Why We Chose to Work with Female Shamans

At Pandorita, every ayahuasca ceremony is guided by female shamans from the Shipibo tradition.This is not a marketing angle. It’s not a trend.It’s a conscious, heartfelt choice based on what we’ve witnessed with our participants.

Here’s why we’ve committed to working exclusively with female Shipibo shamans and what that means for the people who choose to journey with us.

A Different Kind of Energy

Over the years, we’ve noticed something powerful: When ceremonies are held in a feminine field, many guests feel more at ease. More able to soften. To trust. To open.

This isn’t about gender stereotypes. It’s about energetic presence. The feminine, in this context, brings a certain depth, spaciousness, and intuitive sensitivity to the work.

Our shamans guide with incredible strength, but it’s a strength rooted in stillness, in listening, in deep emotional intelligence. It’s a kind of holding that feels profoundly safe, especially in the vulnerable, unraveling, and often raw moments that ayahuasca can bring.

Why Safety Matters

Ayahuasca invites us to go deep.To face things we’ve hidden. To feel what we’ve numbed. To remember parts of ourselves we thought were lost.

For that to happen in a meaningful and sustainable way, you need to feel safe.

We’ve seen how the nurturing presence of female shamans can create a container where guests (regardless of gender) can truly surrender to the process.

When you feel safe, you can go further. When you feel seen, you can soften. When you feel held, you can begin to heal.

Honoring Lineage, Not Just Identity

The women we work with are not just female, they are highly trained, deeply respected shamans within the Shipibo lineage.

They carry traditional icaros (healing songs) passed down through generations.They’ve gone through years of dieta, isolation, learning, and service. They are not performing ceremonies. They are embodying the medicine.

We work with them not because they are women, but because of who they are and because their feminine presence adds something sacred and needed in this time.

This Is Not a “Women’s Retreat”

Let’s be clear: Everyone is welcome here. Our retreats are open to all genders, all backgrounds, all paths.

We simply choose to create a space held in the feminine because we believe the world needs more of that. More softness. More depth. More healing that comes from listening, not fixing. More power that’s quiet and rooted.

---

In Closing

Working with female shamans has changed the way we hold space and the way our guests experience the medicine. It’s deepened the safety. It’s slowed the pace. It’s allowed for more integration, more gentleness, and often, more profound transformation.

And so, we continue to choose it. With love. With intention. With gratitude for the women who carry this work and the ones who step into it.

If you’d like to learn more about our 7‑ and 11‑day retreats guided by female shamans, you can visit our retreat page here.