Rituals
Seasonal Rituals
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For full info on upcoming solstice ritual click here. For full info on upcoming equinox ritual click here. For upcoming Community Grief Ritual click here.
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Since 1992, Katja has devoted her life to creating eclectic solstice and equinox rituals to honor the seasons and the transitions in our lives. Katja is known for her elaborate rituals where she creates magical spaces, sounds, shrines, movement, and poetry to guide participants through a transformational experience. The Summer Solstice at America’s Stonehenge, NH that she initiated and co-created since 1993, has over the years created a following.
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The rituals are heart centered and focused around our connection to the Earth and the elements that make up life. A big piece is the feeding and giving gratitude for the generosity of the Earth. Within the ritual there is always the re-enactment of the cyclical nature of life’s stages usually seen through the eyes of the seed coming to fruit, as without the seed there would be no life. This is particularly pertinent today as we face a growing number of infertile seeds, due to decrease in pollinators, the increase of GMO crops, changing weather patterns, and so on. The rituals bring us back into a sacred and intimate relationship with life, and the sacred stewardship we have in collaboration with the living world around us. Today, in our industrialized age, many of us are no longer in charge of our own food source and in that process we lost our connection to the Earth and its inhabitants. Ritual is an important link to healing that lost connection.
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The rituals are based on the Medicine Wheel of the Dagara People of Burkina Faso, West Africa, as brought to us by Malidoma Somé, that hold the nourishing welcoming Earth at the center, the Ancestors/Fire at the South, the cooling healing Waters consisting of the surface and the deep Waters in the North, the constant transformative aspect of Nature in the East, and the foundation and records as in the Minerals in the West. This wheel is similar as the Chinese where Nature is replaced by Wood and Mineral by Metal. There is no air element as all elements refer to a horizontal playing field that is practical and very much based in the sentient nature of all beings. The rocks, plants, water, Ancestors and the Earth are in constant communication with us and of course the heavens and wind speak to us all the time as well, it is just not part of this level plane.
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Another important component in the ritual is the personal story, seen against the backdrop of the cosmic story. Participants are asked to do homework and it invites them already into the process of ritual allowing them to be more ready to receive the benefits or transformation of the ritual. The ritual addresses how we feed ourselves in a world seen and unseen that needs constant feeding. And how do we do this with an open heart, that brings about healing, beauty, and is life giving? And what does it mean to live in collaboration with the living world where we add to the fabric of life and keep it alive? And what tools do we use to harness the energies that facilitate this?
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The rituals are rooted into an indigenous world view while at the same time there is innovation as the form continues to evolve so it can sustain and survive to address what is called for today in a shifting world. There is a constant bridging that takes place. This is an exciting process as slowly the pieces are coming together and we begin to remember and not just borrow from a world rooted in patriarchy but begin to trust our innate knowing and come up with forms and symbols that make sense now. More about ‘what is ritual’ and ‘what are the components’ you can find under this link About Ritual.
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Grieving does not belong only to the ones that have lost a loved one, grieving is a skill and is what we do each time we fall in love with life knowing the change and loss that comes with it.
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The choreography of the grief ritual is modeled after the Dagara Funeral Ritual as taught by Malidoma Somé (West Africa) It is also called ‘the pouring of water ritual’, as water holds cleansing and healing properties. This ritual is designed for any person holding grief for whatever reason no matter how overwhelming, ancient, or small it is. The ritual provides a container where we can let it rip and give it over to the Ancestors. By bringing in the Ancestors we can address its origins and set a shift in motion that ripples out in all directions. When grief is too big and there is no container it may not feel safe to go into a deep expression of the feeling but the container of a group can hold it and benefits the group as it unlocks the grief in others who have a hard time accessing it. The deeper the expression of the grief the more lightness and joy surfaces on the other end. Read more on Grief Ritual
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