INKA SUN STAFF
Living the Prophecy
Newsletter
Table of Contents
I. JOURNAL -
II. NETWORKING -
IV. FRIENDS of ISS are Saying -
I. JOURNAL
1. Autumnal Equinox Ceremony
Sun and Earth Day, September, 2004
The loving presence of many new European Friends of the Staff is felt in Southern California at the Great Staff Despacho and Fire Ceremony in Garfield Park, South Pasadena. Rose petals from the park gardens filled the Despacho with color, depth, and the prayers of gathered Friends of ISS. Don Francisco’s huge Condor feather cleanses and blesses each participant and rests majestically on the alter as the Great Staff stood nearby. Later, the Fire is hot and friendly, carrying loving intentions to all Friends of ISS, family, community, nation, humanity, all our relations, and the Pacha Mama Herself. Allen takes the Despacho and the prayers of Friends from all over the world home for burial at a sacred ISS location.
2. Prayers for the Earth
Journeying with the Inka Elders
Complete Prayers for the Earth, 2004 Itinerary
More detail and stories in future ISS Newsletters
September 6 – Glendlock, County Wicklow, near Dublin, Ireland. Indoor opening ceremonies, with poetic welcome to Q’ero by Maura, reflections on Inka prophecy of the Time to Come by Alberto, and connections among the Q’ero, the Inka Sun Staff and the Time to Come by Allen. Half kilometer walk by trees and streams to beautiful lake side setting for marvelous Despacho Ceremony and opportunity for the 300 present to individually hold and offer their “Prayers for the Earth.”
September 7 – Dunderry Park Transpersonal Centre is situated in the heart of historic County Meath (see http://shamanismireland.com/venue.htm ). Private Despacho, sharing by Alberto and Allen, and individual time with the Staff for 50 shaman in training.
September 7 – Hill of Tara, County Meath, Ireland (see http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara/ ). Annette and a few friends give the Q’ero, Wake and Allen a personal tour of the grounds, even allowing the elders to cross barriers to see inside the ancient tomb (see photo above “The passage of the Mound of Hostages is short…). Great Staff laying down point touching east side of Destiny Stone for ceremony (see http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara/taragallery.html ), particularly picture labeled “Druids get their photos taken…”) . A spray of smaller Staffs radiates from the “top” of the Great Staff and all gathered hold hands and offer “Prayers for the Pacha Mama” and all our relations. Short walk down a grassy knoll brings us to Fairy Tree where Earth Spirits are especially available for human interaction. The Q’ero and the Staff are particularly comfortable and intrigued here.
September 8 – London, England. Wonderful Despacho and Staff indoor ceremony with more than 225 people present. Ten inch Staff planted and left in downtown garden.
September 9 – Reading University, England. Lilah and Chris take us to Avebury, in the heart of the Wiltshire Downs, (see http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/england/avebury.html and http://www.stonepages.com/england/avebury.html and http://www.crystalinks.com/avebury.html ) where we walk the mile circular bank featuring standing stones. At the center stone, where a great spiral resolves into the earth near the heart of the stone circle that lies at the conclusion of a five mile Druid pilgrimage, Chris and Allen plant the Great Staff and offer spontaneous, improvised ceremony. They bury a 5” Staff as a beacon of the 5th Sun and the emerging new consciousness that fully respects, embodies, and manifests Pacha Mama, the Universal Feminine.
September 10 – Stonehenge, England. Not allowed inside the public barriers, our unlikely combination of modern two European women, two American men, and four traditionally dressed Peruvian shamans stand in line with tourists and do ceremony with the huge standing stones in our hearts and minds. (see http://www.amherst.edu/~ermace/sth/sth.html )
September 10 – Glastonbury, England. Ritual with the Red and White Springs described in October ISS Newsletter. Then a hike to top of Tor where we tone in the remaining tower of a church and did ISS ceremony (see http://www.glastonburytor.org.uk/ ). Lilah and Allen spontaneously create a feminine and masculine, Mother Earth and Father Sun, ISS ritual with the planted Great Staff and many smaller Staffs radiating from It’s acceptance into the Great Mother. A 5 inch Staff is lovingly pushed fully into the Pacha Mama and continues to radiate the love and intentions of ISS and all Friends of the Staff.
September 11 – Stockholm, Sweden. Public ceremony in a beautiful hall with more than 200 people.
September 12 – National Botanical Garden. Private ceremony with the six of us and Johan and Ole. Ten inch ISS prayed with and planted in the heart of the grounds, to be tended by Johan.
September 12 – Kåseberga, Sweden. See Ole’s vivid description below. An evening pregnant with the raw power of the Pacha Mama. The huge winds and pelting rain bring the reality of ancient ceremony blasting into the present moment. A night never forgotten or duplicated.
