Ritual & Ceremony
Ritual calls our soul home…
Ritual provides a way to connect more deeply to the earth, Spirit, and all that surround us. Through ritual we more fully arrive into presence with ourselves, the cycles of the nature, and the rhythms of our days. It connects us to what nourishes and supports us most, calling in the medicine and healing we need. Ritual grounds us in honouring our lives with gratitude, thanking Spirit and the earth for all that nourishes us. It connects us to our beloved earth family, calling in their presence and wisdom. Through ceremony we weave ourselves together with the energies of nature, and activate all we hold within us for transformation. Ritual summons and unleashes our creative energies into the world, creating healing and activation. During ritual we send out our prayers and intentions, asking for the help we need from spirit guides and from our ancestors. Ritual is a foundational practice at The Gaia School. Just as we began with our most important plants the nourishing herbs, we also begin with the rituals we do every day.
Ritual is a powerful way to mark the changes in the seasons, celebrating the medicine, beauty, and diversity of nature. We call in the creative energies of Gaia, and the forces of nature, to partner with us for healing. We make offerings to the earth, giving back with love. In ritual giving offerings open our hearts to express the love and gratitude we have for the earth… Demonstrating reciprocal relationship and kindness.
In ceremony we can open more deeply to feeling Spirit surrounding and loving us. We create boundaried space where we are safe to open to receiving on deeper levels, connecting to the source of love that nourishes us all. In ceremony we can discover the gateway to the spirit realms… Thin places where the spirits pass through, in order to communicate and connect to them. In ritual we create portals and doorways, allowing the spirit allies and guides to be heard more clearly. We use our time in ceremony to weave alliances and partnerships between us and the spirits. This is were the greatest medicine lies.
Ritual is an intuitive art form, coming from our heart. It allows us to create celebrations of life and death, and honour this beautiful earth. Ceremony marks the passage of time, and also allows us to enter the place beyond time and space. When we enter into that river, we can move through the past, present, and future to gather wisdom and bring healing. Ritual is the arena of witches, shamans, and traditional healers around the world. We create sacred space to honour and gather with our community of elders and relations, continuing to work together for the healing of the whole. When we create ritual, many elders will gather with us. You will find that the bones of all ritual is the same all over the world, so use your intuition when you create ceremony. You may have ancestral practices you love, or begin practicing your own simple rituals. The most important thing is that whatever you do in ritual (offerings, music, song, meditation, prayer, dance, sacred smoke, healing baths) connects you to a feeling of intimacy and connection with the loving spirits that support you. Use the time in ritual to communicate with them, and offer your gratitude and love.
Journal Prompt - Take some time to write about what simple rituals you most love. How would you like to create sacred space more often in your life? What does ritual mean for you? How does it make you feel? What can it bring for you? What are some of the basic ritual practices of your ancestors, and who are their ceremonial plants?
Video ~ Creating Simple Ritual
“ The ceremonies that persist—birthdays, weddings, funerals— focus only on ourselves, marking rites of personal transition… We know how to carry out this rite for each other and we do it well. But imagine standing by the river, flooded with those same feelings as the Salmon march into the auditorium of their estuary. Rise in their honor, thank them for all the ways they have enriched our lives, sing to honor their hard work and accomplishments against all odds, tell them they are our hope for the future, encourage them to go off into the world to grow, and pray that they will come home. Then the feasting begins. Can we extend our bonds of celebration and support from our own species to the others who need us? Many indigenous traditions still recognize the place of ceremony and often focus their celebrations on other species and events in the cycle of the seasons. In a colonist society the ceremonies that endure are not about land; they’re about family and culture, values that are transportable from the old country. Ceremonies for the land no doubt existed there, but it seems they did not survive emigration in any substantial way. I think there is wisdom in regenerating them here, as a means to form bonds with this land.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Creating Daily Sacred Space
Creating daily sacred space calls our soul to be present and receptive. Sacred space creates time each day to honour ourselves, the precious gift of life, and the sacred earth we are held by. Simple rituals create moments of sanctuary and calm in our daily routine. The daily practice of offering blessing herbs and drinking our nourishing herbal infusions become the foundation of our practice. The ritual of brewing our tea grounds us in our medicine, and the simple ritual of blessing herbs helps us stay connected to the spirits. Anywhere I go, the nourishing herbs and blessing herbs go with me. They are the essential parts of my healing practice I cannot go without. If I have them with me I feel completely held and supported.
My favorite way to create simple ritual every day is to light a candle in the morning in the kitchen, some blessing herbs, and offer the sacred smoke to myself and the space around me. I like to take some quiet time to sit and speak from my heart to the spirits, asking for any support I might be needing. You can do this while you are preparing your tea or drinking your nourishing herbal infusion in the morning. Put on some soothing music and find a place to sit and ground yourself for a few minutes before continuing your morning routine. Breathe in the sacred smoke, and call in blessings and support from spirit for your day.
When you burn your blessing herb, welcome its spirit with love and gratitude. Call on any plant ally you are working with at the moment. Think about what you are wanting to nurture and call in for yourself on this day. Welcome in your guides, and let them know you are open to receiving and connecting with them today. Send out your gratitude to the plants, to Gaia, and the helping spirits that surround you. Offer thanks and blessings.
