Delphi Pilgrimage ~ Return of the Waters (pt. 01)

after 10 days together, for our 4th Annual Mána Yí crete retreat…

We flew to the mainland of athens, drove through the mountains and arrived to the sacred home of the delphi oracle.

as we approached in the van around 9pm to the village of delphi, i saw the village lights illuminating the ridgeline, imitating the outline of the dragon, which i know to be very active in both crete and this area.

after an incredibly and beautifully intense 10 days together in crete, my body was exhausted, yet my spirit was elated and deeply thirsted for a night time quest into the darkness of this land my soul recognizes as one of many homes. i resisted the urge in exchange for much needed sleep, knowing the sunrise would bring even more readiness.

i arose with my beloved husband in equal excitement. we slipped out of the wood floored and ceiling greek house which was elaborately decorated with traditional art, rugs, ancient jewelry, tea sets, and gorgeous local relics.

zin and i began down the village road, seeing many tourist shops with goddess art from minoan crete, oracle art of delphi and of course greek pantheon depictions. its worthy to note that our explorations in our mana yi gatherings go deep down to the organic blueprint of these ancient timelines and therefore pierce through the distortions of traditional patriarchal greek mythology, most of which is organized religion’s cover-up of the ancient matriarchal wisdom and law of one teachings.

our destination was the ancient spring.

we approached, seeing a stone altar where water was gushing forth, just below the mountain. my map indicated that we were almost there. i looked to the mountain and saw color markings from eons of falling water. with my spirit eyes, i perceived the cascading waterfalls, pools, vibrant plant life, songs of fertility and purification. i shared with zin this was an incredibly charged and sacred area. when i realized the map pointed to a place around the mountain where there was no sign of water, i looked closer at the source of the fountain and realized this is the site of the spring. its fenced off…

we walked along the mountain’s edge and saw veiled signs and a stone staircase leading up into the valley. it was all sealed and locked. we inched closer to find the sign. this is the place. i didn’t realize it would be completely blocked from the public.

the last prophecy of the last oracle said that ‘the temple will fall and the waters will stop flowing’.

i knew that just recently they had started flowing again, which of course coincides with the awakening of our inner waters and collective remembrance. i sat at the locked entrance to the sacred spring, realizing what a paradox this all is. delphi calls seekers from around the world to connect with the matriarchal coding and reawakening of the crystalline waters— but they are misled by the anticlimactic realization that all which remains, is the spout.

the sign at the entrance warns of falling rocks, the reason for it being closed off. as i walked between sycamore trees and firethorns, the realization occurred to me:

what’s truly falling isn’t rocks— but the patriarchy.

these waters were purposely dammed and blocked during eras of religious occupation— but they are dissolving now. locking people out of our ancient and sacred nature sanctuaries does not stop our awakening. we are returning by the masses to pray and sing with the waters, to re-code the waters, and to remember the ancient intelligence imbued within them.

————

the following morning,

the group all together embarked with layers and sheepskins packed for a misty day pilgrimage to the sacred cave. over 22,000 talus bones from sheep and goat were excavated from this cave just a few decades ago- remnants of the ancient divination practice carried by oracles of this land, along with goddess figurines and ceremonial vessels.

the beginning of this day’s pilgrimage began at the spring for purification-

as was done in ancient times. we spoke of the damming of the waters, the last prophecy and the return of our global consciousness which is now awakening from slumber. we looked at the landscape of the dried up waterfall valley, seeing with our spirit eyes, the once cascading waters, pools, rivers, women and men, and sacred veneration of the holy waters of heaven. we gathered around the remaining water spout, pouring prayers for the waters to grow, to flow, to burst the physical and metaphorical damn of the valley and of the human minds. we prayed in gratitude for all the wisdom keepers who came before us, who walked these same footsteps, whose ministry we are carrying forward now. we prayed for the children of the earth to have clean water, safety, vibrant food and awakened memory.

from this altered state of genuine prayer, gratitude and humility, we continued up the mountain into the fog and drizzling rain.

this was the 5th group journey we’ve led to a sacred cave and in every single instance, its always gloomy and rainy- bringing the mystical and magical alive.

the road was too gnarly to take the rental van all the way up, so we ditched it under a pine tree and hiked up 40 minutes into the unknown. it was colder than some of us imagined (me), and the rain was blessing us along the way. this vertical hike brought further contemplation of the ancient ones who traversed these paths, how they carried their prayers and the enormity of their journey from the spring to the cave just by foot or with donkey. the drive is an hour on roads that didn’t exist then, so i surely imagine it was a few days’ trek.

