Lightning

Hanaq Pacha Qaqya Rayo

A supernatural phenomenon associated with both prophecy and shamanic initiation in this tradition is the Hanaq Pacha Qaqya Rayo (rayo del supramundo de illuminacion mistica), or lightning bolt of mystical illumination. Mediated and delivered by Siwar Q’enti (the Royal Hummingbird), an encounter with lightning results in an “enlightening vision of the universe,” known to Mesa carriers as the T’eqsimuyu surrounded by Amaru, or T’eqsimuyu Amaru.

This concept of an animated universe, the T’eqsimuyu Amaru, operates like the archetypal symbol of the snake eating its own tail. It is both circular and self-governing, functioning like an ovum, and perpetually giving birth to itself. Visions of this self-creating universe were said to be witnessed by Andean shamans who were either physically, or figuratively, struck by lightning. Their accounts revealed a living universe comprised of infinite filaments of conscious light that appeared to look like tiny amarus (sacred serpents). These filaments were believed to be individual souls or “divine sparks” incarnating themselves within the fabric of time.

This extrasensory insight played a significant role in shaping the ancient Andean cosmological notions of time and space that are still utilized today. Even through the lens and language of modern science, one can observe the insights and deep truth of this vision. For example, ancient curanderos could observe that lightning crosses through the three worlds by simply witnessing the lightning coming from the sky (Upper World), touching the Earth (Middle World), and disappearing into the ground (Lower World). Today we know that when lightning strikes, it causes an electrical breakdown, or ionization, of air to occur. This, in turn, creates a pathway for electricity to travel through from the clouds to the ground. The energy forging the pathway from the clouds is called the stepped leader. The stepped leader descends from the clouds to meet and connect with one of many upward leaders extending from the ground. The interaction of positive and negative forces, when the leaders make contact, equalizes the two energies, creating what is called the return stroke. This return stroke instantly heats up to a temperature that is hotter than the surface of the Sun, creating the lightning seen by the naked eye. This thunderous clash of positive and negative charges gives birth to a powerful expansion of energy that sends light and sound waves in all directions (often creating fire).

The shamanic initiation process of being “struck” by lightning has many similarities to this extraordinary phenomenon of nature. In both shamanic initiation and the phenomenon of lightning, we find the necessity of the following: (1) breakdown of previously existing conditions to create a pathway from the sky to the Earth, (2) interaction of opposite energies to create equalization or balance, and (3) combination of opposites to create a powerful expansion of energy that creates a phenomena that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Just as an electrical breakdown is part of a transformational process that both opens and empties a space for lightning to flow through, a psycho-spiritual breakdown is part of a transformational process that empties the self to create an open pathway for Spirit to flow through. However, instead of “ionic emptying,” the shamanic breakdown is one of emptying the self of resistance to fear, attachment, and egoic-identification in order to create a pathway for divine energy to pass through unhindered. In both cases, a breakdown is required in order for a breakthrough to occur.

In lightning, this “breakdown” allows the stepped leader to connect with one of many upward leaders, creating a flash of lightning. Similarly, shamanic initiation allows energy from above (spiritual) to connect with energy from below (material), creating an illuminating experience (mystical enlightenment) in the present moment of the middle world. It is also interesting to note that, of the many human upward leaders that extend from the ground in their attempt to connect with the stepped leader, proportionately very few ever make the connection as it often requires one to relinquish their body in death to do so. To take this example further, there are many individuals extending their arms to the heavens, yet very few are either willing or able to embody the energies necessary for such “connection” to be established and sustained. More often than not, the fire of revelation burns too brightly, and the unprepared initiate commonly ends up preferring to avert their eyes.

In addition, the phenomenon of being struck by lightning has three stages: entry into the body, passage through the body, and the exit from the body. This corresponds to the three stages of initiation: the call of the self, the dismemberment of the self, and the reconstitution of the self. According to don Oscar, accounts of curanderos who have been hit by lightning in this way have described their experience as feeling like they had been struck three times, or experiencing three different “hits” through the single strike of lightning. In essence, this is reminiscent of Campbell’s account of the hero’s journey in that being hit by illumination catalyzes an insight that first, completely challenges one’s notion of self; second, this self is surrendered and laid to rest like the dragon of Campbell’s imagery; and third, the hero is reborn through the return to the familiar as a changed being and can share the wisdom gained from the journey with community.

This imagery abides to the most ancient forms of our human archetypes, so it is no wonder why being physically struck by lightning was, and is, considered a sacred rite of passage for the curandero. The metaphor of embodying a sustained connection to the deepest forms of truth (i.e., life and death, light and darkness, emptiness and fullness, and the interaction of positive and negative forces, etc.) is the life path of the curandero. They must consciously choose, and in some ways be selected (from among the many upward leaders), to do the work required to freely travel through this life with sustained access to each of the three worlds.

In relation to the cosmovision of the Pachakuti Mesa (depicted in the diagram below) the Lightning Bolt plays a significant role in describing an element of Peruvian prophecy known as the Taripay Pacha (or Age of Reencounter). It states that the influx of energy from the cosmos would shift from its current experience of patriarchal power within the heart of humanity to a time of empowered feminine essence and wisdom. As these elements of prophecy are currently occurring in the field of human consciousness, the depiction of this tradition’s cosmovision has changed to reflect these truths. Specifically, the direction of the lightning bolt of mystical illumination (depicted in the following diagram), previously flowed into the field of human consciousness from a dominant masculine energetic field into the feminine (from the right side of the Mesa to its left), has now changed its direction and its influence. In other words, the cosmic shift that is currently unfolding renders the influence of the lightning bolt entering from left to right, signifying the rise in power and influence of the divine feminine within the collective field of human consciousness. It is said that this shift and new age will not, as it has in the past, usher in a transfer in dominance, but will bring a new level of balance (and sacred androgyny) to the elements of the divine feminine and divine masculine qualities that every soul inherently possesses.