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In this month's Enlightenments, Trish Murray offers us a glimpse into a powerful spiritual journey she recently made to Peru.
Trish Murray at Ollantaytambo, Peru
Via Illuminata: A Trip to the
Sacred Valley of the Inka Empire
Trish Murray
The Via Illuminata is one of a number of expeditions to Peru offered by the Four Winds Society. The Four Winds Society is an organization started by Alberto Villoldo that teaches energy medicine internationally and specifically the traditions of Inka shamanism. The Via Illuminata this Spring was a trip to Cusco, Peru which consists of the city of Cusco that was the capital of the Inkan Empire and also includes a vast area around the city of Cusco stretching as far as 250 miles away which was the sacred valley of the Inka empire. The focus of the trip is to visit sacred sites throughout the sacred valley and to study with Inka master shamans and participate in ancient ceremonies and celebrations.
My partner has been taking courses through the Four Winds Society called Healing the Light Body and asked if I would like to go on this trip to Peru. I have been studying shamanism with Allie Knowlton and Evelyn Rysdyk for five years and have been wanting to travel to Peru and Machu Picchu for a number of years; so when the opportunity was presented I did not even think about it. So, we left Franconia, New Hampshire at noontime on June 22nd and arrived at our first hotel in Cusco, Peru at noontime on June 23rd. Needless to say we were quite tired and the elevation of 11,500 feet above sea level was definitely effecting us as well.
But, full of excitement and arriving during the Festival of Inti Rami which is a celebration of the sun from Inka times that is a week festival of parades and celebration, we set out to experience all the excitement in this beautiful city. We spent the afternoon meandering through the streets and markets as well as watching a parade with groups dressed in all different colored ponchos and costumes.
The next morning we boarded a bus to take us to the town of Yucay where the 130 people on the via trip from 20 different countries were staying in three different hotels. This was to be the main base for the duration of the trip and the group was divided into “tribes” based on which of the eight buses you chose on the first full day of ceremony. Yucay and all the towns we traveled to in the sacred valley are in and surrounded by the beautiful Andes Mountains. We traveled through vast areas of terraced farmland wide open with no fences and animals roaming freely with the farmers.
Our daily schedule consisted of yoga at 7:00am(if you chose to partake), breakfast at 8:00, departing on the bus for the sacred site of the day at 9:00am, returning back at the hotel for a talk with Alberto at 5:00pm and evening ceremony or healings after dinner. On our first day to choose a bus I had said to my partner since I was tagging along that I would go on any bus she chose so I did not pay much attention to the buses as they were pulling in and lining up. I did not want to be drawn to any one bus; but my partner looked over the buses and stated that she did not feel drawn to any of them and asked me to choose. I loved this because I love the Celestine Prophecy and the concept of synergy in it. So, I looked up and scanned the buses and was immediately drawn to one. It turns out the guide on this bus, Freddy, had named it the Munay bus which in the Quechua language means love! The tribe we became a part of when we joined that bus was spectacular. Our group was a very special group of people from as far as Norway ranging in age from 20 up to 70.
On each bus we had a tribe leader, a teacher with the Four Winds, who educated us on the ways of the Inka medicine wheel. Each day an intention was introduced by the tribe leader for us to work with individually. In the Inka tradition the first direction is the South and the serpent is the archetype of this direction. The focus of this direction is to shed your past the way the serpent sheds her skin, and to free yourself from karmic and generational baggage. Also on each bus was an archeological guide whose job was to educate us about the history and archeology of each site. This person did not necessarily have any connection to the shamanic beliefs; but on our bus, Freddy, was a mesa carrier and very connected to the shamanic traditions. And finally, on each bus was one or two native shaman. The Q'ero are the direct descendants of the Inka. They are the indigenous elders, the medicine men and women known as the Earthkeepers, the keepers of the ancient prophecies. As many as 15 Q’ero shaman were on the via trip and different ones rotated every few days to a different bus. They traveled with us to the sites and led us through ceremony and gifted us with many shamanic “rites” at the different sacred sites.
So, on our first full day of ceremony we traveled to Quillarumiyok or the Temple of the Moon, temple of the celestial feminine. The foundations at this site were said to be from the twelfth century and Freddy explained that throughout the sacred valley from the city of Cusco to the different sacred mountains there were imaginary lines upon which many sacred ceremonial sites were built. Quillarumiyok was one of these and definitely set the stage for the power of the sites we would be visiting. As we arrived and hiked breathlessly due to the elevation up to our meeting site two eagles soared overhead. At this site we were directed to go off and connect with the land and make sand paintings or a sacred mandala in which we were to place things from our present that we wished to shed that no longer served us. During this time I was drawn to a huge and beautiful boulder that granted me permission to climb on him and sit at the top. I was graced with a strong sense of the wisdom and power of this stone and this place as I lay on his back.
