My Estralla
I looked up as something red caught my eye as I descended the ancient crumbling steps of the Intihuatana at Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca citadel in Peru. I was shocked to see that I was being stared at by about twenty Inca men..
Fleetingly, I thought they were some sort of cheesy tourist attraction, but then I noticed that most of them seemed to be fading - as if they were being tuned out somehow - until they completely disappeared. Only two remained; one directly in front of me and the other was standing at the outermost edge of the plateaux directly below me.
Shaman Dawn Paul with Q’ero Elder Dona Maria in Peru
I stared around; unbelievably, no one else was in the area, the only person I could see was a friend who was watching me while sitting against a large rock in the distance. I started to feel incredibly emotional and nervous. What on earth was I supposed to do now?
Reluctantly, my body trembling, I moved towards the large Inca male who was standing about 20 metres away from me. He was dressed very differently from the rest, for he was covered in a type of golden armour. He was incredibly bright, but very solid and unbelievably powerful - he radiated an immense energy. His eyes were the blackest I had ever seen and they were staring with great intensity into mine. But what was I supposed to do? And who was he? A King? A Chief? Was I supposed to bow to him?
I kept blinking, wondering, hoping even that I was dreaming all of this, but every time I opened my eyes he was still there, unmoving. Tentatively I stepped forward; stopping at what I hoped was a respectful distance in front of him. His energy was so strong, so powerful; it was all I could do to stay standing. Tears were pouring from my eyes uncontrollably and my heart physically hurt, but I stared right back at him, rooted to the spot. I held his gaze with the same intensity that he held mine and I could see there was a bright blue ball of electricity hovering between us.
Suddenly his arm shot out, pointing directly at me and in a clear, deep and powerful voice he said, “YOU MUST FOLLOW THIS PATH - AND WE WILL HELP YOU!” and then he indicated that I was to go down the steps to the next plateau, where another Inca waited for me.
The second Inca was dressed in a billowing red cape. His energy was not as strong as the first, but he seemed to draw me more closely to him. I stood at arms length, again meeting his gaze. I waited and noticed he seemed to be looking at something. Suddenly his right arm shot out from underneath his cloak, his hand grabbing my throat. In one swift movement, he pulled a long white tube of energy out of my throat and then he threw it into the wind, which was becoming stronger by the minute. Then he raised his left arm, indicating I should go down the steps at the side of Macchu Picchu.
I was nervous as again the steps were open-sided - the mountain peaks and valleys around me were dizzying - but I started my descent. Suddenly, I felt a stone painfully jab into the arch of my foot. My eyes widened when I saw that I was wearing strange little black boots, made out of one piece of leather, bound around the foot and then wrapped around the ankle. This is why I had felt the sharp stone,…… but what had happened to my heavy-duty hiking boots? Where were they?
I stopped on the stairs and instinctively knew to go no further, instead I understood that I needed to turn and face the winds, which were now incredibly strong and tearing down the valley between the sacred mountains. I leant back against Macchu Picchu, letting the winds roar around me, robbing me of my breath, cleansing me in some way. And then, as if someone had flicked a switch, the winds died completely away, and a voice said, “You can go now.”
So that was my experience at Machu Picchu, the vision that bought me to this path, to this lineage. But for two years after the event - after giving up a six figure salary in order to follow this path - I still had no idea what had happened to me that day at Machu Picchu. And then I read a wonderful book, called “Masters of the Living Energy” by Joan Parisi Wilcox.
Joan described a process called an “Estrella” – which is the traditional way for a shaman to be called to the shamanic path. She mentioned that in some cases, a vision can be seen of a shining man who instructs one to follow the path. I later met up with Joan and described my experience to her and she confirmed that I had indeed received an Estrella. Years later, one of my teachers told me that the shiny man I had seen was in fact the ‘Apu’ – the Holy Mountain Spirit, of Machu Picchu itself! So I felt very blessed indeed!