The ceremony and registration details are on this page, but please first read this intro so we can be on the same page on our work.

 

Introduction to this initiative:

Welcome to our mission to support and protect the indigenous wisdom of the Wixarika (Huichol) elders who bring us the Hikuri (Peyote) medicine. This is our new initiative after taking some years off being a zero waste online retailer (feel free to browse the rest of the site). Part of the original vision for this brand came from this medicine and if you landed on this page it's because you have a password and you've been invited. 

 

Marakame Simon, Tata Miguel, Marakame Don Julio, Abuela Teresa, Miguel

 

We are working with the indigenous Wixarika (Huichol) community of La Laguna, Jalisco, an annex of San Andres Cohamiata whose spiritual elder leader is ‘Marakame’ Don Julio who is over 100 years old. Marakame is the title given to those who have successfully endured and transcended years of service and received the vision and the power to heal from the Hikuri. He started walking this path when he was about 5 years old. Don Julio is preserving and protecting the Hikuri Peyote ways of his people. 

Marakame Don Julio 

 

The sacred Hikuri/Peyote is the protector of the natural world.

The origins of this sacred medicine come from their ancestral sacred lands in the desert of Wixikuta and their entire cosmology and culture is centered around making annual offerings to the cardinal directions, actual places that hold our life generating elemental spirits (fire, water, wind and earth) that bring balance and abundance to the earth’s ecosystems. This entire movement is guided by the healing power, wisdom and teachings of the Hikuri/Peyote which show the Huichol how to live on this planet and with each other. Since we humans are also made up of the same elemental spirits that give us life, medicine also takes care of us in profound ways. We have to give to receive, and the gifts we receive are miraculous. 

 

We have to give back to the generators of life to establish balance on earth.

The Marakame elders teach us that the Hikuri is the protector of the earth and that the Huichol have been tasked by God to fulfil this work for the benefit of mankind. In a way they carry this burden for all of us. The Marakames lead the pilgrimages to the sacred sites to do the offerings year after year to continue the symbiotic relationship with the earth and the sacred Hikuri; the medicine heals us and our planet and in return we gratefully feed it.  Let them show us the way. 

 

Modern life has taken a big toll on this movement.

Today we face a big problem: Poverty in Huichol communities is on another level and most of them simply can’t afford to make the annual pilgrimages. Modern life has privatized their sacred lands where Peyote grows, they also can’t travel by foot to the sacred places to do their work, nor can they do their sacred deer hunts. One of their most sacred places in Wixikuta is under threat from a Canadian gold mining company and lately Narco’s have been infiltrating their lands with other nefarious interests. The current situation is bad. To make things worse, most of the young people are lured by modernity and have left the communities and gone to the big cities and left their ancestral traditions behind.

 

The earth's ecosystems are depleted and we need Huichol people doing their sacred work with Peyote now more than ever.

Our Abuela Teresa Rivas has been walking with Marakame for 35 years doing all the sacred offerings that allow us to spiritually work with Peyote to provide healing and abundance in our lives. She has single handedly been helping Marakame’s community make this trip year after year, offering her van and financial support to bring their family members on these annual trips. However Marakame’s community is large and most of them can’t afford to come on these annual journeys. 

There are SO many non-profits set up to help protect the Wixarika people of Mexico, but if you take a trip down to these communities it doesn't seem like any of the funds are doing anything. After many discussions and iterations with Don Julio and his family we decided to raise money towards getting them a mini bus. We originally started raising money for a tractor so they can grow corn but recently a large portion of Don Julio’s family land was appropriated by a private party and also there are no resources anywhere near their communities to fix or maintain tractors. With a mini bus, their kids can make money during the year bussing people in and out of their community but most importantly, they can travel with more family and community members to do their annual offerings. It is literally Don Julio’s dream to go to Wixikuta next year with all his kids to continue teaching them how these offerings are made. Their work benefits our entire world. 

 

So without further ado, I present you our next ceremony:

 

HIKURI PEYOTE SPRING CEREMONY 2025 - INFO & REGISTRATION

 

Dear Sacred Friend,

We invite you to join us for a Winter Solstice Hikuri ceremony, a prayer for our lives. This will be done in the Wixarika tradition led by Abuela Teresa Rivas Chicahuaxochitl. Expect to start around 7pm on Saturday April 5th, outdoors in a cozy redwood grove in Nicasio California.. 

