Mikaela de la Myco is a mushWOMB educator, mother, folk herbalist, community organizer, and entheogen facilitator focusing on ancestral healing modalities, sacred earth medicine, and sensual assault advocacy.
As the founder of mushWOMB, she provides education for birthing people, queer folks, and BIPOC in the sacred earth medicine space. Mikaela is also the caretaker of the Matriarchal Alliance for Accountability and Transparency (MA'AT), where she supports survivors and advocates for cooperative healing. In all her work, she acts as a catalyst for change, striving to rematriate entheogens.
We had the privilege of speaking with her LIVE on September 24th, and it was an incredibly insightful experience. Mikaela shared a wealth of knowledge about unconventional healing modalities, especially the Mothers of the Mushroom Project—a research initiative she and fellow researchers have developed. This project collects the stories of 400 mothers who consumed psilocybin at various stages, from pre-conception to postpartum, an area largely unexplored by the scientific community. Given the ethical challenges of lab-based studies, Mikaela and her team opted for an approach based on lived experiences, gathering data through surveys completed by mothers who used mushrooms intuitively despite societal stigma and fear.
Through this research, Mikaela has observed positive outcomes for mothers who participated in these practices, even when guided by intuition alone. She hopes this body of work will inspire further exploration in the scientific community, as it highlights the potential benefits that have been overlooked due to stigma. As Mikaela eloquently puts it, “We stand on the shoulders of giants." The practice of mothers using mushrooms is not new, but in the West, caution, shame, and stigma often deter mothers from making this choice, even when it could benefit them. She commends those who have taken the calculated risk, leaning on the wisdom passed down through folk medicine traditions and indigenous cosmologies.
Mikaela also notes that there is only one research study on psilocybin use in mother rats from over a decade ago, which she references in her book. This lack of research has prompted her to call on the scientific community to ask, "What are we doing about this?" Given that postpartum depression and anxiety are not well-addressed by current treatment options, she believes it's vital to explore alternative tools for better outcomes. Her research shows that many who sought relief through psilocybin found it, demonstrating this on a large scale.
Even within progressive, liberal psychedelic communities, Mikaela still witnesses stigma and concerns about safety. She feels that de-stigmatizing these conversations is crucial, as ignoring them leads to a lack of literacy on the subject. While the traditional scientific method may not always serve this population, Mikaela emphasizes the importance of using our collective knowledge to explore these answers. However, she is careful to acknowledge that these practices aren't for everyone and that addressing the challenges is an equally important part of her research.
As a folk herbalist, Mikaela loves speaking about the connection between herbs and sensuality. Whether through ritual smoking blends, yoni steam blends, or nutritive nervine herbs like oat straw, lemon balm, passionflower, and St. John's wort, herbs are central to her work. When working with mothers and trauma survivors, she often uses these herbs to help regulate the nervous system.
Mikaela has found healing through creating sensual spaces for others, particularly through play parties that encourage exploration and openness. Yoni steams, especially in altered states of consciousness, have been transformative for shifting the experience for womb-carrying persons.
She teaches a class on altered states of consciousness and how the intersection of ancient practices and religion is tied to mind-altering plants. Mikaela gives a nod to the role of substances like LSD, amanita muscaria, blue lotus, henbane, and opium in the world of sensual experiencing, which she believes still have their place in healing and exploration.
For those interested in these practices, Mikaela is accessible to discuss these experiences, especially with mothers and survivors of sensual assault. She has also created an online program—a 15-week training for practitioners and the community that includes somatic dance therapy, herbs, tinctures, yoni steaming, self-massage, art therapy, and creative performance as a means of expressing the rich inner landscape, with or without medicine.
You can explore more of Mikaela's work on her blog, where she writes about trauma healing and supportive practices, or check out her course, Eco Sensual.
Find more here on her website or on Instagram @mamadelamyco!
