There is a cave in Yucatan where the locals have gone for millennia to perform the Chac Chaac ceremony, a ritual that brings the rain. During a deep drought, they pray and bring offerings and they pray until it rains. Usually, even after many months without rain, the blessings of water from heaven come within 24 hours of making the ceremony. Chaac, the rain god, pours out water on the earth for crops, animals and people in response to the supplications given in earnest.
But this cave has a story.
It is not known how far it extends as it has never been fully explored. Some say 100 km or more. Deep with in, its limestone walls bear 5000 year old paintings, perhaps older. The white walls glisten in the candle light and the terra cotta paintings tell stories of times past.
If you follow the twisting path correctly for more than a half hour you will come to water so clear and clean, its purity is considered magical, cleansing, healing, deeply powerful, powerful enough for an offering to Chaac, the rain god.
I descended into this cave years ago, down a dangerous, steep ladder handmade from tree branches, and into the blackness. In truth, the descent was treacherous, and I was afraid. The opening is a small hole in the ceiling of the cave with the floor 40 meters below. The access to the hole is angled and slick with debris and there is nothing to hold onto to keep yourself from falling into the abyss below should you slip. I sat down and scooched my way carefully to the edge.
Thankfully, two strong men helped support me as I climbed onto the top rung of the ladder which was at a very difficult angle from where I was sitting. A thick rope was attached to the top of the ladder, and I was given instructions to hold tight to it in case one of the rungs gave way. A fall onto the limestone floor below would be devastating.
Once on the ground, our guide lit candles all along the way as we went. He followed lines that showed the way so we wouldn’t get lost in the labyrinth. It took more than a half hour of walking, climbing, scrambling, and crawling through narrow passages to get to the sacred water of the gods.
The air was dense and heavy, the heat almost suffocating. It was an extraordinary trip, but a difficult one. I saw the cave paintings, I felt the bats fly overhead, and I eventually plunged into the waist deep water used for millennia by the Maya for healing, cleansing, and offerings to the gods.
But then the government came. They closed the entrance to the sacred cave. It was too dangerous, they said. The offerings could no longer be made. The healings could no longer happen. The people were stricken. They could no longer connect with the old magics in the old way.
Until a man named Don Miguel, an artist and the village keeper of the stories, decided to dig his own entrance to the vast cave system.
He began in his own back yard, determined to open the way for his people to connect once again with the sacred space of the gods.
It took four years.
He did it without the use of power tools and with much prayer.
And a few days ago, I was honored to help celebrate the completion of a new way into the ancient repositories of the rain.
The glistening white limestone steps now offer a much safer and easier way for people to descend into the abode of the gods. Once again the rain ceremonies can be held and people can be healed. Before, the way truly was treacherous, but it was accomplished by those who were desperate. Now, those who need healing have a more friendly way to access the clear cool water.
When you visit, Miguel will tell you stories about the gods and how to connect with the energies of the earth. He will tell you of his village and its people, their heartache and healing. And he will lead you into the chamber below where the air is fresh and clear and the way is open for the infirm and the sick to enter the healing waters.
As you descend, you pass carvings of Chaac, Yum Kaax, and Ixchel, and you feel the thousands of prayers. For this new door connects you to the ancient portal. For once you descend the winding stairs, you can sink into the waist deep water and feel its gentle power, as old as the foundations of the earth and rich with energy, refreshing, filling, healing, connecting people once again to the old ways.
What a labor of love. What a tremendous blessing to the people and to the gods who long to connect with and bless the people.
I have been there, soaking in the cool water. I drank in the beautiful energy and celebrated the reconnection with the gods.
Do you want to come with me?
Connecting with the old ways,
laura
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