Her name was Maria Sabina Magdalena Garcia. She was known as the “priestess of mushrooms” and was one of the most famous Mexican curanderas (healer) who lived in Huautla de Jiménez, a town in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. She was born in 1894 and earned the reputation from using fungi and mushrooms in combination with chants, smoke, and medicinal plant ointments in her healing sessions.
I came across one of her poems that I wanted to share with you to celebrate indigenous ways of knowing and healing that is often erased by Eurocentric and colonized “psychological interventions”. This poem was first spoken in her native Mazatec language and translated to Spanish and English. Read her poem below as she points to integrative ways to heal oneself that incorporate the Earth, land, nature and embodies loving kindness and compassion for oneself. Her poem clarifies how we are all healers within ourselves and how we are the medicine.
Cure yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds.
Heal yourself with mint, with neem and eucalyptus.
Sweeten yourself with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile.
Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a touch of cinnamon.
Put love in tea instead of sugar, and take it looking at the stars.
Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain.
Get strong with bare feet on the ground and with everything that is born from it.
Get smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with the eye of your forehead.
Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier.
Heal yourself, with beautiful love, and always remember: you are the medicine.
To learn more, check out this resource below:
Michelle Zaragoza, LCSW 
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