Dr. Josep Mª Fericgla is one of the individuals who has done the most in Spain for the serious, scientific study of entheogens. He holds a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology, is a professor at the University of Salamanca, and serves as the research director for the “Institute of Anthropological Prospective.”
He has also organized conferences since 1994, featuring participants of the stature of Albert Hofmann and Jonathan Ott, among others. Additionally, he is the director of the “Cognitions Collection” for the publisher Los Libros de la Liebre de Marzo, which recently published his latest book, Al trasluz de la ayahuasca. Author of countless books and studies, he is interviewed today by the Psiconáutica website.
Given what we are seeing regarding the use of psychoactive substances, do you believe the consumption of entheogens is increasing?
It is undoubtedly increasing, and this is not a matter of opinion but of statistical data. The difference from past eras is that current entheogen use is much more adult, a product of the scientific information that has been developed and disseminated over these years.
To what do you attribute this?
It is related to the increasingly widespread and committed search for new spiritual values that our societies need, especially the need to relocate the Western human being within the world.
Does this proliferation and dissemination have anything to do with generalized access to information superhighways like the INTERNET?
It is likely. Entheogen users, in general terms, form a group interested in various types of progress and in freedom of communication, which is why they are Internet users at a higher rate than the total population, and the Internet is a magnificent and clean source of information.
Roots in the psychedelic movement
Are you aware of any modern anthropological precedents? Does the movement emerging now have anything to do with the psychedelic movement of the 1960s?
From a historical perspective, such a connection is undeniable. For example, a good portion of current researchers in the field of entheogenics are people over 40 who mostly had their first experiences during the psychedelic explosion. However, the current movement takes on a radically different character in several ways.
Is there greater responsibility in the consumption of entheogens and their ritual use to access other states of consciousness?
Without a doubt.
Is there an openness on the part of governments and the scientific community toward the use of entheogens for therapeutic or experimental purposes?
Without a doubt. Proof of this is, for example, the conferences I have been organizing in Spain since 1994, and the permissiveness—at the very least in the dissemination of content—of current laws. Another proof is the churches whose ritualized consumption of ayahuasca is the center of their ceremonies and which have established themselves in Europe with practically no problems. However, this situation could change given its fragility.
Where do you think all this will lead?
I do not dare to make forecasts, although it is likely that new forms of psychotherapy will end up assimilating the controlled use of entheogens, though that would imply that governments must legalize such procedures, and that is very difficult to foresee.
Modern shamanism and inner search
Do you think what we would call “modern shamanism” is emerging?
Undoubtedly, although it has no serious relationship, in terms of cognitive depth, with classical shamanism. In my view, it is just another trend that has adopted anthropological terminology to end up distancing itself from this branch of science.
Do you believe that this type of practice masks the need to escape from daily life, or is it intended to access other states of consciousness to seek spiritual knowledge?
No one escapes their own life, with or without entheogens. Current consumption is guided by a search rather than an escape.
From your point of view, what is your opinion on the use of entheogens to modify the state of consciousness, as opposed to other methods like meditation, etc.?
Meditation is a much slower path of introspection, but also a safer one. Entheogens should be reserved for mature and integrated people, since their worst danger is the feeding of narcissism, of the ego, and that is precisely what the immature must fight against as a priority.
Las Palmas de G.C., October 1997
