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 and everyone 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. They are "people" with a scope of awareness and power beyond my comprehension. I am blessed to have relationships with a few apus and connect with them when I pray, open a ceremony, or participate in a spiritual healing. Apus not only enhance my life; they also save it.
Let me introduce you to some of my friends.
Apu Phutu Cusi
Phutu Cusi is the only female mountain at Machu Picchu. Her name means "Flowering Joy." I hadn't realized she was the one who first called me to Peru in 1996, but when I met her in person, there was absolutely no doubt. I was immediately in love.
Phutu Cusi connected with me the following year in mystical ways. One day, she asked if my group would perform a specific task. She said that over 2000 years ago, magicians had placed a seal where her form meets Pachamama/Mother Earth. The purpose of the seal was to keep the powerful feminine energy of Pachamama from flowing up, through her body, and out into the universe for all to receive. She wanted us to remove it.
In the summer of 1997, a group of friends and our Teacher, Juan Nunez del Prado, created and offered a despacho/a traditional ceremonial offering to Phutu Cusi. We then stood directly across from her, opened our qosqos/spiritual stomachs, and ate the hucha/ heavy energy of the seal. This freed the sami/refined energy and allowed Pachamama's energy to flow freely up and through Phutu Cusi, into the atmosphere and beyond.
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 right after the seal was removed.
Apu Huaynu Picchu
Some say that Apu Huaynu Picchu is the husband of Phutu Cusi, The highest peak at Machu Picchu, he moves through all three realms—the middle, lower, and upper. You can walk up, up, up small stone steps to the very top, as well as go down, down, down through subtropical jungle to the sacred caves built into his body.
During my first Peru trip with Juan, we spent three designated days at the ruins of Machu Picchu. On the Day of the Masculine, after ceremonies at caves and sacred sites along the path up Huaynu Picchu, I lay flat on the peak. Juan stood on a rock in front of me and called to the surrounding masculine apus. He then placed his mesa/medicine bundle briefly on my solar plexus. On/off. My eyes were closes and as I breathes, a profound energy suddenly began growing within me. The intensity grew stronger and stronger, not unlike a contraction during childbirth or an orgasm. I surrendered. Breathed. Moaned. Louder and louder, as a primal scream spontaneously erupted from the depths of my entire body and soul.
The apus had entered my body and released hidden, wide-spread, childhood hucha. Without a doubt, they saved me from systemic illness. (Read the story in Unity Begins Within.) 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.
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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, in a small stone hut at the base of the holy mountain, we participated in more despachos and ceremonies than I could count. Exhilarated, exhausted, and freezing, when we finally entered our thin, canvas tents, I snuggled into my down sleeping bag and immediately fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, I was startled awake from the depths of slumber and found myself surrounded by an all-encompassing energy. It was Apu Ausangate! Adrenalin rapidly pumped throughout my body, and I had to decide whether to have a nervous breakdown (words cannot describe the energetic intensity) or choose to trust. I chose the latter and remain forever 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. I visited her the next year. And every year since, with groups, Q’ero paqos, and friends. In 2023, Apu Veronica asked me to envision her black light unifying with white light during healing ceremonies, a partnership that reaps amazing results. The next year, she wanted me to offer karpays, energy transmissions, of her light to my groups. And then this past year, I was led to her healing waters where she officially baptized me.

Apu Yanantin
Yanantin means "union of dissimilar energies" and is my favorite Quechua word. Apu Yanantin offers me limitless opportunities to remember and live Unity. He reigns over Ollantaytambo, a town in the Sacred Valley where I spend a lot of time.
Apu Kailash
I can't complete this post without mentioning Apu Kailash. He lives in Western Tibet and is the most sacred mountain to numerous 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 1997, I traveled with three friends to Northern India, Nepal, and finally, to the Tibetan Plateau, to meet him. We responded to his plea by performing a ceremony at his North Face, where we journeyed to the Earth's core and released a strand of love energy into the atmosphere. (You can read this story in detail in my book, Unity Begins Within.)
I hope you've enjoyed learning about some of my Apu friends.
Whenever they call and wherever they are, I will go.





2 comments
Beautiful Annie, thanks so much for sharing this, love from Ireland
I encourage everyone to read Annie’s book, Unity Begins Within, for a rich narrative of her experiences with the Apus and teachings from which we can all benefit.
Thank you Annie for your commitment and gifts.❤️