(Amigos Sagrados, esta invitación esta en Ingles, si lo necesita en Español por favor me manda un mensaje y hago la traducción) 

 

About Abuela Teresa Rivas Chicahuaxochitl:

Our loving Abuela Teresa is an Indigenous Mexica elder, guardian of Hikuri (Peyote), sacred Teonanacatl,  and also a Sundancer and Temazcalera. She has decades of experience using plant medicines and the natural healing arts of her Indigenous Mexica ancestors. Abuela has 35 years of walking the paths of the sacred Wixarika territories with Marakame Don Julio who gave her the Hikuri lineage and right to bring this medicine to the people. She will guide us through a night of music, chanting and movement aided by the sacred Hikuri medicine to experience the blessings of this sacred Wixarika (Huichol) lineage, the original keepers of this sacred medicine. We welcome you to join us in our sacred space and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing the journey with us.

 

CEREMONY:

We begin the ceremony by opening the “Tatewari” (grandfather fire). Then Abuela will guide us into the ceremony with Cacao to warm the heart, her Sundance Caunupa (sacred pipe), and then the sacred Hikuri. In the Wixarika tradition we will spend the night around Tatawari in prayer. There are 5 phases to the evening with singing, movement, offerings to Tatewari, and Hikuri prayers. The ceremony will last until 8 or 9am on Sunday Morning. 

At some point in the night you may be called or invited to sing your medicine songs to Tatewari. We kindly ask that you share songs from any Red Road tradition of Turtle Island. If you don’t know what that means, please ask. You are not required to sing, just come and receive the blessings. There are rules of conduct around the sacred Tatawari and this will be explained the night of the ceremony.

We have a caring and experienced team of supporters at the ceremony, and you are responsible for the conduct of whoever you bring into this ceremonial space. If you are bringing someone who is new to sitting with medicines, you are expected to orient them to what respectful behavior looks like in this setting.

 

DONATION & REGISTRATION:

Please read this carefully because we updated this. The donation for the ceremony is a sliding scale starting at $300 per person. Please contribute any amount above $300 if you are capable. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required with your RSVP to secure your seat. If you can’t afford the donation amount please contact us and we will find a way to support you, follow the instructions in the registration link for this. 

Your support ultimately helps cover all the associated costs of the extensive annual Wixarika pilgrimages our elders, Marakame Don Julio and his family and abuela, have to make every single year to offer this medicine to us. Also, our goal is to support Marakame Don Julio’s community. We are raising money to buy a minibus for them so their family can make an income and more of them can make the annual trips to the sacred places. The blessings and transformations many of us receive from the Hikuri is possible due to all this work. We will share more about this at the ceremony.

Below you will find a link to the official registration form. After you fill out the form and agreements, you will be instructed where to send the $100 non-refundable deposit (via Zelle). After you have confirmed your attendance with both an email and deposit, you will be added to a WhatsApp group for faster communication (add 415-305-6894). Please bring the remainder of your donation IN CASH the day of the ceremony please.

If you are certain you are able to attend, please register here:

 

Password: venadito25

https://airtable.com/app7QMkzIVUzG9Aqc/pagmpkAwUsADDuEls/form

 

 

LOGISTICS

The directions to the venue will be sent out a few days before the ceremony via WhatsApp. Do not share this address with anyone. Our host is opening their home to allow this ceremony to happen. This is NOT a ceremony venue for rent.

Plan to arrive by 6pm to set up your ceremonial resting spot outside around the sacred fireplace. There is access to a modern bathroom and plenty of clean drinking water. 

Parking is limited so we ask that as many of us as possible carpool to the venue. 

The ceremony will start around 7pm or shortly after and will go into the night until it is time to rest. We will reconvene for a group share and close out the fire around 8:00 or 9am. 

Feel free to bring fruit or some healthy snacks to share with everyone on Sunday morning. 

 

PRE-CEREMONY RECOMMENDATIONS

If it is your first time attending a ceremony, please avoid reading about the medicine excessively on the internet. It is good to come with a blank slate to have your own experience; the best thing to focus on beforehand is your prayer/intention and what you are asking to receive from the medicine. We might contact you for a short interview and answer any questions you might have about this sacred ceremony before attending. 

