Opening Sacred Space

We began our gathering on the evening of September 8th by reciting this Q’ero prayer. As requested, here it is, available as a PDF. Opinions vary, but I was taught that sacred space can remain open for about seven days. It makes for a beautiful weekly practice, if you choose to use it as such. It’s recited during pivotal events like birth, marriage, healing, or for peace and protection.

The Q’ero people are descendants of the Incas and reside high in the Andes of Peru. Their shamanic traditions are spiritually based in nature and invoke elemental powers to bring about healing and balance. The six individual paragraphs each represent one of the four cardinal directions, the below, and the above.

To recite the prayer: For each section, stand and face that cardinal direction with your rattle high in the air. You’ll be turning in a clockwise direction to face the next cardinal direction. If you’re with a group, they can raise one or both hands in that direction as well. For Mother Earth (Pachamama), bend down to touch the earth with your palm. For Father Sun (Intititi), stand up and raise both hands to the sky. Each paragraph ends with “A-ho!” The entire group should say it loudly and in unison as you give a singular shake of your rattle in that direction. If you don’t have a rattle, you can substitute with a bell, drum, or something similar.

Did you know Q’ero medicine involves seven energy centers in the body? This is alike the Hindu tradition of the chakras or the Jewish Kabbalah tradition of the Tree of Life that’s divided into seven levels and connected by ten nodes. It’s time to bring this seemingly “shared” ancient knowledge from different traditions to the forefront to restore much-needed balance back into the world!