Your Personal New Year: Birthday Rite

The anniversary of your birth is like a new year, when everyone can start again, wearing new clothes, beginning life anew with a fresh attitude and bright hopes. Invite your friends and loved ones over for this special day.

Gather together

    * plenty of candles

    * 1 cup (240ml) of water

    * a dish of salt

    * incense

    * a new piece of clothing (such as a scarf) or a new item of jewelry

    * a plate of cakes and sweets to share

Light as many candles as you can in the room where you are performing this ritual. Create a circle of candles, and create a sacred space by having a symbol of each element in your circle: a dish of salt for Earth, a cup of water, incense for Air, and a candle for Fire. Sit lotus-style in the center of your circle and relax in the flickering candlelight. Feel the presence of the four elements and the balance they create. Notice how warm and alive the room feels. Notice how the gentle, flickering candlelight makes all feel safe. As you bask in the atmosphere of the loving candlelight, say to each of your guests, one by one:

I am grateful to have you in my life. May the power of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water bless you.

When you have finished your statements of appreciation, purify the new piece of clothing or item of jewelry by passing it through the smoke of the incense. Then put on your new piece of jewelry or clothing, saying:

With this act, I declare this new year is here, and see the future bright with hope.

Stay within your circle of light for 5 minutes. Then share the food and libations and relax with your special friends. Leave some of the cake or sweets as an offering to the gods in thanks for your new life in the coming solar year.

Getting Grounded in Yourself: Chakra Centering Visualization

 

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our overscheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities on track again. Only when you are truly centered can you do the genuine inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual.

Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. My priestess pal Kat, for example, does a quick meditation that she calls “the chakra check-in.” The chakra system comprises energy points in the astral body, an energetic aura attached to your physical body that is associated with various endocrine glands in the physical body. My friend closes her eyes and sits lotus-fashion (with her legs crossed, feet on thighs—but if you are on a bus or about to attend a meeting, you can do this centering exercise just sitting down, feet on the floor—and visualizes the light and color of each chakra. She brings to mind each chakra and mentally runs energy up and down her spine, from bottom to top, pausing at each chakra point. After she does this a few times, a soothing calm surrounds her. I have seen her perform her “chakra check-in” at trade shows and in hotel lobbies, surrounded by the hubbub of many people. She is an ocean of calm at the center of a storm. By working with your chakras, you can become much more in touch with your body and soul.

The root chakra is at the base of your spine and is associated with passion, survival and security, and the color red.

Above it is the sacral chakra in the abdominal region, which corresponds to such physical urges as hunger and sex, and the color orange.

The solar plexus chakra is associated with personal power, and the color yellow.

The heart chakra is the emotional center, for all strong feelings from love and happiness to the opposite. It is also associated with spiritual development, the higher self, and the color green.

The throat chakra is considered the center of communication, and is blue in color.

The third eye chakra is located in the center of your forehead and is associated with intuition, and the color indigo.

The crown chakra at the very top of your head is your connection to the universe, and is violet in color.

Prior to performing a ritual, try this centering exercise. Take a comfortable sitting position and find your pulse. Keep your fingers on your pulse until you feel the steady rhythm of your own heart. Now begin slowly breathing, in rhythm with your heartbeat. Inhale for four beats, hold for four beats, and then exhale for five beats. Repeat this pattern for six cycles. People have reported that although it seems hard to match up with the heartbeat at first, with a little bit of practice, your breath and heartbeat will synchronize. Your entire body will relax as you are filled with calm.

Carrier Oils and Their Uses

A carrier oil is a vegetable oil that is used to dilute essential oils without diminishing the effect of the essence. It ensures that essential oils used topically are comfortable on the skin. Each essential oil carries specific vibrations that hold much curative power. These base oils support other ingredients, including essential oils, and can be a vessel for healing in and of themselves. 

Apricot kernel oil, with its warmth and resilience, is especially good for women. Apricot protects love and nurtures women at every age and stage of life.

Avocado is thick, dense, and earthy, a powerful element in any love potion. It also is excellent for drawing forth money and is helpful in business and financial matters.

