I Attended My First Cacao Ceremony, and Let Me Tell You, It Was Not What I Expected.
I had never thought of chocolate being good for you, in fact, I thought of it as being quite the opposite. “Don’t eat too much chocolate or else you will have severe health problems” So I was surprised when I got asked to photograph and attend my first cacao ceremony. Soon enough I got told about the benefits of it, how it is used to connect to source and your higher self and the benefits it has. As far as I knew, chocolate made was my go-to food to satisfy my period cravings.
“Cacao opens the door. It’s up to you to walk through it” — Keith Wilson
What is ceremonial cacao and where does it come from?
Ceremonial cacao has a very rich history in Mesoamerican cultures and it goes back to the year 1500 B.C. It has been used for thousands of years as a sacred drink used to connect with the divine, it is well known to be used in ceremonies, rituals and offerings. It has been shared amongst tribes in gatherings and it has even been used as currency. In the Aztec empire, dried cacao beans were used as an exchange for goods.
After knowing all of this, I realised how valuable and rich cacao is, so when I got asked to photograph and participate in a cacao ceremony, I realised that I was being called to it, so I accepted in a heartbeat.
Preparation before the ceremony
I was invited to attend this ceremony by a shaman who has been working with cacao for over twenty years now and gave me the guidelines I should follow to have the best experience possible. He told me to go on an empty stomach and to drink plenty of water the days before the ceremony, especially the night before and the same morning the ceremony would take place. The reason behind this is that we are made up of 60% water, and cacao releases all of the toxins in the body, both physically and emotionally, and when you drink water you let the cacao flow through your system smoothly.
On the day of the ceremony
I drove up to the shaman’s house in the middle of the woods, surrounded by trees and nature. We met early in the morning, to attend the ceremony at sunrise. As soon as I got there, I took off my shoes and helped the shaman prepare the ceremony. We set up a table outside with some of the sacred tools he uses in this sound practice, the cacao and Palo Santo which was used to cleanse the cacao, the space and us.
After setting everything up, he proceeded to chant and sing, calling in mother earth, asking for its blessing to drink this sacred medicine, he then chopped the cacao into very small pieces, almost to the point where it looked like they were completely ground. He then put them on the stove with some water and began to cook them. He used natural water from the valley and no additives.
After it was fully prepared, we sat down on the floor, repeated some mantras and set an intention for the ingestion whilst watching the gorgeous golden Sun rising from the North. We enjoyed a beautiful conversation in which we shared past traumas, opinions about life, past accomplishments and future plans. To my surprise, the cacao tasted really good, although it did not taste as I expected. It is bitter at first, with a sweet after taste at the end. It felt so refreshing to be sharing this experience with someone who shared the same beliefs and values as I did.
Post-ceremony feelings
After the ingestion, I helped to clean everything out and I got in the car to get back home. As I was driving through the beautiful roads of Majorca, I started to become more aware of my body, my surroundings. All of my senses heightened. My eyes were drawn to the nature around me, and I started to feel my heart opening. I felt as if I had a huge ball of energy expanding from my chest filled with love and white light. I felt so much joy. I was listening to Sam Garret’s album, Grace and I felt so connected to the lyrics, the beat, the energy around me. I felt fully in synch with the Universe and with myself. Ideas for upcoming projects were flowing and thoughts about myself, where I want to go in life, and my partner. Oh, my partner. At one point in this journey, I started to think bout my partner and I promise I have never felt so much love for someone in my life, the funny thing is that I was fully aware of the fact that I could love him so deeply as the love I felt towards him perfectly matched the love I felt towards myself. The love was so strong that I had to stop the car and send him a voice message thanking him for being in my life and sharing my current thoughts.
Throughout the day, I noticed that my mood started to shift, at one point, I became really upset, and I started to cry, although I knew that I was healing and that the cacao was following the intention I had had previously set in the ceremony. The cacao healed spiritually, emotionally and physically.
During the following days, I had magical encounters, synchronicities and things flow into my life almost like magic, I felt deeply connected to myself and my opinions, I feel like I am finally learning to heal. I would have never thought that cacao could bring out so much in you, and if this is the first time you are hearing about ceremonial cacao, I honestly encourage you to give it a try. It is a magical experience that I believe we have to share with each other.
I would love to know, have you ever tried ceremonial cacao? If so, how have your experiences been? And if this is the first time you’re hearing about cacao, are you willing to try it out?