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by Andrea Mikana-Pinkham, Andean Shamanic
Practitioner
 In the cool and enfolding darkness, we trudged up the barren hillside
just as the light from the full moon, Mama Quilla, was peaking her
bright face over the horizon. We could see the lights in the valley
below us, sparkling with the warmth of activities of the people of Cusco,
busy with their evening’s activities. The fresh night air helped us
clear our minds of worldly concerns and prepare us for our important
work that we were about to undertake. We carefully followed our shaman
Jorge and silently continued around the hill to the right, climbed up
two steep stone benches, and finally stood breathlessly in front of our
evening’s destination…the small opening to the cave that led into the
Pachamama (Mother Earth).
Our diverse group of spiritual seekers had come from many far away
places to be here on this special night, to enter the Temple of the
Moon, the Amaru Machay, or “Place of the Serpent” as it is known in the
local Quechua language.
 Each
person in the group had made the decision to travel in the company of
other like-minded people, not only for the emotional warmth and safety
they felt it would offer, but also for the enriching opportunities of
sharing both the daily and the peak experiences of travel with their
spiritual brothers and sisters. Certainly during our few days that we’d
been in Peru, this had been regularly occurring. The bonding had been
easily happening, and the resulting synergy had been building. Now…here
we were, on the night of the full moon, ready to share again. Perhaps
this time at one of the most profound levels experienced during our
spiritual journey so far.
We all knew that we had been called here out of our daily lives, to make
this trip to Peru in order to receive the much-needed gift of personal
healing. We each had our unique saga of how we had stepped through our
limitations and fears and had then joyfully made our commitment to make
this sacred pilgrimage to the mystical land of the ancient Incas, to
reclaim ourselves as Sons and Daughters of the Sun, the Moon, the apus,
or sacred mountains, the rivers, the trees, the flowers, the stones, the
Pachamama Herself. Now we stood outside the womb of the Mother in silent
anticipation, each of us reflecting on what had brought us to this
moment and wondering where it would take us. How would it change our
lives? Would we emerge from the cave born into a new life? Would we have
the courage to let go of those fears that were keeping us from living
our full measure of Spirit, to be able to stand in our Truth and in Love
in each moment? These and many other questions were silently reeling
through our minds and hearts as we stood at the entrance to the cave,
poised to take that next step for our healing.
Jorge quietly interrupted our individual reveries. “It’s important to
hold a very clear focus for your healing when you enter the cave, and to
try to hold that focus throughout our time inside the body of the
Pachamama,” he solemnly told the group.
“Pray with care, for you WILL get what you ask for!” He then took out a
small bottle of agua florida, flower water, and poured a little in my
upturned palm. I offered a small splash to the earth, rubbed my hands
together, clapped three times, placed my hands in front of my mouth and
nose, breathed in several times as deeply as possible, and began to
systematically cleanse my aura, from my crown to my feet. Jorge then
moved to the other members of the group, giving them their portions of
the precious shamanic liquid and urging all of us to cleanse away our
stress and worries so that we could enter the cave ready to receive our
special gifts.
Once I felt cleansed and ready, Jorge told me to lead the group into the
cave. I turned and around and walked down three ancient stone steps,
thinking of my sisters and brothers who had also tread on them in the
past, as they too had entered the womb of our Mother. I moved a few
steps down the narrow corridor and stopped, placing my hands on either
side of the entrance, on the cold and smooth rock carvings – the slender
yet powerful bodies of the serpents, the guardians of the Lower World in
Andean cosmology. Whoosh! I felt their strong energy surge into me,
almost taking my breath away. I took a few deep breaths to calm and
center myself and and silently offered my thanks for being able to enter
into this most holy of places.
Continuing forward into the beckoning darkness, I felt at home. I had
been here many times in the past with my previous groups, so I knew that
I was in a small circular antechamber that led into the main altar of
the underground temple. I also knew that the crackles that I heard under
my feet as I walked were the many offerings of coca leaves that had been
left here in the past by the shamen of the area who had used this cave
for perhaps thousands of years in order to commune with the Earth
Mother. I reached into my tapestry coca leaf pouch that I wore around my
neck, pulled out a few leaves and gently offered them. As they fluttered
to the ground I prayed, “Please Pachamama, Bless me and my Sisters and
Brothers as we enter into your Body and give us the healing that is for
our best and highest good. Gracias.” As I continued forward, I could
hear the steps of the others behind me, each one stopping at the
entrance and silently offering their prayers.
