The ancient origins of the Munay-Ki rites: A lineage of Earth Keepers
An ancient indigenous prophecy speaks of a time before our own when the Earth was covered in ice. During that time, the prophecy tells us that beings from beyond this world passed on knowledge to humans, about astrology, energy, sound, and construction to help humanity evolve. As the Earth melted and life flourished, the story said diverse shamanic traditions emerged across the globe.
These medicine people crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia some 30,000 years ago during the glacial period. These travellers were the Laika, the Earth Keepers of old. They carried the ancient teachings that form part of the shamanic heritage of our entire planet.
The Q'ero, guardians of ancient wisdom
The prophecy continues and tells the story of ancient people eventually reached the Americas and the Andes of Peru.
Fast forward to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in Peru. During that time, the Q'ero people, one of the indigenous tribes of the Andes, fled high into the mountains, above 4,000 metres above sea level, to find refuge from the conquerors. These people were the last of the Incas, and they carried the ancient traditions of the land within them.
The Q'ero elders, distinguished by the patterns in their ponchos and chuyos, were regarded as the Laika—preserving ancient traditions that the outside world believed had vanished. According to prophecy, they eventually came down from the Andean highlands, anticipating a time of imminent transformation.
For the Q'ero elders, the purpose of sharing their sacred teachings was to ensure that as many people as possible could benefit from them and help humanity prepare for the period of great change that was coming.
Over five centuries they passed their traditions from generation to generation. Then in 2006, the Q'ero elders shared their sacred rites with the West. Dr. Alberto Villoldo, a medical anthropologist, and other Westerners received the rites under the condition that they spread them to as many individuals as possible.
https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/qero-the-last-inca-community/
The origins of the Munay-Ki: Dr. Alberto Villoldo and the Four Winds Society
The Munay-Ki rites as we know them today were brought to the Western world by Dr. Alberto Villoldo, a psychologist and medical anthropologist who spent over 30 years studying the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and the Andes.
Inspired by the prophecy of his Q'ero maestros and his deep belief in the wisdom they carried, Dr. Villoldo founded the Four Winds Society, an organisation dedicated to bridging ancient shamanic traditions with modern medicine and psychology. His vision was to make the sacred teachings of the Andes accessible to people in the Western world, without losing their integrity or depth.
The Munay-Ki rites are inspired by the Q'ero teachings but were shaped and structured by Dr. Villoldo to be received by modern initiates, people who feel the call to walk an earth-based spiritual path without necessarily living in the mountains of Peru. They carry the essence of the lineage while meeting us where we are.
It is also worth noting that Marcela Lobos, the medicine woman who channelled the 13th Rite of the Womb is Dr. Villoldo's wife and the Vision Keeper of the Four Winds Society.
The two lineages I carry, the Munay-Ki and the Rite of the Womb, are deeply connected through this same sacred thread.
What are the Munay-Ki Rites?
Munay in Quechua (the language of the Andes) means "I love you." Ki refers to energy, just as in Reiki, Chi, or Prana (universal life force energy). So Munay-Ki represents the energy of love.
These rites are transmitted from teacher to student, from person to person, to continue the lineage. It's essential to understand that the Munay-Ki is not a healing technique like Reiki, it is a sequence of nine rites plus the Rite of the Womb, or activations within our luminous energy field, continuing the lineage of Earth Keepers and wisdom guardians both seen and unseen.
These rites represent the next phase in humanity's evolution, designed to shift and elevate human consciousness and help us adapt and integrate the broad universal changes unfolding in our lifetime.
In the rites, the feminine aspect of the divine is recognised and honoured in its devotion to the Earth—to Pachamama, our Earth Mother.
It's no wonder I felt so drawn to them, as my work revolves around the womb, divine feminine energy, and our relationship with the living Earth.
To receive the rites is to commit to living in harmony with the land, understanding our deep relationship with it, reconnecting with ancient traditions, decolonising our minds, and returning to our roots.
The initiate becomes a steward of the Earth, an Earth Keeper.
The nine rites
The Foundation Rites:
Bands of Power rite
Healers rite
Harmony rite / Archetypes rite
Seer rite
The Lineage Rites:
Day-Keeper rite
Wisdom-Keeper rite
Earth-Keeper rite
The Rites of time to come:
Star-Keeper rite
Creator rite
The 13th Rite of the Womb (the 10th rite):
The Rite of the Womb
What is the luminous energy field?
Beyond our physical bodies, we also have an energy body—our energetic field or aura. This is a bio-field (a bubble) that surrounds every living being. Within it lie our personal and ancestral memories, traumas, and even memories of past lives. These are known as imprints and they serve as a kind of invisible blueprint, attracting specific events, experiences, and people into our lives and shaping our reality.
