Your Sacred Ceremony with Cacao

April turns up at the door, her smell of fresh spring just sprung or her beautiful autumnal quality of release. This journal entry will offer some ritual for you to bring back the sacred consumption and journey with Mother Cacao, a seed respected and honoured for centuries around the world.

This Easter, we invite you to dive back into the essence of this ingredient we so widely consume, connect back to its roots and its purest form revealing a gate towards the heart.

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Looking back to journey forward

Borrowing the words of Sjha’ra from Sacred Earth Medicine: “Ceremonial Cacao is an ancient plant medicine, a heart opener, a wisdom keeper, a consciousness facilitator, teacher and creative partner. In modern terms, it is classed as an entheogen.”

Originating from Mesoamerican tradition, more precisely what we know today as Mexico, the cocoa bean is the seed of the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. It was discovered in 1500BC, by the Olmec civilisation, as edible for humans: however, raw, the beans taste bitter. It took a spark in magickal minds, connected nature-explorers to put the beans through a process of drying, fermenting, roasting and then grinding, obtaining a paste to be diluted as a beverage or used as an ingredient.

Cacao paste was the object of ceremonies by Aztec and Mayan shamans, wizards and witches and spiritual guides in communities, to lift the spirits or elevate one’s soul prior to a sacrifice. Cacao was shared in social settings and the energy of the community was infused into its earthy colour - like a cycle of welcoming back a part of pachamama (the earth/soil) into one’s body and transcending between the worlds.

In later traditions, cacao pots were found buried in Mayan buildings, sites of sacred unions or our nowaday weddings, during which the woman was tasked to prove her ability to make the proper froth when creating the sacred drink.

Cacao beans were also used as a currency by the Aztecs specifically!

By the way - did you know there is a difference between cocoa and cacao? The first, cocoa, is usually more processed and blended into powder with sugars and other additives. The latter, cacao, is often labelled raw and is a minimally processed form of the bean that maintains the nutritionally dense properties of the cacao seed.

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Your cacao ritual

Journey to your heart: the properties of cacao embody those of love, purity, universal cosmic energy and nourishment.

When prepared with intention and respect, this sacred drink can indeed reveal incredible power! and can be easily integrated into your daily routine.

Firstly, choose your potion wisely. Consider the origin of your cacao powder, how it has been imported, and the energy it may have carried along the journey. At St Soleil, we love Orchard St’s Ceremonial Cacao! Take your time to find yours, you beautiful thoughtful light, this is part of the process.

A daily ritual:

1. Consider which cup you will drink from (choose your favourite!), which spoon you will use (we love coconut wooden spoons), and how you will warm up your drink (a clean pot!).
2. Give thanks for the honour to be holding Mother Cacao in your precious hands.
3. Give thanks to the water that will allow it to descend into your sacred human body.
4. Prepare the beverage according to your favourite recipe, and once ready invite yourself into the drink. Smell the cacao. Observe its patterns, just there delicately shaping into mystical forms on the surface. Feel its warmth between your hands. Take 3 deep breaths, and with your first sip really swirl the cacao around your mouth to feel all its dimensions.

Believe us, there are many layers to be unveiled!

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An in-depth journey

You, beautiful soul, have the power to infuse deep intention from your heart into the cacao. You can do so before your ceremony, pulling a card from our Oracle Deck for example, and following the guidance of the message you receive.

You can sing, dance to yourself while you stir your cacao and warm it up.

You can also use incense, palo santo, or a sage wand, to “cleanse” your pot, cup, spoon and space, and feel it aligning to your energy!

Whilst drinking your sacred beverage, use the time to meditate, journal your thoughts, and observe the magickal qualities of your heart opening up like petals to life within…

We wish you a splendid journey!