Creating Effective Ritual and Ceremony

Opening Sacred Space

Ritual and ceremony are essential for a healthy and balanced personal and communal life. Many persistent personal and social problems can be linked to the lack of ritual and ceremony. Rituals and ceremonies reduce tension, anxiety and stress, produce deeper self-awareness, and connect us to our community. They reconnect us with our deepest core values and our highest vision of who we are and why we are here.

Ritual and ceremony are two distinct practices used to engage the powers of the unseen world to effect specific changes in the visible world. Ceremony is a formal act or set of acts designed to celebrate, honor or acknowledge what is. Ceremony is used to strengthen or restore the status quo, grounding people in the natural order of things and/or deepening communal relationships. Ritual is a formal act or set of acts designed to cause a change in what is -- to change or transform the status quo.

Ritual and ceremony are a universal way to address the spirit world and provide some kind of fundamental change in an individual's consciousness or in the ambience of a gathering. They may involve prayers, chanting, drumming, dancing, anointing, as well as rites of passage. Both are designed to engage the spirit world in helping us to do what we are unable to do for ourselves. Without the connection to the powers of the spirit world, neither is an effective tool for initiating change. By creating effective ritual and ceremony, we can skillfully engage Spirit in the processes we are involved in like healing, therapy or actualizing our goals.

Potent rituals and ceremonies have similar foundational elements. Key elements of this foundation include:

1. Intention is the first element of effective ritual and ceremony. Without a clear intention or desired outcome, the energy created in the ritual or ceremony is poorly structured with little or no direction. This intention may be a new vocation, better health or world peace;
2. The creation of sacred space. Sacred space is that territory that we enter for spiritual and inner work. Preparing sacred space shifts our awareness from ordinary waking consciousness to a more centered, meditative state and structures a boundary that separates the sacred from the ordinary and profane.  There are no rules or restrictions governing this process, although tradition suggests that you begin by smudging. Smudging is the burning of herbs for cleansing, purification, and protection of sacred space. Consider setting up a centerpiece or altar that is appropriate for your reason for coming together. Although an altar is not essential, it provides us with a focus to pray, meditate and listen. An altar is any structure upon which we place offerings and sacred objects that have spiritual or cosmological significance. It represents the center and axis of your sacred space;
3. Invocations welcome and invite the archetypal spiritual energies of the seven directions -- East, South, West, North, Up, Down, and Within. Calling the spirits is an ancient shamanic rite that is practiced cross-culturally to access and honor the powers of creation. Inviting their presence, participation and assistance not only aligns us with their power, but also is a way of giving energy that helps revitalize these primal forces. The specific words of your invocation to the spirits do not matter. What matters is that your prayer comes from the heart. You must show the spirit world you have passion and heart. At this point, the process becomes either a ritual or ceremony depending on the intention;
4. Altered states of consciousness are induced through intense rhythmic stimulation such as drumming, chanting and dancing. An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from normal waking consciousness. Altered or trance states produce deeper self-awareness and allow us to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness. This process allows us to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize our own knowledge, and to internalize our answers;
5. The closure of sacred space. It is important to conclude the process by closing sacred space. When you close sacred space, you again address the archetypal elements and spirit helpers, thanking them for their help, healing and wisdom during this sacred time. After expressing your gratitude to the spirits, send them off, releasing their energies to the seven directions. The event may be followed by a festive potluck meal in which the people rejoice that the spirits have brought the blessing of greater power to the community. To learn more, look inside my Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide.

Comparing Shamanism and Psychiatry

Shamanism, one of the oldest spiritual healing disciplines, has recently become a topic of interest in mainstream psychiatry. Shamans are often compared to psychiatrists, searching the unconscious for hidden sources of suffering and lost fragments of self. In a recent article for the webzine Mad in America, Natalie Tobert, Ph.D., a medical anthropologist and the author of Spiritual Psychiatries, compares and contrasts the role of diagnosis and treatment within shamanism and psychiatry. Tobert explores both their methods of working, and their function of maintaining social order. Comparison of their job descriptions to alleviate human suffering is complex. Shamanic practice focuses primarily on the individual within society, environment, and cosmos. In contrast psychiatry focuses on the individual's body/mind -- though it is beginning to consider wider issues. In both cases, the diagnoses which are made by shamans and psychiatrists are linked to their own explanatory models of causation. Although the societal role appears similar, their practices and treatments are different. Tobert generalizes that in order to diagnose and treat human suffering, one works within reductionist medicine, the other within energy medicine. To learn more, read "Shamans and Psychiatrists: A Comparison."

"Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology"

David Abram is a cultural ecologist and environmental philosopher named by Utne Reader as one of one hundred visionaries transforming the world. David Abram's first book, The Spell of the Sensuous -- hailed as "revolutionary" by the Los Angeles Times, as "daring and truly original" by Science -- has become a classic of environmental literature. In his latest book, Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology, Abram returns with a startling exploration of our human entanglement with the rest of nature.

For most of our human existence, we relied on our animal senses and our collective knowledge about the natural world for our very survival. But with the rapid growth of science and technology, we as individuals have relinquished more and more of this knowledge to experts, taking our primary truths from technologies that hold the living world at a distance. It's understandable, the author points out, that we abstract our physical selves and seek sanctuary in virtual worlds. But in doing so, we renounce our storehouse of "mammalian intelligence" and our citizenship in the natural world.

Abram's writing seeks to rectify this alienation by drawing readers ever closer to their animal senses in order to explore, from within, the elemental kinship between the human body and the sentient Earth. In thirteen chapters, the author builds a new way of looking at and interacting with the natural world. Abram's book begins with a musing about shadow and its depth, flows through tales of encounters with whales and shamans, and ends by making the crucial connection between this disconnect between humans and our environment and our ability to destroy it unchecked and seemingly without remorse. Abram writes that we can't "restore" nature without "restorying" life, hence his extraordinary, provocative, and rectifying "earthly cosmology." To learn more, look inside Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology.

How to Care for Your Drum

Drums should be cared for in a manner befitting their place in your life. It is a common practice to keep shamanic drums out of sight or wrapped in a cloth when not being used, as this will prevent careless handling of them or accidental disrespecting of the spirits of the drums by people unfamiliar with shamanism. Large community drums are usually covered with a blanket when not in use. The most important thing to remember is that shamanic drums are regarded as living, sentient beings and function best in the same conditions that humans find most comfortable. Basic care instructions are as follows:

1. Store your drum in a warm, dry place away from direct heat or sunshine. You can keep your drum in a water repellent nylon padded drum bag or simply wrap it in a special cloth or animal hide;
2. Protect your drum from moisture. When your drum gets wet, the wood swells and the rawhide sags. You can clean your drum by rubbing it softly with a slightly damp cloth;

3. Never leave your drum in the car for any length of time in extreme heat or cold as this can split the head. Leaving your drum in direct sunlight for any length of time can also make the drum's head split;

4. When the humidity is high, you can restore the tone of your drum by heating it slowly with a hair dryer, in front of a fire, or on a heating pad. Avoid heating the skin to a temperature that is too hot to touch. You can preserve the tone of a drum by putting it in a tightly closed plastic bag;

5. In high-humidity areas, some people put some kind of a natural conditioner on their drumheads once a year. You can rub a light coating of lanolin or neatsfoot oil into the back of the drumhead and on the cords. Your drum will stay in tune longer and absorb less moisture;

6. If a painted design on your drumhead is starting to wear away, you can touch it up with acrylic paint. After your paint has dried, apply a coat of clear acrylic sealer to the entire drumhead using a wide brush or spray the design with clear matte art fixative;

7. Should your drum ever require repair, consult the person who crafted the drum. If that is not possible, find another drum maker who works in a similar way. If you can find someone to teach you how to repair the drum, it's well worth the time to do so. 

