Episode Details
Back to EpisodesInkling: The Temple of Ixchel, The Earthquake, and the Crone
Description
Ixchel, Mayan goddess of the moon and medicine — sacred site pilgrimage, somatic ritual, crone initiation, and what a 6.1 earthquake at an ancient temple has to do with poison as medicine.
The wildest moments on a trip aren’t always the photos, they’re the seconds when your body goes still and something ancient feels close. We’re back from Mexico and I’m sharing a quick, spontaneous inkling from Priestess Initiations while I finish editing a longer, more structured release coming Saturday: Blood Mysteries, a rich conversation on the menstrual cycle, PMS, and PMDD with my friend Gabby (an LPCC here in Colorado). I also pull back the curtain on the very real indie podcast process of recording on one mic and taking the time to do it well.
Then we go to Isla Mujeres, the Island of Women, and into the orbit of Ixchel, the Mayan moon goddess tied to medicine, weaving, the sea, and multiple aspects that echo maiden, mother, and crone. At Punta Sur, her sacred site and the easternmost point of Mexico, I talk through what it felt like to touch the temple stone and receive an unexpected inner vision: an old woman moving through darkness, chanting and drums, snake medicine, and the unsettling clarity that poison can also be healing.
As if the landscape wanted to underline the message, we experience two earthquakes, including a 6.1 that shakes the hotel room. We also witness sea turtles mating and feel the paradox of pleasure, fear, creation, and destruction braided together. The theme that lingers is simple but demanding: trust the spiral, even when the lesson is unnamed.
If you want a deeper dive on Ixchel, Isla Mujeres, and what “crone wisdom” actually looks like in real life, tell me in the comments. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves goddess lore and pilgrimage stories, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.
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This podcast offers spiritual and psychological education and priestess wisdom. This is not therapy, counseling, or mental health treatment.
Intro music composed by my dad, Mike Dunne: [Spotify link]