Ancestra is a nonprofit offering legal psilocybin retreats in Jamaica, guided by ancestral wisdom, modern science, and deep intention.
Begin Here
Nonprofit
Organization
Fully
Legal & Transparent Operations
Trauma-Informed Practice
Indigenous
& Lineage Partnerships
Evidence-Based ApproachAncestra is a woman- and BIPOC-owned nonprofit organization offering small-group, legally held psilocybin retreats in Jamaica. Our retreats are trauma-informed and intentionally designed with a focus on preparation, ethical facilitation, and post-retreat integration. We hold this work with care, drawing on years of experience in service and a deep respect for the medicine, the cultures it comes from, and the people we serve.
We do not treat plant medicine as a consumable experience. We approach it as a lineage-rooted practice in which plants are regarded as teachers, requiring conscious intention, ethical relationship, and respect for the traditions that steward this sacred work.
Many paths lead here. Eventually there comes a recognition that change is not only psychological, and not only individual. It involves a deep reconnection. With your body. With your history. With the land beneath your feet. A remembering of what has always been yours.
"During my medicine journey, I was able to access parts of myself that had felt stuck and grieving for years. Maria helped me meet those parts with tenderness and I experienced a level of healing and release that I hadn't been able to reach through other modalities."— Hillary
"Ethan's presence during the ceremony felt steady and deeply attuned, which made it possible to stay with intense and challenging emotions. There were hard moments, but there were also moments of real joy and laughter that reminded me healing can be light and even fun too."— Nico
"I was very grateful to have Sharon Whitefawn as a facilitator recently. Clearly, she has the qualifications, training, vision, and experience to provide an energetic container during journeys and for integration."— Tara S.
This is an initiatory threshold, a supported arc of change. The journey begins weeks before your feet touch the land, as we build the container together through preparation. The depth reached in ceremony is a direct reflection of the care and structure created beforehand. When you leave Jamaica, the journey continues through integration, where we support you in translating meaningful insight into embodied change in your daily life. What unfolds here is shaped not only by the medicine, but by the way the entire process is held.
Weekly group calls on Zoom to orient you to the work ahead — building the container, establishing trust with your cohort, and preparing your nervous system and intention.
A restorative arrival day. Gentle breathwork, mindfulness, and meditation to help you settle fully into your body and the land.
Connection with the land, local culture and community, and the medicine in a gentle, introductory dose. This is the start of building a relationship with psilocybin and preparing your system for what's ahead.
Morning mindfulness yoga and intention-setting workshops. Then, a full-dose psilocybin ceremony, with dosage always guided by your own readiness and choice, held by your facilitators in a carefully prepared space.
Somatic work, movement, and workshops to harvest what surfaced. The focus: how do you bring what you encountered back into your daily life?
A final full-dose psilocybin ceremony. For many, this is where the journey's insights deepen, or where something entirely new emerges.
Breakfast, a final sharing circle, and closing workshops to distill your learnings consciously.
One of the most essential parts of your journey. Zoom integration calls continue for 8 weeks. What surfaces in the weeks following matters — this support exists so you're not navigating it alone.
Ancestra is a fully BIPOC woman-owned nonprofit — that's rare to find in this field. The work is shaped by service, not profit, and held with the understanding that this is more than an experience: it is a responsibility.
Psilocybin is legal in Jamaica. We operate openly, with no legal ambiguity, no gray areas.
Our work is built on genuine, ongoing relationships with Indigenous and lineage holders, including some of our facilitators. We cultivate relationships of reciprocity, not extraction.
One month of preparation. A structured on-the-land program. 8 weeks of integration included, with the option to continue beyond this timeline.
We work with the land itself as medicine. This is a call away from a self-centric approach to healing and back into communal ways of being. This is how ancient and Indigenous communities have long understood healing, not as a process that happens in isolation, but as one that unfolds relationally.
The word heal comes from the root word whole. One way to understand healing is as a return to wholeness. It is not an isolated event, but a restoration of relationship: within yourself, with your history, and within the larger world. This work is not about becoming someone new. It is about returning to a much deeper way of knowing.
Begin HereConsidering a psilocybin retreat raises real questions. We're here to help make things clearer.
Cohorts are kept small by design. Seats are limited.
Ancestra Signature Group Psilocybin Retreat · 5 nights · Full program arc · Pre and post integration support included
Ancestra Signature Group Psilocybin Retreat · 5 nights · Full program arc · Pre and post integration support included
Your retreat is guided by facilitators who bring both rigorous training and lived experience with this work.
Mária's work lives at the intersection of clinical precision and ancestral reverence, bridging the gap between Eastern, Western, and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Rooted in her diasporic lineage and shaped by years working in mental and medical healthcare, she creates trauma-informed spaces that honor both the intelligence of the medicine and the innate wisdom of the body. She is especially committed to cultivating containers that feel safe, inclusive, and affirming for members of diverse or historically marginalized communities.
Grounded in somatic and person-centered practice, Mária approaches facilitation as both personal healing and collective liberation, ensuring that each journey is held with integrity, cultural humility, and deep reciprocity.
After four years of training within a contemporary Mahayana contemplative lineage, Ethan's work is deeply informed by his commitment to the Bodhisattva path — a dedication to awakening in service of collective liberation.
He has completed additional training in herbalism, Internal Family Systems, and somatic healing, weaving these modalities into a grounded, compassionate approach. At the heart of Ethan's work is a devotion to restoring right relationship between people and themselves, one another, and the living Earth.
Sharon's approach weaves together psychology, physiology, neuroscience, and spirituality, creating innovative and embodied pathways for lasting change.
In recent years, she has focused her work on expanded states of consciousness and therapeutic integration, supporting individuals in navigating profound experiences with clarity, safety, and compassion.
She is proud to identify as a grandmother, an elder, and a teacher to many. At the heart of Sharon's work is a commitment to healing in sacred reciprocity between self, community, and the living Earth.
Eddyson is a therapist and former educator whose work is rooted in curiosity, compassion, and deep respect for each person's story. Born in Haiti and shaped by life across Canada and the United States, he brings a lived understanding of immigrant, diaspora, and bicultural identities — and how culture, history, and belonging shape our inner worlds.
He approaches the therapeutic space as a companion in the healing process, walking alongside others with empathy and authenticity as they reconnect with what matters most.
Dr. Marion Lee Johnson is a Doctor of Nursing Practice–prepared Registered Nurse with over two decades of experience in mental health, trauma-informed care, and integrative wellness. As a Journey Nurse and psychedelic-informed practitioner, she brings a calm, grounded clinical presence to participants navigating transformative experiences.
Her facilitation is rooted in safety, harm reduction, and deep respect for each individual's path — holding space where people feel secure, cared for, and fully supported throughout their journey.
If you feel the call, submit your application to begin a conversation with a member from our team. Each application is reviewed personally to ensure a good fit. We look forward to connecting with you.