A series of Global Chakra Workings have been progressively performed at each of Gaia's(the Earth as a living entity) chakra sites beginning October 1999 organized by (but not exclusive to) The HermAphroditic ChAOrder of the Silver Dusk. These group rituals - of which six have already occurred and the final imminent on the December Solstice 2012 - help activate the kundalini of participants and open their chakras at the sacred sites upon our planet which resonate with each of these- in ritual microcosmic resonance with Gaia's own moving Kundalini. The culminative Global Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra Working will occur on the December Solstice 2012 earthed at Aoraki/Mt. Cook, New Zealand (above), with 7-10 local participants working and doing practises together for the 4 days leading up to the 21st also. Below is some information about the Sahasrara Chakra and suggestions for ritual and practises to link in translocally from wherever you are on December 21st 2012: About the Site: To Nga�i Tahu (the indigenous Maori people of the South Island of New Zealand), Aoraki represents the most sacred of ancestors embodied in the mountain, the physical manifestation of Aoraki and his brothers (the 3 lower peaks). Therefore it is the link between the supernatural and the natural world, and the source of the power over life and death which the mountain possesses. New Zealand is also the place where the sun first rises, on the summer solstice (southern hemisphere, December 21st) as the day of longest light and shortest night in the year. Another sacred site on this planet which resonates with our Sahasrara/Crown Chakras is Mt Kailash in Tibet. This is the mystic Mt Meru or sacred mountain of Tibetan, Indian, Nepalese and Chinese mythologies. It is climactically nigh-impossible at this time of year to visit Mt Kailash, however we are creating a magical link to this mountain also while earthing our work at Aoraki. The SAHASRARA (Crown) CHAKRA SAHASRARA is the CROWN Chakra at the very top of the head, often considered to actually sit four fingerbreadths above the head, as it is the point where the individual consciousness connects with everything else, the supra-consciousness. Meditating on this point is said to bring about the Siddhis, or occult powers, of transforming into the divine, and being able to do whatever One wishes. However this is mostly a 'side-effect' as the Collective Consciousness which an Open Sahasrara reveals transcends any individual attainment. Tapping directly into our DNA, It triggers an awareness of the connectivity of All, the great web of life. Often referred to as the Thousand-Petaled Lotus, it is said to be the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness. Sahasrara expresses a similar archetypal idea to that of Kether in the kabbalistic Tree of Life, which also rests at the head of the tree, and represents pure consciousness and union with God. Within the Sufi system of Lataif-e-sitta there is a Lataif called Akfha, the 'most arcane subtlety', which is located on the crown and is the point of unity. Sahasrara chakra is the seat of the parabindu (supreme bindu). It is the location of the merging of Kundalini Shakti (energy) and Shiva (consciousness) The Colour of the Sahasrara is generally considered to be White, as white light contains all the other colours (of the chakras leading up spine and spectrum to it) and the crown is the consciousness of the Unity of All. Vibratory awareness begins at this point. Immortality is achieved within Sahasrara Chakra: Knowledge, knower, and known all become unified and liberated. When the Kundalini is raised up to Sahasrara chakra, the illusion of individual self is dissolved. PRACTISES for ACTIVATING SAHASRARA: It is recommended that those wishing to perform Sahasrara Ritual/Meditation on the Solstice perform at least some of the following practises daily leading up to then. That way you will already be prepared, know the processes and be open to the flow of energies. Expanded consciousness is not usually achieved overnight. While there will probably be a huge collective energy on this Solstice from the amount of people working globally at the time, the more you prepare the more Open you will be to both receive and contribute to this gestalt. ASANAS: While Sahasrara concerns consciousness and transcendence and therefore relates more obviously to meditation and pranayama (breath and energy work) than physical yoga postures, practising some of the latter are necessary to a) stretch the body, open its channels and make the spine supple for the energy to ascend, and b) keep one earthed. Transcendent states can be destabilising if the vessel is unfit. Unity consciousness includes the body as the temple and base. Once the Kundalini Serpent Power has ascended through Sushumna (the central energy channel up the spine) to