You might want to combine this morning practice with an afternoon or evening offering. I mark this again by lighting a candle, offering some blessing herbs, and simple prayers of gratitude from my heart. I ask for any support I may be needing, and see if there is anything the spirits are asking of me. Allow yourself to create the simple ritual intuitively, and if you are guided to add something else please follow your intuition. This is the base practice, and from there, we are guided into all kinds of ritual practices. Sometimes I drum, or dance, or clean my house, or head out to the woods… I will be offering a handout that gives you many ideas for creating longer rituals when you need them. This ritual is meant to be a simple daily practice you can incorporate into your life easily. Keep it nourishing for you.
Home Practice
Take at least 10 - 15 minutes each day to create sacred space ~ in the morning, afternoon, or before going to bed. Light your candle, offer the blessing herb you are working with, and take a few moments to be in quiet presence. Call in any plant allies you are journeying with, and welcome guides who are bringing their love and support. Once you have created this sacred space, all of your activities within that space will be blessed, supported, and enhanced. Making art, cooking, working, gardening, cleaning… it all becomes sacred.
Simple Altars
Altars are small sanctuaries for prayer, meditation, and connection. They bring a sense of sacredness and peace to a room, encouraging us to move through our days in the presence of Spirit. Altars are places where we connect to the sacred, give offerings to the spirits, and welcome in healing energies. I have altars in every room, on most surfaces, and I refresh them often… They channel in medicine from all directions and represent the divine present all around us. Altars are places we honour the teachers, medicine, and guides that have blessed us. Many cultures around the world have honoured the elements on their altars. You can include objects that represent the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air. I like my personal altars to be simple - a candle, my blessing herbs, flowers, an image of the divine, and a few sacred objects. You may want to have more elaborate altars including flowers, plants, natural objects, statues, sacred items you’ve gathered, images of your teachers, ancestors/family, and spirit guides. Make sure your altars feel pleasing to your senses, and help support your deeper connection to what nourishes your soul. Refresh them often!
Creating an altar can bring you closer to what is held in your heart and soul. They can create a communal space for ritual and connection. Every class I teach, we create a larger altar together. It is one of the most sacred moments of every class. The altar becomes the center place we gather around, welcoming in the plant spirits, calling in medicine, and giving offerings. I love to have communal altars represent the season we are in, and we often decorate them in flowers that are currently blooming, plant leaves from the gardens, and fruits that are abundant.
For this Beltane season, decorate your altars in spring flowers and sweet fruits
Light candles, add images of fertility, new beginnings, creativity, passion, love, and freedom! Offer creativity boosting lovey plants of Beltane such as hawthorn, rose, violet, linden, blue lotus, dragon’s blood, passionflower, damiana, orris root, raspberry, maca, cinnamon, cacao, rowan, forsythia, tulips, and all the spring flowers that surround you wherever you live!
Home Practice
~ Create an altar outside in nature with the rocks, leaves, flowers, shells, or wood that offer themselves to you. Bring a candle and some blessing herbs, and allow your intuition and the spirits to guide you as you create it. Let your altar be an offering and celebration to the beauty of the earth this spring! Enjoy the process of creating it as you receive the medicine of the natural world that surrounds you. Altars are where we are gathering these healing energies, welcoming ourselves, each other, and the spirits to receive… all will feast on the beauty we create.
*** You can create gorgeous mandala altars that call in the sacred wheel, where everything you place is done with symmetry in mind. Check out the book Morning Altars.
~ Create an altar in your home that is easily accessible (I like my kitchen island or dining table) where you can offer blessing herbs daily, and call in healing spirits. You may want it to be a place where you visit regularly. Choose a plant to have on the altar that you are wanting to honor. I love having some of their flowers, leaves, small bowls or bundles of the plants at my altar. Every time I light my candle and blessing herbs, I am honoring the plant spirit I’m currently journeying with. If there is an image of the divine you love, a special candle, or a few sacred objects representing energies you want to call in, add them. Try keeping your altar simple so that the energy stays fresh and bright!
Ceremonial Plants
Blessing herbs have been used in every culture, all over the world throughout our history. These plants are incredibly sacred and activate deep memory. They call our guiding ancestors, open us to the spirit realms, and bless the space we inhabit. These plants have been the foundation of my ritual practice since I was a kid and discovered earth centered spiritual practice. I fell in love with the magick of sacred smoke, and the way it could transport me. I loved to make circles of burning incense sticks where my friends and I could gather outside, held within a wall of sweet smoke. Sacred smoke is protective, and calls our guides close…
Incense has been the standard offering to spirit all over the world for thousands of years. Offering sweet scented smoke… a small fire of life force… a release. Releasing the energy of captured sun and precious plant compounds into the air. Changing the chemical make up of the air itself. Blessing herbs change and shift the vibrations in the space around us. When we burn incense and blessing herbs, we create a rippling of energy that moves around the environment we are in, blessing everything. I learned quickly how transformative this can be in our spaces, creating a vibration of charged energy in the space we are in. This charge attracts and magnifies healing energy we are wanting to activate. The spirits we cannot see around us respond to this energy charge, and get to receive the healing as well.
