The Solstice last month was a particularly powerful moment, marking what many indigenous cultures see as the beginning of a new era for humanity. The Pachamama Alliance honored the occasion with ceremonies on a global and national scale to honor and reconnect to Pachamama, Mother Earth.
An Invitation from Teacher & Shaman Arkan Lushwala
In September of last year, a small group of Pachamama Alliance had the privilege to participate in a Solstice sacred fire ceremony while visiting Arawaka, Peruvian shaman Arkan Lushwala's community in New Mexico.
At the heart of the ceremony is a sacred fire, and offerings to honor the spirits of great mountains around the world, as well as Pachamama herself. Arkan is part of a global network of “firekeepers” who keep this tradition alive, much as ancient indigenous peoples did.
It was with much gratitude that we accepted Arkan’s invitation to join this network and hold our own fire ceremony on the recent Solstice, December 21, 2012.
Nearly 70 people gathered at sunrise on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, with the purpose of deep honoring of Mother Earth and prayer for Her health and wellbeing. Similar ceremonies took place at the same time in close to 100 locations worldwide, honoring some 1200 sacred mountains, rivers, lakes and oceans. Those other locations and sites were called into the circle one by one, at all the places around the world, forming a web of interconnection and magnification of the prayers.
The sacred fire ceremony will be held on every Solstice or Equinox going forward.
In addition, we also invited Pacha communities worldwide to take part in a separate shared ceremony on the same dates, which our staff observed later that day in our office.
More about community Solstice ceremonies
