Changa’s Alchemy – Narratives of Transformation in Psychedelic Experiences

Oct 1, 2016

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Parallels between the idea of a mythical alchemical transmutation, with its spiritual subtext, and the profound transformation of human consciousness that can be catalysed through the use of psychedelic substances are intriguing. Recently, a DMT concoction named ‘changa’ has become particularly popular within the worldwide psychedelic milieu. Changa is an entheogenic substance and, foremost, a cultural phenomenon. Although often difficult to articulate, changa experiences recurrently provoke deep personal reflections and a reevaluation of the user’s epistemological paradigm. My fieldwork, consisting of approximately three years of intermittent participant observation in cultural scenes where changa is used and of interviews with users from various geographical origins, resulted in a qualitative analysis of the transformative potentials of such experiences. This lecture specifically explores how my interviewees perceived that smoking changa has transformed them on personal, social and spiritual levels, focusing particularly on re-interpretations of what is commonly understood as the ‘supernatural’, on significant communications with other dimensional beings and intrusions into alternate realities.

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