Your Feminine SOUL-Know Your Women’s Rites!

 

As we discussed in earlier posts, the idea of ritual is nothing to be scared of. It’s not some spooky, occult mumbo jumbo (unless you want it to be!) Nowadays it’s an acceptable psychological practice used by all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons, from those who want to create a sacred moment in their lives, to those who want to say goodbye, to those who want to improve their work or athletic performance.
The beauty of working with ritual whether it be through visualization, meditation or affirmation –or all three at once- is that you are the conductor of your own symphony. YOU can remove anything you don’t feel comfortable with, or include anything you find meaningful.
Here are a few ideas concerning ritual that you may like to consider before you begin, and following are some simple ritual suggestions for women that you can adapt or use as they are. Have fun with them, along with the other exercises in this book. If you want, create your own!
In my experience, the best way to begin your practice is with unencumbered or simple ritual, so that is what I will outline here. All ritual involves working with energy, whether you perceive it as your own, or the universal energy or a spiritual energy of some kind. I was taught that activating our own energy through ritual causes a resonance in the universal energy, like throwing a pebble into a pond causes ripples.

Firstly we centre energy, in the case of the ritual given here, by taking a few deep breaths with eyes closed, or while focussing on a candle, in order to create a clear space to throw our pebble. If you are doing a ritual with more than one person, it’s helpful to breathe in unison for a few moments.

Next we raise energy, by repeating affirmations, chanting, singing, dancing or other movement, visualizing and becoming emotional about what we require.
When the energy reaches it’s peak ( which is sometimes difficult to gauge when you first begin but will become easier the more familiar you become with this practice), it is directed toward your objective ie- you may imagine or visualize your raised energy in some form, for instance a ball, a cone or even a balloon, that you release and send out into the universe with your request ‘attached’. In effect, we have now ’thrown’ our pebble.

Finally, we ground the energy that is left over. This is a very important aspect of ritual. Not grounding your energy can result in dizziness, headaches, nightmares and all other manner of problems. My favorite technique for this is to imagine myself under a waterfall, that washes down my body and soaks into the earth under my feet.
This is the basic structure of my own and most other kinds of ritual that I know of. There are an infinite number of ways that performing a basic ritual can be personalized, by adding transition between ‘your time’ and the rest of the day. As you can see, it’s totally up to you!
When you finish your ritual, again it is customary to ‘open’ your sacred space, and give thanks to whatever energies you invoked at the beginning. This provides, if you like, a ‘full stop’ to your ceremony, marking the transition back into everyday life and seals your intention. But again, this can be as simple as washing your hands, or blowing out a candle.

SOME WOMEN’S RITES FOR YOU TO TRY….

A Daily Rite For Unconditional Love.
This simple ritual/affirmation can be performed each morning for nine days, and then whenever you
feel you need it.
You will need- A pink candle
Rose or lavender incense or oil in water for oil burner.
A mirror big enough to see your torso in.
The ritual;
Light the candle and the incense or oil burner.  Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to centre your energy. Then look into your own eyes in the mirror.
Say “ I welcome unconditional love and peace into my life. I welcome wisdom and understandingle is traditional- either by walking around the perimeter with incense or salt water and concentrating on purifying and consecrating the area within to your purpose  or by marking the boundary points with flags, staffs, rocks, crystals, or some other specific item of your choice, again affirming your intention. One example of a verse you might like to use or add your own preferences to is :
“In all the worlds, between the worlds, I purify this space. In all the worlds, between the worlds, I am safe and protected. I work for love and the highest good of all concerned.”

It is customary when performing ritual to acknowledge the directions, and the elements of earth fire air water and spirit, since these are the building blocks of which our reality is made, but if you don’t feel comfortable with this idea, simply acknowledging the four directions- north south east and west, plus the other two, up and down, is a good place to begin if you feel you’d like to give this a try.