Borage oil brings a connection with the higher mind, as well as courage, a sense of honor, and the ability to cope with whatever life sends your way. It is said to encourage truth and resolution in legal and relationship problems. If you feel you are being deceived, turn to borage.

Evening primrose oil abets clairvoyance and paranormal gifts. It will help you to see clearly.

Grape-seed oil is regarded by some as the “food of the gods” because of the way it augments spiritual growth. This should be one of the oils that you turn to for anointing candles or any statuary of gods and goddesses before rituals.

Jojoba oil absorbs extremely well into the skin, bearing anything mixed into it along with it. It is also a remarkable anointing oil. It should be used in recipes that help to deal with depression and support perseverance in hardship.

Olive oil was named “liquid gold” by the ancient Greek poet Homer, and rightly so: It is about vitality, money, success, and joyfulness.

Sunflower oil is permeated with the energy of our sun and is powerful and life- giving. Use it when you desire rapid growth and amplification of positive energy.

Sweet almond is a gentle, all-purpose oil ready to increase the energy of other ingredients.

Center Yourself with the Help of a Little Candle Magic

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our overscheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities back on track. Only when you are truly centered can you do the true inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual. Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. One excellent way to center is to light a candle and meditate on it. By focusing on the flame, you bring your being and awareness into focus. You can take this a step further with this spell for new insight into your life.

Step 1: Place one candle on your altar or “centering station.” Light your favorite meditation incense. For me, nag champa immediately sanctifies any space and creates a sacred aura.

Step 2: Scratch your name into the candle with the tip of your knife. Next, scratch your hope onto the candle, either in words or other symbols. 

Step 3: Light your candle and recite:

    This candle burns for me.

    Here burns my hope for [say what you are hoping for].

    Here burns the flame of insight,

    may I see clearly in this new light.

Sit with your eyes closed for a few minutes and picture yourself enacting your hopes and desires. You are setting your intention. Picture yourself in the company of people who inspire and teach you, those who bring insight and new light into your life. Let the candle burn down completely.

How to Set Intentions for a Ritual of Your Own Design

When creating your own ritual, or performing any spellwork, for that matter, you must approach it with a definite concentration, so try to eliminate any distractions clogging up your sacred space. If a nagging worry is hovering in the back of your mind, you are not properly focused. You may even want to perfect an image of your intention and desire with creative visualization.

Part of your preparation should also include using ritual correspondences—the phase of the moon, the day of the week, the color of the candles you use, and much more. These things add to the depth and meaning of your ritual. Do you need to clear the energy and refresh your altar with some housecleaning? Do so and continue to focus on your intention as you create the foundation for a successful ceremony. While you are clearing energy in your space, you must also clear out the clutter in your mind. If you are in a state of inner chaos, the outcome will simply not measure up to your expectations. Perhaps it will help you relax if you listen to instrumental music or sacred chants. Conscious breathing or stretching will also help you make yourself ready for ritual. Constructing your inner temple is a marvelous process that can aid in your journey deep inside yourself.

Sit or lie down in a position that is comfortable enough to relax you, but not so comfortable as to allow you to drift off to sleep. As you breathe slowly and rhythmically, imagine a peaceful, beautiful place specific to your desires. It could be a white marble temple in a lovely sculpture garden under a still blue sky. It could be a mirror pool by a sacred grove. It must be pleasing to you, a place you can visit frequently in visualization. It can be any size or shape but should have certain aspects:

• The Center: Your inner temple should have a single center from which you can access all areas of the temple. This center space is a representation of your personal power center.
• Reflective Surface: Here is where you can take a look at yourself spiritually. The reflective surface can be a scrying mirror, a crystal ball, or even a pool of water. You can also use it to look at the past, present, and future.
• Water: Your inner temple can have any number of water sources, such as a waterfall, a well, a stream, or an ocean. Water represents our deepest levels of consciousness. Commune with your deepest self here.
• Earth: Here is where you ground yourself and create manifestation. Take stock of your deepest desires and goals here in a garden, forest, meadow, or wherever your imagination guides you.

Ideally, your inner temple has four doorways or gates, one each for the four directions and elements. Once you have created your ideal inner temple, you can now use it to perform ritual, as you have created permanent sacred space inside and outside this temple through visualization.

