SOLAR CALENDAR: our Solstice and Equinox celebrations
Celebrating the Solar calendar
We really enjoy marking the special times in the year when the cosmos reminds us of that it is a really good idea to pause and take a breath!
It’s a wonderful opportunity to gather, to celebrate, to share gratitude, to connect with the lineage and the lineage holders, to do our healing work, and to step into this particularly powerful moments in our greater cosmic calendar.
Whether we are marking the points of balance, heading into the dark, or out into the light, these moments are all powerful opportunities to make sure we are on the right path.
Our Q’ero medicine lineage holders
We often celebrate the Solar calendar events with a Despacho ceremony created for us by Don Pascual Apaza Flores (his wife, Doña Santusa Flores Quispe sometimes joins us too!), who joins us live from Cusco.
So much of what we learn in this lineage (as you’ll no doubt have gathered if you have spent even a few moments looking around this site) aims to bring us into ‘Ayni‘ or ‘right relationship’, within ourselves, with others, and with the natural world around us. These times of year when there are greater forces in motion are particularly good opportunities to do just that.
This year’s celebrations
Our Summer Solstice fire ceremony will take place in Cuxham, Oxfordshire. Join Penel Meredith on Saturday 21 June for a day-long experience, or for a fire ceremony at 6.30pm.
For more details contact Penel MeredithA special Autumnal Equinox message from Peru will be posted here.
Our Winter Solstice online celebration takes place on Friday 19 December from 7pm-9pm UK. All welcome. More details soon!
Father Sun
This is also a wonderful opportunity to tend our relationship to Father Sun, or Inti Tayta, in the Quechuan language.
In this lineage, we are all considered to be children of the Sun – in fact, this is what the word ‘Inca’ represents. We all receive, without preference or judgment, the beautiful light of the Sun – and therefore all the qualities of life – that touches everything on our planet. The light of Inti Tayta calls us to grow physically and spiritually, and reflects the great love that the Father Sun has for all his children.
How we celebrate
If we are celebrating with an online gathering, Don Pascual creates a healing Despacho – a ‘prayer of gratitude’ – that helps us to release that which no longer serves us and calls in more of what will bring us into Ayni. A Despacho is created using flowers, nuts, seeds, leaves, and other combustible items that represent every aspect of life. Every Despacho is different – there is no set pattern – and each one reminds us of how beautiful life can be if we are in Ayni.
The element of fire
Our celebrations often centre around a fire ceremony, in-person whenever our schedule allows. Taking our place around the fire is a fundamental part of being human, and this is at the centre of our ceremonies too.
In the days that follow an online Despacho ceremony, Don Pascual will take our Despacho up to Ausangate, one of the mountains sacred to this tradition. There he will hold a fire ceremony for us, and he will give our Despacho up to the flames. The element of fire is considered to be a ‘fast transformer’! The fire takes our Despacho and returns it to pure energy, and we, having done our work, can let go of the outcome…
A community of kindred spirits
Another fundamental element of these celebrations, no matter what the format, is about feeling part of a community, a tribe, or a village of like-minded people who want to create positive change — both within ourselves and in the world around us, and find the tools and the support to do.
We hope you’ll feel a warm welcome to join us. No experience or prior knowledge is necessary.
