Archetypes are blueprints, or energy patterns. Every living thing has its own signature. Tribal people have had experiences with angels and animal spirits, and Earthkeepers, and even though the names are changed from tribe to tribe, the signature of the Great Being is the same.
• Serpent – This archetype is given into the first or root chakra. The Serpent is the Mother of the Waters and has been the archetype of the healer throughout many cultures. The staff of medicine, or caduceus, is formed by two serpents intertwined around a rod. The Serpent teaches us to shed our personal past the way she sheds her skin. This archetype is the primary life force, the one who dives deep inside and knows the way into the deepest places inside ourselves. This is known as kundalini is other ancient traditions.
Serpent walks with beauty on the belly of the Mother and knows the way back to the Garden, the place of innocence. She symbolizes knowledge, sexuality and healing. Serpent represents the primeval connection to the feminine and thus is a symbol of fertility. She symbolizes the essential life force that seeks union and creation. We can summon the creative principle by calling on this archetype of Serpent.
There is an Andean legend that tells the story of two mythical beings, Yacumama and Sachamama, represented by two big snakes that leave the underworld and ascend to the world of the here and now. Yacumama slithers along the earth becoming a great river and Sachamama walks erect with the appearance of an aged tree. She has two heads, the upper one feeds on birds and the lower one attracts the animals living on the surface of the earth.
These two snakes, when moving to the upper world, transform Yacumama into the lightning and Sachamama into the rainbow. This symbolizes the fertility and productivity of humanity and the earth. The three worlds unite through these two serpents that represent the energy of water and fertility.
• Jaguar/Puma – This archetype is given into the second chakra (abdominal area). This archetype is the Mother-Sister Jaguar who knows the way across the rainbow bridge to the world of mystery. She is the one who swallows the dying sun, teaching us to step beyond fear, violence and death. The archetypal connection to the life force of the jungle, she is the steward of the life force, a Luminous Warrior who has no enemies in this world or the next. This archetype represents the Life/Death principle and renewal.
Jaguar/Puma helps us navigate the changes we go through on a regular basis. In order for something new to grow, we need to release the old, creating space for the new to unfold. This archetype teaches us how to be present with each moment of our process, knowing when to be still and when to move. The Jaguar/Puma is fully present, fully grounded and sure footed. She has a deep inner knowing and a sense of what her next step should be. She then proceeds with it fearlessly.
Where Serpent represents the power of healing, which is gradual and incremental; Jaguar stands for sudden transformation, fire and death. It might seem odd to us the transforming force in the Universe is also associated with death. That which endured was always changing and renewing itself; that which remained unchanging, perished. The Ancient Americans recognized chaos and order, expansion and contraction, as the natural cycle of life.
We can transform our bodies so they heal more rapidly and age more elegantly by embodying the forces represented by Jaguar/Puma. Like a cat with many lives, we need to release the old life in order to leap into the new one. Otherwise, we can spend years patching and fixing an old self we have outgrown.
The Puma represents courage, bravery, cunning, shrewdness, perseverance and clear judgment. Physically, she is agile and strong, able to jump off a tree in two steps and swim across a large river against the current!
This archetype is a magical, mythical feline connected to the darkness of the night. Her eyes shine in the night, representing ‘the one who sees in the dark, who can see the invisible, unveiling what hides in the shadows’.
She brings us to a point where we face our own death, leaving all fears and worries behind. Working with this archetype we take a conscious leap from the material to the spiritual world. Puma connects us to the path beyond death, guiding us to walk with courage, bravery, daring and tenderness, all at the same time.
• Hummingbird – This archetype is given into the third chakra (belly). This archetype connects us with the Ancient Ones, the ancestors, Grandmothers and Grandfathers, ancient memories and ancient wisdom. Working with the Hummingbird, we can step outside of Time to remember the ancient ways.
The hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world, a beautiful, unique bird, with feathers in all the colors of the rainbow. It only weighs between 2 grams (the Bee Hummingbird) and 20 grams (the Royal Hummingbird). It has a long, narrow beak and a tongue shaped like a trumpet. Siwar Qenti , the Royal Hummingbird, lives between 2000 and 4000m above sea level and although it lives in a community, it is able to retain its independence. Thus it is individualistic and collective by nature, quite similar to humans.
The Hummingbird drinks directly from the nectar of life, feeding from many flowers, learning from nature . Interestingly, it is most attracted to red flowers, and red is the color of the spirit of life. We can emulate the hummingbird and “drink” from the teachings of many teachers, the environment and from life itself.
The Andean people recognize the hummingbird as the wise being who knows how to drink from Life’s nectars in the most audacious and conscious way. From this quick, light and beautiful bird, we can learn to think fast and foresee the future in order to create the most appropriate surroundings for our evolution. Each day we can strive for a lighter and swifter flight to reach the highest realities which are also our deepest inner realities. The hummingbird teaches us to recognize the beauty in everything and use it to bring freedom to our existence.
Even though Hummingbird was not built for flight, it undertakes and accomplishes the impossible journey. It flies thousands of kilometers from Canada through Mexico and Brazil to reach Peru in its yearly migration. It never tires, stops or loses direction. This bird embodies perseverance and exudes a sense of adventure. The hummingbird has no need to doubt its strength or wonder where the next meal is coming from, because it doesn’t stop to think and worry. It just follows its heart.