Blessing herbs and sacred smoke is an offering to all the other beings and spirits that surround us. If you believe that all things have energy, and energy is consciousness intelligence, then we are changing and affecting all things in the space, even objects. One of my practices has been to offer blessing smoke to all of my things, room to room, including everything… my clothing, a lamp, a bowl. All things contain energy and hold spirit. The blessing herbs are my way of giving a thank you, a sweet kiss and embrace of energy to what I am grateful for. Of course you can also do this with music, with song, with energy you send through you… but for me, the blessing herb offerings is a practice handed to me from my ancestors that feels incredibly ancient and powerful.
Every time I burn a blessing herb I feel connected to the lineages that came before me, and to all the people around the world who still honour the sacred in all things through this simple practice. The smoke is also a call we send out to the spirit realms that we are here and wanting to connect. Like sending out a smoke signal, the incense is a way to welcome and gather helping spirits. To all those who are already surrounding you, blessing smoke is like a gentle kiss of gratitude.
When we light a blessing smoke, it is best to set an intention through prayer and focused intent. What are you wanting to ask from the plant spirits you are working with? Ask them for help and their aid in creating needed change and healing. Imagine their spirits moving around the space with the smoke, and send them with blessings and love out to all directions.
Aromatics
There are many aromatic herbs that have been used around the world for ceremony and offerings. These fragrant plants have been treasured for many thousands of years. We are going to focus on the main ones I have worked with over the years, that have been a huge part of the ritual practice all over the world.
Though we are focusing on these main blessing herbs, you can use ANY aromatic plant as a blessing herb. Of course mindful of any native or overharvested plants that need protection. If you don’t want to burn them and breathe in smoke indoors, try sweeping them over your body in the way you would wash smoke around you. Sweep a bundle of aromatic plants across your body, with your prayers, asking the spirits to help bring healing, blessings, and clearing. This is a practice used by all of our ancestors, and it is a smoke free way to use the aromatics for healing. Especially nice for babies or the elderly, as well as anyone who has sensitive lungs to smoke. I use both methods because they are each powerful and feel incredibly healing.
From every continent there are blessing herbs used for ceremony. We will talk about issues of overharvesting, cultural appropriation, and making sure we are in right relationship with the plants. While plants do not belong to people, they belong to themselves, we also need to honour the ancient practices belonging to specific cultures. When you speak of these plants, also speak of the people and cultures these plants are most sacred to. If they are threatened plants, such as palo santo, white sage, frankincense, or myrrh, focus on educating others on limiting their use - (excluding the indigenous people that plant has been sacred to for thousands of years). Any plant that is threatened such as palo santo or white sage should first be left alone for themselves, and their ecosystems… and then for the people who have been partnering with them for many thousands of years. If you are gifted these threatened plants, use them with gratitude! Actively engage in their protection and help educate or share their need for protection with stores still selling these threatened and over harvested plants. (Many like white sage can be grown yourself, or similar related species used instead.) Discover the aromatics that grow around you! I hope you enjoy working with these incredible plant elders, welcoming in the medicine and wisdom they have to offer you.
*** Dragon’s blood, myrrh, and sandalwood I use only in small amounts and sustainably harvested. Palo Santo, wild harvested white sage, and frankincense I no longer buy due to over harvesting. (I treasure what I have over many years and make it last). You can however cultivate sage, or buy small amounts of these sustainably harvested resins. At one one time frankincense was worth more than gold!
My Favorite Blessings Herbs ~
Spruce & Pine Resins, Juniper, Sages, Cedar, Sweetgrass, Frankincense, Copal, Dragon’s Blood, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Sweet Annie or Mugwort
Calling in the Spirits of the Blessing Herbs
Just like we meditate and journey with the teas we drink, we also meditate and journey with the blessing herbs we use in ceremony. Each one has powerful energy and a strong spirit, so please greet them in with respect and honour. We have been working with these plants for many thousands of years in ritual and these spirits know us well. They have partnered with us as we gather with the spirits in ceremony for a very long time. They help us to open the gates of our consciousness, shift our perceptions, and create safe space for us to do healing work. These plants thin the veil between us and the spirit realms, allowing us to feel and hear more clearly. All blessing herbs are consciousness shifting - not just their energy, but their physical compounds effect our brain. When we breathe in a scent it passes through the blood brain barrier and enters the blood circulating through our brain tissue. This means that all of the compounds in plants that we breathe in through our nose effect our mind and consciousness directly and powerfully.
One of the fastest way to support people in shifting consciousness is to burn blessing herbs. Breathing them in combined with music and drumming is the most effective way to enter into a ‘sacred mind’ state, allowing us to communicate more easily with the spirits of the plants. If I feel I am loosing connection to myself and to spirit during the day, I burn some blessing herbs and sit for a moment to breathe them in with intention. Every time I meditate I burn blessing herbs. They are an essential part of meditation practice all over the world. In Asia all yogic and meditation traditions always included incense and sacred smoke, which assisted the practitioner in reaching heightened states of consciousness.
You can burn a lot or a little, but pay attention to your lungs and body as you take in the smoke into your body. If you are sensitive to chemicals, pregnant, or have animals around you who are also breathing in the smoke, please be extra careful. A very small bit or resin on charcoal can create a lot of smoke. Be gentle with your lungs and body, dosing yourself with care and consideration.