Sahasrara, it is made to reverse its course and return to rest in the base center again. Any spine-stretching asanas are appropriate, also Shaking (whole body, part by part then back to whole body) to loosen any tension. There is a useful site of Yogic Asanas (physical postures) which help activate the Crown Chakra HERE. Particularly pertinent for bringing energy to the head are the Shoulder-Stand (Sarvangasana) and the complimentary Fish Posture (Matsyasana). The major Mudra for the Sahasrara is Kechari Mudra -which on a basic level is touching the roof of mouth with the tongue-tip to circulate energy througout the body during meditation, pranayama or tantric sex; but with progressive practise and exercises for the extension of the tongue, takes this organ deep into the nasal cavity to stimulate the pituitary gland (considered the physical analogue of the Sahasrara) via the hypothalamus. This stimulates the brain chemicals directly and (I have been practising deep Kechari for several years) can very swiftly move one into a transcendent state. Therefore I include this Bes-Kali AHA Mantra-Asana (link) as a suggested asana for Sahasrara. As well as (with continued practise) strengthening and lengthening the tongue for deeper Kechari and providing an immediate gnosis in itself as an exercise; it also has an interesting resonance with the Maori culture of New Zealand (where we are earthing this working) and their tongue-protruding Tiki icons. PRANAYAMA (breath-work): Nadhi-Shodhan Pranayam / Alternate-nostril breathing (a kind of Kumbukha or breath-holding pranayama) is good for clearing the left and right energy channels (Ida and Pingala nadis) to purify the system and raise kundalini. It is a simple exercise: Breathe deeply in through the left nostril, blocking the other with thumb or forefinger, hold the breath (with both nostrils blocked) for as long as is (barely) comfortable then released through the right nostril. The breath should be held here too after the exhalation, before the entire process is reversed to take it back in through the right and (after another pause) out through the left nostril, then back again, and so forth. For deeper trances this pause of breath should be progressively extended with repeated practise. It is important not to strain yourself with such exercises, but to gradually increase your capacity (periods of breath-hold, etc.) by daily practise over time. Particularly effective for putting one into a natural meditative space is Ujjayi Pranayama. It is a difficult exercise to describe in writing, however there is a fairly good go of it HERE. After practising this slowly for 4-7 days, one can attempt to do it fast, pushing the stomach out on exhalations and pulling the entire lower abdomen in with a rippling (from bottom of belly to bottom of ribs) motion on the inhalations. There are various other kinds of pranayama which will help stimulate the Sahasrara and/or clear the channels for further activations, but I will not describe them here as they can be easily researched online or in books (or better yet directly from a good yoga teacher). CHANTING (harmonics): The Chakra Tones we have been using in all the Global Chakra Workings have proved a powerful tool for atuning everyone. They should be audible already if the automatic sound-start code is working for your browser. There is more information about them and a separate audio file HERE. Daily practise leading up to the Solstice is recommended to really atune and open up the chakras through sound. Especial emphasis can be given to the high 'Oohhhh' tone of the Sahasrara -chanting if for an extended period after just 3 times for each other tone ascending spine and octave- before returning to the low 'Ohh' to ground back to the base chakra and the body. See also Deities below for the Shri Vidya mantra Essential Oils -Jasmine, frankincense. Flower Essences -Lotus, Angelica, Star Tulip Gemstones -Amber, amethyst, clear or rutilated quartz, diamond, iolite, Oregon opal, purple fluorite, pyrite, moldavite, selenite, serpentine, sugalite, tanzanite, Danburite, lepidolite, moldavite, iolite DEITIES: Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan - The culminative Global Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra Working occurs on the December Solstice 2012, timing with end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar. I do not believe this to be the 'End of the World', Apocalypse or even the 'End of Time' -which is effectively the same thing, except in the sense of the Dreamtime which is accessible from any point in manifest time anyway -although perhaps a shift in the amount of people able to access this will occur? New age hype aside, the Mayans never said the World will end December 2012, and they do have other calendars which continue past this point. What they did say about this time -when astronomically the Earth and our Sun line up with the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy- is it is the time of the Return of Quetzalcoatl (an Aztec name -the Mayans called Him Kukulcan) -the Winged or Feathered Serpent. This relates to the symbology of the Ancient Greek healing staves of Hermes (the Caduceus) and Asclepius, and the risen Ida and Pingala Kundalini Serpents of Hindu Cosmology. The Sahasrara Chakra is the uppermost point to which the Kundalini Serpent rises in the human body, so here the wings of illumination are spread and the serpent/s becomes 'feathered'... The traditional presiding Deity of the Sahasrara Chakra in Hindu Tantra is Shri Lalita Devi. The Shri Yantra inwhich she resides is thus a yantra related to the Sahasrara, and can be meditated upon in this Working. It is often considered the ultimate Yantra: There is in-depth information about Lalita and a breakdown of the Yantra HERE. Meditating on the yantra may bring gnosis. The central point, called Bindu, represents transcendental unity and the source of creation. The opposing sets of triangles represent the male and female principles which form creation The powerful Vidya Mantra of Lalita is: ka e i la hrim ha sa ka ha la hrim sa ka la hrim These 15 (Sanskrit) letters are conceived to exist within the meru or spine of a human being, from the base to the top of the head. Mt Meru as the holy mountain is the spine of God/dess and its peak the Crown Chakra. The syllable Sa also relates to Siva as cloud. Shiva & Shakti The Sahasrara is also the meeting of Shakti as Kundalini/energy and Shiva as Consciousness, so they are prime deities of this Chakra. Thus Mt Kailash in Tibet, the 'Shiva Mountain', is another Sahasrara sacred site of the Earth. Parvati the wife of Shiva was originally the Goddess of the Mountain (the meaning of Her name) so She is the spine/body and he the crown/head and together they are All. Meditations/Visualisations for Global Consciousness: This exercise was a part of the Global Ajna Chakra Working. It was effective enough to warrant its inclusion in this subsequent ritual (6 moonths later) with some adjustment This time do not merely visualise these things, but feel them also, and consider the second and third stages below as already in the process of manifestation via the global consciousness shift occurring at this time: The 3 progressive levels of this: Begin on a personal level: Meditate upon personal transformation and any changes you would like to see in your being and your own life. Expand to a Global Level: Meditate upon and Visualise global transformation and any changes you would like to see in the World and in society. Return to a Personal level, adapted by your expanded vision of the Global level: Meditate again upon and Visualise personal transformation, but adjust this vision to accommodate the changes you have seen in the World. Visualise, feel and Real-ise the way you can help bring into effect the global changes you wish for on a personal level RITUAL SUGGESTIONS Any or all of the above practises (and/or others of your own) can be incorporated into your rituals for the Dec. 21st Solstice. A suggested sequence / framework (adapt as you will) : If you are using ritual tools, talismans, yantras, murtis (images of God/ess/es), Sahasrara gemstones etc. arrange them upon your altar. If you wish anoint yourself with a Sahasrara oil, particularly on the top of the head. For at least 5 mins, do some Shaking to loosen the body, get your energy flowing and shake away any other concerns or activities unrelated to your ritual. Shake the whole body, then part by part toe to head, then back to whole body, varying pace, how fine the shaking is (ie small or large movements) and intensity. Cast a circle if and as you will. Be aware of creating/recognising sacred space and linking up with all the other people performing ritual or meditations upon this day. Do some stretches and yoga Asanas to make your spine supple and open. Do the Bes-Kali AHA Mantra-Asana at least three times. Sit and breathe deeply for a while, stilling your mind. Then chant the Chakra Tones up spine and octave, 3 times on each. Remain on the high exultant 'Ohhh' tone of the Sahasrara for longer (at least seven tones). Perform Nadhi-Shodhan Pranayam / Alternate-nostril Breathing (as above in Pranayamas section) for at least 4 rounds. Still your mind and sit in silence for at least 10 minutes, spine straight, body and face relaxed, breathing shallow. The aim here is to go into an initial focused and still state rather than experience visions or epiphanies. Sit and perform Ujjayi Pranayama (as above). If you have been performing it for a while you may wish to try the faster version after doing it slowly for a while. Meditate upon the Shri Yantra (as seen above). A large print is suitable, or a traditional one