Create Your Own Cacao Ceremonies
Often relationships are based on a genuine desire to get to know each other, and working with cacao is no exception. The best way to get to know your cacao is sitting with it on a daily basis, and approaching it with inquiry.
How to create your own cacao ceremony
Creating Your Ritual
Many Shamanic traditions teach that plants have a higher level of consciousness and by imbibing them we have access to those expanded states of awareness. At Ora Cacao, we don’t just source and process our cacao the way that we do to make great tasting cacao, we also craft it intentionally to maintain the spirit of cacao. And our favorite way to develop a relationship with cacao is by creating a ritual with a cup of warm drinking chocolate.
You can bring a cacao ritual into any creative endeavor of your choosing. Regardless of the activity, taking the time to pause, inquire and listen is just as important as the task oriented, focused work that we do, and creating a ritual can help with this. It’s often in the moments of ceremony that we can have our greatest insights that allow us to work with clarity and effectiveness.
Before offering ceremonies to large groups, we recommend developing a personal relationship with cacao so you understand how the medicine works in your body. This will help you guide others.
Cultivating a Relationship With the Spirit of Cacao
Often relationships are based on a genuine desire to get to know each other, and working with cacao is no exception. The best way to get to know cacao is to begin sitting with it on a daily basis, and approaching it with inquiry.
When you sip cacao, you can ask cacao any number of questions. Some good ones to get started with are:
Hi! I’m curious about you. Can you teach me about you?
What do I need to know to share you in ceremony?
You may or may not receive a reply immediately. Plants have a different notion of time than humans do, so sometimes the insight comes days later. Just pay attention, and be patient.
You can also approach the cacao with personal work you are doing, which is a way that cacao loves to work with us. For example:
So I’m really struggling with this … , and I need help with it. Can you help?
I’m working on this …., and I need new insight or clarity. How can I see this situation differently?
Specificity always improves outcomes. The more detail you go into with any personal work, the clearer the outcome will be.
Or, you can work with cacao to invite new beginnings, expansion, or mystery into your day. One of my favorite things to ask cacao for is more magic in my life. Regardless of what I request, I usually feel lighter after bringing my request to cacao, knowing that I’m not in it alone anymore, I have a bad-ass plant spirit looking out for me too.
Four approachable cacao rituals
Whether you have 10 minutes in the morning or a leisurely afternoon, pausing for cacao ritual is worth it.
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Busy Bee (10 minutes or less)
When time is limited, I like to bring more intention to my cacao making process. You can put on one of your favorite songs, more meditative if you want to inspire a sense of calm, or more upbeat if you’re wanting a more energized start. Bring presence to the process of making the cacao by using your senses. What does it smell like? Notice the sounds of pouring your water, and feel the warmth of the cup as you hold it in your hands. When you are ready to drink your cacao, first pause and hold the cup to your heart feeling the warmth, and with a smile on your lips, set your intention for the day knowing that it is being infused into your cup of cacao.
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Movement Ritual
Find a playlist that you love, and make your cacao with the intention of moving your body and having fun! Give thanks to cacao for her heart medicine, and take your first sip. Ask cacao to show you how to move with presence like never before, and set your timer for 15 minutes (turning your phone on airplane will help, too). Move with the rhythm of the music and stay focused on your breath ~ notice if you want to leave, and encourage yourself to continue dancing until the time is up. Journaling for 5 minutes about your experience and observations, and writing about your gratitude for cacao can help you close the ritual.
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Nature Lover
Make your cacao and put it into a thermos, and then find a quiet spot in nature. You can start by offering a bit of cacao to a tree or plant nearby as a symbol of gratitude. You can sip your cacao as you walk, inviting a sense of openness as you notice the colors around you, observing animals that cross your path, and any scents from local flora. You may find that your perception is expanded, and a sense of ease imbues your being.
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Ceremony with Friends
Utilize the same process for the morning cacao ritual. Once the cacao is prepared, sit outside and face each other. Ground, give thanks, share your intentions, and take your first sip together, anchoring your intentions into your cells. Then, for every subsequent sip, share something you are grateful for. Keep going until you finish your cup.
Sharing Cacao in Group Ceremonies
Deciding to share cacao with others in ceremony is a personal journey, and part of our mission is to educate and empower people to build deep nourishing connections with their communities through cacao.
The depth of your work with cacao BEFORE you start offering ceremonies is the root of the medicine. This is where you gain the authority to skillfully lead ceremony. In sharing cacao with groups you are taking on the responsibility of being a guide and before you can do that a depth of relationship is important.
We believe it's up to each person's discretion on if/when they feel ready to share cacao with others in large groups, and cacao is often a guide for you in this process. If you have been working with cacao regularly, and you start feeling the desire, or nudge, or having visions of sharing cacao in a group ceremony, this is likely cacao speaking to you. We recommend sitting with cacao regularly to ask questions and understand if the spirit of cacao is desiring you to share with groups. You can also ask for guidance around how to share cacao, and with whom.
We've developed the following inquiry questions to help you get clear on your desires and intentions for sharing cacao with others beyond your immediate friends & family.
Cacao 101
Do you know where cacao comes from?
What do you know about the history of cacao?
How is the cacao made?
What makes it ceremonial?
Why do people gather in cacao ceremonies?
Space Holding
Do you have a committed personal practice that helps you feel centered and anchored?
Does this practice help you feel capable of holding space for yourself?
Does this practice help you feel capable of holding space for others?
Do you feel comfortable holding space for others and do you want to do that?
Your Why
Why do you want to share cacao with others?
What is your personal connection with cacao?
Have you received any communications from the spirit of Cacao about sharing cacao with others?
Do you feel connected with cacao as an ally?
Where does your desire to share cacao come from?
How do you envision the ceremony flowing? What activities or experiences do you want to share & why?
Do you feel like you are rushing? Where does this desire come from?
