First of all I want to mention that Ceremony and Ritual are deeply personal experiences. Your experience at a Cacao Ceremony, will be influenced by your background, your culture, where you live, your lifestyle, your preparations before the Ceremony, your intention and probably more factors than that.
With that said, I want to explain something about the history of Cacao Ceremony, which is unlike most plant medicine traditions.
The ancient use of Cacao in Sacred Ceremony is still much of a mystery.
There is no set ritual for sharing Cacao, and no known lineage has been passed down.
Therefor, its up to each and every Cacao facilitator to choose how to do it in her/his own way.
Since Ceremonial Cacao is known as a heart opener, an embodiment medicine, a facilitator for inner work and healing, it’s common to see Cacao being used as a support in practices like yoga, dance and meditation.
What has been proven historically is that Cacao was considered sacred and of great value within ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztecs, The Toltecs, The Olmecs and The Mayas.
They used Cacao in Ceremonial settings, with each culture and tradition celebrating the plant in its own way.
But what is not as clear is exactly how these cultures worked with the energy of Cacao in Ceremony.
In modern times, where Cacao is present in indigenous sacred settings, such as Water or Fire Ceremonies, we see that it is used as a support or offering to a deity.
And the Mayas have been the last peoples to make spiritual use of Cacao.
But I want to quote the man that introduced me to Cacao, Keith Wilson, which is also the man behind Keiths Cacao, which is the Cacao I choose work with.
He says something I find very important and that is,
“No culture owns ‘Cacao’ or ’Ceremony.’”
The art of Ceremony is evolving in our modern society – which I see as a good thing. I believe that in these new times, it’s necessary to be innovative and to allow our creativity to help us think and do things in new ways.
At the same time, I also see the importance of learning from and remembering the old ways and what our ancestors have to teach us. Especially when it comes to tending the relationship to Nature, to the Elements, to Life.
So to weave this two aspects together, the old and the new, is an alchemy that deeply resonates with me. Neither are right or wrong by itself, but I see that together they form and create a more complete and adapted approach to what is needed for us to both remember and explore what it means to be human on this planet today.
So, I’ve found that there is no right or wrong way for me to either hold a Cacao Ceremony, or a right or wrong way for you to
experience it. Some facilitators will resonate with you, others won’t. Some elements in the Ceremony might feel like home, others more foreign.
It also often vary from Ceremony to Ceremony how you experience it, since we all are changing and evolving all the time.
When you go to one of my Cacao ceremonies, and then to another ones, they will differ, because me and the other person differs as well, both in personalities, what gifts we already have, our preference of what we want to offer within the Ceremony and our intentions behind our work.
The main intention behind what I do, is to create a safe and loving container so that your heart can soften and relax and connect you to the remembrance that Life is sacred and so are you.
Within my Ceremonies, we offer elements like Cacao ritual, sacred songs, meditation, dancing, breathwork, shamanic journeying, journalling and authentic sharing to aid you in this journey of remembrance.
Some people might have expectations that they will have a certain experience, and therefore become disappointed or very pleasantly surprised when something else shows up.
My invitation to you is to stay as open as possible, and to trust and allow that what ever medicine that you need, will be available to you in some way.
But maybe not the way you thought it would look like…