Last night I had the good fortune to attend the fall Equinox Ceremony at Sacred Lands with a dear friend. This sacred ceremony symbolizes the beginning of the Incan and Hopi prophecies of the unification of the Eagle and Condor again. The guest Spiritual Teacher, Washington Gibaja Tapia from Peru along with Ceremonialist, Bonnie Dhonau, performed the ceremony.

Fall Equinox moon 9-22-12

The Inca tradition of the five hundred year “dark half” of the Pachakuti has just ended. They believe that it is a continually rotating cycle of 1000 years that is divided into two cycles-500 years of spiritual darkness followed by 500 years of spiritual lightness. This Andean prophecy predicts that the Condor will fly with the Eagle and peace will reign throughout the Americas, again. In ancient times the Condor, which is the national bird of Peru and symbolizes all South Americans, flew side by side with the Eagle, which represents all Central and North Americas. When these two grand birds flew together in the past, peace and love reigned throughout the Americas.

All the guest and/or participants were encouraged to bring something to be spiritual charged on the altar during the ceremony. I brought a special shell that I found many years ago while living in the Caribbean. My friend brought a rock that she had found when we were in Tulum, Mexico 2 years ago. The traditional dress for the ceremony is to wear black for the top and white for the bottom to symbolize the Equinox-the yin and the yang, the internal and the external, the individual and the community. Saying the chants first in Quechua, then Spanish and finally in English mirrored the history of the languages in Peru and many parts of the Americas. Drums, rattles and other sacred instruments were played. It was a very special place to be last night during the Equinox. After the ceremony we went to Madeira Bach to see the moon in its yin and yang state and listen to the waves gently come onto the sand. What an awesome way to end a hectic week-remembering that we are just a tiny speck in the multi-universes. The Incas went to the top of Machu Picchu to put everything in perspective as they looked down at their city and saw how small all the people really were.

Sacred Lands is located in St Petersburg at the site of the burial mounds of the ancient village of the Tocobago. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving land that has historical and archaeological significance through educational programs, tours and other special events. For more info visit their website:  http://www.sacredlands.info/index.aspx