ceremony

103 | Ceremony, Seasons & the Modern Witch with Gabriella Takutzima

 
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As time slows down during quarantine I’ve been so much more observant of the world outside my doorstep. I’ve noticed how the flowers change each day, which plants the bees are most drawn to, new life sprouting from seeds, and how alive and changing the natural world really is when we are still enough to witness.

Today’s episode with Gabriella Takutzima takes us inside the practices of honoring the seasons and cycles of Mother Earth, the importance of ceremony and how to harness our innate inner magic by connecting more deeply with the natural world…

In this episode we discussed:

  • Why do we practice ceremony? Where does it come from?

  • Why is it so important for the modern woman?

  • Shamanism + Paganism and what drew Gabriella to these paths

  • Earth Embodiment + Women's Wellness

  • How connection to our Bodies and Desires is the ultimate act of Worship to the Goddess

  • Connection of our cycles to the Seasons

  • Witchcraft + Women's Magic - the importance of the Witch in modern society

  • How to reclaim our inner Witch + harness our innate magic

  •  Circling with the Seasons - Gabriella’s course to attune to the Wheel of the Seasons as women

Stay in Touch with Gabriella:

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Gabriella Takutzima is a Pagan ceremonialist, animist, and an initiated Dianic Witch. She worships the Goddess and celebrates her Celtic heritage as she walks the Wheel of the Year. She is also a BIrth Keeper, Massage Therapist, Energyworker, and Wife. She seeks to serve Life by serving Women in the passages of blood, birth, and death. She is 25 years young, and has had the privilege of hosting/participating in ceremonies for five years, including sacred plant ceremonies. She has been studying the tradition of healing and ritual from both her Elders in the Craft as well as from a Marekame Medicine Man from the Huichol Tribe. She is devoted to carrying on Earth religion as the Ancient Ones once did. She and her husband are starting a business in Oregon to grow herbal medicines for Women’s health, as well as crafting Yoni Stools, and will be creating a worship space to gather the community to heal and learn. Gabriella is passionate about praising the Earth, celebrating the Seasons, connecting to the Ancestors

 

087 | The Way of Tea, Meditation & Liberation with Baelyn Elspeth

 
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How often have you created a whole conversation in your mind ~ a conversation that hasn’t even happened?

In this episode, Baelyn and I talk about the craziness of the mind. In particular, the fear, the illusions and projections we create that so often lead to separation.

To move from a thought to an action, the nature of the mind can create such a drain of our energy. That’s why Baelyn begins every morning with meditation and tea ceremony.

In this week’s episode we talk about Cha Dao, or The Way of Tea, a way of being ~ slowing down, finding clarity and intention while living with devotion, discipline and focus.

We discuss what it takes to cut through the chatter of the mind and remember true stillness. Baelyn also shares how she navigates work relationships, sisterhood and vulnerability. This conversation is truly full of so many gems… we hope you enjoy tuning in!

“Tea is a plant teacher, a spirit of Nature, manifested through this Leaf and awakened by hot water. Used in ceremony, it is a dance between the elements, a sensory exploration of presence, where everything is connected by space.” ~ Baelyn

In this episode we discussed:

  • Why Baelyn chooses to create offerings in collaboration

  • How Baelyn came to be on a spiritual path 

  • How tea found her (and not the other way around)

  • Her greatest insights and lessons from tea + silent meditation

  • Baelyn’s morning practice 

  • How Baelyn navigates the “stories” we create about other women (and how to handle jealousy and comparison in sisterhood) 

  • How to  create a space of healing and intimacy when you’re triggered

  • The truth about fear and how to navigate it

  • Baelyn’s upcoming Warrior Priestess trainings

Stay in Touch with Baelyn

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Baelyn Elspeth grew up in Los Angeles studying dance from the time she was 4. This affinity with movement provided a doorway into her relationship with spirit, health and the body. She has since journeyed into deeper connections with Self through studying Yoga, Tea and Meditation. She is under the lineage and instruction of the Tea Sage Hut Center in Taiwan and works with Tea as a daily practice to cultivate stillness and presence.

Over the years, her path has evolved toward deepening her relationship to Mother Earth and the Sacred Feminine. Holding space with song and rhythm have also become key elements in her offerings. Whether serving traditional Tea Ceremonies, or holding ritual space through sound and drum, for her, all these paths are ways of being a vessel for spirit and consciousness.

Currently Baelyn travels and devotes her time to sharing and facilitating sacred spaces for communities all around the world, bringing the medicine of Tea and Ceremony wherever she goes. She primarily focuses on collaborative efforts and so along side the offerings of other practitioners, she holds retreats, workshops, and is a council member of the annual women’s gathering Spirit Weavers. She also curates and nurtures a permanent home for Tea, Ceremony, and the Sacred Arts at AY^AM in Playa Del Rey, CA and Santa Fe, NM.

 

033 | The Magic of Cacao with Sena Shakti Shellenberger

 
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On August 29th I’ll be joining together with friends Sena Shellenberger and Denell Nawrocki to lead a women’s circle and cacao ceremony in honor of the release of my book, Just Be: A Search for Self-Love in India. 