Clearing these imprints initiates a transformation, like a ripple effect moving outward from the centre of who we are. Our energetic field begins to upgrade and transform over time.
The Munay-Ki rites are like luminous seeds planted within this field to upgrade it. The rites operate on the level of the luminous energy field (LEF), containing energetic transmissions that elevate its vibration and begin dissolving the negative imprints stemming from our genetic and karmic lineage.
Nurturing the seeds, a way of living
Something worth mentioning is that the internal work doesn't finish after you receive the rites. This is not a certification you complete in a set number of days and then it's done, this is a way of living.
Nurturing the Munay-Ki rites is an ongoing practice.
Fire ceremonies, connection with nature, meditation, and integration are all part of the path. The more you nurture the seeds planted in your energetic field, the more they expand and integrate with your energetic and physical bodies. In time, you can pass the rites on to others and eteach others how to initiate other people.
My personal journey with the Munay-Ki
I received the 13th Rite (the Rite of the Womb) during a Shamanic Womb Health and Healing training. Later I received the nine Munay-Ki rites, and something in me settled into place. It felt like remembering.
I diligently perform fire ceremonies with a specific structure to nurture the rites, the seeds that have been planted in my energetic field.
The more I nurture them, the more they expand and integrate with my body and consciousness. Changes in my awareness continue to unfold. My intuition increased, my connection to the Earth more embodied, my sense of purpose more clear.
I continue to nurture my seeds and trust the process.
As someone once told me: Hold the vision. Trust the process.
The symbolism of the rainbow within the Munay-Ki rites
My personal shamanic path has unfolded and continues to unfold in many layers and in ways I could not have anticipated. The way I see it, the prophecy spoken by many indigenous elders, not only the Q'ero but also the Hopi of North America and other shamanic traditions across the globe, speaks of a time of great transformation. What the Q'ero call the Pachakuti (Pacha meaning Earth, Kuti meaning transformation) is, I believe, the time we are living in right now.
According to the prophecy, this is the time when the Condor of the South (feminine energy) will fly in harmony with the Eagle of the North (masculine energy). As any student of shamanism will know, elders rarely speak in literal terms, their wisdom tis shared in metaphors, through stories passed from generation to generation.
I believe they are speaking of the separation that the modern human experiences, a life driven by the mind, by structure, by productivity (masculine energy) severed from nature (distorted masculine energy) and from the teachings of indigenous peoples around the world. Teachings rooted in feminine energy, in reciprocity, in being one with the Earth, in honouring the original custodians of the land.
I believe the future of humanity lies at the intersection of technological advancement and the return to the land, to the Earth, to ritual, to ceremony, as it was done before. The Munay-Ki rites are part of this vision. They teach the Western mind how to slow down, how to observe, how to reconnect with intuition, with the body, and with the spirit, ritualising everyday life rather than rushing through it.
The Chakaruna—Bridge between worlds
For the Q'ero, the rainbow is a bridge. And so someone who studies with them is called a Chakaruna—a bridge person. Someone who translates wisdom between cultures, who carries information from one world to another, who helps the ancient speak to the modern.
I have been initiated into this path and it is no coincidence that my shamanic journey began during an Ayahuasca ceremony where I saw myself as a rainbow, connecting with different lands and peoples around the world. The vision that started everything.
The Q'ero also speak of the yellow path, the path of the Paqo apprentice under the Andean lineage. The North American indigenous traditions carry the red path according tot he Q’ero, and so on across the traditions of the Earth.
I believe they are speaking of an ancient knowing, that one day the humans of all paths will reunite as one, and together we will become a rainbow. A bridge between modern life and ancient culture. Between the world we have built and the world we come from.
The elders call this the ancient future.
And it is the thread that runs through everything I teach.
Munay-Ki rites in Sydney
Before I moved back to Sydney, I initiated women who felt the call to this lineage in Manhattan, New York, although this initiation is not limited to women. I like to believe that the rainbow seeds needed to be planted there before I left the city.
The Munay-Ki rites, like any other shamanic initiation, are done in person. Now that I have relocated to Sydney, Australia, I will continue my lineage and offer this beautiful initiation to those who feel called here.
Shamanic initiations under Andean teachings are still rare in Australia and the Munay-Ki in particular is not widely offered here. I study directly with Q'ero Nation elders in the Andes, and I am one of the few practitioners in Sydney offering this in-person Earth Keeper initiation rooted in authentic Q'ero lineage.
If you are in Sydney (or open to travelling for this experience) and feel the call to receive the Munay-Ki rites, I would love to connect with you.
This is a three-day in-person shamanic initiation, open to beginners and experienced spiritual seekers alike. No prior experience is needed — only openness, curiosity, and a willingness to receive.
