Why ritual and ceremony ?

There’s a reason our ancestors took time to offer up their burdens, hopes & intentions to the elements. The visual, dream-like language of dropping a stone in a pool, burning a wish in the fire or building a nest of twigs speaks to the unconscious and invites us into a deeper relationship with nature and our inner experiences.

Ritual is simply a way of embodying our intentions, in symbols that the non-thinking parts of us understand - whether that’s by blowing out candles on a birthday cake, exchanging rings or scattering ashes in the sea. We can imagine ceremonies (which act as containers for rituals) as being a bit like doorways - by taking part, we cross thresholds or step into new chapters and versions of ourselves.

Read on to find out more about how I use these ideas in my work.

Tarot as a Ceremony

Each tarot reading with me is a tiny ceremony. In a busy world, time taken for yourself in this way is sacred, so I like to honour it as such. The laying of the cards, lighting of candles and pouring of tea are all rituals signalling that this is special, boundaried time to tune in and pay closer attention.

We gather, prepare ourselves and the space, and allow the cards to do their work so that we may emerge looking at things differently. It’s a conversation, yes, but also more - the deck’s symbols & stories can invite us to explore aspects of our situation we hadn’t considered, align our will with our imagination, and make big shifts and new perspectives possible. 

Ritual and Grief

A funeral, wake or memorial service are usually the chosen ceremonies after a death, but additional/different rituals can compliment these and help with other kinds of loss too.

A few ideas of other ways ritual can support with bereavements, changes & grief:

  • Release - symbolising letting go of past relationships and experiences

  • Compassion & forgiveness - for ourselves and others

  • Honouring - acknowledging our ancestors or marking meaningful experiences/life chapters

  • Gratitude - celebrating positive memories

“What stood out for me was the warm and open way Beth created space [...] The sense of ritual allowed me to get into the right place mentally, physically and spiritually but in an accessible (not super woo-woo) way.”

- Harry, Tarot client (see more testimonials here.)

Intention-setting

Ritual and ceremony can also be used to consolidate the things we want for the future, and to empower ourselves as individuals and communities. Two examples:

  • In 2021 I worked with 25 other Newcastle Gateshead residents to co-create this radical community party to mark our crossing of the threshold out of Covid-19 lockdowns. The words spoken in the ceremony (from about 2 mins into the video) were collected from a group of attendees who took part in a future-visioning workshop at the event.

  • In 2019 I co-directed this whole-school immersive theatre project with Hotspur Primary - in the closing ceremony, the school’s children restored utopia to the Blazing World (setting of the seminal 17th Century feminist sci-fi novel) by gathering to speak their hopes for its future aloud in turn, thus instilling it with their chosen values.