The celebration of Pachamama on August 1 is a practice of Andean (Aymara) spirituality that reminds us to be thankful for what we receive from Mother Earth and gives us the opportunity to ask for her blessing for times to come.
If your heart asks you to honor the Mother Earth on this day, I recommend you attend one of the numerous events that the Andean community holds in different cities, but if that is not possible, you can always perform some ritual practices in your own home.
This step-by-step that I share here is not a copy of the Pachamama rites in which I have participated as an apprentice of Andean masters, since it would not be fair to do so, but it rescues the spirit and meaning of what they have transmitted to me.
Above all, remember that this is a celebration of Life, and that Life “is in relationship with others.” If you can do these practices with your group or circle of like-minded souls, all the better.
Pachamama: rituals to do the August 1
1. Treasure hunt
Very early in the morning, go to a natural place (a park, your garden, a green space) and look for a stone that by its shape, color or texture catches your attention. It may remind you of the shape of an animal, a flower or a heart. When you find it, I asked permission to take the stone to your house and add it to the offerings of the day. Thank the Earth for the gift. It can be more than one, but stay sober, don’t accumulate.
2. Create an offering with your hands
Already at home, and using clay, salt dough, wood or straw, create an object that represents what you need to manifest in your present. Remember that the elements you use must be easily degradable. When creating the object, focus on the experience of already living what you need to manifest in your life.
3. Assemble the altar
The altars that are set up in the traditional Andean celebration of the Pachamama contain representations of what is sacred to their culture. The purpose of an altar is precisely to remind us of what is sacred to us; Therefore, instead of copying what you see in the images of these celebrations, I invite you to design your own for this day.
Choose a surface (such as a small table, a shelf or your balcony), locate a placemat and place on it the elements that remind you of everything you have to thank Nature for: they can be pebbles, snails, medicinal herbs, feathers. Add the stone you found and the item you created. You can also place objects that you have acquired throughout your life and that represent for you values or principles that you consider sacred.
4. Feed Mother Earth
in many ancient cultures of the world (not only the Aymara), there is the ritual of delivering food and drink to the Earth as a form of gratitude for what has been received. For this, you can make a well in a field or in a pot in your house and give it your offering of food and drink. Please, use only natural, organic elements that do not harm the soil (remember that plastics take a long time to degrade and have a negative impact on the environment).
While you feed him, speak to him from your heart, thank him for what he received and ask for what you need. Then cover the hole again with soil and place a flat stone to remember where you did it (maybe next year you decide to do it in the same place).
Next, put away the altar items. For example, you can tie a knot with the four corners of the tablecloth and keep it in a protected place until next year.
5. Celebrate
The best offering What we can do to the beings that coexist with us on Earth is our joy, because it is an emotion of high vibration, which positively impacts the global energy field. Raising the vibration is fundamental in the current time in which we become so intoxicated with worries and apocalyptic thoughts.
Conclude your Pachamama celebration dancing, singing and spreading your hope that a better world is possible.
Because it is.
By Flavia Carrión, communicator of natural spirituality. On Instagram, @flavia_carrion_writes.
Pachamama Day: rituals and spiritual practices for August 1, 2022