We recently connected with June Arballo and have shared our conversation below.
June, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?
I feel that I began my training in this field from my mother Maria Ines Arballo de Murga. She came to the states from Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico at the age of 24. Her Great Grandmother was 100% Chiricahua Apache and is said to be Geronimo’s older sister. She was known by Nana Nella by her family and close friends and her Apache name was Tejuic. Her tribe would often go to Mexico and that’s where she met Juan Murga who was known as Juan el Duro. He came to Mexico from Murga Spain which was named after his family name. He bought acres of land in Mexico and had a store in which he traded with the Apache’s when they came to Mexico. They wanted to Marry but the Apache’s said they could not because he was not Apache. She hid in a grain barrel in the store and they fled in the middle of the night and went to live their lives in San Andres Mexico.
The Apache were so mad that he took her and for years had been looking for him and finally, as the Apaches are master trackers, they found him! They shot and killed him with a bow and arrow and found Nana Nella with 7 childern. They took care of her by afar but did not bring her home. Most of these children were men and did well financially and took very good care of their mother.
They were friends with Pancho Villa before the revolution and Pancho shared his vision of the Revolution with them and asked for their help. They did end up financing the revolution with Pancho Villa and rode with him. Pancho Villa ended up Marrying into our family through Luz Corral. After Pancho Villa was killed she took are of the hacienda that became a museum about Pancho Villa and as a child I had been there a couple times and was able to meet her and we had family dinners together.
My mother didn’t speak much english when I was young so she couldn’t read the American fairy tale stories to us but she told us all the stories about our family, Nana Nella, Juan El Duro along with all of the ghost stories that have been passed down through our family. Her parents were first cousins and were ranchers so there were many stories about the ranches they took care of and finally they were able to have their own ranch outside of Chihuahua, Mexico of which our family will always have many good memories of family gatherings there.
Since I was very young it was known that we are spirits and spirits are all around us and we are very much part of the same world. I am a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States so I always say that we are all dual citizens of the spirit world and the physical world so it’s not so strange that we can communicate with our ancestors and other spirits. The ghost stories my mother told me are very scary like a witch taking my Aunt out of the house with the doors and windows locked and spirits antagonizing and trying to scare my relatives. I saw my first spirit when I was around 5 years old. As we spoke freely in the house about spirits, our dreams and unexplained things happening my mother was always there to guide me.
My mother always steered us towards the Native Americans and teachings. Nana Nella will forever be the Matriarch of our family and she always wanted us to never forget our Indigenous roots, and all our family holds this close to our hearts. The newspapers in Mexico have written several times about Nana Nella her Apache affiliation, Pancho Villa and Juan el Duro. One time they even wrote a full page article for 4 weeks in the Sunday paper covering every person in the family photo of Nana Nella and her children and some of their spouses.
Through having my mother and all my aunties and Uncle on my mothers side and all of the mysticism and stories and beliefs passed to me is the basis of my spiritual work today as well as my draw to the Indigenous cultures as well as the desire to help and be a part of them in which ever way my puzzle piece fits, in a good way.
Around 2003 I had a great desire to learn more and go deeper into the Indigenous teachings and that’s when I began holding workshops, talks and private sessions with Indigenous Elders from around the world. I would hold several a year and in the beginning every month. They would stay with me and I would host them. I gave them all the proceeds because I always felt I was receiving so much already, I wanted to support them and share them with our community.
I was on the Advisory board for the Ringing Rocks Foundation in Sedona AZ for a few years and when they closed their doors in 2009 they introduced me to the Kenosis Spirit Keepers in Prescott where I sat on the board of directors for several years. Both of these non profit organizations worked with Indigenous healers, elders and Wisdom keepers. I would hold workshops with the elders they brought in as well to fill out their schedule while they were in the area.
In 2007 I met Grandmother Mona of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers at the Ringing Rocks Foundation with 6 of the other Grandmothers. We hit it off right away and became close friends. The 2009 gathering of the 13 Grandmothers in Sedona Arizona was the first gathering I put on for the Grandmothers of over 600 people. We traveled to Hopi and the Grand Canyon with 40 of our entourage. We closed the doors for the Ringing Rocks Foundation as their last event. I still to this day help and work with the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. They are 13 Indigenous Grandmothers from around the world and it has been the highlight of my life to have met and taken care of them, helped organize gatherings and traveled with them.
Working with all the elders throughout all the years has taught me that our gifts are to share and not to keep for ourselves. It has been an honor to have these people in my life as my friends and teachers to ask any question I had at any time about anything that came up and even if I didn’t ask they would see something in my house and ask why do you put it there like that or what do you use that for? So they teach in subtle ways at times. I learned a lot about using my intuition more, about ceremony and the power of prayer.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Now that I am practicing my work and helping others I feel the most valuable tool in our tool belt is to work with authenticity. The work has to come from deep within you so it is an expression of you connecting with spirit and bringing it to who ever you are with in a ceremony or a reading, healing, clearing, what ever you are doing. Always done with humility.
