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Many members of Pacha Communities are looking for ways to experience deeper connections with the spirit of the Symposium, both with each other and with other Pacha Communities around the world.
In order to help experience those connections, the Pachamama Alliance is inviting all Pacha Communities around the world to perform a shared ceremony to honor Pachamama, Mother Earth, on the Solstices and Equinoxes each year, or as close to those dates as possible.
The first opportunity to perform this ceremony will be the Winter Solstice of 2012, coming up this December 21.
Preparations for the Ceremony
The ceremony involves a preliminary step: each member of the community selects a small rock or shell from a location where he or she feels a local home —and then someone in the community collects those rocks or shells in a bowl that is kept as a ritual object for the community.
This bowl represents the larger spirit of that regional community and the land it is grounded in, and it can also contain a rock from the home of The Pachamama Alliance, the San Francisco Bay Area (sent from the Pachamama offices upon request).
On the Day of the Ceremony
Then, on the Solstices and Equinoxes, the Pacha Community gathers and performs the ceremony: opening sacred space, acknowledging the spirit of the local indigenous people, reminding ourselves about our shared purpose, and acknowledging Pachamama and asking for Her guidance.
Then water is ritually poured over the bowl of rocks, with a prayer for renewal. After this, the water is poured out on a tree or a flowing source of water, with a closing prayer.
Why the Solstice?
This ceremony of connection and renewal was created for Pacha Communities with the guidance of well-known spiritual teacher Angeles Arrien, a long-time ally of Pachamama Alliance.
The Solstices and Equinoxes are appropriate for this ceremony because these are cosmic moments shared by the entire Earth at the same time. And these dates also remind us of the nurturing that we receive from both the light and the darkness and the balance between them, occurring and alternating in their rhythms and cycles.
In addition, they are cosmic events that have been recognized by indigenous cultures throughout history as highly significant for all humanity—so this ceremony reminds us of the indigenous roots that we all share.
Watch the "How To" Video
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We warmly invite your Pacha Community to join this ceremony to create deeper ways to experience our connection, in spirit as well as in action. There will be more suggestions about shared practices and ceremonies for Pacha Communities in the future.
