Cacao Ceremony
Sunday 1st December 2024 and Sunday 5th January 2025
9.45am – 11am
£12 per session, payment in full to secure place
Old School Hall, School Lane, Harpole, NN7 4DR
Parking is available on the street, but please be careful not to block anyone’s driveway.
To book: email or text Lyn for BACS details
What is a Cacao Ceremony?
It’s a relaxed and meaningful gathering of people to consume ceremonial cacao to help you find spiritual guidance.
Cacao ceremonies take many different forms, each one is unique with a different emphasis or activity. Some include music, chanting, dance, sharing circles and or quiet reflection.
My ceremony is to help you connect with your deeper awareness through meditation and visualisation.
The cacao used in the ceremony is a raw, unprocessed, ceremonial grade hot chocolate drink that has been traditionally used to help open the heart chakra and allow you to connect deeper with your intuition.
There are many health benefits to the drinking of cacao as it contains powerful antioxidants and flavonoids as well as magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, C and E. The high level of amino acids in cacao releases adrenaline and dopamine which boost your mood, stimulates endorphins and gives you a natural feeling of bliss.
We will be consuming between 25-35g of cacao each in our ceremonial drink.
What to expect from the morning.
The Cacao drink will have been prepared by Lyn beforehand under the guidance for a ceremony to create calm energy for the ritual.
You will be welcomed on arrival and shown where to place your mat and things. You will have a few minutes to mingle and introduce yourselves (so we don’t need to go round the room and introduce ourselves). We will gather on chairs in a circle and the ceremony will open with a short introduction about cacao and the reading of directions to invite the spirit of cacao. Then an explanation of how to set intentions. And general setting the tone.
You will then be invited to come up and take a cup of the cacao.
We will then sit in silence for a couple of minutes to mindfully savour the Cacao, honouring the plant and then setting our personal intentions. This will be followed by a guided meditation to open your heart chakra and invite awareness and deeper intuition. The cacao helps deepen your meditative state, allowing you to explore your inner landscape with greater clarity and openness.
Next, we will move to lie down on our mats in Savasana. You can use blankets, bolsters, cushions etc to get really comfortable. Once settled you will be fully guided through a relaxation meditation to bring you to a deeper level of awareness.
We will return to our chairs for the closing of the ceremony which involves gratitude and grounding exercises.
At the end we will have 5 minutes of informal sharing of experiences that you can do as we break into small groups to chat in a more relaxed manner. Or you can use this as an opportunity to ask me any questions.
What is an intention?
It is a good idea to think a little before attending the ceremony about what you hope to gain from the experience. Calling the spirit of cacao to work with you in a focused way will help to focus the energy.
For example, you may be looking for your purpose in life, for healing, for guidance with a particular aspect of your life, manifesting, deeper connection with yourself or others, clarity etc. It’s a bit like a prayer. Remember there is no limit to your intentions.
For December ceremony you might like to consider a reflection of the year. As we are coming into the Christmas season you may like to set intentions around how you wish the holiday season to go.
The January ceremony is a great time for manifesting what you want from the year ahead or looking for guidance in any changes you may wish to make.
Getting the most from the ceremony
To get the most from the experience, it is best to come with an open mind, fully immersing yourself in the experience. You do not need to worry that you are not ‘spiritual’ enough or have never done anything like this before or meditated even. There is no right or wrong way of doing things. You don’t need any experience. However, as suggested earlier you might want to spend 5 mins thinking about what intentions you wish to set, what answers or insight you might like to gain from your intuition.
What do I need to bring?
Please bring your own yoga/camping mat, any cushions, blankets or bolsters that will make lying on your back comfortable.
You may wish to bring a bottle of water, extra socks or a note pad if you want to make any notes.
Please wear loose fitting, comfortable, warm clothes (layers are always a good idea).
Other useful information
It is recommended not to eat an hour or more beforehand, and to have a light breakfast.
Drinking pure cacao is not recommended if you’re on strong antidepressants or pregnant.
Cacao ceremonies are open to everyone, regardless of spiritual beliefs or practices. The focus is on connecting with yourself and others, and there’s no requirement to follow any spiritual path.
Ceremonial cacao is vegan and gluten-free.
There will be coconut sugar or organic maple syrup to sweeten the cacao – which makes it more palatable (as quite bitter).
Participating in your first cacao ceremony is a beautiful step into a tradition that has been cherished for centuries. It’s an opportunity to connect with yourself, with others, and with the ancient wisdom of the cacao plant. By approaching the ceremony with an open heart
