Following “Munay-ki for Newbies – Part One”, this is the ninth in my weekly (every Friday) series of blog posts ‘For Newbies’, in which I attempt to outline the basic practices and terminology of shamanism in as clear and easy to understand prose as I can. Last week I discussed the Foundation Rites and this week I’m going to be discussing the final five shamanic initiations of the Munay-Ki. Next week, I’ll be providing some insight into the Peruvian communities from which the Munay-Ki rites were drawn.
If I’ve completed the ‘Foundation Rites’, what can I expect next? What is the 5th rite?
The 5th rite is known as:
5. The Daykeeper’s Rite (or ‘Pampamesayoq’)
Alberto Villoldo tells us that, ‘The Daykeeper’s Rite is known among the Andean Paqos as the Pampamesayoq, referring to the lowlands and valleys of the ‘pampa’, and to the mesa or altar’.This rite seeks to bring you into right relationship with the feminine. It encourages a connection with the builders of the great stone altars and those who praised the sun to rise and who saw it put safely to bed at night.
It seeks to acknowledge the wounds created by mythical depictions of women, who were cast as responsible for all the evils in the world (you might consider Eve in The Bible or Pandora in Greek mythology), the subjugation of healers and herbalists as ‘witches’, and to restore to general consciousness the attributes of Mother Earth and Mother Nature.
How is it performed?
Your shaman will call upon the Daykeeper lineage and connect you to it by blowing through your crown chakra. It will create a connection with a pi stone between their heart and your sacral chakra, your heart chakra and your third eye chakra. They will then transmit, with their forehead to your forehead, a further connection to the Daykeepers.
What is the 6th rite?
The 6th rite is known as:
6. The Wisdomkeeper’s Rite (or ‘Altomesayoq’)
Alberto Villoldo tells us that, ‘The Wisdomkeeper’s Rite is known among the Andean Paqos as the Altomesayoq rite, referring to the high mountains of the Andes. Don Manuel Quispe was the great Altomesayoq of Q’ero’. This rite brings you into right relationship with the masculine. It encourages a connection with the mountains and the ancient knowledge, which is said to be stored in the snowy peaks. It seeks to acknowledge the historical ‘domination’ of masculinity and it’s inherent desire for destruction and war, as well as considering the creativity and drive of such traits.
How is it performed?
Your shaman will call upon the Wisdomkeeper lineage and connect you to it by blowing through your crown chakra. They will create a connection with a pi stone between their heart and your sacral chakra, your heart chakra and your third eye chakra. They will then transmit, with their forehead to your forehead, a further connection to the Wisdomkeepers.
What is the 7th rite?
The 7th rite is known as:
7. The Earthkeeper’s Rite (or ‘Kurak Akuyek’)
Alberto Villoldo tells us that, ‘The Earthkeeper’s Rite is known among the Andean Paqos as the Kurak Akuyek rite, referring to the elder who ‘masticates’ the wisdom to nurture the young ones who follow’. This rite serves to foster a connection with the Archangels and Guardians of the Galaxy, the Stewards of all life on Earth, as well as encouraging you to dream a new world into being. As ‘green’ issues, such as global warming and plastics in the oceans, begin to rise in our collective consciousness, the importance of acknowledging our stewardship has become increasingly urgent.
How is it performed?
Your shaman will call upon the Earthkeeper lineage and connect you to it by blowing through your crown chakra. They will create a connection with a pi stone between their heart and your sacral chakra, your heart chakra and your third eye chakra. They will then transmit, with their forehead to your forehead, a further connection to the Earthkeepers.
What is the 8th rite?
The 8th rite is known as:
8. The Starkeeper’s Rite (or ‘Mosoq Karpay’)
Alberto Villoldo tells us that, ‘The Starkeeper’s Rite is known as the ‘Mosoq Karpay’, which means the ‘new rite’ in the Qechua language. This rite announces and prepares one for the ‘time to come’. These are the rites of the time to come, which encourage your personal evolution and allow you to step towards becoming ‘Homo Luminous’, a true Child of the Sun. These rites inform your luminous energy field and evolve your DNA. We are reminded, in this rite, that we are all made of stardust. With regard to this, I like to recall the great poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, who, in ‘Buddha in Glory’, wrote:
‘A billion stars go spinning through the night, Blazing above your head.
But in you is the presence that will be, When all the stars are dead’
How is it performed?
Your shaman will pour beautiful healing light from the Galactic Sun, from the Sun Beyond the Sun, into each of your chakras.
What is ‘Galactic Sun’?
Our own Sun is just one of 200 billion stars known as the Milky Way Galaxy. It takes Earth about one quarter of a billion years to make a single galactic revolution. 27,000 light years from Earth is the centre of our galaxy and, at its heart, is a supermassive black hole, with the gravity of four million suns. Whirling around it and, ultimately, drawn into its abyss, is an impossibly dense cluster of old red giant stars and massive stars, all drawn into a cosmic whirlpool. This ‘Galactic Sun’, at the heart of our Galaxy, swirling us all around it, is the source of unfathomable power, which we can connect with and draw upon. What will you do with this connection?
What is the 9th rite?
The 9th and final rite is known as:
9. The God Creator Rite (or ‘Taitanchis’)
Alberto Villoldo tells us that, ‘The Creator Rite is known as the Taitanchis rite. The word Taitanchis literally translates as God.’ This rite encourages us to hold the world as healed and to envisage a world that we would want our childrens’ children to inhabit.
You’re not suggesting we are gods, are you?
A friend of mine was told by a Tibetan monk that she had been a ‘Mountain God’ in a previous life, which she misheard as ‘Mountain Goat’ and was rather pleased at the step up she’d made on becoming a human in this life! The monk laughed when he realised her mistake and then laughed even harder at her expression when he clarified. He told her that westerners always find it hard to grasp their own divinity.
If you struggled with the idea of accepting stewardship of the Earth in the Earthkeeper’s Rite, then how do you feel about accepting stewardship for all creation – from the smallest grain of sand to the largest cluster of galaxies? When you realise that all creation is happening inside you, however, this stewardship becomes natural.I am reminded of the great Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley who wrote:
‘I am the eye with which the universe Beholds itself and knows itself divine’
How is it performed?
Your shaman will connect with the energy of Great Spirit and blow this connection through your crown chakra. They will then connect their heart with your sacral, heart and third eye chakras. They will then transmit, with their forehead to your forehead, a further connection to the God Creator Rite.
Okay, I’m in. When can I receive the rites?
As luck would have it, I’ll be leading a Munay-Ki course with my good friend and fellow shaman, Theresa Scully, over two weekends (the 7/8th July and 14/15th July, 2018) in Warwickshire. That’s us, below, just above Machu Picchu, during our ascent of Waynapicchu together, in Peru, 2015.
For more information on our course, please see the attached link here: https://www.facebook.com/events/777336332470402/ or contact me at chacarunadanwaller@gmail.com, or my co-host, Theresa, at tasteresa@icloud.com