Don Francisco playing his flute prior to a ceremony
After our individual work we all gathered in circle with Don Francisco, our Q’ero medicine person for our first despacho ceremony and after this were gifted the rites of the “Day Keepers” which are the stewards of the earth. In a Despacho ceremony, the shaman constructs an offering of gratitude to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Apus (Mountain Spirits). We also blew our prayers of gratitude or request into coca leaves and placed them in the despacho offering. These prayers are then "dispatched" to the Guides and Spirits when the offering is burned or buried by the shaman at a later time. Everything is done in ceremony and the granting of the rites is very special. Each person is first cleansed using the despacho that is full of the groups prayers and intentions, then each person steps up to the Q’ero shaman holding ones mesa and states their name. The shaman then prays and presses and rubs their mesa on your different chakras and then places their mesa on top of your mesa as you hold them in front of your abdomen. The shaman then reaches and brings your head to lean forward and touch his and verbalizes the intention of passing their knowledge and knowing to you as the receiver while also thrusting your heads together three times. It’s difficult to put into words the power, honor, warmth and loving gentleness that is felt during the receiving of these special gifts from these amazingly loving people.
On day two our bus traveled to Moray, a site where the Inka experimented with agricultural growing techniques. It is a terraced large circle that is as much as fifteen meters deep. Each level of the terraces is it’s own microclimate and they experimented with seeds for all different areas or regions of the empire. We held ceremony at the bottom of one of these circular terraced areas and had a despacho ceremony with the intention to release any karmic dept followed by an energy transmission from Don Francisco that also was to further cleanse us of our karmic dept. On this day, after receiving the energy transfer from Don Francisco and while sitting in circle I journeyed and eagle flew at me with its claws and talons open. It came at my heart and latched on. I thought it was going to tear my heart out of my chest; but instead it simply stayed attached with its wings spread and in the end it merged into my chest. Spirit granted numerous journeys, images and messages while in and out of ceremony throughout the trip.
Don Francisco and Doña Wilma
The third Huaca or power place that we visited was Tipon or the Temple of the Waters and we were directed to move from the South to the West, which is the direction of our shadow and is represented by the archetype of the jaguar. During this day we had a despacho ceremony with two tribes together and two shamans. Don Francisco and Wilma, who is a female shaman that has survived being struck by lightning! The blending of the male and female energy was wonderful during this despacho and we were gifted the altomosaic rites or the rites of the wisdom keepers.
Insert despacho WilmaFranc
The next day we traveled by bus, train and bus again to Macchu Picchu, a city on the top of the mountains. It was interesting to watch the terrain and vegetation change as we traveled on the train because Macchu Picchu is at an elevation of approximately 8000 feet above sea level and it is part of the transition area between the mountains and the jungle. Therefore, everything is green and plush even at the tops of the mountains.
One thing to know about traveling in the Andes by bus is that it is not for the faint of heart. The bus ride up the winding road to Macchu Picchu is very interesting for the person in the window seat. But, once finally in the city one is immediately hit with the wonder and beauty of this vast city. Like many of the Inka cities it has a residential section, an agricultural section, and a temple or ceremonial section.
Insert alpacas
We were taken by our guide Freddy on a very heartfelt tour of the city and temples because Macchu Picchu is where Freddy did much of his archeological training and he had spent days and nights within the walls of this great city.
After our tour we had time to explore on our own because traditional shamanic ceremony is no longer allowed in Macchu Picchu. But, we had been directed to find a place for ourselves to have our own initiation ceremony. The evening before Alberto had given a talk on the seven stages of life and how an initiation is a celebration planned to help choreograph the changes in our lives. So, we were directed to plan our own little initiation celebration and to carry it out in Macchu Picchu. During the tour I kept being drawn to an amazingly green area and when I asked Freddy if it had any significance he explained that it was the temple of the Pachamama. My heart sang to know that I would be doing my initiation ceremony there. That morning on the train I had not had much time prior to journey on or contemplate my initiation ceremony; so I simply closed my eyes and asked spirit what I should do. The image I got was to be on the edge of the city overlooking the vast view, to blow my intention and prayers into some leaves I would pick and then to let go of the leaves off the edge of the mountain in the wind. It was one of those “oh my” experiences later when Freddy showed us an altar built into the edge of a cliff and explained that it’s purpose was for the Inka medicine person to blow prayers into coca leaves for the community and release them to the wind spirits from there.