Sacred Resins
Resins are gathered from trees that have been wounded, so the resin itself is something the tree needs for its own healing. The resin seals a wound site and becomes hardened, preventing the tree from getting infected with bacteria or fungal infections. If you remove the resin from the wound, the tree will not be able to protect itself from invaders. Only harvest excess resin from a wound site, and make sure to keep the wound covered well with resin as a barrier. You can collect drops or excess that the tree is oozing out from the wound site. I only buy from people who harvest ethically with the health of the tree in mind when they are harvesting. The best way to insure this is to harvest your resins yourself!
Before you harvest resin from a tree spend time connecting to it, sending the tree energy and love. Ask if the tree is willing to give you some of its excess resin for medicinal and ritual use. Often they are excited and eager to be a part of your rituals. Evert time you burn the resin, you can call the spirit of that tree in with gratitude.
Guided Meditation with Blessing Herbs
Please use this guided meditation to journey with each of the blessing herbs you would like to get to know. Welcome in the scent and sacred energy of each plant, calling its spirit to show itself to you…
Pine & Spruce Resin
Pinus spp. (pine) , Picea spp (spruce), Abies spp. (fir) ~ Pinaceae (Pine Family)
Evergreens are some of the most beloved blessing herbs used by many cultures. The pine family of trees produce incredibly aromatic sweet resin and scented needles. Evergreens smell citrusy, light, uplifting…. they are my favorite blessing herbs by far. Pine and spruce have been used all over the world for cleansing, purification, healing grief, opening the heart, and bringing peace. They are ancient beings, grounding us in connection to the earth, and activating the healing we need. The evergreen elders bring in wisdom and clarity of mind - working primarily on clearing and opening the upper chakras. Evergreens can help release emotions and grief stuck in the heart, lungs, and throat.
I find evergreen resins bring a deep calm to my soul. They can clear the mind of chatter, help me to listen to the spirits, and activate the dreaming mind. Partnering with the spirits of these trees is powerful. They are incredible guides on the healing path, so I recommend spending time getting to know them in your area! The light smoke produced from pine or spruce resin feels so peaceful, sweet, sensual, and peaceful. Burn them in your home, or offer them to the spirits that surround you in nature.
Pine resins can be harvested locally without harming the trees if you are careful not to take too much resin from where the tree has covered it’s wound. When a tree is harmed, resin exudes from the wound, sealing off the opening from any pathogens or insects that might harm the tree. The resin hardens creating a sort of scab over the wound, and we do not want to remove the scab and create an open wound in the tree. So please only take excess resin when you harvest!
Juniper
Juniperus spp. - Cupressaceae (Cypress family)
Juniper is my most beloved blessing herb, and has held me for many years in close connection to spirit. The elder spirit of Juniper helps my mind to quiet and be at peace, knowing that all things pass and can be handled. Any grief, suffering, and negativity lifts off me when I burn juniper. The effect is visceral and immediately freeing to my heart. The scent is incredibly light and sweet, full of citrus aroma. It brings an energy of joy and lightness, creating harmony and a feeling of safety within. Like a wise and gentle healer, Juniper beckons our soul home to ourselves. Both in North America, Europe, and Asia, Juniper has been used in ceremonies for thousands of years. It can awaken powerful ancestral memories within us, and call our elders when we need their support.
Juniper is clearing to the mind, and opening to our lungs and breath. It clears the energy that surrounds us, while bringing in peace and sweetness. I love to burn juniper with cedar or spruce resins. The spirit of juniper brings wisdom and greater clarity. Call on Juniper to access your soul’s memories, to welcome in needed healing, or to calm your heart.
“Juniper is one of the most common aromatic ingredients found in Tibetan incense. It is used as a base in many different incense recipes and is known for its stimulating and mind-clearing properties, its cleansing and purification of the atmosphere, its calming and relaxing effect on the nerves, and its sharpening of mental awareness and alertness. It helps to freshen the senses and the mind, while opening the nasal passages and respiratory tract. Juniper incense has been used for thousands of years by many Indigenous cultures, including the Navajo (Dineh) peoples of the American Southwest, for psychological, physiological, and spiritual purposes.” - Evan Sylliaasen
Cedar
Thuja spp., Cupressus spp., Juniperus spp. - Cupressaceae (Cypress family)
Cedar has been one of the most important ceremonial plants for thousands of years in North America, Asia, and Europe. It has been a constantly used blessing herb in my classes. Cedar is grounding, centering, and helps me to call in the spirits of our ancestors during rituals. The smoke helps us to drop into the ancient roots we carry, awakening ancestral and past life memories. I find the spirit of Cedar very protective, calming to fear and helpful in healing old trauma. It can bring our souls back from moments of pain and wounding, calling the wise elders within us, and helping us to arrive more whole. Like the other evergreens Cedar helps to clear grief from the heart and lungs, moving what needs to be released. Cedar is wonderful if you are teaching or speaking in public, helping to open the throat chakra and encourage you to speak from wisdom and truth.
Cedar can help us to be a channel for the spirits, and return our hearts to serving Gaia. Cedar can help bring in wisdom, clear visions, dedication, and prayer. Whenever I burn cedar I feel immediate access to the spirit realms, with the tree as a wise guide by my side. Similar to Sage, when I feel I’ve lost my way, Cedar will guide me home to myself, and help me navigate the path ahead. It brings a feeling of trust, inner strength, and deep peace.
