DESPACHO
The despacho is a ceremony of meditation, intention-setting, and honoring in the high Andes of Peru. It is a core ceremony practiced by the medicine people to bring people, groups, and situations into “ayni,” which is a state of balance, right relationship, balance, and reciprocity.
The despacho is created joyfully and with love. It is an envelope filled with offerings and intentions infused with the sacred breath of the shaman and participants. The use of the breath, emotion, and fire combine to spark changes at both the emotional and energetic levels, even shifting situations on the literal level. It brings participants into a harmonious relationship with all that is.
The ceremony is rich with layers of symbology and the cosmology of the shaman. It encompasses/addresses elements of our everyday life here in the middle world, along with honoring elements of the lower and upper worlds. It serves to bring into alignment our 3 centers of energy exchange, which govern taking right actions that create good feelings, while honoring our visions/life purpose.
The despacho ceremony is used to bring balance, set intentions, express gratitude, offer healing, shift situations and energy, and mark transitions or life events.
The offering envelope is prepared by the shaman, while participants use what are called kintus (3 bay leaves) to blow in their intentions or prayers. The kintus are then incorporated into the despacho while it is being created with beauty. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the despacho is burned by the shaman with the group holding space around the fire.
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