I hear a lot of folks interchange ‘ritual’ and ‘ceremony.’
for me and the dreaming otter, they’re actually two really different things.
ritual is something you do again and again in the same way to achieve a desired result (yoga to invite union of mind/body/spirit, reiki to invite relaxation/miracle healing, qi gong to invite inner balance and free-flowing qi, meditation or single-pointed focus to still the mind, and so on).
ceremony is different.
ceremony changes the shape of creation.
with ceremony, we look at what is dissonant or what is yearning to come into form (okay, it’s more complex than that, but these are short paragraphs, grin).
we ask the spirits, after doing any needed healing work, ‘how can I invite you into my life to help change this energy/pattern/trajectory/dream with a ceremony?’ and the spirits give us what you might think of as ‘ceremony recipes.’
there’s no need to borrow or imitate someone else’s ceremony, because the spirits know what you need, and share it with you directly.
that’s sacred, relieving, and lovely.
in a ceremony – that changes the shape of creation – you ‘put yourself out.’ literally.
you might find yourself out on a mountaintop, building art from flower petals, singing into the wind, burning objects representative of old pain, making big sacred art, walking labyrinths, stargazing, howling at the moon, writing your life history and offering it in a creative way to all that is, blowing and popping bubbles that represent old thought forms, binding and then freeing a beloved stuffie from childhood to feel your own liberation…there are as many shapes to ceremony as there are faces of love.
in a ceremony, you work with your intention, preparation, materials, and magic.
you remember your power, and you use it in a good way.
in sessions, we work with spirit, perform needed healings, you then create your ceremony with your helpers, you go perform it. THIS IS HUGE, and changes energy in your world…and then you walk away. you let go of your attachment. you sent the prayer up. you did your work. now, you receive. you let it go, whatever ‘it’ is. of course keep doing your spiritual work, but ceremony is an invitation to effort, invite, and then trust.
spirit handles the rest.
a note about ceremony: we’re not ‘recycling other people’s ceremonies.’ there is simply no need to do that.
this is because our helping spirits will offer ceremonies directly to you, and you work directly with them on the details. the specifics and how you meet the work is between you and spirit.
that’s beautiful.
ceremony is extraordinary – sometimes gentle and soft, sometimes powerful and incendiary, sometimes humorous and cheeky. always, ceremony is unexpected, and filled with kind magic.
everyone can learn to create unique ceremonies and perform them. if this delights or excites you, or you think you’d like to learn more, please email me and we’ll see what we can get up to.
in the meantime, I wish you grace, ease, peace and flow in the shape of your world as it is today.
love,
anna
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