Day five we traveled to Pumamarca or the temple of the Puma. Our intention was to move into the direction of the North, which has the archetype of the hummingbird. The north direction symbolizes moving from shedding what does not benefit or serve us into our destiny and the time to come. We also were much more acclimated to the elevation and so there is more hiking up to the sites for the next few days. The town of Pumamarca is a small farming village below the sacred site and the hike is up some rolling hills through the farmlands and there were many horses in this area. This lit up my spirit on this day because my primary power animal is a painted mustang. Ceremony was held within the walls of a building at the ancient site, but none of the buildings had roofs and Don Martin and Don Francisco were at each end of this room with all of our mesas touching and laid out in a line from one shaman to the other. Alberto was also with us this day and sat beside Don Francisco and participated with him during the despacho. During the ceremony I was very aware of a number of jaquar/pumas pacing along the tops of the walls of the ancient building we were doing the ceremony in. They would pace and then sit in a very regal posture and oversee our ceremony. This day we were gifted the rites of the Star Keepers, which are meant to break us free of the history of our race here on earth and gives us the opportunity to step into infinity and not be restricted by our collective history.
Don Martin with his drum.
The next day we went to Pisac, a place where seers were trained. It is a mountain shaped like a falcon or condor and the town is known for its market. The hike to the ancient site was the most arduous hike of the trip and took approximately one hour and was quite steep at times. I took my time and simply enjoyed the journey. I was amazed however by a number of people from the town who were walking leisurely up the path while playing flutes. No matter where you are it seemed there was always a shopping opportunity and when I was almost to the top of the hike I was greeted by Quintan from whom I purchase an Inka Cross made from serpentine, which comes from the mountains and rivers around Macchu Picchu. It is a beautiful variegated green stone.
The intention for this day was for it to be a day of integration and lightness. We were directed to find a spot for ourselves to do a short integration ceremony. Again I found a spot overlooking the vista and allowed all the amazing events and experiences of the trip to sink in. Afterward, I walked down through a number of ancient buildings and was drawn to put my forehead against one of the walls. While doing this I began to see the Inka in this village going about their day and in ceremony. I saw an Inka priest dressed ornamentally and leading ceremony. Through this journey I was told to understand that there is no time. I am them, we are they and they are us; their energy lives in us without regard for time.
We did not have a despacho ceremony this day, but Don Martin led us through a blessing ceremony. We were directed to sit in a circle with all of our mesas open and touching. Don Martin then initiated the blessing with calling in the spirits and prayers and then he went around the circle to each person’s mesa and touched seven of his mesa stones to each of our stones. We were also given the opportunity to go to another’s mesa and touch seven of our stones to theirs. The symbolism was that we were sharing each other’s wisdom.
On day seven we went to Ollantaytambo where we received the rites of the time to come. These rites had originated with the end of an age; they represent death to the old beliefs and ways so that a new way of being may arise. After receiving these rites from Don Martin we also became more participatory and were taught how to gift the Munay Rites for the time to come to each other.
On the next day of ceremony we went to the temple ruins of Sacsayhuaman (pronounced “sexy-woman”). This translates to “the satisfied falcon” and while we were standing listening to Freddy tell us about this a number of small falcons flew over our heads. This day we moved into the direction of the East, which is represented by the archetype of the condor or eagle and the direction for dreaming our lives into being. Our tribe leader shared with us this quote:
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
Freddy explained that the sacred valley of Cusco was designed in the shape of a puma and that Sacsayhuaman was the head of the puma. Traditional ceremonies are no longer allowed within the official boundaries of this site so we had ceremony in a field just outside the entrance with Bernadina and Rolando. Bernadina is the female elder of the Q’ero at this time and our despacho ceremony was a clearing and purification with the intention to let go of our projections and ego. After the ceremony we had time to explore and the area was rocky with a ton of caves and maze-like pathways within the earth. It felt like an underworld pilgrimage site.
On our final day we traveled to Racchi where we had a despacho ceremony with the intention to pray for our dreams and how we wish to see the world to come. One of the prayers that many of us put out to the universe is for the world to be more peaceful and for all of us to take better care of mother earth (pachamama) by living more closely to nature and to show more caring for the natural world.
That evening during our final talk each of the Q’ero shaman spoke and gave thanks to all of us for all the love that was shared during our time together and for allowing them to share their work with us. Wilma, one of the female shamans, translated each of their messages for us. By the time they were done I don’t think there was a dry eye in the crowd. Also, Alberto explained that shamans never say goodbye, they simply say astapronto or "until we meet again!"
That night after dinner there was a fire ceremony to close our journey and the next morning my partner and I were up at 3:30am to start our travels home. As I write this article, it has been two months since the trip and I can say that I am still integrating and learning from all that began on this journey. I know that I will continue with this process for a long time to come.
Text and photos by Trish Murray
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