A Prayer in Petals: A Personal Reflection on the Despacho Ceremony
“May this Despacho be a living prayer, woven with the threads of reciprocity, infused with love, and carried on the wings of Spirit to bless the Earth and all our relations.”
A Moment of Stillness
Before the Despacho event, I found myself in a deeply questioning space. Not in crisis, but in quiet inquiry. I was reflecting on my business — how I had envisioned it taking shape and how it was actually unfolding. I was asking myself if I was still aligned with the path I set out on, and whether I was speaking and offering from my truth or from others’ expectations.
There was also a pull toward the natural world. The land where I live fills me with such love, yet I’ve been wondering: Is this where I’m meant to be right now? I’ve been feeling the presence of our animal allies more strongly too — particularly after the recent fires that devastated our mountains and displaced so many of the wild animals who call this place home. There was a heaviness in my heart, a longing to be in right relationship with all of it.
I came to the ceremony carrying that weight — not just for myself, but for the collective. My intention was to transmute what felt heavy and unclear, and to dream a world into being where humans, animals, plants, and the Earth are honored for their wisdom and essence. I asked: How can I live this more fully? And how can I model it in a way that gently calls others into the same alignment?
The physical and energetic space for the Despacho began a week before the event. I shared reflections with attendees to help them begin their own process of release. As I created the layout and connected with the Sacred Archetypes of the Medicine Wheel, the energy began to weave itself. The space, both seen and unseen, was ready to receive.
Petal by Petal, Prayer by Prayer
Opening Sacred Space brought a profound shift. The Archetypes came in, and I could feel how present they were, not just for me, but for everyone in the circle. We weren’t just creating a Despacho — we were co-creating a field of transformation.
For me, this was a surreal experience: building the Despacho with a group, stepping more fully into the role of teacher and guide. As I shared the meaning of each ingredient, I felt myself become a bridge — between everyone in the circle, the archetypes, the ingredients, and the unseen. There was something deeply powerful in speaking these teachings out loud, and witnessing others breathe their dreams and wishes into the Qintu's.
Each offering was intentional. Each addition was a prayer.
I felt immense gratitude — for Pachamama, for the archetypes, for the people who came with open hearts. And I felt, deeply, that we weren’t just building something together. We were remembering something sacred.
The Fire, The Surrender
Offering the Despacho to the fire is always the peak moment of the ceremony for me. It’s the act of true surrender. It’s one thing to place your dreams into the Despacho. It’s another to release them to Spirit, fully, without holding on.
There is a sacred rhythm to it: we build the Despacho. We build the fire. We prepare the space. And when the fire is ready to receive, we place the bundle into the flames and turn our backs. That moment of turning away is a physical, embodied surrender. We give it over. We trust. We let go.
The next morning, I returned to the fireplace. Only ash remained. The fire accepted our Despacho. Our prayers had been heard.
What Shifted — In Me, In the Field
This was an Ayni Despacho — a ceremony of sacred reciprocity. And the medicine of Ayni worked fast.
The day after, I felt clear. Not just lighter, but clarified. My mind was quieter. My vision for my work, which had felt tangled and uncertain, began to feel spacious again. I could see ahead, not with urgency, but with peace. The questions that had weighed heavy no longer felt like burdens — they felt like invitations.
This is the power of ceremony. The realignment happens not just during the ritual, but in the days that follow, in the way we walk, speak, and dream afterward.
“Right relationship isn’t something we acquire. It’s something we practice. And in that practice, the world shifts. An Ayni Despacho is one way in which we practice “Coming Into Ayni” - Coming Into Right Relationship”.”
Why Ceremony Matters — Especially Now
The Despacho is a living prayer. A beautiful act of devotion. But it is also a sacred act of remembering. In a world so full of distraction, division, and disconnect, returning to ceremony is how we return to ourselves. To the Earth. To the sacred.
This is more than personal healing. This is energetic repair for the collective.
We offer. We receive. We listen. We let go.
Ceremony restores Ayni not just within us, but around us. When we sit in sacred space, we weave healing into the field. And even the smallest offering — a breath, a word, a handful of petals — matters.
“May all that we offer with love return to us in right timing, in right balance, in right relationship.”
A Closing Blessing
The prayer we offered during this Despacho was aligned with the deep waters of the Scorpio Full Moon:
Under the luminous gaze of the Scorpio Moon,
we gather as soul-kin in sacred reverence.
We give thanks to Pachamama,
to the waters that cleanse,
the winds that whisper,
the fire that transforms,
and the stones that hold memory.As Venus dances through Cancer and Neptune dreams in Pisces,
our hearts open like blossoms in moonlight,
ready to offer, to grieve, to heal,
and to celebrate the beauty of becoming.May this Despacho be a living prayer,
woven with the threads of reciprocity,
infused with love,
and carried on the wings of Spirit
to bless the Earth and all our relations.