Opening the Equinox Ceremony with the Community on the Hill of the Jaguar

Spring Equinox 2026

Walking with the Ancestors

Every year around the Spring Equinox, something awakens in the mountains of the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca.

For the ancient Zapotecs and many other peoples of Mesoamerica, the Equinox marked the beginning of a new cycle. It was a time to honor Mother Earth, bring offerings, pray for the rains, and align human life with the rhythms of the cosmos. Day and night stood in balance, reminding people of their place within the great cycles of creation.

Today, the Zapotec community of Santa Catarina Lachatao continues to revive this ancestral celebration, keeping alive traditions that connect people to the land, the mountains, and the wisdom of those who came before.

For us, this pilgrimage has become one of the most important gatherings of the year.

This was the fourth time we organized a pilgrimage around the Equinox in the Sierra Norte. We began with the community celebration in the village and concluded with a sacred plant medicine ceremony on the Hill of the Jaguar.

But the pilgrimage begins long before the ceremony itself.

It begins when we leave behind the noise of daily life and enter into relationship with the mountains.

This year we expanded our journey to include San Pedro Nexicho, home to one of the largest yet least-known archaeological sites in the Sierra Norte. Although the community is aware of the site’s importance, many of the ancient ceremonies connected to it have faded from memory.

While walking the land, Don Beto shared an extraordinary story. Years ago, while plowing his field with his oxen, he uncovered the entrance to an ancient Zapotec tomb buried beneath the earth. What first appeared to be an ordinary patch of land revealed stone steps leading downward into the past.

Standing there, it felt as though the ancestors were reminding us that their presence is still woven into these mountains. Their stories are not gone. They are simply waiting to be remembered.

We left offerings at the site and spent time listening.

Afterward, we traveled to the Río Grande, where we purified ourselves in the water before continuing our journey.

The next day, as we climbed toward the Hill of the Jaguar for the Equinox celebration, something unexpected happened.

A tree spoke to me.

Its message was simple:

“The ancestors walked this path before you. But one day, you will be the ancestors. And there will be thousands of people walking with you again.”

The words stayed with me throughout the pilgrimage.

Perhaps that is what these gatherings are truly about.

Not recreating the past.

Not preserving traditions in a museum.

But becoming a living bridge between what was and what is yet to come.

There are moments on these mountains when the veil between worlds feels very thin. During the Equinox celebration, as the community offered prayers, music, and gratitude to the Earth, it felt as if something ancient was stirring once again.

Not only within us.

Within the mountain itself.

Many people speak today about the expansion of human consciousness. Yet I often wonder whether the sacred places are awakening as well. As more people return with respect, prayer, offerings, and remembrance, the mountains seem to respond.

The Hill of the Jaguar has always felt alive to me.

And every year its presence feels stronger.

As preparation for the sacred plant medicine ceremony, we received a traditional limpia from two local healers and entered the Temazcal. Through purification, prayer, and surrender, we prepared ourselves to cross another threshold.

The ceremony that followed felt like stepping through a portal.

Insights arrived with unusual clarity. Memories surfaced. Visions emerged. Questions found answers without words. As has happened so many times before on this mountain, it felt less like receiving information and more like remembering something that had always been there.

The Equinox itself is a doorway between cycles.

The sacred plants are a doorway into deeper consciousness.

Together, they create a powerful portal of transformation.

As we sat beneath the stars on the Hill of the Jaguar, I felt immense gratitude—not only for the people who walked this journey with us, but for the ancestors who once walked these same paths and for the generations yet to come.

Perhaps the tree was right.

Perhaps one day we too will be among the ancestors.

And perhaps these mountains will once again be filled with thousands of people who remember that the Earth is alive, that the ancestors are near, and that we are part of a much larger story.

If you want to join us for our next Equinox journey from March 19th to 23rd 2027, reserve your spot.
Group size is limited to 8 participants.