Finding the Sacred in Sensuality: Your Erotic Altar

To prepare for new relationships and deepen the expression of feeling and intensity in your love life, create a center from which to renew your romantic spirit. Here you can concentrate your energy, clarify your intentions, and make wishes come true. If you already have an altar, incorporate some special elements, such as red candles or red crystals, or anything associated with Venus, like copper or a seashell, to enhance your sex life. Your altar can sit on a low table, a big box, or any flat surface dedicated to magic. One friend of mine has her sex altar at the head of her bed. Begin by purifying the space with some smoke cleansing. Then cover your altar with a large red silk or silk-like fabric. Place two red candles at the center of your altar, and then place a soul mate crystal—two crystals naturally fused together—at the far-right corner of the altar. These are widely available at metaphysical stores. Anoint your candles with jasmine and neroli oil. Also keep the incense you think is sexiest on your altar. Place fresh Casablanca lilies in a vase, and change them the minute they begin to fade. Lilies are heralded as exotic and erotic flowers, prized for their seductive scent.

FLAME OF PASSION ALTAR DEDICATION

Here at your magical power source, you can “sanctify your love.” Collect your tools as well as meaningful symbols and erotic iconography and prepare for the sacred rituals of love. Light the candles and incense and dab sensual essential oils between your breasts, near your heart. Speak aloud:

    I light the flame of desire;

    I fan the flame of passion.

    Each candle I burn is a wish,

    and I come to you as a witch.

    My lust will never wane.

    I desire, and I will be desired.

    Harm to none, so mote it be.

Creating Your Crystal Conjuring Shrine

Put your shrine together on a low table covered with a white scarf. Set rainbow candles in an arc and then add black and white candles. Prepare a heatproof bowl containing amber incense (good for creativity and healing), and place it in the center of the rainbow, surrounded by quartz. 

Prosperity stones should be placed to the far left on the altar, in the money corner. Romance crystals should sit to the far right on the altar. 

The rest of your altar should consist of personally meaningful symbols. They should reflect your spiritual aspirations. I keep fresh wildflowers in a vase, a statue of a goddess, abalone shells, a magnetite obelisk, and a rock-quartz crystal ball on my altar. You can use just about anything—photos of loved ones, religious images, and so forth. An obelisk or pyramid on your altar can be used for writing out desires and wishes. 

With your altar, you can create a bridge between your outer and inner worlds. It can even be a place where you commune with the deepest and most hidden parts of yourself. An altar is where you can honor the rhythms of the season and the rhythms of your own life. An altar is a touchstone, a place to see the sacred and incorporate it into your life each and every day. It can be your special corner of the world where you can rest and connect with your spiritual center. Creating and augmenting your altar every day is one of the most soul-nourishing acts you can do.

Personal Ritual for Renewal: Bed Blessing

Turn back the bedspread to reveal fresh sheets. In a red cup, mix a half-teaspoon of jasmine oil and a half-teaspoon of rose oil. Hold it with both hands and speak:

In this bed, I show my love.

In this bed, I share my body.

In this bed, I give my heart.

In this bed, we are as one.

Here, my happiness lies as I give and live in total joy. 

Blessed be to thee and me.

As you say, “Blessed be,” flick drops of your bed blessing oil from your fingers all across the bed until the cup is empty. Now, lie down and roll around in the bed. After all, that is what it is there for!

Designing Your Own Air Rituals

Rituals using the element of air can be a daily energy cleansing such as smudging with a sage stick or incense. You can call forth the power of the four winds, invoke the spirits of the air to inspire you, to surround and support you, and to communicate your wishes to the world at large.

Air Deities

Invocation of the spirit of the air for ritual brings the powers of the heavens to aid your ceremonies and ritual work. Birds and insects as well as the four winds will abet your spells.

Winged Isis, the oldest of all Egyptian divinities, was believed to bear the souls of the dead to the place of eternal life.

Oya is the Yoruban orisha of the wind who gives us the breath of life.

