Many of us have heard about Despacho, from youtube, via Munay ki classes or if you have ever learnt anything shamanic, I'm sure you have heard about it. So, what is the Despacho ceremony exactly? Why do shamans do it? Is there a reason? What does it exactly represent? Don't worry, we have all the answers you need.
A Despacho is an act of thanking Mother Earth for everything she provides. It is a symbolic ritual that assists us to connect to and be in alignment with Earth's cycle. It is a process of exploring through symbology the intricate beauty and workings of the human and the spirit world. Shamans (especially Q'ero shamans from Peru) do it at the beginning of each Earth cycle to express gratitude for the last cycle and integrate the energies of the coming one in their luminous energy fields. Despacho is the way to feel Nature's soul and connect with the soul of the entire creation. It is the gift to the organizing principles of the Universe- everything that gives meaning to life.
A Despacho can be done as a token of gratitude or as an energetic exchange of your healing (or healing of the world at large). Each offering or object represents a prayer or intention blown into an object that sets the energy in motion for your manifestation.
.
There are over 200 types of Despacho. While they are essentially the same thing, the intention behind them is what differentiates them
Pachamama Despacho (honouring the spirit of Mother Earth)
Apu Despacho (honouring sacred mountain spirits)
Inti/ Chaska Despacho (for the Spirit of the sun, thanking it for sustaining life on Earth)
Cuti Despacho ( for dispelling negative energies)
Your intention should be the primary concern while doing a Despacho for yourself or conducting one for or with your community.
Okay, now get to the procedure- how can you do a Despacho ceremony??
Step By Step Guide To Do A Despacho Ceremony
You can do Despacho as simplistically as you want, or can even have a fancy ceremony- it all depends on you, there are no cons in either of these situations. Your intention is the only thing you need, you can get the rest by being creative and finding symbology in your household items. Red wine honours the Divine Feminine and motherly energy so does plain milk.
You can do Despacho as simplistically as you want, or can even have a fancy ceremony- it all depends on you, there are no cons in either of these situations. Your intention is the only thing you need, you can get the rest by being creative and finding symbology in your household items. Red wine honours the Divine Feminine and motherly energy so does plain milk.
Okay, let's get to the actual steps:
Open sacred space. You can do this by smudging, opening a vortex, drumming, humming, cleaning, using singing bowls or any other way. Check out this video to learn how to open sacred spaces.
Get a piece of paper. It can be as large as you want or you can just use a medium-sized one. It can be white or coloured. This paper is the wrapping of your gifts to Pachamama.
Fold the paper carefully so it has 9 even squares.
From the centre of your paper, start layering your offering of burnable items. Start with Qintu (traditionally, coca leaves). You can substitute them with bay leaves or leaves of any plant or tree indigenous to you. Blow your intentions (same or different) in each one of them. You can say it out loud before blowing it into each leaf or repeat it in your heart while doing it.
Make a foundational design of your Despacho using a minimum of 12 leaves.
Add flowers, grains, objects- anything that represents something meaningful to you. In the next section, we'll share some suggestions you can use for your offerings or be inspired and come up with your own list. As more and more objects of intention are added to the Despacho, it becomes a living prayer that holds the power to shift the energy. While making a Despacho, you'll gain more and more understanding of your consciousness and will be able to access the altered state. You'll see the Great Spirit in all of your offerings and realise that you too are but a symbol of consciousness expressing itself. Everyone and everything is.
Trees aren't mentally aware that they purify the air, release oxygen and sustain all life on land. They just do because that's consciousness expressing itself in the physical form of what humans call "trees". Bees aren't intentionally trying to pollinate the flowers, they just do because that's consciousness playing out through what we call "bees". Similarly, we are all different expressions of consciousness, playing the dance of what we call life and death. There is no life, no death- there's just one universal Spirit expressing itself in 3D living life through every being. Why does it do that? I have no idea. Different religions and beliefs have theories.
Some call it Maya or illusion, some say it's a veil of forgetfulness. Some say that the Universal mind we are all a part of chooses physical life forms out of curiosity to experience diversity and evolve back to oneness. Maybe there's no reason. Maybe it's just consciousness playing different roles and life as we understand too is just consciousness expressing itself in one of the ways. As you connect to your Despacho, you'll find answers that speak to your soul. You'll be able to connect to Spirit more and more will each offering you make.
Make sure you're organising your offerings properly! Don't just put them willy nilly as each object is ultimately a symbol of life and Spirit.
Carefully wrap your offerings with a ribbon or a string. Blow into a Qintu and tie it within the string as a symbol of all your forgotten prayers.
Gift your Despacho ceremoniously to Earth by burying (for slow and steady manifestation), to the element of fire for instant transformation and to sacred waters of the Earth for receiving and honouring the ebb and flow of life.
Release attachment from the results and know that no prayer goes unheard. It just takes a while and possibly some soul lessons before they are realised.
When you are done, close the sacred space and return to your normal life.
Some Suggested Offerings
What you offer to your Despacho depends on your intention and the availability of items. Feel free to add whatever holds meaning to you.
Here are some common offerings:
Sugar: to represent the sweetness of life
Salt: for protection
Corn- For sustenance
Figs: To honour ancestors and spirit of the ancient ones who lived in mountains
Grains: to thank Mother Earth for supporting life
Feather- to represent ethers and spirit world
Star confetti: to represent our connection with stars
Flower petals: for healing
Flower: to represent the beauty of Nature and fertility
Human Hair: to represent the connection with Spirit
Alphabet Noodle: to transcend beyond the need of language for communication
Rainbow yarn: to serve as a bridge between different worlds
Nut: to express gratitude for plant people
Animal Fat: to represent pure energy
Chocolate: Pachamama loves chocolate
When done with purity of heart, the Despacho holds the potential to balance all 3 levels of consciousness for you- Yankay (the physical universe), Yachay (spirit) and Munay (heart centre). You don't need to be special or attuned/ activated to do the ceremony. The only thing you need is your intention, the spirit of gratitude and unconstitutional love for Gaia. As you dedicate yourself to the service of Mother Earth, you will become one with her and she will align you with every ability, every gift, everything you can possibly want or need so long as you were in service to the universe.
Save the images below or Pin to your Pinterest boards to help you remember all the different ways you can create your despacho!
