My Cacao Ceremony

My Cacao Ceremony

 

When life is a prayer then our breath is a gift .

All that is available to us from mother earth is a gift given freely.

In gratitude we in turn can use it in prayer.

Plant medicine is one of those gifts and amoungst the plants we can use as a guide in ceremony and prayer is Cacao.

 

Used by the Mayans it was consumed during religious ceremonies and marriage celebrations. Regardless of social status all Mayans used cacao for sacred reasons.

the word ‘chocolate’ is said to come from the Mayan word ‘xocolatl’ which means ‘bitter water.’

It may have been bitter water, but it was held in such high esteem that the Mayans called it the “food of the gods.” Cacao was so revered that images of cacao pods were painted on the walls of stone temples and Mayan artifacts have been found that show kings and Mayan gods drinking chocolate.

Due to it s high regard and it s use as a currency I actually had the thought last night as I was on my way to the ceremony that we were about to pray to (a form of ) money.

I laughed.

But it use to be serious and big business.

Cacao became the force of the Aztec economy. The demand for the cocoa bean and the beverage that it produced brought about a huge network of trade routes throughout the region.

When the Aztecs conquered the Mayans, they were forced to pay taxes to the Aztecs. These taxes were called “tributes” and they were paid in cocoa, so the Aztecs, who couldn’t grow their own cocoa, would always have a supply.

Cocoa beans were kept in locked boxes in businesses, and some enterprising Aztecs actually made counterfeit cocoa beans.

 

 

Photo and art credit go to the INCREDIBLE. Orly Faya

Body Painter extraordinaire

It was recorded that the beans was worth as follows...

hail the Cacao bean exchange rate

4 beans = 1 pumpkin

10 beans = 1 rabbit

10 beans = lady to stay overnight..

.how many beans for her to actually open herself in passion I wonder ??? ..

There is no coincidence that I am so attracted and activated by chocolate then !!!

 

The modern day allure of chocolate is a strong one. Especially said for women. Often craving the indulgence during our moon time it has many health benefits containing compounds that react with the body to limit the excretion of stress hormones.

But to use cacao, the original chocolate bean as a method in prayer and ceremony is a deep reverence for the plant and for the gift it carries for us all.

 

Many medicines from plants can be used for transformation. We can induce visions and release emotional blockages in intentional ways creating a sacred space for our higher selves to bring to our conscious what we need to see, feel and shift.

Using cacao in this way is a celebration of pleasure, of joy and of divine feminine energy. To meditate is to be honouring the masculine side of ourselves, to dance to honour the feminine aspect. I combine both in a ceremony where the dancing meditation becomes a prayer. Bringing forth intentions and desires to a place of reverence and celebration. In the ceremony I create the space where dance becomes the bodily expression of prayer.

 

Preparing the concoction of cacao , the brew is kept bitter, mixed with cayenne pepper and ginger and other spices. Last night , although sweetener was on offer no one used it. Using cacao this way allows the receiver to fully taste the bean in its raw form and sit with the energy it evokes.

It is strong, it is power full, it is celebration.

AHO.. to the mighty cacao goddess and may your moments of prayer be filled with the flow of dance.

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