Native American cultures often mark the passage from adolescence into adulthood with a Vision Quest.  During this quest, the participant often fasts for several days and spends time alone in nature.   Several things may happen during a Vision Quest.   The voyager overcomes their fear of being alone, learns about their personal limits and may even discover a power animal which will act as a guardian for their journey’s in the future.  They return to the tribe as an adult, ready to perform their duties with confidence and insight.

Growing up in modern America, I learned that we have largely dispensed with formal rites of passage.  Instead, rites of passage are usually conducted in an ad-hoc manner with other adolescents at a party, in the back seat of a car or over the first weekend away from home.   The lack of structure and guidance leaves many American adolescents traumatized – and, sometimes, dead.

It seems that today there is a hunger for the structure and guidance that follows from the wisdom of our elders.   When we have no clear path to follow, we must re-discover new paths.   Fortunately, there are teachers willing to help.

I did my Vision Quest as I was approaching my 60th birthday in 2021.   I had completed a 14 month shamanic apprenticeship of the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition and the final step in the apprenticeship is  a vision quest called the Paqo Wachu.   This is the story of my Paqo Wachu and the lessons I am deriving from that experience.
(Acknowledgements:  This would not have been possible without the wisdom and guidance of my teacher, Amy Mermaid Isakov, the founder of PMT, don Oscar Miro-Quesada and my fellow students.  Munay! (Love!) )

Preparing for the Paqo Wachu (Coming Next)

The Paqo Wachu – Facing the Unknown (To be written)

Lessons from the Paqo Wachu – Where to from here?