September 13 – Copenhagen, Denmark. A beautiful, interactive audience of 150 people share energy with the Elders and ISS in a transformed hotel meeting room. Later a 10 inch Staff is permanently planted in the woods outside Copenhagen.
September 17-19 – Baarlo, Holland. Various Despacho and Fire rituals with two Shaman-in-Training classes in old rural Castle Berktl. ISS participates in Mosak Karpai, the “Rites of the Ancient Star People” and at the same time, the “Rites of the Time to Come.” The Great Staff first took these Rites on Apu Ausangate in 2003. They embody the energy and meaning of the Mission of ISS. More about them later.
September 19 – Hunebedden, Holland. We travel 5 hours round trip by car to commune with and do ceremony at one of 54 related standing stone sites in Holland. We find this quite public site to be out of balance. The shamans and the rest of us do ceremony with the Great Staff and other ISS that seems to harmonize and lighten the beautiful site (for a picture see http://www.oostermoer.net/hunebeddeninformatiecentrum/ ). A baby Staff is buried in the forest nearby.
September, 12, 2004
Second in a Series of Detailed Accounts of the
“Prayers for Earth” European Tour
“Ale Stenar is situated on the south coast of Sweden in a magnificent position overlooking the Baltic Sea. Theories and opinions about the great stone ship's origin and purpose come and go but its powerful impressiveness remains. It was late Sunday and the surf was up when our little group arrived in the small fisher village Kåseberga. The beautiful rainbow that had accompanied us for the last few miles had boosted our expectations and effectively swept away any tiredness from the group. The Q'eros watched the surfers with great interest as we made our way up the steep slope to the 58 stones high above. The wind was picking up and the last tourists coming down made big eyes as they passed Don Humberto and Don Francisco in their ceremonial outfits. {A bolt of lightening shattered the dusk sky as we approached the entrance of the standing stone ellipse. Allen} This was a perfect time for our ceremonies. Not only were the storm winds an awesome display of our Mother's power, but it also gave us the unusual gift of having the place all to ourselves.
“We remained by the ship well into the darkness of the night doing rituals with the staff and our mesas, including Karpays from the three Q'eros. At the end some of us went over to the very edge high above the raging waters. We were leaning out against the roaring wind that was reaching new heights. It felt like flying and even though water and sand was beating my face, and the gusts threatened to sweep us away, I felt totally protected and safe in our Mothers care.
“I think we were all a bit taken by the raw power of place and the experience as we got ready to leave. Allen for one, forgot were he had placed his backpack, and that caused some commotion before we managed to locate it among the stones in the starless night.
“Just like our arrival had been blessed by good signs, I saw something that really made me smile as we made our way back. A golden light shaped like a staff was hovering above a city on the horizon! The energy of the staff was already spreading in this land!”
Ole Ruhr, Sweden
3. Digesting and Grounding
October, 2004 – A month or six weeks of sitting with the events, accomplishments, and energies of the Prayers for the Earth Journey. The Great Staff rested and reflected in the dark of It’s home base. Allen and Barry did the same. Honoring and flowing with the natural rhythms of Mother Nature and ebbs and flows of human events are important principles and abilities of the Time to Come, the 5th Sun.
3. Rites and Rituals Training
November 12-17 – The Staff, in the form of three 10” Staffs and Allen, join The Four Winds Society, Alberto Villoldo, and Wake Wheeler for the full week of advanced training in Rites and Rituals near Santa Barbara, California. The Staffs stand at the center in the Nine Peak project described above in which Wake the entire group play a major role. The Great Staff joins them for the last day, fresh from the Mt. Wilson Nine Peak ceremony location, and participates in the final Fire Ceremony.
For that Fire, Sally and Allen develop a unique and significant opening to the Staff ritual. Rising slowly in graceful dance movement beneath a black poncho, Sally embodies the Pacha Mama reaching up in hope and anticipation toward Inti Tai Tai and the much awaited new consciousness. Coming out from under the poncho, Sally joins Allen to hold the Great Staff to the sky and Father Sun. After the Sun Salute, the woman and the man, embodying all humanity and the Universal Feminine and Universal Masculine, plant the Great Staff in the receptive body of the Pacha Mama in the form of a large planter of moist earth. The Staff, as a Great Intermediary of Father Sun and Mother Earth and still pulsing with the prayers of a thousand European Friends, receives the loving grasp and powerful intentions of each Friend present over the course of the evening.