Nut is the great sky goddess who covers and enwraps Geb, her younger brother the earth, with her body. She is the sky queen who is covered with stars, depicted as a lovely woman arched over the land in a constant posture of protection and service.

Norwan is a goddess of light and air of the Wintun Native American tribe who brought nourishment to the world. Known as “dancing porcupine woman,” she dances all day until sunset. 

Summoning the Muses

Whenever you embark on a new life phase, a creative project, or personal ritual, you are further awakening to your destiny. The nine muses, daughters of Memory and rulers of creative endeavors, can help you find your true path. Here is a “field guide” to the muses to help you determine which one you should invoke for aid.

Calliope, “The Fair Voiced,” is the eldest of the muses and presides over epic poetry.

Clio, “The Proclaimer,” is the muse of history. She carries a scroll of knowledge.

Erato, “The Lovely,” has domain over the poetics of love and mimicry. She carries a lyre.

Euterpe, “The Giver of Pleasure,” plays a flute. Her sphere of influence is music.

Melpomene, “The Songstress,” wears the mask of tragedy, over which she presides.

Polyhymnia, “She of Many Hymns,” is the muse of sacred poetry. She wears a veil.

Terpsichore, “The Whirler,” had dominion over dance.

Thalia, “The Festive,” wears the mask of comedy.

Urania, “The Heavenly,” presides over both astronomy and astrology.

In truth, you can call upon any god or goddess with whom you feel a deep connection, but the muses can guide you to personal inventiveness. They will help you sing the song of you and express yourself through poetry, art, dance, theater, academia, music, communication—any way in which you need to reveal unseen and unknown sides of yourself.

Place an offering to your chosen muse on your altar or shrine— perhaps a verse of poetry or a drawing—that shows your gratitude and appreciation for all you have received and will continue to receive as inspiration from your muse.

The Goddess, in all her glorious incarnations, is the supreme creative force and brings all into being. Long before the birth of Christianity, people worshipped the Goddess who represents fertility, rebirth, wisdom, and life. Decide which muse you want to work with and chant aloud:

O [name of muse], wise and true,
I will walk with thee in the Elysian Fields and back.
Anoint me here and now.
Thanks to you, inspiration I will never lack.

Metamorphosis Ritual

Choose a place in your home or wherever you feel secure to do this deeply personal ritual. Allow it to be dark. You are in the dark cocoon and about to burst out into the light. Cast your circle of change by moving clockwise around the room three times. Notice as you walk that you can feel the darkness increasing. You are creating a magical space in which you will work for your desired change.

Stand in the middle of the circle and speak aloud what you want to get rid of in your life. Speak the truth from the safe center of your sanctuary. Close your eyes and turn to the east. Now, using creative visualization, call up the element of air. Picture a piece of the day sky filled with clouds and the night filled with stars. This is the element of air. Wait until you feel its presence fully entered in the circle and speak aloud:

I face the east; I am air. I call upon the powers of the sky and the stars to aid me now.

Now turn to the south and visualize a flaming red ball of sun, which is fire, heat, and life. You will know the element of fire is present by the heat you feel in your circle. Speak aloud: 

I face south; I am fire. I call upon the powers of flame and heat, the passion of fire to help me through. Burn away the old, my former self.

Now turn to the west and visualize the waters of the world— oceans, rivers, creeks, and lakes— all merging into a single drop of the holiest water. Speak aloud: 

I face the west. I am made of water. I call upon the powers of water, more powerful than any stone. I ask the waters of life to cleanse me and purify me, ready me for total change.

Now face the north and visualize the green of the earth, the soil and seeds of change. Speak aloud:

I face the north. I am grounded in this earth. I call upon the powers of earth, our planet, to give me the strength to change.

Stand still in the center of your circle and feel the energies of the elements, the powers of the four directions, and the strength of nature’s helpers. Relax into this energy and allow visions, ideas, and inspiration to arise. Welcome new feelings and sensations. You should be open to experiencing new patterns of thought. Thinking in a new way is one way to shed your old skin. Now begin to move and stretch in your circle of magic. Reach up as high as you can, and bend and bow as you emerge from the cocoon of your old self. Breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling slowly and fully. After ten breaths, you should begin to feel a buzzing sensation at the top of your head. This is the signal that you have arrived at a new level of consciousness. You have shed your old limits; your transmutation is complete.

