I went to a cacao ceremony and this is what happened

When I saw an Instagram Story about joining a cacao ceremony I immediately felt called to go for it. I didn’t really know what a cacao ceremony was, but I was eager to find out.

The ceremony was hosted by Samantha Klomp at The Space Within in Mechelen. I have previously done my Reiki training at that yoga studio, so I felt comfortable there. Yoga mats were placed in a circle and we had the chance to get comfy with blankets and pillows. Then it was time to drink the ceremonial cacao. Samantha made a mix of cacao and rose (and some other herbs and a bit of honey). That sounds way way more delicious than it was. Samantha warned us that it was going to be very strong and wouldn’t taste like a conventional hot chocolate. I wasn’t expecting it to be super yummy, but it was very intense and a bit of a struggle to drink the whole thing. I looked around and was relieved to see that everyone else was also struggling a bit. But, in the end, we all finished our drink and we all survived (lol).

© Saskia Volders – @modernandmystic

The purpose of the cacao and rose is to open your heart and is traditionally used as a healing medicine. Cacao ceremonies originate from Mayan and Aztec traditions. Samantha opened the circle by saying a prayer thanking nature, the land, the people. This was a very nice way to show respect to the culture where this experience originated and to really kickstart the ceremony. Samantha also used some Palo Santo to clear our energy.

After this ritual we were all just lying down on our yoga mat, eyes closed, covered in a blanked. Just trying to relax, taking it all in. After a while we were invited to stand up and move our bodies freely and intuitively. I was scared about this part. Were we all going to dance around in a circle? I’m really bad at dancing and quite introverted, so this didn’t seem like it would be my thing. Luckily, we could just stay on our yoga mat and move our bodies, it didn’t need to look good. I decided to try to let go of my feeling of shame and in hindsight I actually feel like this part of the ceremony was my favorite. I really got to tune into my body. Releasing stress and emotions that were stuck in my hips.

© Saskia Volders – @modernandmystic

Later on we got to relax again. Samantha was using sound healing and was singing in Spanish. I felt emotions coming and going. They really came and went in waves. When I shared this with Samantha later on, she told me this was normal, since the vibes of the songs also changed, inviting different feelings to come up.

At the end of the ceremony, Samantha closed the circle again by saying another prayer. When the ceremony was over we all took a moment to share what we experienced. It was nice to share this little fragile moment with like-minded strangers. I went home being really ‘in my feelings’, but not in a bad or heavy way. The feelings were just there. I could allow them without judgement.

I can’t really say if it was the cacao or just taking the time to do all these rituals, but I definitely enjoyed the experience and would do it again.

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