At our session in March, we set up the altar as a group, to dive deeper into ceremony. (Note: Victoria studied Peruvian shamanism, which I believe is where the following rituals come from.) Before any cloth was laid, we consecrated the ground, drew a circle of blue cornmeal to symbolize humanity, laid down sage in a cross—north to south, east to west—and then we did a little ritual with bay leaves.
We each selected three bay leaves of similar shape and size from a tin, and held them up one at a time.
Into the first bay leaf, we blew a prayer for ourself.
Into the second, we blew a prayer for a loved one.
And into the third, a prayer for the world.
Then we held all three leaves and touched them to our mind, our heart, and lower belly, before placing them near the blue cornmeal and sage.
I loved the simplicity and accessibility of this act. You could do it anywhere at anytime, with whatever’s near you: three blades of grass, three stones, three twigs, three pens.
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Last weekend, I shared this practice with some friends via watercolor postcards.
I cut some watercolor paper into postcard-ish size pieces, and painted three leaf shapes on each using my two shades of green and sometimes a little blue.
While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled on some salt. Salt is a fun, easy tool to make some interesting textures with watercolor.
Once the cards dried, I scraped off the salt and painted a stem down the center with dark green.
Here’s what my table looked like that morning:
On the backs of each, I wrote a short message explaining the bay leaf ritual I’d learned from Victoria. Then it was just an address and a postcard stamp, and I had magnificent mailings to drop off at the post office.
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I invite you to take part in this ritual now, if you’d like to, just as you are.
Take a deep breath. Feel your seat on the chair, feet on the ground, or whatever position you’re currently in—feel your body making contact with other objects.
Close your eyes and make a wish, intention, hope, prayer (whichever term resonates with you) for yourself.
When you’re ready, blow it into the world.
Now think of someone close to you, and make a wish for them.
When you’re ready, blow it into the world.
And finally, think of a hope you have for our planet, feel it in your heart, and once again when you’re ready, blow it lovingly out into the world.
Deep breath.
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Thanks for being here today!