Just recently I felt transported back in time to the Sacred Valley in Peru—which I had visited in 2013. If time wasn’t an issue, neither was place. In the middle of the thriving suburb of Katy with all of its buildings and streets, there was a little green oasis called Green Planet Sanctuary. It had a beautiful green backyard with a huge tree, a little labyrinth and a Buddha statue in the center.
My friend Mariela Maya had invited Eduardo Chura Apaza, one of the shamans we had met back then on our trip to Peru.
Here he was, in the typical outfit of a Q’ero shaman with the gorgeous woven blanket in bright red thrown over his shoulders, wearing a colorful cap that was intricately adorned with beads. The scenery couldn’t look more surreal, because this time Eduardo held his ancient ceremony not in the midst of the majestic scenery of the Sacred Valley, but in a little place that was overlooked by a rather modern-day apartment complex.
I had watched several despachos on our trip, and each one seemed unique and different. Each one had a specific purpose: it could assist in healing, bringing in abundance, or to enhance relationships. This time Eduardo prepared a despacho or offering for Pachmama, mother earth. A despacho can easily take an hour or even longer in the making and there is an incredible amount of diligence, care and love that goes into its creation. Each despacho is actually a piece of art—one that is connecting the physical world with the spiritual world.
There seemed to be countless little ingredients that went into a despacho: beans, flower petals, corn, rice, animal crackers, even pieces of candy. Everything had a symbolic meaning. During the ceremony Eduardo build up the despacho, little by little, piece by piece. He started with laying out a piece of paper. Then he positioned white flower petals (symbolizing the male energies), while Mariela placed red flower petals (symbolizing the female energies) to the left. Carefully, they added one component after another. Each participant offered his or her own leaves and petals, which had been infused with their intentions for the New Year. The entire creation was covered with cotton balls symbolizing the sky and colorful threads for the rainbow. Later on the entire despacho was wrapped together and burned outside, so that the smoke could carry all of our intentions and wishes to the heavens.