Walking counterclockwise, retrace the steps of your circle. As you walk, speak your gratitude to the elements and the directions, taking care to give thanks for all the help you have received during this circle of change. Your circle is now open.

As you go through the next few days, reflect on your new feelings and impressions. New people will come into your life. New opportunities will arise. You have given yourself the gift of new life. Enjoy this new post-metamorphic phase of change and treasure it. 

New Year, New You: Metamorphosis and Transmutation

Here is a personal ritual I recommend for the New Year, whether it is Samhain (October 31, All Hallow’s Eve) or Saturnalia (December 17–24). It can also be performed any time you feel the need for renewal or personal reinvention.

Like a caterpillar, we can burst out of our old form and shed old skin. Old habits that no longer serve should be released. If drinking alcohol, for example, has become a problem for you, let go, find a Twelve-Step program, and let miracles happen in your life as you release the old and welcome the new. We must let go of the past in order to look to the future.

A well-timed ritual can be the process by which you let go of that past. It formalizes the act and marks the time of entry into a new present and new future.

Start with a ritual bath, or this Inspirational Immersion, to cleanse yourself.

Immersion

At the day’s last light, pour a bath. As your run the water, pour drops of bergamot, rosemary, vetiver, and eucalyptus oils into the steaming waters. Bathe in the gathering dark. As darkness begins to fill the room, meditate and pray for positive change in your life. Know that this is the day your life will surely change forever. 

Centering: Getting Grounded in Yourself

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our overscheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities back on track. Only when you are truly centered can you do the true inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual.

Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. My friend Kat Sanborn, for example, does a quick meditation that she calls “the chakra check-in.” The chakra system comprises energy points in the astral body associated with various endocrine glands in the physical body. My friend closes her eyes and sits lotus-fashion (if possible, but if you are on a bus or in a meeting you can do this centering exercise just sitting down, feel on the floor) and visualizes the light and color of each chakra. She visualizes each chakra and mentally runs energy up and down her spine, from bottom to top, pausing at each chakra point. After she does this a few times, a soothing calm surrounds her. I have seen her perform her “chakra check-in” at trade shows and in hotel lobbies, surrounded by the hubbub of many people. She is an ocean of calm at the center of a storm. By working with your chakras, you can become much more in touch with your body and soul.

The root chakra is at the base of your spine and is associated with passion, survival and security and the color red. Above it is the sacral chakra in the abdominal region, which corresponds to such physical urges as hunger and sex and the color is orange. The solar plexus chakra is yellow and is associated with personal power. The throat chakra is blue and is considered the center of communication. The third eye chakra is located in the center of your forehead and is associated with intuition and the color indigo. The crown chakra at the very top of your head is your connection to the universe and is violet in color.

Prior to performing a ritual, try this centering exercise. Take a comfortable sitting position and find your pulse. Keep your fingers on your pulse until you feel the steady rhythm of your own heart.

Now begin slowly breathing in rhythm with your heartbeat. Inhale for four beats, hold for four beats, and then exhale for five beats. Repeat this pattern for six cycles. People have reported that although it seems hard to match up with the heartbeat at first, with a little bit of practice, your breath and heartbeat will synchronize. Your entire body will relax and all physical functions will seem slower and more natural than ever before.

Candle Centering

Another excellent way to center is to light a candle and meditate on it. By focusing on the flame, you bring your being and awareness into focus. You can take this a step further with this spell for new insight into your life.

1. Place one candle on your altar or “centering station.” Light your favorite meditation incense. For me, nag champa immediately sanctifies any space and creates a sacred aura.

2. Scratch your name into the candle with the tip of your knife. Next, scratch your hope onto the candle.

3. Light your candle and recite: 

   This candle burns for me.
   Here burns my hope for [say what you are hoping for].
   Here burns the flame of insight,
   May I see clearly in this new light.
   
   
4. Sit with your eyes closed for a few minutes and picture yourself enacting your hopes and desires. You are setting your intention. Picture yourself in the company of people who inspire and teach you, those who bring insight and new light into your life. Let the candle burn down completely. 

