Becoming an Earthkeeper

Ten years ago, I moved from London to Margate, drawn by the sea, the sky, and the wild coast. I came in search of beauty, of space, of fresh sea air. But what I found—alongside the silver light and dramatic skies—was a sobering wake-up call.

Each day, on my morning walks, I saw the tide bring in more than seashells.
Rubbish. Plastic bottles. Broken toys. Tangled fishing nets.
The detritus of a world out of balance.

One summer, just a couple of years ago, we couldn’t swim safely at our beach—or even walk our dog—for weeks due to pollution. Raw sewage had been released by local pumping stations straight into the ocean. It filled our sea bathing pool with toxic E. coli and washed detritus onto the sand.

And now, in the summer heat, the air on my street grows heavy with the stink of rubbish bins that sit overflowing, day after day, festering under the sun, torn apart by hungry seagulls. I find myself holding my breath—not in awe, but in avoidance.

And from these rubbish experiences, something in me cracked open.
A sacred rage awakened—a determination I hadn’t felt since my teenage years, protesting with CND during the Cold War.

Around this time, I received the Earthkeeper initiation from a shamanic teacher. This rite felt like a soul retrieval. It helped me remember my purpose for being alive—here, now, at this moment on Earth, within the timeline of human history.

It wasn’t just anger. Or grief.
It was a remembering.
That I am an Earthkeeper.
And… that we all are.

🌿 When the Path Appears

When I first stepped onto the shamanic path 30 years ago, I wasn’t in a place of peace or power. I was in deep pain.

My life had been shaped by trauma, rejection, and the heavy belief that I was unlovable. At my lowest, I felt there was no point in going on. I was suicidal. Everything hurt. Nothing felt safe. No healing modality I’d tried gave me the deep, embodied connection I needed.

Until I met my first shamanic teacher.
She told me something simple, but life-changing:

“You need to reconnect with Pachamama.”

The Earth. The Mother. The one who loves unconditionally.
The one who offers us all we need, and more.

That moment was a turning point.
I began to work with the Earth, not just as soil and stone, but as a living being. A divine mother. A presence who could hold my pain, compost my grief, and return me to the light of who I truly am.

Every day since—for 30 years and counting—I offer Pachamama a gift. A leaf. A prayer. A breath of gratitude.
I place my hands on the ground and ask her to take the heaviness I no longer need.
She transforms it. She always does.

Then, 10 years ago, when moving to Margate, I received the Munay-Ki Earthkeeper initiation, and my awakening as an Earthkeeper truly ignited.
Being in service in this way has been humbling, healing, and transformative.

It gives my life purpose. It reminds me on a deep level that I am wanted, needed, and loved by the Earth herself, and especially by the plants I know as my allies.
This role has replaced the ache of unworthiness with a living truth:
I belong here. And so do you.

🔥 The Earthkeeper Rites and the Prophecy of a New World

The Earthkeeper rite is one of nine initiations known as the Munay-Ki, gifted to us through the Q’ero shamans of the high Andes—descendants of the Inka and carriers of ancient, earth-honouring wisdom.

These rites were brought to the West by Dr. Alberto Villoldo, a psychologist and medical anthropologist who spent decades living among Indigenous healers in Peru. He came seeking answers that Western science could not provide—how to truly heal trauma, illness, and soul sickness. And in the high mountains, he found what he was looking for.

Alberto was not just taught techniques. He was initiated.
And with great care and respect, he became a bridge between worlds.

The Q’ero elders asked him to share the Munay-Ki with the West, so that a new kind of human could be born—one who remembers their sacred place in the great web of life.

The Earthkeeper rite, in particular, is a call to service. A soul activation. A remembering.

“When enough Earthkeepers awaken, the Earth herself will begin to heal,” the elders say.

This is part of the great prophecy of our time:
That we are not here to dominate nature, but to walk in harmony with her.
To protect life. To live in balance. To listen.

🌺 We Are All Mama Earth’s Children

In the cosmology of the Andes—and in many Indigenous traditions around the world—we are not separate from nature.

We are not above the animals, or more important than the plants.
We are not owners of the Earth.
We are her children.

Just like the rivers.
Just like the bees.
Just like the moss and the mushrooms.

We are born into a sacred family of relations.
And when we forget that, we suffer.
But when we remember—when we walk with reverence and love—we begin to heal.
Individually. Collectively. Planetarily.

