My First Munay-Ki Class: Bands of Power, Sacred Space, and the Meeting of Two Paths
This week I attended my first Munay-Ki class, beginning a journey that will eventually carry me through the Nine Rites and, upon completion, lead to recognition as a Paqo—a spiritual practitioner within the Andean medicine tradition.
I left the class feeling elevated, inspired, reflective, and perhaps most importantly, affirmed that this path does not pull me away from my Sophian Druid practice. Instead, it seems to deepen and enrich many of the same values that have guided me for years.
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What is Munay-Ki?
Munay-Ki is often translated as “the energy of love” or “love in action.”
Munay refers to heart-centered love, compassion, and living from the heart. Ki refers to energy or power. Together, they describe a path of spiritual growth, healing, and transformation rooted in compassion, reciprocity, and conscious relationship with the world around us.
During our introduction, we learned about the Q’ero people of Peru, who are often regarded as keepers of ancient Andean wisdom and sacred Earth-based traditions. Their teachings emphasize relationship with Pachamama (Mother Earth), the Apus (mountain spirits), ancestors, and the understanding that all things carry living energy.
One of the central concepts we discussed was Ayni—sacred reciprocity. Healing is not something we take. It arises through balance, gratitude, relationship, and exchange with the living world.
The core principles presented in class included:
Living from the heart
Harmony with nature and spirit
Personal responsibility in healing
Energetic protection and transformation
Service to humanity and Mother Earth
Those themes immediately resonated with me.
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Learning from an Altomesayoq
Our teacher is an Altomesayoq, a title traditionally associated with advanced Andean medicine people who work closely with the Apus, the mountain spirits, and serve as wisdom keepers within the Andean tradition.
We also learned about the different kinds of practitioners within the tradition, including Pampamesayoqs, Altomesayoqs, Kurak Akulleqs, and Paqos, each serving different roles within the Andean spiritual world.
Our teacher also shared lineage connections related to the same broader traditions that helped bring the Munay-Ki rites to the wider world through teachers such as Alberto Villoldo.
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Creating Sacred Space
One of the first things we learned was how to open and close sacred space.
Sacred space was described as an energetic container created for healing, ceremony, guidance, teaching, and spiritual connection.
The opening prayer calls upon the directions and the archetypal energies associated with them:
South — Serpent (Sacha Mama)
The Serpent teaches us to shed the past as it sheds its skin and to walk gently upon the Earth.
West — Jaguar (Otorongo)
Jaguar teaches fearlessness, impeccable living, discernment, and transformation.
North — Hummingbird (Q’enti)
Hummingbird teaches courage, sweetness, endurance, and the wisdom of the ancestors.
East — Eagle/Condor (Anka/Kuntur)
Eagle and Condor teach higher vision, perspective, and the ability to see beyond ordinary limitations.
The prayer then honors Pachamama, Father Sun, Grandmother Moon, the Star Nations, Great Spirit, the ancestors, and all beings.
An altar was prepared with four white candles representing the directions and a red candle in the center.
At the conclusion of our work, sacred space was respectfully closed.
I found this especially meaningful because it felt less like building a wall of protection and more like entering into relationship—with spirit, nature, ancestors, and the living world.
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Receiving the Bands of Power
The primary focus of our first class was receiving the Bands of Power, known in the tradition as the Chunpis or Chumpis.
The initiation itself is commonly called the Chumpi Karpay—the Rite of the Bands of Power.
These five energetic bands are installed within the luminous energy field surrounding the body.
They are often described as:
Spiritual protection
Energetic filtration
Transformational frequencies
Shields against dense or harmful energies
Supports for discernment and energetic sovereignty
One thing I appreciated is that they are not described as barriers that block life experiences or emotions. Rather, they are said to transform heavy energies into wisdom, healing, and nourishment.
The Bands of Power are considered the foundation upon which the remaining rites are built. They are said to strengthen the luminous energy field, support emotional resilience, reduce energetic overwhelm, and encourage spiritual awakening. Through regular practice, they help cultivate conscious living, greater discernment, and the ability to remain centered while engaging in healing work and spiritual growth.
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The Five Bands
After receiving the bands, we spent time learning about the unique qualities associated with each one.
Black Band — Earth
Associated with Pachamama, grounding, safety, and physical vitality.
