting hallucinogenics in a different category. If you eat or drink it, it has the same effects of altering your visions to appear comedic or frightful. However, what makes this particular strain unique is that it is seen as a delicacy towards the Chichimeca indigenous group, using it to sustain them. Furthermore, in addition to its healing and mind altering properties, it is known to give the Chichimecas the courage to fight and take away any fear, thirst, or hunger. It is meant to protect those from danger. Given these additional qualities written in the english translation, it suggests that indigenous groups such as the Chichimecas took peyotl not only for medicinal purposes, but psychological and spiritual purposes that made them feel confident and protected when going into war.
Peyotl, or in english translation, “peyote” is a rounded catcus that has over sixty hallucinogenic properties that when liquidly extracted, can help treat lesions, snakebites, and scorpion stings among other aids (Carod-Artal, 2015). This shows that upon further research than what is described in the Digital Florentine Codex, peyotl among other hallucinogenics had numerous healing properties that were beneficial to large populations of people. Researcher Carod-Artal (2015) found that the reason why there was such a spiritual connection to peyotl was because it was used in ritual and curative ceremonies to be able to connect to the spiritual world. What is unique to examine, is that while the Florentine Codex explains how the Chichimecas felt the properties of peyotl gave them protection in warfare, upon further research the Chichimeca were persecuted in the Inquisition, which resulted in the practice of peyotl for warfare being prohibited by 1720 (Carod-Artal, 2015). The significance of this shows that herbal medicine had psychological, psychedelic, and medicinal aspects but as generations modernized, this is an example of how hallucinogens became purely recreational in our modern day.
Plant-based hallucinogens played a vital role in Mesoamerican life as shown throughout these photographs. The Aztec culture saw herbal medicine as a key source to treating many problems both physical and mental. Whether it be through treating fevers and gout, or even psychotic conditions that could allow a person to “travel to other worlds' ' to be cured (Ortiz de Montellano, 1990), that seemed to have endless ways to treat people with natural organisms. There is a Nahua term called yollopatli, meaning “the medicine of the heart”, as described in the Digital Florentine Codex. The Aztec people did not separate mental illnesses from physical ones, meaning that when one got sick, it was a result of both magical-religious factors and the natural environment. This shows the significance of how Aztec people valued the connection between the mind and body in regards to healing, combining them as one. This heavily relates to the prevalence of peyotl and teonanacatl, with terms either meaning “plant” or “flesh” of the gods coming together as one. It symbolizes that ingesting these hallucinogens will allow the gods to heal you, further showing the spiritual and medicinal ideas coming together as one to achieve the overall goal of healing in the sixteenth century.
Sources used:
Valdivia-Correa, Bárbara, Cristina Gómez-Gutiérrez, Misael Uribe, and Nahum Méndez-Sánchez. “Herbal Medicine in Mexico: A Cause of Hepatotoxicity. A Critical Review.” MDPI, February 15, 2016.
Guzmán, Gastón. “Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in Mexico: An Overview1.” Institute of Ecology 63, no. 3 (October 23, 2008): 404–12.
Carod-Artal, F.J. “Hallucinogenic Drugs in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Cultures.” Neurología (English Edition), December 2, 2014.
“Hallucinogens.” The Aztecs’ use of hallucinogenic drugs, December 7, 2023.
Guzmán, Gastón. “Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in Mexico: An Overview.” Economic Botany 62, no. 3 (October 23, 2008): 404–12.
Valdivia-Correa, Bárbara, Cristina Gómez-Gutiérrez, Misael Uribe, and Nahum Méndez-Sánchez. “Herbal Medicine in Mexico: A Cause of Hepatotoxicity. A Critical Review.” MDPI, February 15, 2016.
Magaloni-Kerpel, Diana. 2014. The Colors of the New World: Artists, Materials, and the Creation of the Florentine Codex. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute.
