What is a ceremony like?
The ceremony is an overnight experience with the sacred medicine guided and protected by our facilitator using Shipibo techniques (tribal Icaros, music, sacred incense, aguas, and tobacco [Mapacho]). Your donation reserves the spot overnight, including the essentials necessary for the journey: water, blanket, pillow, mattress, tissue paper, etc.
The type of experience you receive depends largely on who you decide to sit with. Culturally, ritualistically and traditionally my experience is that they are all different depending on what the practitioner’s training and experience consists of. However, it is more important I think for you to decide what kind of environment you are the most comfortable in. Questions to ask of yourself:
- Do you prefer a group setting in more of a “community” format?
- Can you relax easily in a large group setting?
- Do you want/need more individual attention from the facilitator and/or prefer a one-on-one or small group setting?
- Are you there to work on healing primarily rather than connection or other experiences?
All experiences are worthwhile:
- Community or large groups will be louder, and there is a greater chance you may hear or see people experiencing challenging and emotional things. Alternatively, the energy generated by a larger group can be very beneficial. Often, the group members may sing, play instruments, dance or talk. It really depends on the tone of the ceremony and what the facilitator wants to place the concentration on.
- Smaller groups will be much quieter. The experience is within you, and the focus will be more towards concentrating on the medicine. Singing, instruments, and dancing may be fine in the setting, but it will depend on who is with you. Respecting others with you will be important, and you don’t want to interrupt someone else, just as you would not wish to be interrupted.
Most of the time (but not always), the preference is for ceremonies geared towards a smaller group format with an emphasis on deep personal work or journeys. Participants are asked to respect everyone in the group, and refrain from talking during the ceremonies until participants have returned from their experience.
The approach taken here is a hybrid-traditional approach utilizing elements primarily from the Shipibo and Spanish rituals. This means that the following are typically used:
- Shipibo Icaros (chants in the Shipibo tongue used for connection, protection, the calling of spirits)
- Sacred incense
- Mapacho (sacred tobacco)
- Aguas de Florida
- Calling the corners (ancestors and elements)
- Medicine Music interspersed with periods of silence
- Reiki or energy moving if the situation calls for it
The setting can be outdoors or indoors. This is determined by weather conditions, and the availability of a suitable space where it is quiet, there will be no outside interruptions, and appropriate facilities (bathrooms, etc) are available. In all cases, the space or “circle” will be protected using various tools and techniques to keep outside energies from coming in.
What are the responsibilities of the facilitator?
The job of the facilitator is to create an environment that feels safe, is protected, grounded, and primed for a deep internal dive with the medicine. He or she is responsible for sourcing (and in some cases brewing) the medicine as well.
There are also additional preparations that the participants can select to participate in as part of readying the body for the journey.
The facilitator will be at the space beforehand to assess the environment and determine what is needed for the ceremony. Typically, this will involve sanctifying the space by determining where the “circle” is for the participants. This space will be delineated by placing Tourmaline or other elements in a rough circle so that external negative energies have a harder time penetrating the space. The facilitator will utilize Mapacho specifically prepared to connect, cleanse and protect with the area both internally and externally to create a barrier of will and intention. Finally, before the ceremony begins, the facilitator will use sacred incense to cleanse the space and participants before beginning.
The ceremony starts when the facilitator begins with “calling the corners” or calling the spirits of our ancestors to come assist everyone with their knowledge and power (North – Pacha Mama, East – Abuelo Fuego, South – Abuelo Viento, West – Abuela Agua, Personal Ancestors – Halpa Mama, and finally the Source).
After a period of silence, the facilitator will sing Shipibo icaros to connect the participants and space to the medicine, call for protection from the plants, animals, and elementals, and finally open the space to the world of the medicine and plants.
During the ceremony the facilitator will play medicine music to set the tone of the journeys, and may sing, play instruments, additional icaros, and use aguas or move energies as the necessity arises. We are there for you during the entirety of the ceremony to help should anything arise that you need to talk about or deal with.
Depending on the size of the group, there may be assistants who are responsible for helping the participants to the restroom as needed, if you need to talk, or have any comfort issues.