Amazonian Wisdom: Using Bobinsana to Release Pain and Trauma

Bobinsana (Calliandra angustifolia) is a sacred indigenous medicine from the Amazon Rainforest in South America. It is sometimes referred to as the “Amazonian Mermaid” given that the spirit of the Calliandra angustifolia plant often takes the form of a mermaid in visions and dreams that are received while taking this plant medicine. While some people who are in training to be shamans, or who are participating in more intensive plant dietas – these consist of consuming only one Master Plant daily for extended periods while also eating a very simple diet and living in isolation, so as to be able to experience the plant more intensely – Bobinsana is also frequently combined with another Amazonian plant medicine, Ayahuasca. Although this article will focus on Bobinsana, I’ll also explore how it can be used with Ayahuasca in different contexts to enhance healing and achieve certain goals. 

Spiritual and Emotional Effects and Properties of Bobinsana

Bobinsana is widely regarded as a heart-opening medicine that improves emotional control and understanding, as well as increasing feelings of love and connection with other people and with the world around. The effects of Calliandra angustifolia are rarely psychoactive, unless combined with another psychoactive medicine like Ayahuasca, in which case this plant medicine can somewhat alter the psychedelic experiences of the Ayahuasca medicine. People working with Bobinsana do, however, often have dreams and other insights that come as a result of working with this herb, especially if they’re seeking guidance and spiritual healing. 

Bobinsana is also acknowledged as a dreaming herb – an oneirogen – and is known for its ability to produce vivid, lucid dreams. In its role as an oneirogen, many people also report increased meaningful correspondences between dreams and events in their waking life.

Some of the reported spiritual, emotional, and mental health benefits offered by Bobinsana include these: 

• Increased compassion and empathy
• Better ability to heal after loss / move through the grieving process
• Feeling more grounded
• Improved communication abilities
• Increased processing of sexual trauma (as well as other forms of trauma)
• Womb healing for females 
• Lucid dreams

Bobinsana as Part of an Ayahuasca Brew or In Combination with Other Sacred Medicines

Some shamans may include Bobinsana in an Ayahuasca preparation to facilitate heart-opening and greater emotional release. People who have worked with Bobinsana with Ayahuasca say that the Bobinsana helps to “ground” you during the Ayahuasca ceremony, while also creating a flower-like opening experience in the body and mind. Its effects mimic the way that it grows – Bobinsana grows along the Amazon river, and is firmly rooted into the ground to such an extent that it can exist comfortably entirely underwater for 3-4 months when the river floods and the waters rise. In this way, Bobinsana helps users to maintain their connection to the earth and their body while also letting them plunge into the depths of the unconscious and the emotional realms more fluently.  

Bobinsana can also be taken in combination with other sacred medicines – like Tobacco and Psilocybin in particular – in order to achieve similar effects. For people who have a lot of heart ache or who suffer from a “broken heart”, Bobinsana may help facilitate deeper healing more quickly and effectively since it can bring the focus to healing the heart. 

Physical Effects of Calliandra angustifolia

The Bobinsana plant has been traditionally used to treat the following health problems: 

• Arthritis (especially rheumatism and rheumatic arthritis) 
• Back pain
• Broken bones
• Inflammation
• Cancers of the female reproductive organs
• So-called “water diseases”
• So-called “rainbow diseases” – these almost always affect females. They are caused on a spiritual level by the invasion of cosmic waters into the realm of humans, and are widely acknowledged to be thus caused by “boundary problems” in a general way, so they require care from outsiders who are working to treat people with this kind of problem; examples of “rainbow diseases” include psoriasis, menstrual conditions, herpes and other STDs/STIs, and phantom pregnancies.

Calliandra angustifolia also has blood purifying effects, and is sometimes used as a general health tonic to increase vitality. Bobinsana also acts to stimulate the immune system. For women specifically, this herb is also traditionally used postpartum to help women recover from pregnancy and birth more effectively, and is also used as a female contraceptive herb – for use as a contraceptive, Bobinsana must be taken long-term in the appropriate dosage, and shouldn’t be used as a “last resort” or as one’s only option for contraception.

Bobinsana, when used by itself or in combination with other herbs, rarely imparts negative “side effects”, though it’s important to note that some sources indicate that Calliandra angustifolia can sometimes cause temporary musculoskeletal pain and/or dizziness. 

Medicinal Compounds in Bobinsana 

Bobinsana contains COX (cyclooxygenase) inhibitors, likely saponins, that may be able to treat arthritis symptoms. A Swedish study on Calliandra angustifolia as a treatment for arthritis speculated that the COX inhibiting activity of Bobinsana may be a key part of the plant’s therapeutic abilities in relieving pain.

Pipecolic acid – and its derivatives – are additional medicinal compounds in Calliandra angustifolia. Some of the 12 different pipecolic acid derivatives in Bobinsana may have antagonistic effects in serotonergic receptors. This antagonistic effect on the serotonergic system may also be relevant in terms of how Bobinsana can relieve pain for some people.

A related plant, Calliandra pentandra, has been reported to contain harmala alkaloids like tetrahydroharmine (THH) and to possess mild MAOI activity – this has led to speculation that Calliandra angustifolia may also contain harmala alkaloids and have similar MAOI properties. Other famous natural MAOIs include Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) and yagé (Banisteriopsis caapi; a key herb in the traditional Ayahuasca brew). 

Bobinsana Dosage Information

For individuals following a dieta with Bobinsana, 1 cup of the tea is drunk in the morning, and another cup is drunk in the evening before bed. The tea is prepared using the bark of the Calliandra angustifolia tree, and is boiled down for several hours or even several days until the tea resembles a thick syrup or paste. Shamans traditionally will sing songs and recite prayers over the pot as it boils, which is particularly important if you intend to work with Bobinsana for spiritual reasons, such as while following a dieta. 

Resources

McConnell, Patrick (2023). Bobinsana: The Amazonian Mermaid. Retrieved October 17, 2025 from: https://tripsitter.com/bobinsana-the-amazonian-mermaid/ 

Hsu, Elizabeth, et. al. (2010). Plants, Health and Healing. Retrieved October 17, 2025 from: https://books.google.com.mx/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zYyPbcsiy7MC&oi=fnd&pg=PA135&dq=bobinsana+medicinal+uses&ots=J2ttLySF1s&sig=80cQn2nYhkwD9UIhbQ6DA9sDdDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=water&f=false 

Pallamary, Matthew J. (2022). Picaflor: A Memoir Sequel to Spirit Matters. Mystic Ink Publishing.