This band strengthens our connection to the Earth and helps us cultivate stability, calmness, body awareness, and a sense of support.
Affirmation:
“I am safe, grounded, and supported.”
Red Band — Water
Associated with emotions, healing, and emotional flow.
This band helps transform emotional heaviness into wisdom rather than stagnation. It supports compassion, intuition, emotional release, and healing old emotional patterns.
Affirmation:
“I allow emotion to move through me in balance and healing.”
Gold Band — Fire
Associated with the heart, the sun, courage, and clarity.
This band helps us recognize fear-based thinking, develop discernment, and move toward greater mental clarity and conscious awareness.
Affirmation:
“My mind is clear, balanced, and aligned with truth.”
Silver Band — Air
Associated with communication, intuition, spirit, guidance, and the moon.
This band strengthens connection with spirit, nature, dreams, synchronicities, meditation, and inner wisdom.
Affirmation:
“I am connected to spirit, wisdom, and sacred guidance.”
White Band — Spirit
Associated with transformation, purpose, service, and higher awareness.
This band is described as transforming fear into wisdom and encouraging us to walk in service to love.
Affirmation:
“I transform fear into wisdom and walk in service to love.”
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The Luminous Energy Field
We also discussed the Luminous Energy Field (LEF), which is understood as the energetic field surrounding the body.
According to these teachings, it contains emotional, ancestral, spiritual, and personal imprints that influence how we move through life.
One message from the teachings that stayed with me:
Some wounds are not meant to disappear.
Some become scars.
Some become wisdom.
The goal is not perfection.
The goal is transformation.
As wounded healers, we learn to dance with our shadows while allowing them to become sources of compassion, understanding, and wisdom.
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My Labradorite Pi Stone
One of the most personal moments of the day involved a Labradorite Pi Stone that I brought with me.
My teacher blessed the stone and spoke about its potential as a spiritual tool when used intentionally alongside the rites and practices we will be learning.
She spoke about the importance of balancing light and shadow within ourselves and bringing both into wholeness rather than rejecting one side in favor of the other.
During our conversation, I shared that I believe my throat chakra has been blocked for many years, something she had also noticed previously.
I also shared that some of the intuitive and spiritual gifts that once came naturally to me had become less accessible after I intentionally shut them down more than a decade ago.
Over the last several years, I have felt those parts of myself slowly returning.
For the first time, I feel genuinely ready to welcome them back.
My teacher encouraged me to ask my ancestors and guides to help restore those gifts when the time is right. She also told me she felt strongly that I should work with a green candle.
Ironically, I had just acquired a green candle shortly before class.
For now, she wants me to wear the Labradorite Pi Stone close to my throat chakra while I continue this work.
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The Road Ahead
The Bands of Power are only the beginning of the journey. In the months ahead, I will continue receiving additional rites and teachings that explore healing, harmony, spiritual perception, wisdom, service, and our relationship with the living world. Along the way, we will also learn and participate in Despacho ceremonies—beautiful prayer offerings created in gratitude and reciprocity with Pachamama, Spirit, and the unseen world.
I am particularly looking forward to experiencing these ceremonies firsthand.
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Munay-Ki and My Sophian Druid Path
Perhaps the greatest surprise of this first class was how naturally it fits alongside my Sophian Druid path.
The language is different.
The symbols are different.
The geography is different.
Yet the heart feels familiar.
Munay-Ki teaches sacred reciprocity.
I speak of relationship and reciprocity with nature.
Munay-Ki teaches that all things carry living energy.
I believe nature is ensouled and alive with presence, and that wisdom speaks through the land, the waters, the skies, and all living beings.
Munay-Ki honors ancestors, spirits of place, Earth, and sacred responsibility.
Those are already central parts of my Druid practice.
Munay-Ki teaches transformation through love rather than fear.
Sophia, for me, represents Divine Wisdom guiding that same transformation.
Both traditions encourage healing.
Both encourage relationship.
Both encourage humility before the mystery.
Both encourage service.
Both encourage living from the heart.
I do not see these paths as competing with one another.
Rather, I see them as two rivers flowing toward the same ocean.
One speaks through the mountains of the Andes.
The other speaks through forests, ancestors, the living world, and the wisdom traditions that shaped my own path.
For now, I walk with both—with gratitude, curiosity, and an open heart toward whatever teachings, healing, and transformation may still lie ahead.
