Written by Ba Adonai
For reference see : Transparency of Creative Originality as a Writer
◊🌸 Today I practiced an easy and more North American–accessible version of the traditional florales or baños de florecimiento (flower bath)—a tradition I was taught in the context of Vegetalismo, the sacred art of master plant healing, through the Shipibo-Conibo lineage of Ayahuasca. While I learned it directly through the Shipibo-Conibo tradition, this practice also spans multiple Indigenous and mestizo traditions throughout the Amazon and into Andean regions.
◊🌹 In my more accessible version today, I harvested roses and small blue flowers that were readily available in my garden space. In the Amazon, however, the flowers used are specific medicinal plants, each carrying distinct energetic and healing properties that are carefully selected and combined. I chose roses in resonance with Colonia de Rosas, a perfume closely related to Agua de Florida, the layman’s classic plant spirit cologne which is to be used in these ceremonial arts.
First gathering the roses and supplies for my flower bath
My full collection of flowers
◊💨 I blew mapacho (medicinal strain jungle tobacco) smoke into the perfume bottle to bless it, then poured the perfume into a bowl of flowers. I continued to blow protective, spiritually infused smoke into the mixture, then added spring water, blessing it again with more mapacho. Finally, I stored the floral water in a container for use after my shower. Since I don’t currently have a bathtub at home, I followed the Amazonian method of showering first and then pouring the floral water slowly over my head, allowing it to cascade over my body. I then lay down to rest and receive the healing effects while the mixture dried off my body.
◊💗 While preparing the bath, I also took time to work directly with the Agua de Florida perfume, applying it with traditional healing skills to my neck and chest. The spiritual synergy between the rose-infused floral bath and the perfume on my heart space created a powerful emotional and energetic opening—stronger than what I typically experience with this practice. The sensation of heart healing lingered with depth for hours.
◊🌿 Shipibo-Conibo Tradition
In Shipibo-Conibo Ayahuasca ceremonies, floral baths—made with fragrant, medicinal plants—are:
- A vital form of spiritual hygiene.
- Used to clear blockages, remove negative energies or spirits (yoshin), and open the body energetically before and after ceremony.
- Infused with icaros, the traditional Ayahuasca sound healing songs, as well as blessings, love, and intentions—making each bath a form of spiritual artistry and plant communication.
- Often performed daily or commonly during a Vegetalismo dieta, the rigorous path of plant fasting and communion with master plants.
For Shipibo-Conibo healers, flower baths are not merely for beauty or relaxation —they are medicine, protection, and a form of deep energetic attunement.
The final prepared mixture for the flower bath
The rapidly dissolving flowers inside the perfume / water mix
◊🦙 Andean Traditions
In the Andean highlands, florecimientos are also practiced, especially in mestizo curanderismo and among some Quechua-speaking peoples. In these traditions, the baths may:
- Be part of a ritual cleansing associated with Pachamama (Mother Earth).
- Be used in limpias (cleansing ceremonies) alongside eggs, incense, or fire rituals.
- Blend with Catholic or syncretic traditions, invoking saints, the Virgin Mary, or Christ.
However, the depth of plant-spirit interaction and the dieta protocols found in Shipibo-Conibo vegetalismo are often less emphasized or absent in highland versions.
◊🪷 Other Amazonian Traditions
Neighboring Indigenous groups such as the Asháninka, Yawanawa, Huni Kuin, and Kichwa also use plant baths for similar energetic purposes. Their rituals may :
- Include different healing songs, spiritual protocols, and regional plant mixes.
- Utilize smoke, steam, or herbal waters, sometimes in place of full floral baths.
- In urban mestizo curanderismo centers like Iquitos or Pucallpa, flower baths are commonly practiced, though often commercialized, they retain their symbolic and spiritual meaning.
◊🧬 Conclusion
The flower bath is not exclusive to the Shipibo-Conibo, but their particular form—rooted in Vegetalismo, icaros, and a finely tuned energetic cosmology—is deeply developed and refined. For those in North America, or anyone with limited time or access, this practice can still be profoundly healing in a simplified form.
Aftewards, I snapped a photo of my latest altar setup in the Tobacco Sanctuary, my healing motorhome space where I conduct my healing with Mapacho
The essential element is Mapacho tobacco, which is a unique Amazonian strain — not to be confused with North American tobacco. If the Agua de Florida is first blessed with puffs of mapacho, and this smoke is used to protect and bless the floral mixture, it becomes a potent and sacred medicine. Even with the smoke applied without the added water or icaros, this form of flower bath remains spiritually powerful and deeply worth practicing.
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