Opening Sacred Space: Ceremony
There are many types of ceremonies. Three common types of sacred ceremonies performed are those intended for healing, for transformations and for celebrations. A ceremony may be created for a specific purpose, such as healing a relationship, clearing emotional obstacles or relieving someone of their physical suffering. We may call in Spirit to ask for assistance in transitions such as birth, starting school, the onset of puberty/coming of age, marriage or the departure of a spirit from its physical form. Ceremony can also be used to acknowledge and celebrate natural rhythms and events such as new moon, full moon, solstice, equinox cycles, eclipses or change in seasons. We may also choose to hold ceremonies around our manifestations and intentions in order to involve Spirit in the co-creation of our dreams.
Although many ceremonies seem to be associated with a particular religious or spiritual belief, they do not need to be restricted by any tradition or convention. Since ceremony is primarily about connecting to Spirit, if we come with an open heart, a clear intention, humility and receptivity, we can create our own ceremonies that will effectively allow access to the spirit realm to retrieve healing, light and wisdom for ourselves, our family and our community. Remember that the most important resource we have is our own internal guidance and relationship to our spirit guides that can assist us.
We are in a very spiritually creative time in our evolution as humans, and it is becoming more and more important to upgrade our spiritual consciousness and stay connected to the Source. Ceremony can become an intimate and integral part of your life where you begin to think, feel and breathe ceremony in all aspects of your everyday life.
When creating your own ceremonies for yourself, bring a general understanding of the structure of a ceremony, and a plan for the ritual, but at the same time leave yourself open for the magic of serendipity to come through. Act on intuition and pay attention to everything that happens before, during and afterwards. Evoke emotion within you by writing, feeling, remembering, visioning, so you know you are tapping into the body of energy that you want to transmute. This is a time when your spirit is especially tuned in, and the world becomes a mirror for your heart. You may well perceive signs, clarity or receive messages throughout the ceremony time.
In the process of ceremony, there are natural cycles that include a beginning, middle and end. Once you have determined the time, space and intention for your ceremony, you can invoke the spirit guides that are most suitable for the occasion.
Opening
It is traditional to open the sacred space and honor the ancestors of the land as well as the elements. You may start by lighting a candle, saying a prayer of gratitude or calling in the energies of the four directions - East, South, West and North, as well as the energy of Mother Earth and Father Sky. You may also call in any intention, support, ancestor, deity, quality, sacred space, or concept that you like to open and support the ceremony.
I call in the spirit of Abundance, of Vitality and Fertility
To support me in my free expression
I call in the divine qualities of Lakshmi
Goddess of Wealth and Growth
Symbol of Limitlessness
To hold the space for this Ceremony of Manifestation!
If you choose, you can meditate, move, drum, rattle, chant or dance with the intention of invoking Spirit and building the power for your ceremony. This marks the opening of the ceremony and the symbolic gateway to connecting with the spirit world and officially entering the ceremonial space. The process of singing, chanting movement and/or silence can all induce a pleasing altered state of consciousness or a ceremonial trance-like state.
Intention
Once you feel like there is an ecstatic union within yourself - you have Self Centered - and the energy of Spirit has joined you in the space, this is the time to state your intention, prayer or question without attachment to the outcome. The intention is the backbone and inspiration of the ceremony, and allows you to proceed with more clarity and conviction. Setting the intention may be done in various ways. You may choose to state your intention to yourself and to Source alone. However, if there are other participants in the ceremony, it is powerful to state your intentions out loud so all may hear and be in unison with the collective intention of the ceremony.
Ritual
You also may choose to place your intentions or that which you are releasing into a bundle (a talisman), blow the energy of your spirit into the bundle and offer it to a fire or bury it in the earth. There are many other ways of ritualizing your intention. If your ceremony is for letting go, you could get water involved to release and wash parts or all of the body, or anoint the forehead. If your ceremony is for manifestation, you could plant a seed or write a vision or shout your manifestations to the world. If your ceremony is to give gratitude, you could bury offerings or create a flower mandala or share fruit post-ceremony. Whatever your expression, the important thing is that your intention goes into it, and that the ritual is symbolic in a way that evokes your emotion around this transformative moment. Emotion is energy in motion, and when we can tap into that through our rituals, we can harness that energy to repattern and propel change.
Trust the power of the ceremony and the universe to hear your prayers or intentions and take it from there. And so it is.
Gratitude and Closing
Once you have completed your ritual, it is important to have a distinct finale that gives the message that the ceremony is complete and you are now re-entering the ordinary reality.
Gratitude plays a big part here. Gratitude is the alchemical key to shifting and transmuting energy. Often the closing is made by offering a final prayer, releasing the spirits, closing the directions if they have been opened, blowing out a candle or simply singing a designated song, playing a distinct drumbeat or offering a closing chant with gratitude and reverence. It could be as simple as a whispered or internalized prayer, or even simply placing the hands on the earth and bowing the head. Make sure to name and honor each element, direction, quality or deity you acknowledged at the beginning. Again, your creativity is free to roam - do what your intuition tells you to, feel it, and it will be so.
JIYA JULIA
Jiya works in the field of self-empowerment, particularly through creative expression, helping people to identify their challenges and fulfill their full potential. A founder of international organization Kula Collective, Jiya offers her retreats around the world.