“Many Native American people refer to it as “Evergreen Life”, and use it as an offering to the Spirit World, to amplify prayer, to bless and consecrate, and as an aid in visions. It is also used in helping the body and mind in times of spiritual anxiety and stress. In another traditional sense, Cedar is used as a spiritual guide, helping one finds one’s purpose in life and helping one stay on their sacred path. In Tibetan and Nepalese incense crafting, Himalayan Cedar is one of the oldest incenses used and represents spiritual dedication and constant faith. It is highly valued in Tibet for aiding meditation and for its reputation of steering strayed individuals back onto their rightful path. Spiritual dedication, focus, presence, mental clarity, and stillness of thoughts have also been achieved with the help of Cedar incense in many ancient Eastern traditions of meditation and spirituality. Cedar was also used by ancient Nordic peoples to invoke the spirit of the god Odin, either as a sacrificial incense or by using a staff or wand of the wood in ritual. Cedar is often used as incense to fortify personal strength and for stability in times of challenge or struggle. It is said to help transform difficult situations into experiences where wisdom, strength, and willpower can be cultivated.” - Evan Sylliaasen
Frankincense
Boswellia sacra ~ Burseraceae (Torchwood family)
At one time Frankincense was more valuable than gold, and has been traded in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for many thousands of years. Especially for those of you with ancestral roots in Africa and the Middle East especially, Frankincense might feel like an especially powerful guide to work with. Since Frankincense has become endangered, I use it very sparingly… but there is nothing like it. The scent is ethereal and haunting. I find that frankincense helps to open the heart and crown chakras, clearing out any negative energies with its light. The vibration of frankincense is very high… it can bring you to the heavenly/upper realms, connect you to angelic beings and spirit guides.
For many years I have used the resin to help bring in divine love and connection to Spirit. It can help clear stagnant energy, release heavy emotions, and bring peace. The resin is produced by trees in the genus Boswellia, which are shrubby trees found in rocky desert areas of Africa, India and the Middle East. Boswellia trees produce a pale yellow resin that smells incredibly sweet when burned. It was one of the most popular resins for incense in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. The resin was used to embalm the bodies of the Egyptian Pharaohs. It was believed that frankincense would purify and protect the soul as it traveled to the spirit realms. Frankincense became important to most every major religion in the world and is still used in Muslim, Jewish and Catholic rituals.
*** Always be sure to buy sustainably harvested Frankincense as it’s threatened / endangered.
Sage
Salvia spp. ~ Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Sage has been one of the most important plants of my life… and there is a lot to say about it so I’ve added an audio recording below. Sage helps us to access deep wisdom, call us closer to ourselves, and bring peace. It can help us to get in touch with our inner guidance, bringing a greater sense of self knowing and inner trust. It is very clearing to the mind similar to other minds and all of our evergreens. Sage calls in the spirits of our elders to support us when we need them, and helps us move towards what our soul is most needing for healing. Sage is a master healer, a wise buddha, and a gentle elder. When I smell garden sage it brings me back to my soul and inner sanctuary. It never fails to bring us to our elder within.
I work primarily with garden sage, and other aromatic salvias that I plant through the gardens here. Due to the incredible scent of white sage (Salvia apiana), it has been over harvested for use in ritual and ceremony… but all of the aromatic sages are incredible. The Chumash indigenous people in Southern California uses white sage as a sacred incense, burning only one leaf at time so the plant is not over harvested. White sage grows wild all over the southwestern US and northwest Mexico, but you can grow it almost anywhere. I’ve grown white sage along with many other sages in my garden for years, one way to not add to the issue of overharvesting. While I believe plants belong to themselves, and not to us humans, I want to make sure we leave white sage in abundance for the people and communities this plant is so sacred to. At age 15 I took the name of the garden sage from Europe, Salvia officinalis, which I grew in my father’s garden, and became a big part of my rituals. Years later when white sage became available in New England and made popular, I fell in love with it as well. It is difficult to see it sold in stores in large quantities, wild harvested unsustainably. This hurts my heart, loving the plant so much. I hope our love translates into consideration of impact…
“The sharp, penetrating smoke has a cleansing effect on the mind and thoughts, bringing about a sharper sense of awareness. Sage smoke is used to clear the mind and open the senses before and during ceremony, helping one to achieve greater presence and clarity while opening the inner channels for wisdom to enter.” - Evan Sylliaasen
*** Always be sure to use only cultivated White Sage as it is a threatened species.
Copal
Many species - Burseraceae (Torchwood family)
Copal refers to many resins coming from the Burseraceae family, related to Frankincense and Myrrh. It is one of the most sacred ceremonial offerings used by the Maya, Aztec, and indigenous communities of Central America and Mexico. The word copal is derived from the Nahuatl word copalli, meaning "incense", and there are many types of copal used in Central America. Species of copal are also used in Asia and Africa, with long histories of traditional ceremonial use there. I mostly use a species of copal called Shorea javanica that comes from Indonesia and smells very sweet and musky. I find copal to be a deeply grounding and transportive. It can connect us to ancient lineages of healers and medicine… calling many spirit guides, ancestors, and elders who have passed over into the spirit realms.