engraved on copper, silver or gold. Better yet, if you feel capable, draw the yantra before you with chalk or white flour. The construction of the geometries is a meditation in itself, keep it as precise as possible. While still meditating on the Shri Yantra, chant the Shri Vidya Mantra(above), 108 times (count on mala/rosary/prayer-beads if you have them). Perform the Meditations/Visualisations for Global Consciousness (as above). If you wish to make any invocations or evocations, this is a good point to do so. Call upon Quetzalcoatl to return and awaken the kundalini of humanity, upon Shiva and Kundalini Shakti to precipitate awareness in the collective consciousness. If you wish, call upon any other deities you relate to the Sahasrara, this work and/or this time, and/or personal spirits of guides. To link with our work at the mountains of Aoraki in New Zealand, you might also like to acknowledge and honour Ao-raki (Cloud in the Sky) and his three brothers (the smaller peaks) Raki-ora (Long Raki), Raki-rua (Raki the Second), and Raraki-roa (Long Unbroken Line). Breathe deeply, drawing the energy down to the base chakra and focusing there while visualising the colour red, for at least 9 deep inhalations and exhalations. Then begin to draw the energy up from the base (and from the earth below through it) to the navel chakra, visualising orange. Continue to circulate the energy down to the base on the inhalations, but up to the navel chakra on the exhalations. After 9 deep breaths take the energy up to the solar plexus chakra on the exhalations, visualising yellow/gold. Continue up the spine, chakras and spectrum in this way, always returning to the base on the inhalations and drawing the energy up on the exhalations. This can be propitiated by the contracting of the perineum (muscle between anus and genitals) on each long exhalation and its release on the inhalations. After the green of the heart and the blue of the throat chakra, draw the energy with the breath up to the Bindu Chakra on the back of the head -which is included in the chanting to make it a full octave of tones, visualising indigo. After deep breathing into this point for a while with tongue on the roof of your mouth, return to the base chakra and bring the energy up to the Ajna centre on the forehead and focus the energy there for 9 deep breaths, visualising Violet, , keeping spine straight and body relaxed. If comfortable slide your tongue into the back of your throat, drawing the golden solar energy in through the forehead and the silvery lunar energy in through the Bindu on the back of the head, mixing and blending them in the pineal gland in the very centre of the head. From this mingling in the centre of the head allow the energy to move upwards, fountaining out from the top of your head cascading down over your body. Still breathe deeply and evenly. Visualise white light as the combination of the entire spectrum of colour into Unity. You may feel a pulsation in the crown of the head, followed by a melting sensation and a flow of cool vibrations from the fontanel areas. Feel the essence of Sahasrara -the Unity of all things, of all beings upon this planet. This is not a Unity through sameness and monoculture, quite the opposite: True Unity can only come through deep acceptance of the rich Diversity of cultures, beliefs, paradigms, perspectives and opinions on our planet (and beyond). Feel the vast and intricate web of connectivity: How in essence we are One, in manifestation Many ('many thousand petals') yet increasing awareness of the former and this connectivity must affect our behaviour in individuation. Allow your consciousness to stretch to others globally performing linked rituals, and see/feel the group working at Aoraki/Mt Cook to earth these visions and experiences there. Also visualise the mystic Mt Meru, Mt Kailash. Feel your body as a mountain and its crown the peak. Reach your consciousness out to feel the many people worldwide offering prayers, ceremonies or meditations upon this day. Praise the Wonderment of this vast Uni-verse, the One-song with so many different voices. Finish with a grounding back into the base chakra, intoning the low 'Ohhh' tone of the Muladhara many times, with palms on the earth, breathing the energy down into the realm of Ma-nifestation. "Lastly, the seventh centre, the most important centre is the Sahasrara which has got, according to Sahaja Yoga, a thousand petals. Actually there are a thousand nerves and if you cut the transverse section of the brain you can see that all these petal-like structures of the brain are forming a lotus of the thousand petals. This centre of a thousand petals covers the limbic area of the brain before Realization like the closed bud of a lotus. Above this covering is the balloon-like structure of ego and superego. As the brain is covered completely when these