With minimal care, your drum will last for many years as a trusted ally. The very first drum I made is over twenty-five years old and shows no signs of deterioration despite extensive use. The simplest way to care for your drum is to play it. A drum is not meant to be left hanging on a wall as a decoration. It is a sacred instrument that opens portals to the spirit world. Each time you pick up your drum, thank it, honor it, and express your gratitude for this gift from a greater being. To learn more, look inside my drum guide, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

How to Feed Your Drum

Honoring the Drum

In the shaman's world, all is alive. A drum is regarded as a living organism; not as an object. The drum has a spirit that can be awakened and if called upon, must be "fed." The spirits eat just as we eat. Shamans believe that if the spirits are not fed, the ritual may not go well. Shamans ritually feed their drums. Many use the head of the drum as an altar to offer blue cornmeal or tobacco to the spirit of the instrument.

Cornmeal is good "food" because corn is a sacred gift from the beings that live in the spirit world. The one offering the cornmeal first breathes on the grains so that the spirits know who is offering the gift. Offer the cornmeal to the four directions, and then to the drum itself so the spirit of the drum can eat it. The offering may be placed on the inside or outside of the drumhead. It is swished around the face of the drum for a few moments, and then left as an offering to the spirits of place -- the spirit and consciousness of every living thing in a time and place.

You can offer a pinch of dry tobacco in the same manner. The sacrament, tobacco, is the unifying thread of communication between humans and the spiritual powers. Tobacco feeds the drum and carries our prayers to the Loom of Creation, thereby reweaving the pattern of existence in accordance with those prayers.

Smudge smoke is also one of the foods for spirits. Cedar, sage and sweetgrass can be used for the smudging and feeding of drums. To smudge your drum, light the dried herbs in a fire-resistant receptacle and then blow out the flames. Smudge your drum by passing it through the smoke three times. Conclude the smudging by thanking the spirit of the plant whose body made the offering possible. To learn more, look inside my drum guide, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

The Shamanic Wand

Variety of Wands

Many modern shamanic and esoteric practices include the use of a ritual wand. The wand is an instrument of invocation of spirits and serves primarily to direct spiritual energy. Healing energy can be mentally transmitted through the wand and out into the environment or into a patient's body. Prayer and intention can be broadcast to the spirit world. It may serve as a divination tool, extraction aide, and purifying device.

The wand dates back to prehistoric times. Some of the first depictions of a wand come from Egypt, in the hands of the Pharaohs. The Greek god Hermes is depicted with a caduceus, a winged wand or staff with two snakes coiled around it. In Celtic mythology, the so-called "Triple" or "Triadic" Goddesses are often seen or depicted with wands. Scholars believe that the origin of the wand derives from the shaman's drumstick. And if this hypothesis is correct, why would the drum no longer have been used in conjunction with the wand (beater)?

The most likely answer may lie in the fact that throughout history in different cultures around the world the traditional practice of shamanism has often been outlawed and driven underground. In a recent post, blogger and author David Warner Mathisen presented the argument that the shamanic worldview is an integral part of the shared history of all humanity, but that this worldview has been deliberately stolen and suppressed. The shamanic worldview was perceived as an extremely potent threat -- to the point that possession of a shamanic drum has in almost every case been outlawed, and a policy of confiscation and destruction of drums implemented. Hence, the percussive use of the drum became impracticable in populated areas due to its distinctive sound.

Any authentic shaman would have always found a way to continue his or her practice of the shamanic arts. When Tuvan drums were being confiscated and destroyed during the times of Soviet repression, some shamans used only their rattle beater or orba for rituals. In Tuva (southern Siberia), the orba, with its spoon-shaped head covered with animal fur and metal rings attached for rattling, is in part for practicing divination, purifying sacred space for ritual, and drawing the attention of the spirits. Working in this way, shamans would have been able to covertly continue their practices.

In the shaman's world, all things have spirit and everything is alive. Like the shaman's drum, the drumstick or wand is imbued with spiritual purpose and becomes a living presence. Since the objects are then considered to be alive, they function as spirit helpers and guides to the shaman in their work. To guide you in making your own ritual wand and other sacred implements, I highly recommend the book, A Spirit Walker's Guide to Shamanic Tools by Evelyn C. Rysdyk.