Tips For Creating Ceremonial Space
Clean and tidy the room: Cleaning is a ritual of its own, and it’s a great way to change the energy in your space from everyday to ceremonial. Dust is layers of dirt and dead skin that build up over time, so dusting your space is a great place to start.
Tidying is also important. Your everyday things remind you of everything you need to do tomorrow and make it hard for you to be present in the here and now, which is the essence of ritual space. Put that pile of papers away and make things straight so you aren’t distracted.
If you have time, clean and tidy thoroughly. If you don’t, just do a quick one. Either way, the effort of making the room nice and changing it a bit prepares both you and the space for the transition into ritual space.
Cleanse the space
The freshness of the air plays a huge part in the feel of your ceremonial space. Open a window or the door, get a fan, or even simply move around the room to freshen the air as much as possible.
It is also highly encourage that you utilize silver sage and palo santo, two natural substances that have been used for centuries by indigenous people as space cleansers. In addition to essential oils, incense, candles, room spray, mapachos or other things to cleanse the space.
Lighting
Candles are also an easy way to change the lighting in your room. Maybe you dim the lights or turn them off completely.
Make an altar
Words like ritual and altar are strongly associated with organized religion and this can create negative associations in people’s minds — especially for those who were forced as children to subscribe to something they didn’t believe in. Making your own altar is a great way to transform this and reclaim the altar as something sacred and personal
An altar is a focal point for your ritual. You can use any objects to make an altar, as long as they feel precious to you. For example, if your ritual is about connecting with your partner, you might use a favorite photo of you together. If you’re remembering someone who’s died, you might gather a few of their favorite things.
Gather the things you need for the ritual
If the ritual includes a shamanic journey or meditation, make a place for each of you to sit or lie.
If you’re doing an intimacy ritual, get some mattresses, soft things and any toys you might use.
If you’re going to dance, make sure there’s plenty of space and set up the sound system.
Whatever you might need for the ritual, it’s great to have it on hand. It’s fine of course if you forget something and have to go to the next room to fetch it — however, this can break the spell and then it takes time to drop back in. So the more prepared you are beforehand, the deeper a ritual space you’ll be able to enter. And thinking about what you need is another good way to focus and become present.
Do something to transition into ritual space
Your space is ready. It’s time to drop into ritual space.
What you do at this point is very much up to you. For me, I like to call the four directions (east, south, west, north) and say a few words about what each element means to me. I also sometimes invoke Lady Cacao (the spirit of ceremonial cacao) and call in other energies to guide and protect me and the other participants during the ceremony.
This is a highly personal thing though, determined by what you believe in and what helps you to connect and be present. If something feels too weird and woo-woo, it’ll almost certainly have the opposite effect. Similarly, if you start using technical language that reminds you of your programming job, you will probably go back into your left brain and that won’t help.
If you are not sure what to do, a simple and effective way to transition into ritual space is to sit in a circle and take three deep breaths together. Breathing deeply calms the mind and brings you more into the here and now. Remember to inhale deeply and also to exhale fully. It’s with the exhale that you relax, as exhalation activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Deep breath in, big breath out. Repeat.
Creating ceremonial space
Newman Alexander