Custom Ceremonies: Alone or Together are Powerful and Accessible

Custom ceremonies, alone or together, are powerful and accessible.

Common and Uncommon Ceremonies

Some occasions worth marking with a ceremony are familiar: births, marriages, deaths.

Some are not given deliberate attention in a ritual way as frequently: more subtle life transitions, divorce, career change, new ventures, grieving, cutting ties or forging new ones. House blessings and clearings help start a fresh relationship with a new living space or shift the feel of an existing one. In addition to larger events, small ceremonies to send graduates into their new phase of life can be impactful, especially in the absence of many traditional initiation rituals for young people.

Ceremonies and rituals can be about recognizing or initiating change in your own life, within a family or community, or in the larger sphere of global dynamics. It’s one way we can pair action and intention in times that feel especially pivotal, precarious, and potent.

Custom ceremonies take many different forms.

Personal and Group Ceremonies

Ceremonies can be for you alone, a select few, or large groups. On a new moon, I led a ceremony about bees for a big gathering for the Society for Shamanic Practice. With small groups, we’ve honored land and ancestors, drawn power into new beginnings, and broken ties. I have daily rituals with the human and feline loved ones in my home that have taken on the weight of ceremony. We all know the steps and feel the energy we create together.

Some of us don’t have the support systems of family, friends, or a professional community to help us mark events that impact our lives, or to help us initiate change. Personal ceremonies can play a significant role here, and we can work together to hone your intention and the way the ceremony feels.

I can handle the bulk of the design and planning for you, or we can work together in a collaborative process.

I can lead you through the ceremony or design it for you to do on your own, in your own time and place.

Local travel is simple; out-of-town travel is possible.

Planning for the Magic

One of the things I enjoy about custom ceremonies is witnessing the balance of what’s planned and magical, unexpected things that often happen.

During a recent celebration honoring a couple’s anniversary, a pair of ducks swam up and stayed by us for the entire time, bathing and napping a few feet away. This had special significance for the couple and was an added blessing to the day.

Schedule a brief meeting to discuss options for custom ceremonies.

Reach out with questions.

What If Each Day Were A Ceremony?

Like many of you, I do things every day that have become ritualized. These mini ceremonies help keep me anchored in what I love, value, am grateful for, and wish to protect. Some of them happen predictably every day, some at other intervals, and some more irregularly. Each day is an opportunity to create powerful ceremonies, particularly when life feels unpredictable and uncertain.

Ceremonies don’t have to be all about love, light, and gratitude either. That’s not the whole picture of life. There are some wild and edgy ceremonies out there! Like anything we do in the world, we blend our intentions and our actions, and hopefully contribute for the good.

Both our gratitude and our ferocity have space in ceremony. Celebration of living beings pairs naturally with outrage at unnecessary deaths. Appreciation for abundance pairs healthily with recognition that greed is a cancer on our culture. As we weave those complementary energies through the rituals of our days, might we pair actions to match each one?

Many Small Actions Add Up

Some examples: Do you, like me, take great comfort and enjoyment in food? Donate or volunteer with Porch Durham and help make sure school kids have enough to eat. Maybe as you pack a bag or two to leave on your porch for pick up, you take a moment and silently add some kind invisible intentions for those kids and their families. Ceremonies around eating and sharing food are part of all cultures. There are ample resources to feed all the children in this country, but many are going hungry. Prioritizing the rich over the poor is not Christian or patriotic.

Do you, like me, love animals and enjoy them as part of your daily rituals? Donate or volunteer with an animal rescue organization near you to help animals who do not have the benefit of your home, love, safety, and food. (Independent Animal Rescue in Durham is wonderful).

Do you, like me, value democracy? Do something quiet or bold to stand up to the corrupt administration that is destroying ours. Contact your senators and representatives, join a protest, fact-check, vote, and encourage those around you to vote. Don’t look away.

Custom Ceremonies and Other Types of Sessions