I burn copal when I want to call the ancients, and when I have some serious business to do in council with the elders. Copal can activate deep soul memory, and activate wisdom we carry from past lives. It is a resin many who seek to travel deep into the spirit realms are drawn to… It can bring your soul where it most needs to go. The spirits will answer. Come with respect and honouring…
Species of Copal - Aromatic resins from the copal tree Protium copal (Burseraceae/Torchwood - Frankincense & Myrrh family), or the Agathes family, used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. Shorea javanica is from Asia - Copal sold at Mountain Rose Herbs. Zanzibar copal from East Africa - Trachylobium verrucasum (also known as Hymenaea verrucosa). Kauri copal from New Zealand - Kauri pine, Agathis australis. Sierra Leone and Congo copal - Copaifera guibourthiana. Manila copal - genus Agathis from Indonesia and the Philippines. Dammar resin - dipterocarpaceous trees in southern Asia, i.e., Malaya and Sumatra. Various tropical trees, such as Hymenaea courbaril or Hymenae protea, produce Colombian and Brazilian copal.
Sweetgrass
Hierochloe odorata & Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum)
Beloved sweetgrass is native to Europe and North America, where it has been one of the most sacred ritual plants to many indigenous peoples. This fragrant grass has been used for thousands of years in basket making and in ritual as a sacred offering in North America, Canada, and Europe. In Europe it is called Mary’s grass, vanilla grass, holy grass, or bison grass. In Poland they infuse vodka with sweetgrass. The coumarin in sweetgrass causes the sweet scent, and I find it completely intoxicating. Sweet woodruff is another plant used in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia containing coumarin, which was used similarly to sweetgrass as a ceremonial smoke. (The aroma of woodruff gets stronger when it is dried.) Coumarin not only smells sweet but calms the nervous system and is soothing the spirit. Sweetgrass feels harmonizing to chaotic energy, grounding, and brings us in close intimacy with the earth. It is a very loving, gentle spirit. I find sweetgrass to be a peacemaking plant that helps to open heart, bring a sense of safety, and kindness towards ourselves and others.
“Our stories say that of all the plants, wiingaashk, or sweetgrass, was the very first to grow on the earth, its fragrance a sweet memory of Skywoman’s hand. Accordingly, it is honored as one of the four sacred plants of my people. Breathe in its scent and you start to remember things you didn’t know you’d forgotten. Our elders say that ceremonies are the way we “remember to remember”…
Hold out your hands and let me lay upon them a sheaf of freshly picked sweetgrass, loose and flowing, like newly washed hair. Golden green and glossy above, the stems are banded with purple and white where they meet the ground. Hold the bundle up to your nose. Find the fragrance of honeyed vanilla over the scent of river water and black earth and you understand its scientific name: Hierochloe odorata, meaning the fragrant, holy grass. In our language it is called wiingaashk, the sweet-smelling hair of Mother Earth. Breathe it in and you start to remember things you didn’t know you’d forgotten…
Sweetgrass is best planted not by seed, but by putting roots directly in the ground. Thus the plant is passed from hand to earth to hand across years and generations. Its favored habitat is sunny, well- watered meadows. It thrives along disturbed edges.
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Palo Santo
*** Palo Santo has threatened/endangered status now. The trees are now endangered because of Americans mostly using so much of it. We should only use Palo santo gathered from fallen trees, but we cannot guarantee that the palo santo we purchase isn’t coming from endangered live trees. I only burn palo santo that has already been gifted to me, and only very sparingly. I personally don’t buy palo santo anymore because it is endangered, and just use what I have. It lasts so many years!
Palo Santo (Holy Wood) has been used throughout Central and South America for thousands of years as a ceremonial plant and blessing smoke. It has a sweet and early scent that I find intoxicating… so this is a hard one to give up. But the trees that are remaining should be left to the people who have used this plant for ceremony and purification for thousands of years. Palo santo seems to bring calm to the soul, peace to the mind, and ground us into our bodies. It’s a sensual plant with a powerful presence. Breathing the smoke can bring greater sensory pleasure and deep relaxation. I find it healing to anxiety, worry, depression, and stress… It can bring lightness, joy, and a feeling of love and safety. It is traditionally used to clear out negative spirits or energy, and to help us communicate with the spirit realms. I find it wonderful for meditation, spirit journeys, and dreamwork. I only use Palo Santo that I have been gifted now, and treasure our moments together…
Artemisias
Artemisias are used for ceremony all over the world. They grow on every continent and are sacred to people in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. Many of us have ancestral roots to the artemisias. They offer us some of the most ancient and incredible sacred smoke. Many artemisias growing in Western parts of North America are referred to as desert sage or sage brush but they are not related to sage. They belong to the silvery leafed Artemisia family of mugwort and wormwood named after the moon goddess Artemis. Burning the artemisias brings me into a feeling of sacred space immediately… the scent is consciousness altering, grounding, and clearing to the mind. I am brought into presence with the spirits very quickly when I burn artemisias, which I find similar to sage. Though salvias and the artemisias are different in many ways, their energies can feel similar, so I understand why some of them have been called sage.
