Machine elves (also known as fractal elves and self-transforming machine elves) is a term coined by the ethnobotanist, writer and philosopher Terence McKenna to describe the entities that he claims one becomes aware of after having taken tryptamine based psychedelic drugs, especially DMT.

There are numerous references of such encounters that could be found in many cultures ranging from shamanic traditions of Native Americans to indigenous Australians, to African tribes, to the modern day "Urban Shamanism" like Santeria and Vodou and the "new breed"- a term that Timothy Leary used to describe the rising generation of urban shamans, who would, he claimed, augment the spiritual awareness of the modern world.