The Maya Lands of Mexico offer many ways to encounter the sacred. Here are just a four sacred experiences that are, literally, life-changing.

Being “in-situ”:

It is one thing to see artifacts in a museum or book, and it is a completely different experience to be on the land, at the places where people have performed ritual and honored the ancestors and deities. Walk through the temples of Chichen Itza and hear the echoes of songs and the petals of flowers from ancient rituals. Climb the pyramid at Ek Balam and look over the surrounding verdant jungle, breathing in the prana of the plants. Sit at the altar of the goddess IxChel with the waves of the turquoise ocean lapping nearby. This is the time and place to reach from the past to the present and feel yourself between the worlds.

The Balche ceremony:

Balche is a fermented beverage made with honey and the bark of the sacred balche tree. When the Spanish arrived, they quickly banned the making and drinking of balche because of its strong religious significance. However, when the Maya showed the Spanish its healing properties, the ban was lifted, In ritual, the drink balche has healing properties, both for self and society. When drinking it in ritual, balche connects us to the cosmos, bringing messages from spirits and ancestors. Join us in December for a balche ceremony at Kaxan Xuul Ek Balam Colectivo De La Cultura Maya

Cenotes:

Cenotes are deep underwater pools. The name cenote is from the Maya ts’onot, which refers to a “sacred well.”. When we swim in these sacred pools, we are connected to all the other waters of the land. These turquoise and mineral-rich pools represent the womb, a place where we are reborn. The Maya would make offerings to these pools, and they were a part of their most sacred rituals.
Hear Veronica Iglesias talk about the beautiful and soulful things we will experience on the Tour of the Maya Lands: https://www.youtube.com/watch…

 Temazcal:

Experience a temazcal in the jungles near Ek Balam and again on the island of Isla Mujeres. The temazcal is an ancient ceremony used throughout Mesoamerica. This ritual takes place in a round structure, like a womb. On the south wall, on the outside, is a fireplace. The fire heats the wall and volcanic stones are brought inside. The temazcal ceremony brings purification and healing. When you leave the temazcal, you enter the world reborn. Imagine leaving the dark womb of the healing temazcal and walking over the white sand into the bright sunlight and turquoise ocean of the beach at Isla Mujeres.

 

Join Anne Key and M Verónica Iglesias and Sacred Tours of Mexico this December and Dive Deep into the Beauty and Mystery of the Maya Lands. Are you ready to make this Winter Solstice the moment when you dive deep, breathe it all in, and return renewed? http://sacredtoursofmexico.com/2018-tour-schedule/ 

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