Therese Santalucia

I would like to begin by acknowledging the Q’ero Elders, who have made their ancient sacred teachings available to my teachers, and therefore to me. My teachers have so far been: Don Alejandro Apaza of the Inca Medicine School, Dr. Alberto Villoldo, Ms. Marcela Lobos, Ms. Karen Johnson, Mr. Lawrence Furtsch, Ms. Martha Abbott & Mr. Marcel Heyder from the Four Winds Society, Ms. Sandra Ingerman as well as my local Q’ero initiated shaman Dr. Sherif Tawfilis whom I go to regularly for my own healing as well as to further my education.

I am currently, with deep gratitude, receiving training through Don Alejandro Apaza of the Apaza Family Lineage that runs the Inca Medicine School. I am learning first-hand from the Q’ero in order to do their medicine justice and keep their lineage intact. I am also in the early stages of beginning to study under another Andean wisdom keeper (I will respectfully and reverently name this teacher when I feel this is something I have permission to share officially). I feel it is very important to learn first-hand from Indigenous people, especially as a westerner called to the shamanic path.

After close to a decade on my ‘spiritual journey’, I heard the powerful call of the Inca shamanic path (mesa-carrier tradition) and answered with every cell of my being. You don’t choose this path, it chooses you. It also comes with great responsibility, hard work, and ultimately changes and challenges almost every aspect of your life and being.

I strive to take care not just of my own wellbeing and that of my clients but to also live a conscious life serving Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the lineage I am initiated into. As a mesa carrier on the Inca Shamanic Medicine path, it is my responsibility to learn all I can throughout life and to help carry the medicine to the world and to future generations. 

Shamanism is NOT a religion and there is no ‘leader’, quite the opposite: it is a path of direct revelation. Reverence, being willing to work for spirit, impeccability, and being self-referencing is a must. This path is an Earth-based tradition, but also deeply connected to the star beings and all life. It is a peaceful way of life where we aim to self-transcend and be of service, living from our hearts and walking with beauty on our planet. The shamanic agreement with spirit is ‘when the shaman calls, spirit answers 100% of the time’ but also ‘when spirit calls the shaman answers 100% of the time’.

My job is to step fearlessly into the dark, in this world and others, transmuting darkness to light and turning wounds to wisdom. In my own training, I have had to face not just my deepest seated fears but also my own karmic baggage, family karma, and of course my own human struggles like addictive patterns. Now I am helping others as I continue my lifelong journey of self-mastery, learning, spiritual development and preservation of the Indigenous Q’ero teachings (shall I be so lucky to keep receiving them. I do not take this blessing for granted!)

Let’s gather in sacred space, around the fire that has burned since the beginning of time. Join me on your healing journey as I continue on mine, let us walk with integrity, humility, and do the deep work we and our planet need to restore harmony, within and without.

Munay (with love),

Tessa