 

PRE-CEREMONY RECOMMENDATIONS
Please take good care of yourself so that you come well rested and ready for the experience. Prepare your body by keeping a clean and healthy diet in the week or so leading up to the ceremony. Remove all processed foods and eat a more plant based diet with little to no red meat. 

The most important aspect of preparation is the intention or prayer you bring with you. Put some thought into why you are coming and what you would ask the medicine to show you. What would you like to affirm? What would you like to heal? No need to overthink this. What's in your heart? We know this is an intense time in the world so we feel it is a great opportunity to come together and pray.

Below are important guidelines regarding substances which are not compatible with this work. Please let us know if you have issues following these guidelines. It is recommended to abstain from these substances for at least 3 days prior to the ceremony, but best if you do this for 5 days:

• Prescription drugs: please let us know if you take any prescription drugs; while most are safe with this medicine, some can have serious interactions. The main contradiction is antipsychotic medications. If this is the case then we can not offer you a spot at our ceremony.
• Recreational drugs: absolutely suspend the use of these as many days as you can before attending as it will only help your journey.
• Please abstain from sexual activity (including masturbation) before the ceremony. 3 days is good, but if you aren't in a partnership, more time is better. This will help a lot and cannot be overstated.

 

DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS:

We recommend eating fresh, clean, and simple in the days preceding ceremony, and especially the day of. Chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables, salads, grains, bread, soups, etc. Quality salt and natural sugar (fruit, honey) is fine in moderation. We also recommend eating Nopales. If possible, home cooked food is always best in the days immediately before. Stay away from excess salt, sugar, processed foods and stimulants like caffeine. On the day of, eat a light and healthy breakfast, and then a lunch/snack at about 12 noon or a little later. No need to starve yourself but it is recommended to eat light. If you can live without caffeine it is highly recommended.

WHAT TO BRING:

Your Spot: The ceremony is traditionally done outdoors around Tatewari, our sacred fire.  You will have a spot on the ground around the fire. This will also be your resting spot so bring all the arrangements you need for your maximum comfort: sleeping pad, sleeping bag, blankets, pillows, backjacks etc.  If it rains we will go inside around a candle altar representing Tatawari. Please be considerate of others while setting up your seating/sleeping arrangements. 

Dress:  Bring the appropriate amount of layers so you can stay warm. Bring shoes that are easy to take on and off for going in and out (in case we move inside).  Please dress in a way that you feel honors and respects this sacred medicine and fireplace. No showing excessive skin. 

Offerings: bring a white candle (in a glass container). You can also bring flowers, cacao, tobacco, sage, for the altar.

Utensils: Bring your own cup to receive the medicine and your own bowl with spoon for the morning soup. 

Sleeping: At the end of the evening, we will rest in our ceremony spot so bring all your most comfortable outdoor sleeping arrangements, sleeping bags and pillows, etc. You will be tired afterwards and we recommend some sleep before getting on the road.

 

THE SACRED CONTAINER:

Women:  If you are on your moon, you will be able to participate without any problems.

The Container: We all must uphold the integrity of the ceremonial container. It is a shared space where we each have profound, individual, and personal experiences. It is good for us to be mindful of this as we are respectful of the personal space and boundaries of everybody else, as best we can. 

Conduct: It needs to be stated clearly that a ceremony is a sacred space. It is not acceptable to explore or project romantic or sexual feelings on any person in the ceremony that you are not in a relationship with, before, during, or immediately after. This applies to everyone, including those facilitating the work. We create a safe place for each person to receive the personal healing that they came to receive from the medicine. We all agree to stay on premises for Saturday night until we close the ceremony the next morning.

Returning friends: We can’t wait to pray with you again. If you want to invite a friend for the first time, please send an email to hikuriceremony23@gmail.com with your friend’s email and a little bit of detail about them and how you know them. 

We welcome you to join us in our sacred space and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing the journey with us.

If you are called, the registration form is pasted again here so you don't have to scroll back up:)

 

Password: venadito25

https://airtable.com/app7QMkzIVUzG9Aqc/pagmpkAwUsADDuEls/form

 

Tlazocamatli

Abuela, Miguel & Simmy