The Island of the Moon in Lake Titicaca
Patries Personal & Planetary Invitation to Quest
written by Ike West
The Island of the Moon in Lake Titicaca
A healthy soul incarnates in three stages. First, the personal or introspective
aspects of development command attention; then group consciousness takes hold
and at this stage the soul compulsion is to develop 'familial' solidarity with
like-minded others.
Finally a mature soul looks to serve the cosmos and leaders of the grand schemata,
those we might call stellar/creator intelligences. In tribal cultures, progressing
through these three stages is repeated throughout life, undertaken in a rather
compressed time and space at ceremonial celebrations that traditionally occurred
while traveling across (and sometimes inside) the surface of the Earth.
Tribes recognize the movement from one sacred site to another follows the dance
of the stars around the heavens; and the ceremonies mirror the spirit-work of
Heavenly Beings, from familial ancestors to the oldest and youngest guides attending
the earthly and other planes.
Few of us today have an opportunity to immerse ourselves in so intense a quest,
one where we change at soul depths-and simultaneously renew earthly stewardship
commitments in chorus with stellar/creator intelligences.
Patries van Elsen offers just such treasured treks; the next through Peru over
the September Equinox period of 2012.
Recently I interviewed Patries, hoping to summon up interest in her earth-essential
work. If unable to join the upcoming pilgrimage, do not worry.
I am certain the future holds many more, so read on!
Ike: Is it true that every participant finds your trip to be a personal odyssey
of sorts?
Patries van Elsen: Yes, absolutely. I limit the group to twelve people and everybody
on the tour initially reports having felt a strong 'call' to join. That calling
is individualized; it's not the same for everybody. So immediately every trip
starts out differently. And because people come from northern countries, they
notice immediately the difference in energy. In the south it is much higher
in frequency, and more softly feminine. These vibrations create new activity
in the body cells, and each northerner is changed. It's pretty certain that
life at home will not be the same after such an immersion. In fact, many tribes
in both South and North America have a prophecy about the Eagle and Condor.
It is said that when both fly together, a new light or sun will be born. I believe
on these trips people from the north bring the spirit of Eagle. We join together
in a ceremonial way with the indigenous of the south, infused with the spirit
of the Condor, and like that a new light in humanity is born.
Ike: I know this is also important to the Maya and Aztec; I see it during the
Ceremonies I attend in TX. They venture over the Tex-Mex border hoping to blend
together 'Red and White' and bring alive the holistic humanity promised by the
ancients. And speaking of the ancients, do you work with the ancestors during
your journeys?
Patries van Elsen: The ancestors are vital to our spiritual entourage. Not only
do we work with our own personal ancestors but also include the local Peruvian
ancestors as we move from one sacred site to another. There is actually a power
place in Peru that has a building of sorts with very impressive towers, filled
with five floors of mummies. For generations tribal people have honored and
prayed with their ancestors at this place, asking for support and guidance in
their rituals. Of course, during our visit, we do the same. To me, it is essential
to include the ancestors and involve the local indigenous people in what we
do.
Moray,
Peru
I
just returned from my last trip and one of the sacred sites the group visited
was a place with a strong connection to the 13 Solar Discs so renowned in Peru.
Here, terraces are built far into the Earth. When we arrived, I felt discouraged
by the loud tourists and football players in the area. Sensing to go ahead despite
my reluctance, I walked down the terraces with others from my group.
As we made ready to begin our spiritual work, the tourists and players went
away.
Before we got very far in our connecting to the Earth, other tourists came along.
These, however, were Peruvian visitors to the site.
Without a word, they made their own circle around us and began to follow our
lead. They did what we did, in their own way and language.
An exchange spontaneously bloomed between northerners and southerners, the Eagle
and the Condor.
We became a spiritual team, and it was beautiful.
Moray, Peru Ceremony
Ike:
Speaking of a spiritual team, as you travel does the group prove cohesive and
do people end up working well together-or have there been problems with people
bonding?
Patries van Elsen: I try to build cohesiveness into the group at the spirit
level.
When a person reports a dream or vision or even just a longing, I often make
ceremony or do something creative around it so what starts out as individual
grows and becomes something everybody feels as her/his own.
Before long, we weave our mystical experiences together until they seem to belong
to the whole group.
Often, as the trip progresses, the dream or visions make joint sense, and give
signs that can help define our next steps.
They also might bring to light a new level of understanding about what we are
doing and the trip's overall importance.
In this way, bonds are built among members of the Circle and they are not superficial,
but reach profound depths.
Moray, Peru
And
you have to remember Peru has much feminine energy that is felt in the blood
and bones, and is seen in every southerner.
As a result people who come here from the north discover they are not so much
in their heads, making judgment or developing attitudes like they might normally.
Instead, they realize their hearts are continuously, all the time, open.
Here, in the south people are very connected with their hearts in an emotional
way, and have intuitive sensitivity to that.
As a result, there are few borders or barriers felt between people, even language
differences don't stand in the way of good relationships. And doing ceremonies
at ancient sites that have been revered by generations, in some ways we become
child-like in our love and adoration for Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth.
These sanctuaries create magic; it's as if our work becomes play.
And I find both the magic and the togetherness increases as we go from one 'spiritual
garden' to the next.
Heart
Stone, Lake Titicaca
Everywhere
along the journey, love abounds. Often we find rocks in the shape of hearts.
During the last trip, while on the Isla de la Luna/Island of the Moon, we did
cleansing ceremonies that took us back to clear deep levels of human sorrow.
We even released grief from ancient pre-human, stellar intelligent life on the
planet.
Afterwards, everybody found a heart-shaped stone to take with them to the next
sacred place on the itinerary, Isla del Sol.
There, the group sadly faced a bit of modern reality. Three different local
tribes now divide one of the most important sacred sites of the island in three,
each taking a third (of the land) for their own ceremonies and rituals. They
do not get along and do not want to share this sacred place in Oneness with
each other, (or work together) on this island of fiery spirit, dedicated to
the sun.
How fitting it is that we laid a circle of stones before starting our ceremony.
These twelve heart-shaped rocks we had picked up on the Isla de la Luna were
meant to make a bridge between the two islands, to bring a bit of the soft,
feminine lunar spirit to the neighboring land of the sun.
Little did we realize that long after we are gone, the Circle of Heart laid
in stone stays behind to serve as a reminder that loving compassion offers the
key to peace between three warring nations.
It is my hope, anyway. With each trip, I want to leave behind only a few footprints
of harmony, bringing balance between sun and moon, north and south, eagle and
condor.
___________________________________________________
An internationally renowned artist, Patries for many years also organized ike's
Circles in the Netherlands.
Originally from Amsterdam, Patries van Elsen now lives a great part of the year
near Cusco, Peru and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
There, she continues to create her art and organize tours to sacred sites in
SA.
Please consider traveling with Patries in September (or on later trips) to Peru,
including Cusco, The Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Lago Titicaca, the sanctuaries
of Ollantaytambo, Moray, Chincero, Pisaq, Raqchi, Sillustani (Sacred Place of
the ancestors), Hayu Marka (The interdimensional portal of Aramu Muru), Copacabana,
Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), and Isla de la Luna ( Island of the Moon).
For further information please check out Patries' website and specifically for
the guided travel to Peru.
Thank you, Patries, for a glimpse into the Mother-paradise, and your willingness
to share hallowed southern pathways with others.
Information:
info@patriesvanelsen.nl