Harness the energies of earth and fire to manifest love in your life. MeetMindful expert Dr. Scott Carroll instructs us on the ancient Despacho Ceremony.

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When Life Gives You Lemons…Make a Despacho

Do you keep meeting one lemon after another and hit every red light on the dating highway? Would you like to get right with the Universe and turn those lemons into oranges and red lights into green lights? Maybe you’ve tried sand painting and the fire ceremony, but still want to kick it up a notch?

When indigenous healers along the Andean mountains in South America need to clear a lot of bad juju, they use a type of offering called a despacho. There are despachos for everything from healing illness to growing good crops, but you need a Love Despacho.  

The basic process involves wrapping symbolic objects in paper or other burnable or biodegradable material and then burning or burying the despacho to manifest your intention. 

Burning is the most rapid method because the Universe immediately starts manifesting your intention as the despacho is converted from physical matter to energy by the fire. Burying it is another option, but takes 30 to 40 days to start working, since the despacho has to decay first. 

You can put almost anything in the despacho, but if you plan on burning it, please be careful and don’t use anything toxic, explosive or excessively flammable. Similarly, if you are going to bury it, make sure everything in it is biodegradable.

Generally, there are two types of symbolic objects used in a despacho: the standard objects that “power” the despacho and the specific objects that “focus” the despacho on your intention. In your case, manifesting a romantic relationship.

Remember, creating a despacho is an intuitive process based on your specific situation and there are no absolute right or wrong answers about what to include (beyond the safety issue).  

Standard Objects

The standard objects include sweets and candy to represent the “sweetness of life”—heart-shaped Valentine’s Day candy is particular good for romantic relationships—and lard, butter or ghee for the “richness of life.” You can also include foods like bread to represent “abundance” and a few drops of wine or other alcoholic beverage for the “joy of life.” 

The last and most important standard item is a bundle of three bay leaves stuck together with some of the lard or butter, called a “quintu,” that you blow on three times before you place it in the despacho. 

Specific Objects

The specific items for a love despacho include small figurines of a couple—like from the top of a wedding cake. You can also include a figurine of a baby, but only if you are absolutely sure you want a family. If you can’t find figurines, you can use pictures instead. I also like to include flower petals from a red rose. It is especially effective if you grew the rose yourself.

Begin by meditating on whether you will burn or bury your despacho. Once you have a clear intuition regarding burning or burying it, collect all the objects you will need including an outer wrapper and some string. Pretty wrapping paper is ideal, but you can also use a large tortilla if your offering is small and you plan to bury it.

Once you have everything ready, spend a few minutes meditating to get yourself in an intuitive frame of mind. Start by laying the outer wrapping on a flat surface and then roll the lard, butter or ghee into a small ball. Place the ball in the center of the wrapping and then add the other objects in the order you feel intuitively directed. The objects should be arranged in an attractive manner, not just lumped together.   

However, save the quintu—the bundle of three bay leaves—for last. Before you add it, blow on it three times with the intention to connect your spirit to the quintu. Again, before you wrap up and tie the despacho, blow on it three times to connect it to your spirit. 

If you are burning it, please do so in a safe place such as a wood burning fireplace or fire pit (never in a gas fireplace). Always remember that a single spark from an abandoned fire that is not completely out can quickly spread out of control. Also, always obtain permission if you are on public property or someone else’s land and be prepared to fully extinguish the fire with water if it sparks or accidentally spreads.

When you burn the despacho, you must watch until it is completely consumed in the fire while holding your intention in your mind. Similar to the fire ceremony, watch the fire until there are just coals left without any flame. Then put water on the coals until they are cool to the touch. You can also burn a despacho as part of a fire ceremony to synergistically combine their power.

If you are burying it, find a private spot out of the way, where it won’t be disturbed and can fully decay. You may also feel led to bury your despacho in a special place such as near a body of water or a mountain to enhance the power. 

The beauty of a despacho is that you can use it as often as you like, even daily in the case of burning. Plus, as you continue to create despachos you may notice that they becoming more powerful and are manifesting more fully and quickly.

As always, please sign in below and share your thoughts, questions and experiences.  

Namaste,

Dr. Scott

[image: via Bill Damon on flickr]