In many contemporary shamanic practices and in the science and art of curanderos, Agua Florida has become an almost iconic tool for cleansing, protection, and ritual work. Yet its origins, composition, and path into indigenous healing traditions are far more complex than commonly understood. In this illuminating ShamanPortal Wisdom Webinar Dr. Rocio Alarcon, curandera and PhD in ethnopharmacology and ethnobotany, shares insights from years of personal and academic research rooted in the traditional knowledge of her grandmothers in Ecuador. Their practices, notably, did not include Agua Florida, opening the door to important questions about how and when this cologne became integrated into Andean and Amazonian healing systems.
Together, we will explore the historical origins of Agua Florida, the meaning behind its name, and its chemical composition. The session will examine how certain healers came to adopt it for rituals, energetic cleansings, and spiritual protection, as well as the variations in its use across regions. Importantly, Dr. Alarcon will also address the potential physical and spiritual risks associated with its application, both for practitioners and recipients. The webinar will offer a balanced perspective on its benefits, while also introducing alternative plant-based waters and traditional fluids that have long been used for healing. This session is ideal for anyone seeking a deeper, more critical understanding of the tools they use in their spiritual practice.
The webinar will start at 3pm NYC / 8pm UK / 9pm CEST. A recording will available for all ticket holders for 30 days.
About Rocío
Dr. Rocίo Alarcόn has a PhD in Ethnopharmacology from UCL (UK) and is the Director of the IAMOE Centre in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In addition to her academic credentials she is a Curandera (healer). She has spent over 45 years working with ethnic groups in the tropical rain forest and the Andes Mountains of Ecuador as well as the Basque Country, Spain. She offers workshops in UK, Ireland, Portugal, USA, etc. She practices and teaches about Curandera (shamanic healing ceremonies), that she called the art and science of curandera, a knowledge that she received via the lineage of her mother and grandmother who were born in the Andes of Ecuador, the place where she was born too, at the foot of the Pichincha volcano.
Her interests are the practices with master plants and the techniques of healing ceremonies with hummingbirds (knowledge from her ancestry, and her creations), in Ecuador, and research about ethnobotany and biodiversity. She practices the science of Rohipping (closing the hips) an ancestral practice from her lineage.
She offers workshops and healing treatments for different organisations and people at Iamoe center in the Amazonia region in Ecuador and around the world.
Publications in different Journals Ethnopharmacology and others.
Publication about the Oracle of the hummingbirds
Website: www.iamoe.org