 

A Coven of One: Rituals for the Solitary Practitioner

 

Ritual can take many forms, from a huge number of people participating in a community celebration to one person seeking deeper understanding of himself or herself. Our lives are basically a search for meaning. When you hold a memory dear, it is because the original event meant something to you. It was relevant, shedding light upon your soul and touching your heart in a special way. Creating and performing rituals on your own will help you define and strengthen your own identity and customize your desired outcome according to your individual will and intention. Performing rituals by yourself means you are your own priest or priestess, a solo seeker progressing along the spiritual path at your own pace. Ideally, you will also participate in rites involving groups of people. In this way, you can get all the benefits of staying in touch with your community by continuing to learn from others and receive the stimulation of being with like-minded people. If you are a loner, it is even more important for you to stay tied to a special community.

However, for many folks, doing ritual alone is incredibly powerful and enhances their personal evolution. While group ritual is about service, connection, and change, individual rites are powerful inner workings that kindle soul development and spiritual expansion. Group rituals are frequently tied to events, such as holidays, or a community crisis, such as an illness. Solitary ritual comes from your deepest inner rhythms. It comes from your own needs, your own questing, and your own psyche. With solitary rituals, you can also addresses more private matters that you would rather not share with others or broadcast to the community.

Personal rituals can be a major force in your personal development. I have known many people who are going through a rough time for whom ritual was a touchstone and an aid. Ritual will help you not just get through something but also learn from it and come out the other side transformed. As the author of Women’s Rituals, Barbara Walker, says, “Meaning develops out of doing."

The human spirit loves ritual and needs it. Observe your own children or those of your neighborhood and notice how they create their own spontaneous rituals. Ritual seems to be an important part of human development. The inclusion of ritual and celebration in our lives not only enriches us, but can also make us healthier and happier people.

Here is your opportunity to explore yourself through ritual. Ultimately, there will come a time when you need to design your own ritual as it springs up from the depths of your soul. Use the tools described for rituals of examination of your deepest inner self. 

The Eternal Flame

When the first narrow crescent of the waxing moon appears in the twilight sky, place a green candle beside a white lily, freesia, or a spicy smelling stalk of stock (a plant in the mustard family). Make sure the flower you choose has a scent that you really love, as the floral essence is key to stirring your emotions, dramas, and visions. White flowers have the most intense aromas. For me, the best flower is a white gardenia floating in a clear bowl of water.

Anoint the candle with tuberose or rose oil. Take a handful of seeds such as sunflower, walnuts, or pistachios, still in their shells, and place them in front of the candle. Close your eyes and recite this aloud:

Under this newest of moons,
In Eden fair, I walk through flowers
In the garden of my desires,
I light the flame of my mind,
I plant the seeds of things to come.

Now speak out what you want in the coming time. By speaking your desires and intentions aloud, you are planting seeds for your future.

When the candle has burned down, take the little bit of leftover wax, the nuts and seeds, and your flower of the new moon and bury them in your yard or in the soil around your houseplants. Wonderful new energy and new ideas will begin to bloom immediately in your life. As the moon grows, you should continue to build upon what you began with the new moon. Projects and rituals you initiated will continue and you will begin to see changes. This is an active, creative time. You should use it to the fullest in your personal rites and ceremonies. 

Creating a Personal Altar

 

Before there were temples and churches, the primary place of reverence was the altar. The word altar comes from a Latin word that means “high place.” With a personal altar, you can reach the heights of your spirituality and grow higher in wisdom. You construct an altar when you assemble symbolic items in a meaningful manner and focus both your attention and intention. When you work with the combined energies of these items, you are performing ritual. Your rituals can arise from your needs, imagination, or the seasonal and traditional ceremonies that you find in this book and in others. In her marvelous collection, A Book of Women’s Altars, Nancy Brady Cunningham recommends “bowing” or placing your hands on the ground in front of your altar as you end the ritual. “Grounding symbolizes the end of the ritual and signals the mind to return to an ordinary state of awareness as you re- enter your daily life."