Stepping quietly into the deeper part of the cave, I looked up at the
dimly lit natural rock formation resembling the yoni, the female
genitalia. I felt a strong rush of energy flow into my opening crown
chakra and immediately felt the joyous blessing of the Mother, as she
poured forth her exquisite life force into me, her Daughter who had come
home. Tears filled my eyes as I stepped forward and looked up into the
crystal blue light of Mama Quilla, the Mother Moon as she streamed down
through an open shaft in the cave and onto the stone altar in front of
me. I raised my arms and again took in the healing feminine
energy…allowing it to pour into every welcoming cell in my body…washing
through me and out my feet into her body, unstoppable, and cleansing me
on a very deep level of fears that had shadowed me for what I was sure
were lifetimes. I gladly gave them up to the Mother; I gladly allowed
her to take them from me; I gladly allowed her to gently stroke me and
to rejuvenate me by filling those now empty spaces within me with her
nurturing Unconditional Love. “Thank You, Pachamama. Gracias a ti,
Pachamama.” I chanted over and over in my heart and mind.
After several moments I became aware that Jorge was standing next to me,
waiting patiently for me to “return.” Reluctantly I opened my eyes, took
the matches he handed me and lit my candle, placing it on the stone
altar. I turned around and saw that all of the others in the group were
now with us in the cave, standing mutely lost in their own personal
reveries, their own connections with the Pachamama, each one listening,
seeing, feeling and in turn receiving their own well-deserved gift of
healing.
 Jorge
went and stood in front of each person, brushing his fan of condor
feathers through their auras for further cleansing. I heard the
whooshing and fluttering of the feathers as he quickly and adeptly did
his shamanic work to support their healing. Then, in his very quiet, yet
commanding voice, he urged, “Now is the time, here is the place. Let go
of your fears, open once again to your true nature, to Love, that which
you are. Remember who you are. You are the child of the Pachamama, and
She loves you unconditionally.” He then began singing an ancient Quechua
chant, as he again walked among us, now shaking his rattles in our
auras, stirring up the remnants of the old energies that it was time for
us to release. There were tears; there was audible crying and sighing
and even laughing! Release was happening as each of my brothers and
sisters moved forward one at a time and stood in front of the slowly
glowing altar, silently offering their supplication for healing,
lighting their candles, the representation of the light of his or her
spirit, and placing them quietly on the gigantic stone slab, the belly
of the Pachamama.
When the last prayers ended, we spontaneously gathered in a circle with
our arms around each other and began to chant with Jorge. We didn’t know
how to pronounce the words, but we did. We didn’t know the meaning of
the words, but we did…we knew in our hearts…and those age-old words now
meant more to us than we could have ever guessed would be so. Again and
again we sang with Jorge. The stones echoed our voices and filled each
of us with a rhythm and energy that bound us forever in this timeless
healing moment to each other and to this cave, the loving body of our
Mother. Not to be contained, the energy then begged to be carried out
into the world to love and to heal. Each of us felt it in our hearts,
swelling and deepening. We felt the “family” among ourselves grow, and
we knew this moment would last forever in each of our hearts and souls,
as well as in the lives of those we would touch when we emerged
anew…born again from the Arms of the Pachamama.
Jorge quietly suggested that we close our ceremony in the usual Andean
way, with hugs. So, we hugged each other, laughing and crying, with no
words needed; they were spoken heart to heart. We then gazed reverently
once more at our candles burning on the altar, knowing we would always
remember this night and the special gifts of healing we had received
from the Ancient Mother, and from our Selves. One by one we turned and
hurried out of the sacred Temple. As we emerged into the night, we again
saw the lights of Cusco in the valley below us, beckoning us to come
back and join that life. We had a remarkable gift that we were ready to
share with the world, and we ran giggling to our waiting bus! Was the
world ready for our gifts, those that we would be passing on from the
Pachamama? We silently looked in to each other’s eyes and smiled; we
knew the answer.
Copyright Lapis Inc. 2004
From Journeys to Sacred Sites: Transformational Adventures of Spiritual
Seekers
by Andrea Mikana-Pinkham
Andrea Mikana-Pinkham is the National Director of Body Mind Spirit
Journeys. She has been traveling and leading spiritual tours to Peru
since 1993. Andrea also leads Sacred Feminine Journeys to England for
Women, as well as Body Mind Spirit Journeys to Egypt. Her next sacred
journey tour to Peru is June 2004. Andrea is co-director, with her
husband author Mark Amaru Pinkham, of The International Order of Gnostic
Templars, The Mysteries of the Goddess Wisdom School, and The Seven Rays
of Healing School, headquartered in Sedona.
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