Brant Secunda, originally from the east coast of the United States, left home the day after his eighteenth birthday beginning a journey that would change his life forever. He worked his way across America and then down the coast into Mexico, where he encountered an ancient culture hidden in the Sierra Madre.

It was a five-day walk to the village where Brant was headed, over mountains parched from lack of rain during the dry season. He had brought only a jug of water and a few pieces of fruit. This of course, only lasted him a few hours and by the third day of his journey Brant had become completely lost and was suffering from dehydration, heat exhaustion, and probably even heat stroke. He found himself wandering down a deer trail in the middle of the isolated mountains that define the Huichol territory. Fearing of eminent death, Brant wrote his parents a short letter with the hope that if someone should find him, they could send the letter to his parents so that they might know what had happened to their son. Finally, he went unconscious.

Soon after, Brant was awoken by some people splashing water over him, kicking him, and asking him, “Why are you laying there like some drunkard?” They were dressed in bright white costumes, embroidered with vibrant colors and vivid designs. He realized they were the Indians he had been searching for. They told Brant that the shaman of their village had had a dream about him two days earlier and that they had been sent out to rescue him.

This was the beginning of what would become a twelve-year apprenticeship, during which Brant was taught the way of the shaman and the intricacies of Huichol life. Don José Matsuwa, a revered Huichol shaman, put him through the shamanic training and adopted Brant as his grandson. Brant became not only a student to Don José, but also a friend and close companion on the path of Huichol Shamanism. Together Brant and Don José grew the five colors of corn, gathered firewood, and traveled to sacred places of power.

Throughout Brant’s apprenticeship, Don José told him that he would be teaching people in the modern world the ancient traditions of the Huichol people. And so, following his training, Brant traveled back to the United States to begin to share what he had learned. Soon he was traveling to Europe, teaching workshops, seminars, and conferences. Don José accompanied Brant many times to the United States and Europe, to spread the word that he was leaving him in his place to carry on Huichol Shamanism. Together they founded The Dance of the Deer Foundation, Center for Shamanic Studies as a way in which to cement Brant’s relationship with the Huichols. Brant and Don José were close companions and taught many seminars together until Don José’s death in 1990, at the age of 110.

Today, Brant continues the vision of his teacher through his work with the Dance of the Deer Foundation and numerous other projects devoted to the preservation of the Huichol culture. Brant founded Shaman Chocolates, an organic fair-trade chocolate company, which donates its profits and funds multiple projects to help the Huichol Indians.

Brant’s connection to the Huichol people remains strong. He is considered a participating member of Don José’s family village, actively taking part in ceremonies and celebrations throughout the seasons. Over the past decades Brant has encouraged the Huichol Indians to follow their traditions of artistic expression through his support of their visionary art. This has allowed the Huichols to stay in their villages, keeping their families together, and support themselves through the creation of their artwork, in this way continuing their ancient lifestyle.

By dedicating his life to the cultural survival of the Huichol Indians, Brant has helped not only this native nation of indigenous people, but he has also brought great joy and happiness to many in the modern world. Through his powerful teachings, he has touched the lives of thousands over the years. His healings have helped many overcome their suffering and his powerful ceremonies bless both body and soul, helping to heal both the individual and the greater community. Following Don José’s vision, Brant’s retreats at spectacularly beautiful places, such as the Italian Alps, the Alaskan wilderness and the Mediterranean isles help each participant to gain a glance into an age old culture and find clarity for their own future.

Brant’s story is a deeply influential one that is continuing to be written.

“Is your heart happy?” don Jose asks the children at his rancho.  “Dance with all your heart . We are following the example of the gods and the way they have taught to us. This is our life.”

Shamans throughout the world, from Tibet and Mongolia to the Americas, have been involved in healing for thousands of years, dating back to paleolithic times. Perhaps as old as consciousness itself, shamanism is an ancient healing tradition that has reflected the changing cultures of the surrounding world throughout the ages.

