Each and every day people perform actions that have a deeper meaning that what is readily observable. Whether that action is a person touching their forehead, chest, left shoulder, and right shoulder in that order, or a person taking a certain drug to induce a desired spiritual effect “ certain types of actions are stylized and created for their symbolic use in rituals. Simply put, a ritual is an action, or set of actions, which are executed for their symbolic affect. A ritual may be performed on special occasions, by an individual or by a group of people. Depending on the ritual, there may be certain locations where the ritual must take place, or the locations can be arbitrary. Ritualistic action is different from normal actions because the ritualistic actions are repeated to follow a certain process or model and are symbolic (Paul Johnson, January 15, 2013). Sometimes certain actions in rituals are obligatory and the ritual will not be valid if an action is not completed completely. Ritual actions also focus on the body, involving actions of doing, not thinking. The purpose of a ritual is varied from practice to practice, containing religious affiliations or simply for spiritual or emotional needs. Participating in rituals with others helps to achieve a sense of community and unity, called communitas. Communitas involves a state of mind in which everyone is equal and there is no separation between people (Paul Johnson, January 15, 2013). A common ritual is described as having three phases. There is a separation phase in which participants are separated from everyday settings and enter a sacred setting that is made for the ritual. The second phase contains a liminal period, in which participants have a feeling of communitas, and the third phase is characterized by a return to normal life. In short, rituals are performed in a symbolic order to display an ideal state. In certain cultures, the ideal state that a ritual is intended to produce can only be attained through the use of certain types of drugs and hallucinogenics. For the purpose of this essay we will be looking into the use of peyote, a psychoactive cactus, by the Huichol Indians of Mexico. All cultural practices, religions, and facets of life perform some kind of ritualistic action. However, there are a variety of different forms of rituals. There are technological, therapeutic, ideological, and revitalization rituals (amongst others). The category of a technological ritual is one that is aimed at controlling nature in a certain sense. For example, some cultures use human sacrifice to pay homage to the gods and to offer tribute. Therapeutic rituals focus on curing or improving human life in some sense. For example, Catholics confide their sins to a priest in the sacrament of Confession, in order to be absolved of their sins. Also, ideological rituals revolve around structuring society in a certain way, and revitalization rituals are used to help people cope with large-scale societal stress. In this essay we will be exploring the ritualistic actions of the Huichol tribe of Native American Indians in northwestern Mexico, and their use of peyote in their rituals and everyday life. The Huichol are a Mexican Indian group located in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, and Durango (Schaefer: 2003, 1). The Huichol identify themselves as "the healers  because are large pa