🌱 What Kind of Earthkeeper Are You?

My way is as a gardener, a plant person, a walker between the green worlds.
I work with the spirits of the herbs. I dig, compost, sow, and sing.
I bring healing through roots and leaves and blossoms.
I sit with nettle, and hawthorn, and rose.
They have become my family, my teachers, my co-creators.

But being an Earthkeeper takes many forms. Here are just a few:

🌱 The Seed Sower – growers, foragers, herbalists, and soil-tenders who coax life from the land
💧 The Water Bearer – protectors of rivers, oceans, and sacred springs; healers of tears and tides
🔥 The Flame Tender – artists, storytellers, and activists who ignite truth and transformation
🪨 The Stone Listener – those who walk slowly, anchor deeply and hold ancestral memory
🌬 The Wind Walker – dreamers, singers, breath-workers, and visionaries who carry messages between the worlds

What kind of Earthkeeper are you?

💚 Simple Ways to Be an Earthkeeper – Right Now

You don’t need to be initiated into the Earthkeeper rite to begin this path.
The Earth is already speaking to you. She’s always been speaking.

Here are some simple, heart-led ways to listen and respond:

🌍 Do a solo beach clean or litter pick.
Go with reverence. Make it a prayer. A gift. A small act of healing.

🌱 Plant something.
Even a single herb on your windowsill reconnects you to the magic of growth.

🦋 Give thanks before you eat.
A moment of gratitude to the soil, the sun, the water, and all who helped bring your food to you is a powerful reconnection.

🌿 Lie on the ground.
Let your body rest against the Earth. Breathe with her. Feel her pulse.

🌧️ Catch rainwater or drink wild spring water.
Honour the sacredness of water, and how it moves through all of life.

🌳 Support rainforest protectors.
Donate to organisations like The Pachamama Alliance which work directly with Indigenous rainforest communities to protect and replant Earth’s vital lungs.

🐾 Speak gently to the animals and plants around you.
Talk to them like family—because they are.

💚 Live more simply, consume less.
What you don’t buy, the Earth doesn’t have to give. When you do need to buy, choose recycled or eco-friendly versions where possible.

Every act of love counts.
Every time you choose presence, respect, and care, you’re Earthkeeping.

✨ Real People, Real Change

“Since receiving the Earthkeeper rite, I can’t walk the same path without seeing the tiny changes in the land. I feel the plants differently. I feel myself differently. I’ve remembered I belong.”
— Anna, 13 Moons participant

“I never thought picking up litter could feel sacred. But now I do it with reverence, with prayer. I’m no longer in despair—I’m in relationship.”
— Jamie, 1-2-1 Munay-Ki initiate

“This rite brought me back to life. I see the Earth as my mother now, not as a resource. I feel loved. And I want to give that love back.”
— Ella, healer & student of the path

🌕 Join Us for 13 Moons – A Journey of Coming Home

If you feel this stirring inside you—the remembering, the longing to walk in deeper harmony with the Earth—then I invite you to join us for 13 Moons, a sacred journey through the seasons of your soul and the heart of the Earth.

Over 13 lunar cycles, we explore:

🌿 Munay-Ki rites, including the Earthkeeper initiation
🌸 Plant spirit medicine, herbal wisdom, and the sacred magic of the green world
🔥 Rituals and ceremonies aligned with the turning of the Wheel of the Year
🌍 Teachings from Mayan and Andean traditions, including ancient prophecies and Earth-honouring cosmologies
🧭 Soul remembering—coming home to your truth, your place, your purpose

This is not just a course.
It’s a rewilding of your heart.
A deep return to the Earth as your original mother.
A sacred invitation to live in a new-old way.

✨ The Munay-Ki rites can also be received one-to-one, if you feel called to work more intimately or begin your journey outside the group space. These powerful transmissions are available in both formats—with full support, preparation, and integration either way.

🌎 If We All Became Earthkeepers…

Imagine the world we could create.
If we all remembered that we are children of the Earth—
equal to the trees, the insects, the wolves, and the rain—
then perhaps we could live differently.

With more kindness.
With less waste.
With deeper love for this miraculous, messy, magnificent planet we call home.

The Earth is waiting.
The tide is turning.
Are you ready?