4. Inka Sun Staff Nine Peak Healing Ceremony, Southern California
November 15, 2004 – The Great Inka Sun Staff participated in the culmination ceremony of an elaborate 2 week healing project for Mother Earth on Monday, November 15 in Southern California. Conceived, nurtured, organized and lead by Bennie E. Le Beau, Sr. of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe in the part of North America now known as Wyoming, USA, the purpose of the ceremonies is creating harmony and balance among humanity, all our relations, and Mother Earth. Particularly Bennie focused on healing the local natural settings and the Pacha Mama in general. This work is obviously aligned with the Work of ISS and our Mission, has been. For more information about the ceremony and Bennie see http://www.teton-rainbows.com/index.html .
Barry and the Great Staff were on Mt. Wilson, the highest local peak for the Greater Los Angeles area, from sunrise until mid-day on the 19th. The Great Staff was planted, adorned with an Eagle feather, and planted in the center of the circle. Barry also offered a Despacho Ceremony as part of the 6 hour event. Mt. Wilson was the western spoke of the 8 pointed star that formed the perimeter of the healing area. Mt. Wilson is near Allen’s home, not too far from Barry’s, and therefore an Apu that oversees and protects the Staff. We have done considerable ceremony on different parts of this mountain.
At the same time, Allen lead a group of 25 shaman near Santa Barbara, California, in a miniature version of Bennie’s ceremonial model. In a meadow overlooking the Pacific Ocean on a warm sunny morning, group members formed a large 8-pointed star with 3 Inka Sun Staffs planted at the center. Each person called the transformational energies of Inti Tai Tai, Father Sun, and grounded these energies into the waiting, receptive Pacha Mama, Mother Earth. We joined Friends of the Staff world wide in connecting with and supporting Barry, the Great Staff, Bennie and all participants on the nine peaks.
In an inspirational exclamation point and conformation of the beautiful work everyone involved, at the Santa Barbara site a school of dolphin swam, bobbed, leaped and dove just off shore. Their playful joy and awesome presence filled our hearts and reminded us of a primary reason we do this work. Namely, our love for Pacha Mama and all our relations (see http://www.inkasunstaff.org/thework.htm ).
Confirmation of another kind came in the form of a rare early Southern California snowstorm. The snow is crucial for local business and highly prized by local skiers. Perhaps more importantly, the snow brought crucial relief for a large area that has suffered from fire and drought problems for many years. In short, Pacha Mama was hurting. A press release of widespread TV coverage of the event is reproduced here.
"I'd like the thank the tribes if they are responsible for this early fluke snow storm that dumped two to four feet in the San Bernardino Mountains, and put them on our staff," announced Fritz Coleman, KNBC LA's weatherman. " I made a few calls and found the tribes were at the bottom of it. And on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the LA Ski Dazzle Show at their Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa St), skiers have a chance to thank the Southern California tribes... for the ceremony that brought economic lifting snow to the mountain communities," reported Olympic skier, Suzy Chaffee, the tribal event host.
Rene Doctor, a Tahitian married to Louis Doctor (Navajo/Dine), who was a part of the ceremony, told Chaffee that, "At dawn on November 15, members of Chumash on Mt Wilson and other tribes, like the Cabizon, praying independently, and as well as an Abenaki and Lakota, united with the other brilliant colors of humanity - Whites, Blacks, and Yellow - totaling 200, and performed a Big Bear Medicine Wheel Ceremony, singing sacred prayer songs in the eight cardinal points encircling the San Bernadinos, with Big Bear at the center."
"Following the devastating fires last year, the purpose," said ceremonial leader, Bennie LeBeau (Shoshone), "was to help the drought-ridden region, especially the trees and springs. Lakota Kim Langbecker, who brought the Bushmen of the Kalahari, LeBeau and the Big Bear Community together at a September "Journey of the Heart Gathering" there. "I honor the White People of the Big Bear Community for doing most the work to inspire these snow blessings," said LeBeau.
II. NETWORKING
Joining The Four Winds Society once again for Alberto’s and Wake’s Rites and Rituals Training continued our close association with the shaman training organization. The Staff plays an important role in Peak Ceremony described about and below, a Fire Ceremony, and a Sage Initiation Rite.
The Nine Peak Healing Ceremony conceived and birthed by Bennie Le Beau of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe described above is a prime example of ISS networking efforts. In this project, we join an elaborate, organized ceremonial effort and participate in the ceremonial events that Bennie conduced. Bennie’s style is to bring together many groups, ceremonial approaches, and ethnic groups. We believe that the power and love of the ISS and Friends of the ISS added to the effectiveness of his work.
The blending of the purpose, method and energy of ISS, The Four Winds group, and Bennie’s Nine Peak Healing project is a fine example of the ISS mission and means. Not wed to a particular ritual and valuing power of networking, we are working in spontaneity, creativity and cooperation toward the complete manifestation of the new consciousness, the 5th Sun.
III. COMING UP –
IV. FRIENDS of ISS are Saying –
From northern Sweden, Tatjana connects with all of us.