You can use any of the aromatic artemisias as a blessing herb ~ mugwort, sweet annie, wormwood, ‘sagebrush’ (Artemisia tridenta), or those growing close to you. I find these plants to be very clearing and purifying, removing unwanted negative energies and entities. They are gentle warriors. Fierce but gentle elders, they can set your straight like a firm grandmother or grandfather. These plants can be some of the most powerful guides into the realms of the spirits, leading you home to beloved ancestors and homelands of your soul. They bring wisdom, a deep connection to the earth, and an open gate to the realms of the spirits. Thank these elders when they come to you. They will not like it if I sent you without proper respect. Call their spirits in sacred space and prayer. Offer your gratitude when they arrive…
*** Note, please be careful of impact when using desert Artemisias as they are over harvested for commercial sale.
Banishing & Protecting
Beautiful silver looking Wormwood ~ Artemisia absinthium
My favorite blessings herbs for banishing and protecting are wormwood, mugwort, sweet annie, dragon’s blood, copal, myrrh, sage, and evergreen resins. If you feel you have some unwanted energies around you, burn some of these plants for a few days, opening your windows, and getting the smoke into any places you feel have especially stagnant energy.
Banishing works best if done AFTER a big cleaning, purging out the old. Make sure that after you burn the banishing herbs you call in sweet energies like sweetgrass, frankincense, sandalwood, juniper, or the sweeter evergreen resins.
Don’t be shy… when you feel it’s time to clear out things that are long overdue to go, ask these warriors for help!
Notes on Cultural Appropriation
As we practice ceremony and work with ceremonial plants used by other cultures, it’s important everyone understands issues of cultural appropriation who may not yet... As you may already know well, many folks coming from European lineages have taken practices not indigenous to them, without consent or full consideration of impact. It is disrespectful to claim cultural practices that do not belong to you, and it contributes to continued colonization and harm to indigenous peoples. When we work with blessing herbs that do not come from our own lineages, and use them in ways that mimic indigenous cultures, we have to open our hearts to the pain this could bring people who have already been stolen from for hundreds of years. Let’s work with these plants with awareness and consideration!
What is cultural appropriation? 1. Claiming another culture’s traditions as your own - ceremonies, medicines, beliefs, healing traditions, spiritual practices, wisdom, sacred tools etc. Using what you like from a particular culture without awareness of whether or not these items or practices were freely shared. 2. Copying or mimicking the traditions of another culture that does not belong to you, often without full knowledge and understanding of that culture. 3. Making money (profiting) off of teaching traditions of another culture that are considered sacred or not to be shared with everyone.
CULTURAL APPRECIATION
Respect Relationship Reciprocity
There is another way! Here are some ways we can respect, repair relationship, and engage in reciprocity.
1. Directly supporting healers, artisans, teachers, musicians, writers from a marginalized oppressed culture because you respect and appreciate their gifts and offerings. Not claiming it as your own or profiting off of another’s culture. Buy fair trade and make sure what you purchase mostly benefits the communities the offerings came from.
2. Learning about cultures you are interested in and have respect for, directly from members of that culture through books, classes, and their offerings to the public. Knowing that what you learn is not for you to share as your own. If permission is given for you to share what you are being taught, know that your teacher does not speak for all members of their culture… others may be upset by what is being shared or given to you.
3. Understanding the dynamics of oppression and marginalization experienced by cultures you are learning about. Learn about the perspectives, experiences, and history of that culture and people. Past and present! If you are interested in a culture and community - look into not just their art, spirituality, and beliefs, but into the issues they are facing in the world. Join the fight for their rights and wellbeing. Amplify and centralize their voices.
4. Reciprocity - If you have benefited from learning about a culture, have been given permission to take on a part of this culture, what can you do to reciprocate this offering and gift? Create a culture of exchange - asking what they might like in return for their offering. Could you imagine locking arms with them in protest over land rights, help bring medicine to communities, or join their fight for social justice? Follow their lead.
Ancestral Herbalism
Plant Medicine of Our Elders
There is an old basket of herbs your ancestors carry…
They are waiting to hand them to you.
Around the world people from every culture have understood the power of connecting to the healing wisdom and spirits of their ancestors. The sacred plants and medicine traditions of our ancestors carry potent medicine for us personally. Join me as we honour the plant teachers and medicines of our ancient bloodlines, calling in healing both for ourselves, for the earth, and our communities. Explore with me practices to aid in connecting to your loving ancestors and ancestral plant allies through offerings, prayers, and meditation.
This year we’ll journey through many sacred plants of Asian, African, Native American, European, Northern & Canadian, Polynesian, Australian, and Caribbean herbal traditions. There in so much overlap in the sacred plants our ancestors have used as plants and people have moved across the earth through history. For many of us, the medicine lineages we come from have been broken or lost due to colonization, oppression, slavery, immigration, and separation. Through prayers and offerings we can acknowledge the ancestral lands we stand on, addressing the impacts colonization and oppression has had on communities, cultures, ecosystems, plants, and traditions of BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). All of us have ancestor lineages that have experienced war and genocide of both our traditions, our families, and our communities - and many are still. We call on plant teachers to support and guide us in healing the wounds and illnesses our communities and families are still carrying.
May we enter into deep listening together, opening our hearts to receive the medicine and wisdom of our ancestors. Asking how we can support greater healing…
JOURNAL PROMPT ~ Exploring Ancestral Herbalism & Discovering your roots.
Where do your blood ancestors originate from? Include all countries or continents (if you aren’t sure of the specific countries). Look up the medicinal plants used by those countries and write them down in your class journal.
These are your ancestral plants. These are the plants of your loving elders, ancestors spirits who are always available to help guide you in the traditions of healing you carry. Through working with these ancestral plants, you will be able to more easily connect to the spirits of your loving ancestors and their homelands. (Tip - Google search “herbal medicine _____ insert coutnry name.” or “medicinal plants _____ insert country or continent).
