The Medicine of Remembering: Plants of Power and the Shadow of Wetiko
For me, plants of power have always been more than medicine, they are profound teachers, earth’s sacred technology, calling us to awaken, to remember our connection to the spirit world and the divine creation. Over more than twenty years of exploring this path in Peru, I have come to see that the journey of awakening has many levels, thresholds, and ways to traverse them. There is no single path, ultimately, as Krishnamurti said, “truth is a pathless land.”
Plants of power are thresholds, doorways into the remembrance of our own inner power: a power that can create, a power that can destroy, a power that asks for responsibility.
For fathers, for men, for anyone engaging with these medicines, the invitation is clear: this is not about escaping life, seeking visions for the sake of visions, or giving our power to an external force. These plants are tools to remember your own inner medicine, your own sacred technology, your own healer. They are allies in the work of shadow, of spiritual alchemy, and of embodying your power fully in the world.
Walking the Edge: Initiations and Responsibility
The path of plants of power is narrow, like walking the edge of a knife. Since 1998, I have explored medicine plants and trained in the jungles and Andes of Peru. I have witnessed incredible healing and awakening, but I have also seen bypassing, traps, and misuse.
It is far too easy to blame the plant for our own limitations, or to claim that it “told us” what to do. True medicine awakens the inner guide, the part of ourselves that already knows the path.
These plants are initiations, thresholds into a deeper awareness, but they are not the path itself. Their role is to open the doors, not to carry us through them. Not everyone is ready for these doors, and even those who are must approach them with reverence, discipline, and discernment. The purpose is remembrance, of our power, our responsibility, and our ability to navigate life fully awake.
Shadow, Alchemy, and Integration
My work with plant medicine is inseparable from Jungian shadow work and spiritual alchemy. Each journey reveals hidden parts of ourselves, aspects of our shadow that demand acknowledgment and integration. Without this work, medicine can become a spiritual bypass, a way to numb rather than awaken.
True alchemy is a process of transformation: facing the darkness, integrating it, and emerging with clarity and power. Plant medicine is a doorway, but the real ceremony starts in our daily lives, our relationships, our families, our work, and our presence on this earth.
As Joseph Campbell wrote:
“The basic story of the hero journey involves giving up where you are, going into the realm of adventure, coming to some kind of symbolically rendered realization, and then returning to the field of normal life.”
The hero’s call is the call of the father, the man, the human being who chooses to engage with life fully, even in the face of fear, challenge, and unknown forces.
Understanding Wetiko: The Collective Shadow
Over years of personal work, I came to understand the Wetiko phenomenon. Wetiko is a term from Cree and other North American indigenous traditions describing a psychic virus, a spiritual predator of the human mind that thrives on greed, fear, and separation. It is a collective shadow, a force that can turn humanity into unconscious consumers, competitors, and victims of control. Wetiko is not just metaphorical; it is an energetic presence that can influence behaviors, institutions, and even the misuse of plant medicines.
Understanding Wetiko is crucial for anyone working with powerful medicines. The plants can help us see the predator within and without, our own tendencies to numb, exploit, or surrender our power, and the systemic forces that manipulate human consciousness. Recognizing Wetiko is part of the spiritual and psychological discipline required to work with these tools responsibly.
Plants of Power: Teachers, Not Dependence
Plants of power are allies, guides, and mirrors. They awaken remembrance, not dependence. They reconnect us with ancient wisdom, with multidimensional realities, and with the essence of who we are.
But they require integration with a broader practice: psychology, embodiment, shadow work, meditation, movement, music, fasting, mythological study, and daily discipline. Without these, journeys risk becoming shallow or even harmful.
Carlos Castañeda captures this beautifully in The Active Side of Infinity:
“Discipline is the art of facing infinity without flinching; not because they are strong and tough, but because they are filled with awe.”
This is the call for fathers. The call to step into your own power, to integrate, to witness, and to embody the medicine in your life, in your family, and in your world.
A Message to Fathers Working with Plant Medicine
To fathers engaging with plants of power:
Remember that these are sacred tools, but the work is yours.
Your shadow, your alchemy, your daily presence, your courage, your love, and your responsibility transform the medicine into true awakening.
This path is not a weekend retreat; it is a lifetime practice.
You are called to integrate, to ground, to walk fully awake, in your relationships, with your wife, your children, and in your service to the world.
“The world of people goes up and down, and people go up and down with their world; warriors have no attention following the ups and downs. The warrior chooses only once, chooses either to be a warrior or to be ordinary men. Everyone can see, and yet we choose not to remember what we see. Everybody has enough personal power for something.”
—Carlos Castañeda
Onward,
Fred Clarke