In my practice I started by doing clearings of people, homes and land. I still do this work and feel it helps so many people as does all the work actually. When I do a clearing on people I always make sure they are involved and are looking at what I’m doing and I show them how to see their energy field around them because that’s where you see what happens. Sometimes you may see waves like heat waves on a parking lot. Other times you may see smoke or lights or other things as they move out of the body. There is no better way to call a clearing of a person, home or land than a clearing because it feels lighter and clear like you can even see clearer in your mind and your eyes too. I’ve cleared many spirits from homes as well. I hope to do some teachings on this soon.
If you remember I spoke about my aunt being taken out of the house with the doors and windows closed in the middle of the night by a witch. She had a hard life her whole life and I always felt that something was done to her. So I went to Mexico and cleared her. All the way down to the youngest child could see a thick black smoke move out of her body ending with a big black ball flying from her head, through my hand and disappearing.
Before I cleared my own family only I could see what was happening, but after that anyone in the room could see but not the person getting cleared. One summer I worked in Bermuda and everyone started hearing that I did clearings so many people were coming to me. They could see what was coming out of their own bodies and it opened up something where now the person clearing can see too.
I began doing Mediumship and psychic readings which I really enjoy because I get to meet everyones family and learn about their ancestry through their relatives who have passed on. When I’m with someone I can see anyone connected to them whether they have passed or are still in body. It’s been very helpful for many people.
Since I do hand readings sometimes the spirits show me their hands. Many times when I’m connecting with people in my clients lives I look at their hands too. I don’t do conventional palmistry, I mostly read the tops of the hands and I have to see them both together. The left hand shows how you came into the world which also gives a glimpse of your past life. It shows how you are with yourself, what you have overcome, how you’re operating now, and so much more. It’s 100% accurate. I look at the hands in every reading although some people come for just a hand reading, but other information comes in as well. Even when I do a zoom session I always have everyone send photos of their hands. I’ll send instructions on how to take the photo. The bottom of the hands tell your relationship to love and relationships in this life time. It’s fascinating!
The reading of the hands has come to me over time so it’s quite unique to me, I have never been trained in it before. Although I am about to look through a course that my favorite teacher for Tarot and palmistry Ellen Goldberg from New York is teaching. I highly recommend taking any class from her “School of Oracles”. She has out a big book on palmistry and will soon come out with her Tarot book. I have had several amazing tarot teachers over the years and she has been my favorite.
I am an ordained minister through the “Web of Life Animist Church” in Tucson Arizona run by Quynn Elizabeth. I am also LGBTQ+ friendly and have a permit with the Sedona Forest Service to do Weddings, ceremonies and experiences on the Red Rocks of Sedona. I hold a membership with the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and am also a member of the Sedona Metaphysical Spiritual Association (SMSA), which is an affiliate organization of the spiritual providers who are members of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce.
The Blessing Ceremony that I offer is one of my favorite offerings because it focuses on what you feel you need a blessing for and the ceremony takes a life of it’s own. I also offer readings and we work with our ancestors and guides. The prayer song is where the blessing happens because I feel it opens up a portal and I can feel their ancestors coming through me like a doorway and many times the room fills up. Many people will feel them or receive messages and many various experiences will happen and always much emotion. Our ancestors and guides have a comfort feeling to them, and unconditional love for us and always there to pick us up without judgement. I feel they are also teaching us to be this way with ourselves more and others too. I feel it’s one of the most profound offerings.
The Circle of Life is an experience that is based on the teachings of the Medicine Wheel. I feel the Medicine Wheel is here for humanity because the teachings are all about our life here on earth. It is something that we can use where ever we are at various times when we are needing assistance. It helps us look at our span of life in a realistic way and our connection to everything on earth and spirit. It’s a wonderful and meaningful experience.
Working with groups is something I truly enjoy so much. I’ve offered experiences for small groups all the way to 100 people. Sometimes if asked I could also bring in an Indigenous Elder for an offering as well. If a group has an Air B&B, I am happy to come to them to do a ceremony or offer an experience. The circle of life can be offered in a group format as well. I enjoy this work so much whether I’m working one one one, a couple, a family or a group it brings so much depth and meaning to my life as well as it does to others. A ceremony is also very helpful for those who may be grieving as it brings much comfort. On my property I have a fire ceremony area and it is also available to have a session with the fire.
