Despacho:
Despacho: Despachos are prayer bundles typically made from sugar, incense, grains, herbs, other symbolic offerings and prayer. Despachos are then burned during fire ceremony to release the prayers to Great Spirit. This offering is meant for "right balance", "right harmony", and "spirit's way" with unconditional love and non-attachment.
In Spanish, the word despacho literally means "dispatch or shipment". In the Andean traditions of Peru, a despacho is a ceremonial offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Apus (Mountain Spirits). You could perhaps think of it as a focused, formal way to "dispatch" or "ship" your prayers off to the powers that be.
For a despacho ceremony, the shaman gathers a variety of symbolic offerings such as wine, sugar, incense, gold and silver threads, red and white flower petals, grains, seeds, shells, candies and more. Each item is placed on a large sheet of paper with great care and intention, arranged in a mandala-like shape. Prayers for things such as family, career, spiritual growth, forgiveness are blown into small bundles of leaves called kintus and added to the offering as well.
Eventually the mandala is completed, the bundle is folded closed and tied up. Then the shaman will run the whole bundle over your body, drawing out any heavy energy that may be lurking there.
Finally, the whole bundle is ceremonially burned, the participants turning their backs to the fire to allow the spirits to "eat" the offering in peace. The incense takes the prayers up to the Mountain Spirits, any heavy energy is turned to ash for Pachamama to consume and compost, transforming into fertile ground for new endeavors.
A personal despacho is an opportunity to really focus on any areas of your life where you feel you need support or would like to ask for blessings. It is quite a powerful way to set your intentions and let them go. You may be surprised to recognize in the weeks and months following a despacho ceremony that you are indeed receiving the things you asked for, though perhaps in an unexpected or unusual form, perhaps in a way more appropriate or powerful than you could have dreamed of on your own.
Each despacho is created uniquely to the person. Wonderful during times of transitions in life, career changes, un-winding from past relationships, relocations of home or work, wedding engagements, graduations, etc. Total of 4 hours: (2 hours assembly; 2 hours fire ceremony) | $450
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