A few weeks ago I had the honor of sitting down with Sena to talk about her journey of leaving her job in Silicon Valley, traveling for 8 months to rediscover her freedom and relocating to Sonoma County where she shares the magic of cacao in ceremonies and online courses.

In this episode we talk about:

  • How sena found cacao and the cosmic experience of her first ceremony in Mexico
  • Listening to our Intuition - how Sena gathered up the courage to leave her job at Google to follow her heart on an 8-month journey in Peru and Costa Rica before starting her own business where she now shares the magic of cacao with others
  • How important our dreams are and how they can guide us
  • What it really means to surrender to our divinely guided messages
  • Sensuality practices to tap into the feminine
  • Sena’s online course: Open Your Heart with Cacao

Sena and I have an event coming up on Tuesday August 29th details are right here.

Other links mentioned in this episode:

And be sure to follow Sena on instagram here and buy ceremonial cacao here. (Use coupon code tesorasacredcacao for 10% off!)

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Sena is a carrier of cacao medicine, ceremonialist and people empowerer. She builds deeper pathways to self-acceptance, self-worth and self-love through ceremony, sound, yoga, meditation, plant medicine and coaching. She’s here to support our shift into heart-centered living.

After working 5 years in Silicon Valley, she spent eight months finding inner freedom in the jungles of Peru + Costa Rica. She is passionate about creating safe, nurturing spaces to share her wisdom and support our collective healing. Recently following her heart to Sonoma County, CA Sena leads women’s circles, cacao ceremonies, international retreats. She recently launched an online cacao course. 

 

The Power of Ritual

 
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Last September I sat in a yurt near Yosemite sitting at an altar in each of the four directions with the question, "How do I fully express myself? I was at Erica Jago's EARTH retreat where Erica had just taught us a powerful exercise from the Native American tradition about how to use the 4 directions to gain more clarity in our lives.

Through the exercise, I answered questions like, "What was I like as a child?"  "What am I grateful for?" "What wisdom have I gained?" "What brings me joy?" and "What are the new possibilities for my life?"  I drew a card from the tarot for each direction, sat, wrote, and meditated on these questions.

The whole process took about an hour, and afterwards I left with a map of exactly what I needed to do over the next year to fully express myself.

I knew I needed to sing, dance, write, and speak in front of large groups.  However, I had so much fear even just thinking about it.  Erica then placed an empty glass jar in the center of the room and said, "Now, write your fears on a piece of paper and place them in the jar.  On the Full moon we are going to burn them."

Through the exercise, I discovered I needed to meet monthly with other women on the full or new moons as a space to be vulnerable so that I could gather strength and courage.  I knew I needed to join the public speaking group I was avoiding because it would give me the space to practice, and I knew I needed to start singing, dancing and playing kirtan in front of others.

On the Full moon, Erica held a powerful ritual.  Each person shared the art they had created over the week, the insights they had gained and released their fears, and their art in the fire.

One by one, we shared the insights we had gained over the weekend - what we were releasing and what we were stepping into.

I had my harmonium with me, and I knew it was time to play it in front of the group.  I openly shared my fears and blocks I have had around self-expression.  As I did, tears streamed down my face as I imagined the little girl inside myself who had been closed down for so long.

Then, I sang the mantra, Aad Guray Nameh, The Mangala Charan, a mantra to help us all overcome self-doubt and create a protective field of light.

Everyone sang with me.

In that moment I was witnessed in releasing a deep rooted fear, and for the first time, was fully witnessed in sharing my singing voice.  That moment carried so much power and healing.

A ritual is a space to be witnessed in your truth and supported by your sisters.  It is a space to honor the rites of passage in your life.

Rituals infuse magic, intention and sacredness into our daily lives.  A ritual can turn a mundane act done without awareness into a sacred act with clarity and purpose.  Slowing down to say a blessing before a meal changes the experience.  Meditation, singing, or lighting a candle imbues a moment of peace and serenity into a busy day.

Ritual can also be this healing space where women come together to honor a specific purpose.   These rituals may honor transitions, letting go, grieving, the lunar cycle or the change of seasons. 

Participating in ritual has been one of the most healing ways to mark a big transition in my life.  Ritual has provided a space for me to be fully seen, acknowledged and supported.  After participating in ritual, I feel more confident and courageous to share myself with the world.

I had no idea the kind of transformation that would take place over the next year.  I went home, with a map in my hands, knowing exactly what I needed to do to fully express myself.

Without that ritual, I don't know if I would have had the courage to go on my first teaching and singing tour, to join a public speaking group, deliver toasts and speeches, dance without self-consciousness, and devote myself to writing and art.

Ritual helped me release my fears and feel supported in taking action towards my dreams.  It was a way to mark a new beginning and enter into a new way of living.

 

Now I'd love to hear:

What rites of passage have you gone through that you would like to honor?  

What fears are you ready to release and what new beginning are you stepping into?  Share with us in the comments.

I encourage you to create your own ritual, or join us in our Way of the Priestess program to create one with us there.

With love, Meredith

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