The shamanic tradition involves healing through personal transformation as well as healing our family, community, and environment. Central to this healing tradition is the belief that we must heal and honor our mother the earth who is viewed as a living conscious organism. Shamans say this sacred female Goddess, the earth, who nourishes our very existence, must also be nourished with our prayers and ceremonies.

The Huichols of Mexico are said to be the last tribe of North America to have maintained their pre-Colombian traditions, little disturbed by colonialization and Christianization until very recently.  I feel  fortunate for having been able to study with such an amazing group of people, as an apprentice for 18 years with don Jose Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol Indian shaman-healer who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110.

The Huichols taught me that healing is a way of life, a way of being that permeates our very existence.  Healing is something to be practiced constantly, not just when we are ill.  Moreover, the shamanic tradition of healing does not limit itself to healing of the physical body, but rather involves the maintenance of the harmony and balance of the universe.  We must consciously make contact with all life, see our life in all things, so that life and health are embedded within our hearts.

Upon our first meeting, don Jose spoke of our mother the earth who nourishes and speaks to our heart.  The shaman learns to listen with his heart as well as his ears, and thus shamanism, as a healing art, makes a person whole and complete, a whole system integrated fully to the surrounding environment.

Shamanism focuses on all life as being majestically and mysteriously inter-related and sacred.  Plants, rocks, two- and four-legged creatures all have personal identities with whom the shaman develops a personal relationship.  When the shaman prays, he prays not only for himself but also for his sacred relatives: our mother the earth, our father the sun, our grandfather and giver of light the fire, our grandmothers the eagle and the winged ones.  Don Jose often told me never to forget that my relatives are the earth, sky, rivers, birds, animals, stones, gems, mountains, caves, springs, and lakes.

According to various shamanic mythologies, there was a time when paradise existed and all life was one.  For example, fire communicated freely with people. Now this is lost, and for this reason the shaman acts as a bridge, drawing upon lost lines of communication with all life that surrounds him both visibly and invisibly.  Shamans thus act as intermediaries between people and other life forms: the gods and goddesses and all creatures who co-inhabit the earth.  Shamans also have the ability to transform themselves into a spirit entity almost as if they had the key to the process of metamorphosis. Thus, the role of the shaman has been vital to the community in which he lives, as he acts as a vital link to the surrounding world.

Shamanism as a healing art seeks to maintain or restore balance, both for the individual and for the planet.  All life is ultimately one, and the responsibility of a shaman is to bring the forces of balance, harmony, and intuition into resonance with one another.  If we celebrate our life as one with the environment, then our environment will give thanks to us with the proper amount of sunlight and rainfall.

Embedded within the traditions of shamanism and healing are techniques of achieving ecstasy.  Ecstasy is sought by shamans to experience unity with all things.  Ceremonial celebration for the attainment of ecstasy utilizes ancient forms of ceremony throughout the year to  maintain the delicate balance of our environment, of our universe, so that one may know one’s heart and feel the ecstatic joy emanating from one’s very being.

The “Dance of the Deer”, a most beautiful and intense sacred dance of the Huichols, is employed so the participants of the ceremonies may enter into a trance state of joy and ecstasy. The shaman and his assistant chant the ancient songs as the others dance about them. All enter together as one heart into a sacred doorway known to the Huichols as “Nierika”, face of the divine, or link to the other realms of consciousness and being.

At ceremonies, the Huichol shaman calls upon his ally or spirit helper, Kauyumari, the magical deer spirit person, to assist him in the task of transporting the ceremonial participants through the nierika (doorway), into the realm of ecstatic joy and harmony. The dancers also assist the shaman as they too, like the deer, become messengers of the gods. Through ceremony, participants allow themselves to be transformed, renewed, and life force itself is transmitted in a sacred manner. The shaman and participants in the ceremony are provided a medium for reaching the realm of the gods and the heart source of life itself.