Hummingbird is driven by love and light, to drink the sweet nectar of life itself. It takes us to the language of the soul, carries us into the realm of dreams, of poetry, of the arts, of images, of beauty, of truth and wisdom. Then we are able to embark on our inner journey. It is from the space of the hummingbird that we can see our experiences as part of our own Sacred Journey into Being. Hummingbird teaches us to live life fully.
• Condor/ Eagle – This archetype is transmitted into the fourth chakra (heart-center). It is the great archetype of the East, the place of the rising Sun, the place of our Becoming. It embodies the principle of seeing from a high perspective. It brings vision, clarity, and foresight. The great wings of the condor hold the heart and teach us to see with the eyes of the heart. The Condor/Eagle energy pushes us out of the nest to spread our own wings so we may always fly wing to wing with the Great Spirit.
Condor/Eagle perceives the entire panorama of life without becoming bogged down in its details. This archetypical energy helps us find the guiding vision of our lives. The eyes of the Condor see into the past and the future, helping us to know where we come from, and who we are becoming. Eagle allows us to rise above the mundane battles that occupy our lives and consume our energy and attention. They give us wings to soar above trivial day-to-day struggles into the high peaks close to Heaven. Condor/Eagle represents the self-transcending principle in nature.
The Eagle is a very beautiful and powerful bird. Eagle is strong with powerful claws and extremely sharp, clear vision, allowing him to see minute details from vast distances. Some eagles have two focal points in their eyes, one for frontal vision and one for lateral distant vision.
Condor, the largest bird on the planet, can have a wing-span of between 2.70 and 3.30 meters (between 9- 11 feet). It can fly at altitudes between 3,000 and 7,000 meters, where it glides for hundreds of kilometers with virtually no movement of its wings, thus expending very little energy. It has its habitat high in the Andes. In Incan times, the Condor was believed to be immortal.
The Condor symbolizes force, intelligence and exaltation. According to myth, when the Condor feels it has reached old age and its life force is running out, it settles on a high peak in the mountains, folds its wings, and picks up its feet, and plummets to the depths below, thus ending its reign. Then the Condor returns to its nesting place and is reborn into a new cycle of life.
This archetype assists us with clarity and discernment in our lives. These lend purpose and meaning to our existence, allowing us to live and see situations and people from a higher perspective.
• Keeper of the Lower World/Huascar – This archetype is transmitted into the fifth chakra (throat). Historically, Huascar was one of two sons of the last Inka. He was the keeper of the medicine teachings and was killed by his brother, Atahualpa, who then banded together with the Spanish. This archetype is the harmonizing principle of the Lower World – the chaotic dark place of all creative potential.
Huascar, a frightening figure with a heart of gold, calls us to meet our fear and step out of our darkness into the light. He stands ready to assist us. The gift of Huascar is to harmonize our relationship with our Shadow.
There is a lake just outside Cusco called Huacarpay. A mythical story says the spirit of Huascar resides in that lake. The story says when he was killed, the Spanish cut off his limbs and put them in the four corners of the Empire to assure the Inka royal line would never rule again. His heart is in that lake, they say, and when the world is once again in harmony, he will rise from the waters to assist in the dawning of the new golden age of peace and unity.
• Keeper of the Middle World/Quetzalcoatl – This archetype is transmitted into the sixth chakra (third eye). This archetype from Mayan mythology is the Lord of the Dawn, the Day Bringer, the Morning Star. Quetzalcoatl brings harmony and order. Quetzal is a beautiful jungle bird and coatl is a serpent. A feathered, winged serpent that has acquired flight is the organizer of the material world. Quetzalcoatl is said to have brought irrigation, medicine plants and stonework to the Americas. He brought stability, music, dance, flutes and drums.
Though this mystical creature has been lost in our culture, we can call on its animistic knowledge of the ways of the Earth to organize our relationship with the practical material world. When you come into relationship with Quetzalcoatl, you no longer have to micromanage your life.
Though this mystical creature has been lost in our culture, we can call on its animistic knowledge of the ways of the Earth to organize our relationship with the practical material world. When you come into relationship with Quetzalcoatl, you no longer have to micromanage your life.
The attributes of Quetzalcoatl are very similar to those of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo in the Inka tradition. As children of the Sun, they were given the task of founding the Inca Empire. They were also mythical characters, said to rise out of the waters of Lake Titicaca. They were taught agricultural as well as all the necessary skills for life on this earth plane. Taytay Inti (Father Sun) then gave his children a golden rod and told them that wherever the rod sank with one thrust into ground as soft and fertile as the human navel would be the center of the Empire.
The rod stood upright in Cusco, whose name means “navel” in Quechua. Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo won the local people over by teaching them a more advanced form of civilization.
The rod stood upright in Cusco, whose name means “navel” in Quechua. Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo won the local people over by teaching them a more advanced form of civilization.
• Protector of the Upper World/Pachakuti – This archetype is transmitted into the seventh chakra (crown). This archetype is connected with the time to come, the keeper of possibilities, the organizing principle of the Upper World. It embodies the concept of circular time, or stepping outside of linear time. This archetype can make time stand still, bringing heavenly order to Earth. By coming into relationship with
Pachakuti, we recognize what can be changed and change it before it is born.
Pachakuti, we recognize what can be changed and change it before it is born.
Pachakuti is the guardian of the gates to the Hanaq Pacha (upper world) and will accompany and support us in our journey through this realm. This is the realm where we experience everything in a space beyond linear time, the place of possibilities and creation. Here we can change our energy vibration and access more expanded aspects of our selves. Working with this archetype, we move beyond our physical body to experience ourselves as pure energy to meet the evolved person we are becoming.
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