MEET OUR FACILITATOR

Mateo Magee has been serving communities as a spiritual teacher, guide, and expedition leader since 1998.  His book, Peruvian Shamanism: The Pachakuti Mesa (2002) was the first written account of a lineage dating back thousands of years to both the Northern Coastal Huachumero and Southeastern Andean Paqokuna traditions of Peru.

Despite having several University degrees, Mateo feels his true education was derived from the decades he spent living and working alongside traditional indigenous  peoples of both North and South America. 

In addition to his 27 years of apprenticeship in the Peruvian systems of curanderismo, his current work also focuses on postures of receptivity in nature, stillness in motion, and a deep relationship to silence in solitude.   

One of Mateo’s great gifts is his capacity to make complex and elusive spiritual concepts accessible and palatable, building bridges between ancient cultures and modern-day truth seekers.  He considers himself a perpetual student, and his inclusive teaching style creates a safe environment for every soul to stretch out in. 

HERE IS A SAMPLE OF SOME OF THE TOPICS YOU WILL BE EPOSED TO IN THIS RETREAT

WORKING THE MESA

In a time when there was no written counterpart, the use of a Mesa is was the primary tool to pass down the history, cosmology, mythology and forms of healing artistry of Peruvian tradition from generation to generation. 

The Mesa is a ceremonial altar containing ritually empowered objects, which are aesthetically arranged on a sacred textile. The Mesa we will be focusing on in our retreat was born through an amalgamated synthesis of both the Paqokuna (southeast Andean) and Huachuma (Northern Coastal) traditions of Peru. 

The focus of our ongoing apprenticeship will be the break down of this ancient system.  You will learn its use and how it works, just as it has been passed down for millenia... through direct ceremonial experience.  

LEARN TO WORK WITH HEALING ENERGIES

This weekend retreat will also discuss themes such as energetic healing.  For example, in physical healing, the main concern is to first empower the patient with vital energy and, second, to remove the condition preventing the client from fully embodying his or her soul purpose. In most cases, a depleted energy source is what permitted the intrusion of illness in the first place. It is important to augment a client’s personal power before attempting to counteract the illness-producing agent. And, in most cases, replenishing a client’s energy is all that is needed. Simply infusing a client with vital life force allows the newly empowered body to utilize its inherent healing wisdom to restore itself to a state of balance and wholeness.

LEARN TO WORK WITH HEALING TOOLS

In the Northern Coastal Huachuma roots, staffs are among the most commonly used tools for limpia or ritual cleansing. These staffs, known as varas, are commonly carved in the images of specific patron saints of curanderismo, such as San Cypriano de Antioquia (St. Cyprian of Antioch). Totem animals and iconographic symbols are also frequently implemented into the designs of staffs. A few examples are Vara de la Señorita (Staff of the Single Woman, often analogous to concepts of Pachamama), La Mano de Dios (the Hand of God), Vara de la Luna (Staff of the Moon), Vara del Rey (Staff of the King/ Divine Masculine), Vara de la Lechuza (Staff of the Female Owl), etc.  In this retreat we will learn how to work with staffs (varas) to address various physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues for both self and other. 

UNDERSTANDING KAMAY

THE APUKUNA

The Apukuna, also referred to as Apus, are the spirits of the sacred mountains of Peru (and parts of Bolivia and Ecuador as well). They are considered to be the most powerful of all nature spirits and are the main source of spiritual connection and protection for curanderos in most regions of Peru (the exception being certain parts of the deep Amazonian rainforest). These majestic peaks stretch toward the stratosphere, connecting the Earth to the Heavens, functioning as the Divine’s guardians of the Kay Pacha.

The mystical capacity of the mountains has been sung into legend and myth by nearly every culture of the world throughout history. These havens of life and death emerge into form through volcanic rebirth, and consume all that are unprepared to journey to their highest peaks. Journeying to the liminal space and thin air of a sacred mountain peak is essentially a pilgrimage to meet the God of your understanding directly.

It brings one closer than ever to the pronounced essence of our own labored breath, and reminds us of how closely related the pattern of life and death relates to simple inhalation and exhalation. As such, the Apus are considered regents of supernatural power and function as the closest and most potent representatives of Wiraqocha (Creator/ Creatress) available to humanity in the physical plane. This pure resource of divinity serves to influence our own lives in the same way that the great mountains influence the weather patterns of nature.

WHERE WE WILL BE STAYING

OUR RETREAT CENTER AND CEREMONIAL SPACE

The property is on 10 acres of forest-covered hills, the ecological “gem” of which is a living spring that feeds the local creek, and is home to crawfish, turtles, snakes, fish and more. Other wildlife on the property include deer, armadillo, red fox, snakes, a number of birds, and insects who pass through the land on their annual migration. This spring has been continuously occupied for thousands of years, and features the archeological remains of many tribal peoples, most recently the Apache. These lands have a long history of traditional ceremonial work.

The temple is a dodecagonal maloka with a 36’ diameter, loosely styled after the Munay Sonqo maloka in Peru’s Sacred Valley. It features a beautiful spiraled roof design centered over a selenite altar.

ALTERNATIVE LODGING

Multiple alternative housing options for Saturday Night in the 78676 area code are available locally through a quick google search.  If you need assistance finding suitable lodging please contact me directly at [email protected] and i will do my best to support you in finding something that works for you.