Pacha - this refers to World as the Andean ancestors understand it, the SpaceTime continuum of the entire Cosmos. These advanced peoples had delved into the mystery that Space and Time are inextricably interconnected thousands of years before Einstein revealed it to the world. The Andean people say the world consists of three levels: Ukhupacha, Kaypacha, Hanaqpacha. Rather than a sense of “past - present - future,” the Andean mystical path pierces the illusion of linear time and invites us to “step outside of time,” to awaken to the Eternal Now, as Eckhart Tolle talks about. Here we appreciate how the Eternal Now, this mystical present moment, contains within itself all the events that ever occurred in the past, and all the events that have the potential of occurring in the future.   

• Ukhupacha - Also referred to as the “Underworld”, this is the place that holds the power of regeneration. Here live those ancestors who were unable to attain a state of harmony during their lifetimes.This is not a state to which they are condemned to for eternity; here the deceased have the opportunity to continue their path towards personal transformation and growth. If they succeed, they can rise up to the hanaqpacha. 

     On a personal level, the Ukhupacha is also the realm of the subconscious. As such, it is also the place of the “shadow” self, the source of your impulses driven by underlying beliefs, opinions, reactions, etc. that you have not consciously faced and owned. Here there can be a lot of heavy energy, or hucha (see definition below), that holds you back from living in peace and harmony.  Within your own personal energy field, this is your place of personal inner regeneration and transformation, where you undertake the work of realizing your potential.

Amaru, the Spirit of the Serpent, guides us into this realm and supports our work of personal healing and transformation, so we can take the journey to our potential to abide in the Hanaqpacha. Like the snake who can slip into holes and crevices underground, Amaru takes you deep into your hidden self, your inner lower world of the subconscious, where you can do the work of regenerating yourself. Like the snake, you shed the skin of your old self, your unwholesome patterns of behavior of reacting unconsciously, based on limiting beliefs, traumas and woundedness. In so doing, you can begin to grow a new skin of developing wholesome patterns of behavior of acting consciously, based on empowering beliefs and thoughts.

• Hanaqpacha - This world, often referred to as the “Upper World,” is the perfected, harmonious, eternal realm of the Divine, or “God” if you will. It is the abode of those who live (lived, and will live) in perfect ayni (sacred reciprocity - see definition below); home of those who achieved realization or enlightenment. Created by Wiracocha, the Creator, at the origin of the Cosmos, this is a place of pure sami, the flow of energy that is light and life-giving (see definition below.)

     On a personal level, this is the dimension of the Truth of Who We Are, which was, is now, and ever shall be. We are on a journey from being lost in the illusion of disconnection and separateness, towards discovering that we never left the Kingdom in the first place. This is the Kingdom that is our true Home. Within each one of us is the seed of awakening to our true nature as part of the Mystery/God. We are as rays of light of the One Sun, as drops of water of the One Ocean - already enlightened and perfected.

     Condor and Hummingbird (Siwar Q’enti) are the Spirit Guardians of this world. Condor serves as eater of hucha - he consumes that heavy energy that you have allowed to die and carries it in his belly, up to the highest heights above the mountain peaks, up to the Hanaqpacha. Hummingbird shows us how to live in the state of pure sami, which also means “nectar,” from which it feeds. 

• Kaypacha - Also referred to as the “Middle World,” this is the realm of the conscious and is associated with a sense of the “present.” It is the place where we live in the here and now and where we are empowered to take action in the course of our lives. 

The Spirit of the Puma represents this world. Puma is the king of the Andean mountains, the top of the food chain of this bioregion. As such, the Andean people see Puma as the shepherd of the wild animals, just as they are shepherds of their domestic animals. As shepherd, Puma acts as guide, caretaker, and manager of the world of the wild. He will also partake of his flock to feed himself and his family according to his needs. In this way, Puma provides us a model of how we can guide, caretake, manage and receive the bounty that presents itself to us in the here and now.

Puma is also a powerful animal that expresses great dignity and fearlessness. As a cat, Puma can see through this world to other dimensions. So although the Puma represents this middle world of the conscious, he also represents the way the shaman develops a capacity for mystical seeing, and thus transcends this world to connect with all 3 levels of the Pacha SpaceTime continuum.