Years ago my friend, Paulita left a wooden triangle painted like a mountainous glacier on my table with the words:

“The Mountains are Calling, and I Must Go.” 

Everything is spirit, a living, conscious being of loving light. We are spirit in human form. Mountains are spirit in mountain form. In Peru, mountains are called apus,  “people” with a scope of awareness and power beyond my limited comprehension. I am blessed to have relationships with a few. I speak with when I pray, open a ceremony, or do a spiritual healing. Even when I’m walking my dog. Apus not only enhance my life but have also saved it.

Let me introduce you to some of my friends.

Apu Phutu Cusi

Phutu Cusi means “Flowering Joy.” She is the only female mountain at Machu Picchu, and until I met her in person, I hadn’t realized she was the one who had called me to Peru in 1996. Phutu Cusi visited me during the following year and asked if my group would perform a specific task. She said that over 2000 years ago, magicians had placed a seal at her base meant to keep the energy of Pachamama, Mother Earth, from flowing up, through her body, and out into the universe for all to receive. That summer a small group of friends and our Teacher, Juan Nunez del Prado, created a despacho, a traditional ceremonial offering, and then, standing directly across from Phutu Cusi, we ate the hucha, heavy energy, of the seal, which freed the sami, refined energy.  Phutu Cusi is a loving aspect of the Divine Feminine in Nature, a nusta who continues to bless my life.

This is Juan and me in 1997 right after the seal was removed.

Apu Huaynu Picchu

This apu, who some say is the husband of Phutu Cusi, moves through all three realms—the middle, lower, and upper. You can walk up, up, up Inka stone steps to the very top and arrive at the highest mountain peak at Machu Picchu, as well as go down, down, down through the subtropical jungle to sacred caves that the Inka built around and into.

During my first Peru trip in 1996, when I participated in the Hatun Karpay, or Great Initiation, with Juan, we spent three specifically designated days at the ruins of Machu Picchu.

It was the Day of the Masculine:

I lay on the peak of Huaynu Picchu as Juan stood in front of me and called to the surrounding masculine apus. He placed his mesa, medicine bundle, briefly on my solar plexus. On/off. I immediately felt a profound energy growing within me. It was building towards a peak, like an orgasm or a contraction during childbirth. All I could do to match it was breathe, moan, and then surrender when a primal scream spontaneously arose from my throat. What happened? The apus entered my body and removed hidden, wide-spread childhood hucha, which, without a doubt, saved me from systemic illness as an adult. (Read the story in Unity Begins Within.)

On January 21, 1997, four months after returning to the USA, I was thrust into a shamanic initiation, and to my surprise and delight, the cave beings of Huaynu Picchu devotedly attended to me during my long integration.

Apu Ausangate

Often called the most sacred of the apus, in September of 1997, I rode a horse up steep, cliff edges to visit Apu Ausangate. That evening at the base of the holy mountain, we participated in more despachos and ceremonies than I could count.  When we finally entered our thin, canvas tents and down sleeping bags, we were exhilarated, exhausted, and freezing. I immediately fell asleep.

I was startled awake from the depths of slumber and realized I was surrounded by an all-encompassing energy. Adrenalin rapidly pumped throughout my body. It was Apu Ausangate! I had to decide whether I was going to have a nervous breakdown (words cannot describe the intensity of his energy) or choose to trust. I chose the latter, and to this day, remain grateful for the gift of his presence.

Apu Veronica

I first learned about  Apu Veronica, also known as Wakay Willka, Sacred Tears, in 2004. She is the Keeper of the Black Light, which, in the Andean tradition, is said to be the most powerful healing light that exists. Of course, I needed to meet her. Since then, I’ve visited her yearly—with groups, Q’ero paqos, and friends.  Last year Apu Veronica asked me to unify the black light with the white during healing ceremonies, and my experimentation has reaped amazing results. This September 2024, I was privileged to offer a karpay, energy transmission, of her black light to my group, an intense experience I am still integrating.

Apu Yanantin

Yanantin means “union of dissimilar energies” and is my favorite Quechua word. Apu Yanantin reigns over Ollantaytambo, a town in the Sacred Valley of the Inka’s where I spend a lot of time. He offers me limitless perspectives on noticing Oneness and living Unity.

Apu Kailash

I can’t complete this post without mentioning Apu Kailash. He lives in Western Tibet and is the most sacred mountain to a number of spiritual/religious paths. Apu Kailash came to me in 1998 in the form of a crystal that, once I finally surrendered to channeling, had a passionate plea. As a result, in March of the following year, I traveled with three friends to Northern India, Nepal, and finally, to the Tibetan Plateau, to meet him. We performed a ceremony at his North face where we released a strand of love energy from within the Earth up through the apu and out into the atmosphere. (You can read this story in detail in my book, Unity Begins Within.)

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the power of apus.

Whenever they call, I will go.