An altar is a physical point of focus for the ritual, containing items considered sacred and essential to ritual work and spirituality. An altar can be anything from a rock in the forest to an exquisite antique table. Even portable of temporary altars can suffice—a board suspended between two chairs, for example, can become sacred space if it’s consecrated. You can also create more than one altar if you have the room or have multiple, specific needs, such as attracting work, creativity, love, or healing. You can also have altars dedicated to various deities, if you desire to go deep into the energies of those gods or goddesses. You can also create shrines to honor a deity. A shrine is a place devoted to a divinity that becomes hallowed by that association. A shrine can be any size that suits your circumstance, such as a corner in a room, an entire building, or even a small shelf or windowsill that receives the light of the moon and sun. You can also use a large space or create a home temple space that accommodates highly complicated and intricate rituals for regular use with a large group.

Tradition usually places the feminine Goddess space on the left-hand side of the altar and the masculine God space on the right. Once you are comfortable and experienced with ritual work, you can begin to customize the altar. 

Crystal Feng Shui for Love and Happiness

Place these objects in your home to attract loving energy—new friends and relationships:

• Two crystals of rose quartz of equivalent size
• Pink, orange, or red fabric
• Two red candles
• Images of two butterflies

Centering: Getting Grounded in Yourself

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our over-scheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities back on track. Only when you are truly centered can you do the true inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual.

Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. My friend Kat Sanborn, for example, does a quick meditation that she calls “the chakra check-in.” As previously outlined in this chapter, the chakra system comprises energy points in the astral body associated with various endocrine glands in the physical body. My friend closes her eyes and sits lotus-fashion (ideal if possible, but if you are on a bus or in a meeting you can do this centering exercise just sitting down with your feet on the floor) and visualizes the light and color of each chakra. She visualizes each chakra and mentally runs energy up and down her spine, from bottom to top, pausing at each chakra point. After she does this a few times, a soothing calm surrounds her. I have seen her perform her “chakra check-in” at trade shows and in hotel lobbies, surrounded by the hubbub of many people. She is an ocean of calm at the center of a storm. By working with your chakras, you can become much more in touch with your body and soul.

Prior to performing a ritual, try this centering exercise. Take a comfortable sitting position and find your pulse. Keep your fingers on your pulse point in your wrist until you feel the steady rhythm of your own heart.

Now begin slowly breathing in rhythm with your heartbeat. Inhale for four beats, hold for four beats, and then exhale for five beats. Repeat this pattern for six cycles. People have reported that although it seems hard to match up with the heartbeat at first, with a little bit of practice, your breath and heartbeat will synchronize. Your entire body will relax, and all physical functions will seem slower and more natural than ever before. Another excellent way to center is to light a candle and meditate on it. By focusing on the flame, you bring your being and awareness into focus and come into present time.

Shekinah’s Salts

Shekinah translates as “She who dwells within” and is the Hebrew name for the female aspect of God. Legend has it that she co-created the world side by side with Yahweh, the god of Israel. This simple recipe for salts calls up the scents and primal memories of what the Edenic paradise must have been like. A real plus to this recipe is that you can change the essential oils to suit your needs and mood.

The ingredients for the recipe are as follows:

• 3 cups Epsom salts
• ½ cup sweet almond oil
• 1 tablespoon glycerin
• 4 drops ylang-ylang essential oil
• 1 drop jasmine essential oil
• 1 drop clary sage essential oil

Mix well and store in a colored and well-capped glass bottle. You can use these special Shekinah salts in your ritual rub.

Body Purification Ritual Rub

Since the time of the ancients in the Mediterranean and in Mesopotamia, salts from the sea combined with soothing oils have been used to purify the body by way of gentle ritual rubs. From Bathsheba to Cleopatra, these natural salts have been used to smooth the skin and enhance circulation, which is vital to overall body health as the skin is the single largest organ. Salts from the Dead Sea have long been a popular export and are readily available at most health food stores. You can make your own salts, however, and not only control the quality and customize the scent, but save money, too. The definitive benefits that is far and above cost saving is that you can imbue the concoction with your intention, which is absolutely imperative when you are performing rites of self-healing. Cook up your own “kitchen cupboard cure.