as we made the final ascent, i invited an awareness that

we may have prepared lifetimes to return here now.

i felt this truth buzzing in my body. at the mouth of the cave before entering, we put our things down for a final protection practice and burning of egyptian resin. i felt a deep darkness in and around the cave so i spoke a declaration of banishment and protection. we entered.

the mouth of the cave appears as the mouth of a dragon,

whose spine stretches across the middle of the ceiling. there are many beings in the stalagmites and stalactites. the echo of the acoustics ripple through the bones. some from our group ventured into the deep darkness of the cave to find black and gold stone formations, shapes within the stone that appeared to be candle holders, a gold necklace and a rope leading up a staircase that eventually leads down into a deep abyss. as we heard from a tour guide who came through with a group at one point, in that deep abyss is a circuitous, spiraling descent that has an unknown depth…

in the center of the well lit cave, not far from the entrance is a spiraling stone central altar.

we entered with slow steps of consent from the guardians to be here. i brought only 3 charcoals for burning resin and a medium size tea candle, which i lit immediately. I’ve never felt such an absence of fire before. i bathed in the fumigation of palo santo which a previous cave visitor so generously left. in this spiraling stone alter were olive branches, laurel, a photo of a grandfather, burnt down candles, a briki- greek coffee vessel, a lighter, jewelry as offerings, along with rubbish like museum tickets and plastic wrappers. as the puny candle held a frequency of warmth and radiance, and while the smoke purified the space, we picked up trash and rectified the sanctuary.

for context, this cave was the original oracle temple before pillars, walls and ceilings were erected of stone and dogma.

nature was the sanctuary until patriarchal domination systems erected churches in the likeness of the elemental landscape with an entry fee of subservience, gems and gold. after purifying ourselves at the spout, it was important to truly begin our journey here at the cave, to pay homage to the original oracle priestesses, guardian priests, wisdom keepers and stewards of the sacred flame of love, truth and free will- messengers of the divine. this wasn’t done solely by divine women, but equally a ministry of men and women. we returned to revive the ankh body of balance between sacred masculine and holy feminine. the feminine reclamation of these days happens in tandem with the sacred masculine re-remembrance. we are one, and its important we don’t isolate in separate gender clubs for too long- but to unite in oneness to resurrect the krystic-sophianic coding of oneness.

ceremonial fires and resins billowed here.
ethereal songs were sung here.
great peace was known here.
communion with the divine was facilitated here.

likewise, war was waged here.
usurping occurred here.
bloodshed, brutality and distortion was brought here.

through our prayer, reverence, empathy and awareness, and through the amplified potency of a shared prayer field, we both received lessons and made ripples of healing in collaboration with the spirit of these ancient stones and surrounding guardian plants.

our journeys to caves are often guided by a specific prompt or group ceremony. this experience was different since it was also my first time to be here in this life. although i had an overview of instruction, it was important to connect in the physical and listen. our group scattered around the cave- some in deep ceremony, some wandering in curiosity, some guarding the entrance. we emoted sounds and smiled as they echoed through the mountain. a few small groups came and went.

when it became too cold to endure any longer, zin’s charango instrument called us into a warmth huddle to hold one another and sing a song. this creation of coherence was so warming and completed our time in heart-centeredness. there wasn’t a need for barely any speaking amongst ourselves. we’ve been in caves together before and understand the quiet nature of these initiatory experiences. it felt understood that we all sensed a wide range of frequency in this space, and each of us worked with the vibration we were called there for, distilling our unique medicine from the experience.

we gave thanks, closed the space in feeling complete and made our descent. after hiking out in the windy rain, our day ended with a traditional greek dinner, warm fire and integration. the treasures of this experiences aren’t to be shared, but what i can say is that this was the work of lifetimes. there was clearing, healing, resolution, confrontation and dismanling. the religious occupation deeply harmed this place and left a grueling imprint that we worked to clear and restore to the organic blueprint. we experienced a beautiful response from nature through synchronicity and the manifestations of rainbows during both the ascent and the descent of the cave, and the most incredible sunset! wow.

these destined journeys to the underworld and back are a crucial rite of passage deeply returning to our societies.

may we all remember the sacredness of a clearly intended pilgrimage out of our daily comforts, into the brute and loving embrace of the elemental, plant & animal kingdoms.

thank you, thank you, thank you.

part 02 reflects on our experience at the delphi museum and temple of the oracle. click over to that post to continue reading and weaving with us…