Students of shamanism must endure many hardships and show much strength, both inner and outer. Pilgrimages to “places of power” (caves, springs, oceans, mountains tops) form an important aspect of shamanic healing, as pilgrims are said to receive power and many blessings for having arrived at such places.

At the same time, shamanism involves what is often seen as the more mundane and down-to-earth aspects of the shaman’s day-to-day life. Many Huichol shamans, as well as many shamans from other cultures, are farmers, who in working daily with the earth, develop a special relationship with the sacred mother.

The wisdom of ceremonial celebration, pilgrimages to sacred spots, and proper daily living to achieve balance between ourselves as human beings and our environment has been lost to many people of the modern world.  For this reason, don Jose adopted me as his grandson and trained me in the ancient art of shamanism and healing. “You are an educated person who knows and understands your world”, he told me.  “Now you will know our world too, and use the two so that modern people may once again know what we have tried never to forget: there is balance between our two worlds, grandson, that’s the way it is .”

Brant Secunda (returning longtime OPEN EXCHANGE lister in our Retreats category), is a shaman, healer, and ceremonial leader in the Huichol Indian tradition of Mexico. He completed a 12-year apprenticeship with Don José Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol shaman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110. Brant is the adopted grandson of Don José. Since 1979 he has been the Director of the Dance of the Deer Foundation, Center for Shamanic Studies. For 28 years Brant has led seminars and retreats worldwide. His work has been documented on television, radio, and in articles and books throughout the United States and Europe.

Huichol Indian Shamanism is a way of life – a way of healing for ourselves and the earth. Just as their ancestors did, Huichol Shamans still follow their yearly ceremonial cycle and practice their ancient healing traditions. Shamans are always learning and are always on a spiritual journey.

Shamanism, thought to be more than 100,000 years old, is the practice of celebrating all life and remembering how to relate to the world of nature that is alive all around us, through ceremony, sacred art, prayer and pilgrimage. One can learn to experience the spiritual world, and discover that we are each a mirror of the gods, a mirror of the divine.

The Huichol Indians, who live in small villages scattered throughout the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico, are said to be the only tribe in North America who have kept their pre-Columbian shamanic traditions alive, and in many ways, unchanged, since pre-historic times. Huichol ceremony and traditional lifestyle continues to be a direct connection to their ancient past.

The Huichols say that as human beings it is our responsibility to pray — not just for ourselves but also for our communities, for the earth, the four seasons, and the spirits of the land. Prayer wakes up our spirit and helps us to connect with the earth and the sky. It brings a profound wholeness into our lives, helping us to learn to inhabit the earth with gentleness and respect. In this way, we can work to heal the self, our immediate family and community, and Mother Earth.

The Huichol shamanic path also helps us to find our own personal power. My Grandfather, Don José Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol Shaman, said that we are all children of the light. If each one of us is living within the light in our hearts, then the darkness that comes from fear and stress diminishes. Shamanism helps us to live our connection to the light. We might not be immediately rid of all our stress, but we can learn to work with it in a shamanic way. Through prayer we can call out to our higher self, Elder Brother Deer, to connect to the healing power of the Ancient Ones that is all around us in nature. By listening to Elder Brother Deer, as he speaks to us through our hearts we can become complete human beings.

Pilgrimage and Huichol Shamanism

By Brant Secunda

“If you want to be a shaman, watch a thousand sunrises and a thousand sunsets.”

Don Jose Matsuwa, Huichol shaman

For the Huichol Indians of Mexico, shamanism is a way of life, a way of living and being on this altar we call Mother Earth. It is a way of bridging the gap between our ordinary world and the natural world, the realm of the gods – a way of tapping in to the power of that realm. In doing so, we also tap into the power  we each carry inside ourselves, the power to transform our lives and affect change in our environment. For the Huichols, this is not a matter of blind faith, but of direct experience. Making regular pilgrimages to places of power is one important way we can share in that experience.

