Plant Medicine

Psilocybin

The active compound in over 200 species of mushrooms. The medicine in Ceremonia's flagship Awaken retreat, held legally in Colorado under the Natural Medicine Health Act.

How it works

Psilocybin converts to psilocin in the body. Psilocin binds to serotonin (5-HT2A) receptors and temporarily reduces activity in the brain's default mode network, the constant narrative self-talk that runs in the background. With that reduced, perception opens, fixed thought patterns loosen, and neuroplasticity increases for a window of days to weeks.

For more on the neuroscience, see the default mode network and neuroplasticity.

Timeline

• 0–30 min: ingestion, settling in
• 30–60 min: onset, perceptual shifts begin
• 60–120 min: peak effects, often the deepest territory
• 2–4 hours: gradual descent, integration begins
• Days–weeks after: neuroplasticity window, what you do here matters

How Ceremonia holds psilocybin ceremony

• Medical screening before retreat (contraindications, medications, mental health history)
• 3 preparation calls before retreat (4 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week prior)
• 2 night ceremonies + 1 day ceremony over 6 days at the Colorado retreat center
• Trained facilitators and on-site medical staff
• 4 weeks of integration support after retreat

For the full method, see How It Works. For legal framework, see the Natural Medicine Health Act.

History and lineage

Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been used ceremonially in Mesoamerica for at least a thousand years. María Sabina, a Mazatec curandera in Oaxaca, brought ceremonial mushroom use to broader Western awareness in the 1950s. Twentieth-century clinical research (Hofmann, Pahnke, Leary) was paused for decades by federal scheduling, then resumed in the 2000s at Johns Hopkins, NYU, Imperial College London, and elsewhere.

Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act (2022) made supervised psilocybin facilitation legal under state license, separate from the religious-use framework that protects ayahuasca and peyote. Our facilitators are NMHA-licensed; ceremonies are held under our religious-freedom framework (RFRA). Read more about our inspiration-not-appropriation approach.

What the research shows

Psilocybin has the deepest modern clinical evidence base of any classical psychedelic. Major findings include:

• Major depressive disorder (Davis et al., 2020) — Johns Hopkins randomized trial showed 71% response and 54% remission at 4 weeks after two psilocybin sessions with psychotherapy support. Published in JAMA Psychiatry.
• Treatment-resistant depression (Carhart-Harris et al., 2021) — Imperial College trial compared psilocybin to escitalopram; effects on depression severity were comparable, with psilocybin showing larger remission and quality-of-life gains. Published in NEJM.
• End-of-life distress (Griffiths et al., 2016) — cancer-related anxiety and depression substantially reduced after a single high-dose session, with effects sustained at 6 months. Published in Journal of Psychopharmacology.
• Alcohol use disorder (Bogenschutz et al., 2022) — randomized trial showed significant reductions in heavy drinking days at 32 weeks. Published in JAMA Psychiatry.
• Default mode network (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016) — fMRI shows psilocybin reduces DMN integrity, correlated with subjective “ego dissolution” and persisting reductions in depression. Published in Scientific Reports.

Psilocybin is not FDA-approved. Research is ongoing. See our research summary for primary citations.

Contraindications and safety

Psilocybin is well-tolerated for most healthy adults, with a low risk of physical harm. The serious risks are psychological — primarily for individuals with certain mental health conditions or family histories. Screening is required for everyone.

Conditions and medications we screen for:

• Personal or family history of psychosis or schizophrenia spectrum
• Bipolar I disorder
• SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, lithium — require supervised tapering well before retreat
• Significant cardiovascular conditions, uncontrolled hypertension
• Seizure disorders
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• Recent or active suicidal ideation requiring crisis-level care

Full screening and tapering protocol is at medication tapering and contraindications.

Set and setting

Set is the internal state you bring — intentions, expectations, mood, recent events, what you ate. Settingis the external environment — the room, the people, the music, who is holding space, what happens if difficulty arises.

Together, set and setting shape the experience more than dose alone. The same molecule produces wildly different journeys in a clinical room vs. a music festival vs. a held ceremony with trained facilitators. Three of the four preparation calls Ceremonia provides before retreat are about preparing your set; the entire Awaken structure is engineered for setting.

What to expect during a session

Sessions follow a consistent structure:

• Opening: Cohort gathers, intentions spoken. The room is prepared — eye masks, blankets, music. The dose is served.
• Onset (30–60 min): Body sensitivity increases. Visual perception softens. Internal experience deepens.
• Peak (60–120 min): The most intense window. Ego boundaries can soften, memories surface, emotions move. Eye mask and music recommended — the journey is best taken inward.
• Plateau (2–4 hrs): Insight and reflection. Many people sit, walk, or speak quietly with facilitators here.
• Descent (4–6 hrs): Quieter integration. Group sharing in the evening or following morning.
• Days–weeks after: Neuroplasticity window. The work continues here.

Read more about the full retreat structure.

Where: Colorado

Our psilocybin retreats are held at a private 150-acre wooded retreat property in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, about an hour from downtown Denver. Mature ponderosa pine forest, mountain views, private hiking trails, an indoor event center, and an outdoor fire circle. 13 private rooms accommodate intimate cohorts.

See the venue at retreat-center/colorado.

Integration after the session

The session itself is a doorway. The neuroplasticity window in the days and weeks after is when behavioral change is most possible. Ceremonia includes:

• Daily integration check-ins for the first week after retreat
• Weekly group integration calls for weeks two through four
• Optional 4-month Awaken at Home extension
• Access to alumni community for ongoing support

Psilocybin is not for everyone

If you have a contraindication, are not willing to taper relevant medications under physician guidance, or are looking for a recreational experience, this is not the right work for you. Saying no to applicants when participation would not be safe is part of what makes the yes meaningful.