Are there any plants that your family is still connected to as food and medicine? These plants are incredibly important as allies for you! If your ancestors left their home (many of whom were forced through slavery, fleeing violence or famine, seeking freedom or jobs), what plants might they have brought with them here? Do you know about the plants they traveled with for food and medicine? Are herbal traditions still alive currently in your family’s original homelands?
Travel to the bones below the earth, and call your loving ancestors to meet you.
Deeper Journey ~ Welcoming the Ancestors
If you would like to meet some of these ancestral plants and the spirits of your loving ancestors, create a simple ritual to welcome them in. Light a candle and create sacred space with blessings herbs, and your drum if you like. Choose one of the plants of your ancestors to call in. Either hold the plant in your hands, or drink the tea. Ground yourself in your body through deep breathing and connecting to this ancestral plant. Call in the spirits of your loving ancestors, and the ancestral plant spirits you carry in your blood. As you hold the plant or sip the tea, allow any images to arise in your consciousness. As these ancestor guides to show you the important plants to them. Take time going to one plant at a time, allowing the images and feelings to move through you. Send gratitude to them for anything you receive. When you are finished, write down in your journal anything that came through.
Create sacred space to welcome ancestor spirits - An ancestor altar or sacred circle to honor and welcome your loving ancestors and ancestral plants. Invite in their support, abundance, assistance, and love. *** Be specific to only invite loving ancestors. Include on your altar - Plants, objects, art, images, materials, photos, earth, water, rocks, from your ancestral homelands.
Give Offerings with gratitude. Water, flowers, incense, food offerings your loving ancestors would appreciate. Offer sacred smokes/incense. Blessing herbs and sacred plants from ancestral homelands. Evergreen and tree resins, sweetgrass (used all over the world), artemisias, plants high in volatile oils, cedar, juniper, resinous flowers or leaves, lavender, sages and other mint family plants.
Working with Ancestral Plants
Research and learn about how your ancestral plants were used, looking to the cultures and countries these plants are from for direct information and wisdom. If you struggle to find much information, call out to the spirits of your ancestral plants to make themselves known. They may be ancestral plants from your bloodlines, or from your soul’s history. Pay attention to who arrives…
Invite your ancestors to share their plant wisdom with you. Communicate directly to your loving ancestors, they can hear you! Ask them to show you the plants they used, and help guide you to how they were used. Listen for any wisdom and guidance the ancestors have for you in dreams, meditations, and journeys.
Spend time working with each ancestral plant one on one. Each one carries memories, traditions, and specific medicine for you. Explore the traditional ways each ancestral plant was specifically used, as well as listening to information that also comes from your meditations with each plants, and through your own intuition.
Create an ancestral plant garden! Honouring your ancestors and their most sacred plant elders. Grow plants as annuals if they are from the tropics, indoors, or in greenhouses. Be mindful of potential invasives, but have fun seeing if you can grow the plants where you live. Spending time with the live plants is often the most powerful way to remember and reunite with them.
lessing Herb Incense Blends by Sage
You can make incredible blends using our blessing and aromatic herbs! Here are some blends I have made that are very sacred to me and for that reason I will not sell them. A blend like ‘sacred’ or ‘temple’ does not belong to me - they are ritual plants sacred to many cultures and indigenous people. Feel free to use and share the recipes, but please do not use them to make products for sale. I love to offer them as gifts to loved ones, to the spirits, and to the earth. Use them in prayer and ceremony with reverence.
WARRIOR
Version 1 - Mandrake, Dragon’s Blood, Myrrh Wormwood, Mistletoe, Copal, Sweet Annie, Mugwort
Version 2 - Mandrake, Dragon’s Blood, Myrrh Wormwood, Mistletoe, Yarrow, St. John’s Angelica, Sweet Annie, Mugwort
GRANDMOTHERS
Version 1 - Mugwort, Wormwood, Sweet Annie
Version 2 - Mugwort, Wormwood, Sweet Annie, Sage (garden), White Sage
SACRED
White Sage, Cedar, Juniper, Sweetgrass
MEDITATION
Holy basil, Copal, Blue lotus, White sage
BREATH
Holy basil, Juniper, Lavender, Sweet fern, White sage, Yerba santa
SPIRIT
White Sage, Copal, Blue lotus, Yerba Santa, Rose
ANCESTORS
White Sage, Cedar, Juniper, Copal, Sweetgrass
TEMPLE
Copal, Dragon’s Blood, Myrrh, Frankincense
SACRED SHIELD
Elder flowers, Frankincense, Yarrow St. John’s Wort, Myrrh, Sweet Annie
SWEETS
Sweetgrass, Lemongrass, Sweet fern, Frankincense
SACRED TREES
Juniper, Cedar, & Evergreen needles of your choice
NATIVE PLANT
Sweet Fern, Uva Ursi, Juniper
MOTHER
Red Rose, Dragon’s Blood, Myrrh, Red Pine resin
PRAYER
Copal, Blue lotus, Rose, Yerba Santa
LIGHT
Blue lotus, Elder flower, Lavender, Frankincense, Lemongrass, Copal
SACRED HEART
Red Pine resin, Red Rose petals