The Huichols have a word, Kaukuyari, which translated literally means “dreaming god or goddess.” We say that just after this world came into existence, some of the gods and goddesses left the spirit world and emerged from the ocean. These ancient ones then walked over the entire earth, and some have transformed themselves into mountains, lakes, springs and other sacred places, so that we could go back and learn from them. By making pilgrimages to these places, we recreate the journey of the gods, and in the process also learn to re- create our own lives.

During my 12-year apprenticeship with Don Jose, I made many pilgrimages to sacred places. We went to these places so I would develop my relationship with the gods and goddesses by learning to communicate with them directly.

In the beginning, Don Jose, who was my adopted grandfather and close companion as well as my teacher, would take me along with a small group of Huichol apprentices. We would go together to places in nature, and Don Jose would say, “We will learn the language of this cave. We will listen to the cave speaking in the night.” Then we would leave offerings in the cave and sleep there.

We also went to various rock formations in the Sierra Madre mountains to talk to the different rock people, and we would go to the ocean and various fresh water springs to try to learn the language of the waters. Later I would go to these places alone. During one of my vision quests, I went 5 days alone with no food or water, dreaming and learning from one particularly powerful place, the Cave of Grandmother Growth.

In order to become empowered as a shaman, you have to go where there is power.  You gain empowerment by fasting and praying at these sacred places, and by receiving a dream or vision from each place. It’s like a contract: you give a prayer and offerings to the place of power, and you get to take back the power of that place. In fact, one traditional way of learning to become a Huichol shaman is by going to a place of power for 5 years in a row. But pilgrimage is for everyone, not just for shamans.

I spend much of my year at place of power, not only seeking to empower myself, but also leading other people on pilgrimage – teaching them how to make offerings and communicate with the gods, and working with the gods to help transfer the power of these places to people.  Each year, through the sponsorship of the Dance of the Deer Foundation, I lead a number of pilgrimages throughout the U.S. and Europe. We go to help heal the Earth, to take power back into our lives, and to learn the language of the gods.

For the last 13 years, I’ve led summer pilgrimages here in California to Mt. Shasta, the Healing Mountain, which is famous for its power and visions among many North American Indian tribes. Last summer, I led my first pilgrimage to Alaska – To the Tsongas Mountains near the sea, where our ceremonial chanting was often answered by the calls of humpback whales. We also make an annual pilgrimage to the Pacific Ocean in Mexico, where we are joined by Huichol grandmother, Dona Josefa Medrano, and some of our family

When we go on pilgrimage in the Huichol tradition, we make prayer arrows and leave them as offering, along with a candle and some cornmeal or chocolate. Then we verbalize what it is we’re asking for. Generally, we’ll ask for a vision or for good luck, but you can also ask for something very specific such as a new job, or happiness in your marriage, You call aloud to the spirit of the place, communicating form your heart. We say, “You pray as if your life depended on it.” You leave your offerings, and you might also lie down and try to  have a dream or vision of that place. Then you use that vision to help transform your life.

There are places of power everywhere. In California, there’s the Pacific Ocean – we call her Tate Haramare, Grandmother Ocean, the birthplace of all life. There’s Mt. St, Helena in Sonoma County, Cone Peak and Pico Blanco in Big Sur, Mt. Shasta, and many more. But you don’t have to go far to find a place of power. You can take a place near you and make it sacred. The Huichols make their back yards sacred places. They build a temple, and altar, and leave offerings for the gods there.

A pilgrimage is something you do once in a while, but for every existence, you can go to  your personal place: an altar in you home; a tree; a large stone. These become places of power with the energy we give them. Don Jose told me the whole Earth is a place of power. He used to say, “Love the gods as you love another person. They’re your ancestors, your relatives. People love everything else and they forget the gods.” Through pilgrimage and prayer, the ancient ones can be remembered and teach us their mysteries and wisdom.