two institutions join and calcification takes place on top of the head; that is how we become a closed personality. At the time of our awakening, of our second birth, this egg-like personality breaks at the top of the head." -The Paraclete Shri Mataji/Shri Sahasra-dala-padmastha Devi (Sahasra-dala-padmastha [528th]: Residing in the Thousand-Petaled Lotus.) Those who participate translocally with linked rituals and/or meditations in other parts of the world, whether in groups/circles or individually, are requested to send any information about their intentions -or afterwards about their experiences- to Orryelle by emailing [email protected]. The Accounts and images from the recent GLOBAL AJNA (Third Eye) CHAKRA WORKING (June Solstice 2012, Bulgaria/Thrace) are now up HERE . The womb-cave in the Rhodopes Mountains as seen from without and within, one of the sites of the Ajna Working. Following is a synopsis of the Vision behind the Global Chakra Workings then links to extensive illustrated accounts of those that have been performed thus far: The great awakening of the Serpent of the Earth is prophesied in many ancient cultures: The Australian Aborigines say the Rainbow Serpent, Almudj, rises at the end of Time. This is also the great serpent of their Creation myths, the ancient 'Dreamtime'; The Norse have the Midgard Serpent, who also rises at 'Ragnarok' -the 'end of the world'; to the Greeks he is Ouroboros the snake which bites its own tail; and to the Babylonians Tiamat ('serpent of Chaos who sleeps at the bottom of the ocean of time') who was divided into sections (creating linear time) by the sword of the Solar Hero Marduk, and shall eventually return to wholeness (fluidtime/dreamtime). Is this rising of the Great Serpent the kundalini or pranic energy of the Earth Herself? The symbology of the Mayan version -Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl the plumed or feathered serpent seems to suggest this with its form echoing the Ancient Greek healing Caduceus wand of Hermes and the parallel symbology of the Ida and Pingala nadis (energy channels in the body) of the Hindu Tantras. Almost every ancient culture in the world also has serpents representing the Creation and Beginning of Time, so it is implicit that this coming 'End' of Time as we know it is somehow also the Beginning, as the great Serpent bites its own tale in a Cosmic Moebius Strip loop... Since the initial vision of performing progressive rituals at each of the earth's chakra centres, I wondered who else might be already doing such work and discovered (via a search on Gaia's chakras) Robert Coon's Chalice of Life site (which now seems to have disappeared), wherein he maps out the routes of the female Rainbow Serpent and the male Feathered Serpent entwining through the sacred sites (7 chakras, 4 elemental wheels, etc.) of the Earth. Similar global chakra schemes by others only vary in one or two locations. Personally I believe there could be several of any of them, since the earth's body is not the same as a human one. These sites are however powerful places which do resonate with the corresponding chakras in humans from my direct experience and those of others I have worked with at them, and this is what is important for this work. The timing of the final (Sahasrara) Global Chakra Working with the December Solstice 2012 has been intended since the beginning of the work in 1999, to time with the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar. However I do not believe this to be the 'End of the World', Apocalypse or even the 'End of Time'. However it is a powerful opportunity for humanity to collectively reassess where we are going and how we would like evolve as a species in the delicate balance with the rest of our ecosystem. Rising through the Chakras to the Crown, this awakening is echoed in the microcosm of the individual within the macrocosmic Collective Consciousness (called by Maat magickians N'aton) of humanity as a part of the symbiotic Nature of this magnificent planet Earth. CURRENT 13: Some new Reflections on 2013 Accounts, images, sounds and animation from The Global Ajna Chakra Working in Bulgaria on the June Solstice 2012 Accounts and Photographs from The Global VISSUDHA (Throat) Chakra Working at Giza and Saqqara, Egypt, Samhain full moon 2006 Accounts and Photographs from The Global ANAHATA (Heart) Chakra Working: The 13th-Tribe Weaving, Glastonbury UK, Summer Solstice 2003 Accounts and pictures from The Global MANIPURA (solar plexus) Chakra Working at Uluru (Ayers Rock), Central Australia, Solstice June 2000 Global SVADISTHANA (navel) Chakra Working -Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, South America; Feb.2000 Full Moon. Global MULADHARA (base) Chakra Working -Mt.Shasta, California, USA; Oct.99 Samhain Full Moon. CHAKRA TONE CHANTING -with Audio and Meditation information.