I host a Women’s Circle and we meet approximately once a month called “Circle of Sacred Sisterhood”, and is open to all women and those who identify as a woman. We do all different types of things and I rotate to different people in the community to facilitate, I will occasionally facilitate and sometimes I will have local tribal members facilitate.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I do not read as i don’t have the attention span to read a whole book but do have some to suggest for you. I also have some video’s to watch on YouTube:
Books:
• “Animal Speak” by Ted Andrews
• “Animal Wise” by Ted Andrews
These are wonderful books for totem animals. He wrote the second book to add more animals bugs and reptiles that were not in the first book.
• “Nature Speak” – by Ted Andrews – Talks about trees and plants in nature.
• “Love is in the Earth” – A Kaleidoscope of Crystals – By Melody – A wonderful book with great descriptions of the
meaning of Crystals.
• “The Art and Science of Hand Reading – Classical Methods for self-Discovery through Palmistry – by Ellen Goldberg
and Dorian Bergen.
• “The secret language of Birthdays” – by Gary Goldschneider & Joost Elffers. This is an in depth book that describes
birthdays by the day and breaks down birthday descriptions in a refined way. Very accurate.
• “Woman Who Glows in the Dark – A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health – By
Elena Avila R.N., MSN with Joy Parker.
• “Grandmothers Wisdom” – Reverence for all Creation – Living Portrayals from the International Council of 13 Indigenous
Grandmothers – Compiled and produced by Ma Creative.
YouTube Videos:
• “For the Next 7 Generations” – This is the documentary that came out in 2007 about the International Council of 13
Indigenous Grandmothers.
• “Water” – The great Mystery – Look for the full version that is about an hour and 22 minutes. This movie brings to light
how alive water is and how it works with us and responds to us. Dr Emoto is most well known for his work with water,
he is in this documentary as well as several others from around the world.
The 13 Indigenous Grandmothers have quite a few videos on YouTube. I also recommend looking up Arvil LookingHorse who is a prominent Lakota Elder who is the Carrier of the White Buffalo Calf Woman’s pipe.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Our journey is unique to each of us and we all have our dreams of what we wish to do with our lives. How do we do what we love and at the same time make a living in the linear world. I have been a massage therapist since 1979 and always thought that was my calling. I could talk to the muscles and felt like I could even do healing work by energetically moving my hands inside the body and working on what ever is the problem area. I felt like a healer.
For many years I worked in the resort and spa industry because I could have insurance and still do now. There aren’t many psychic and healer jobs that offer stable income and insurance. I have managed to work out my time to be able to work in my private practice and put in a couple of long days at the spa so I can still receive my benefits.
Many healers or intuitives like myself have always had to enter the dilema of what to charge. I am bi-lingual and speak Spanish as well so I end up working on some of the Mexican community. They are used to the Curandera’s that may take a chicken or a home cooked meal for their work just as many people feel about the shaman or Medicine man or woman. In the old days the tribe or community took care of their medicine person but now days these people like myself have a car payment and a mortgage and bills to pay.
I asked many of the Indigenous Elders I have worked with over the years how they feel about that subject, should I charge for my work? They all said to charge because it’s a resaprocity which is very important for the person getting the healing work. Even in many tribal situations the medicine man is well paid and taken care of with goods as well as cash so he can take care of his family. What you give is how important it is for you to have them work with you. Many people don’t know what that would be, so it’s ok to set a price to give them a guideline of how to give back.
Just like anything you have to be in alignment with others who do the same work. It’s more about the energetics of balancing the healer being taken care of and the person receiving having the ability to give back an offering. Just like when you make a prayer you give an offering back to spirit as a reciprocity. Making an offering is an action showing the spirits and creator that you acknowledge that you have received something from your prayer and want to give something back as a reciprocity so the flow continues in your life. Everything is energy!
When I receive cash or a gift sage or anything that I may use in my life or spiritual practice I put it on my altar for a few days as my offering back to spirit in gratitude for the gift. After a span of days I feel when it’s time to take it down and put it away. In doing this I feel it sends prayer to the one who gifted it to me and meshes our energies as well.
I always wish to make time for my private practice because it brings me the most joy. Even though zI do enjoy offering massage very much for all these years it is the primary offering at the spa I work at. I would miss massage if I did not do it and I would miss the spiritual work if I didn’t do it. I have to do both to feel fulfilled and know that I’m doing what I’m here for in my life, as my passion is to assist others in healing energetically, physically, mentally and spiritually. What ever your passion is I say it is a magnet to your path, so live your passion however you can.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JuneArballo.com
- Instagram: June Arballo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/June.Arballo and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057301816154
- Youtube: June Arballo @junearballo6960 and
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/june-arballo-sedona
Image Credits
Primer Impacto Jim Peterson Alex Lockett Jane in the Woods – Sedona