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A cacao ceremony is a simple, intentional ritual in which you mindfully prepare and drink Ceremonial Cacao as a way to slow down, set an intention, and reconnect with yourself and what truly matters. You don't need any training to hold a cacao ceremony at home, just 20–30g of ceremonial-grade cacao, a quiet space, and 15–30 minutes of undisturbed time. A simple ceremony flows through a few gentle stages: preparing your space and cacao, cleansing, opening sacred space, grounding and setting your intention, sipping slowly in connection, and closing with gratitude; and this guide walks you through each one.
What might feel mundane and ordinary, the making of a cup of cacao, can become magical, when you slow down and bring your full presence into it.
In a world that often moves quickly and is primarily focused on the external, there is something deeply grounding about setting aside time and space to be with yourself.
Ceremony offers this space as a simple invitation to slow down, listen, and reconnect with ourselves and what truly matters. Like a doorway back to ourselves, it provides a gentle moment in which we can intentionally step away from the demands of daily life to return to the wisdom of our hearts.
At Sacred Earth Medicine, ceremony inspires all aspects of our lives, and we believe one of the most accessible (and enjoyable!) ways to begin exploring ceremony is through Ceremonial Cacao.
A meaningful cacao ceremony doesn’t require years of experience or special training. Nor does it demand fancy or elaborate rituals. It can be as simple as preparing your cup of cacao with presence and creating space to sit quietly with yourself.
So if you are new to Ceremonial Cacao, our simple guide will walk you through the foundations of creating a nourishing and potent cacao ceremony at home.
At its heart, a cacao ceremony is a dedicated moment of connection that uses cacao as the medium through which a deeper relationship with self and the world around us can unfold.
It is a purposeful opportunity to pause, bring awareness to the present moment, and engage with cacao as a companion and guide for reflection, creativity, gratitude, or inner exploration.
Unlike routine, ceremony is entered into with clear intention. The actions themselves may be simple - preparing the cacao, lighting a candle, sitting quietly, etc - but they are approached with presence and care.
Something we want to emphasise is that a ceremony doesn’t need to be perfect or look a certain way. It’s simply an invitation to move from doing into being.
You can learn more about ceremony and ritual with our Creating a Magical Life with Ritual and Ceremony Journal.
We’ll explore all the components of a ceremony below. But if you’re ready to jump in, try this simple ceremony flow:
When it comes to ceremony, simple can be just as powerful, and sometimes even more so, than the elaborate and complex!
The term "sacred space" comes up a lot in relation to ceremony, and if you're new to this kind of thing, it might sound a bit mysterious! However, at its essence, sacred space is any environment where we consciously choose to bring our full attention. It’s an integral part of weaving ceremony, as it’s a way of signalling that we are moving out of the mundane everyday energy and into something infused with sacredness and our full presence.
In a way, sacred space is less about the physical space itself and more about the quality of awareness we bring to it. Anywhere can be a sacred space - from the corner of your living room to a seat beneath an ancient tree.
And there are many ways to make a space feel sacred. From the simple, like choosing to light a candle, burn incense, and arrange a few meaningful objects nearby, to the more grandiose, like creating an elaborate altar aligned with your ceremony’s intention and calling in the elements and directions.
Again, it’s important to reiterate that there is no ‘right’ way to do this. It’s more about tuning in and trusting what feels alive for you - knowing that this may look different each time you create ceremony.
These small acts support our nervous system to soften and invite us to step out of everyday concerns and into a more intentional relationship with the present moment.
While every cacao ceremony is unique, most ceremonies will include the following key elements and foundational stages.
Before anything else, allow yourself to slowly prepare the space you want to use for your ceremony. This may be a small corner of your kitchen, a dedicated ceremonial space, or even a quiet place outdoors. Tidy the space and bring in any personal objects that support a sense of sacredness.
Next, prepare your cacao with care. With each stage of the process - from grating, stirring, and pouring - allow yourself to anchor fully in the moment.
Before entering ceremony, many traditions include a practice of clearing the space and the self.
This is less about removing something negative and more about consciously releasing the energy that’s come before so you can arrive more fully in the present moment.
You may wish to open a window and invite fresh air into the room, light incense or sacred herbs (like sage), ring a bell, spritz with an essential oil blend or simply take a few deep breaths while imagining any tension softening from your body and the space. Water has been used for millennia as a medium to cleanse before a ceremony, so you might also wash your hands or even take a shower before you start. The intention is simple - to create a sense of spaciousness within and around you.
An opening marks the transition from daily life into ceremony.
This can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths and acknowledging you’re stepping into ceremony. You might say something like - "I welcome this time to connect with myself and listen to the wisdom within."
The actual words matter less than the feeling and sincerity behind them.
Other things you could weave into how you open sacred space are:
A beautiful way to continue facilitating the movement into sacred time and to ensure that you are fully present and in your body is to practice some form of grounding. This might be standing and feeling your feet anchored to the earth as you take a few breaths, letting all that has come before flow out with each exhale and down into the Earth. Or you may like to come into a comfortable seated position and imagine your spine is like the trunk of a tree with roots extending down into the rich soil, grounding you into the support of Mother Earth.
From this grounded space, you can set your intention - the reason you are doing ceremony in the first place.
It’s important to note that your intention is not a goal to achieve but more a direction for your awareness. You may have a clear reason for doing a ceremony - like honouring the moon cycle, or awakening your creativity - but if not, you can weave inquiry into the ceremony and do some simple inner reflection prompts to help you to get clear.
You may wish to explore things like:
What do I need most right now?
What would I like to invite into my life?
What is asking for my attention?
How can I support myself today?
Sit with the inner inquiry for a few minutes, allowing your intention to arise naturally. Once you have clarity, speak your intention aloud, giving shape to what you're inviting into your life.
This is the heart of the ceremony, so now is the time to hold your intention in your awareness and begin to sip your cacao slowly, imagining you are drinking this intention in. As you do, notice how it feels in your body and what may begin to arise. You may then choose to meditate, journal, dance, draw, rest, move gently, or simply sit in stillness, letting the cacao and your intention work its magic and medicine.
As my teacher always said, “form follows function”, so let the purpose shape your practice. How you choose to connect needs to be personal and may look different each time you enter ceremony. Trust what feels supportive for you in the moment.
When you feel complete, take a moment to acknowledge the experience. Offer gratitude for the cacao, for yourself, and for the time you have given to your practice. If you’ve invited in guides or called in the elements and directions, this is the time to release them with your appreciation for their loving support.
You may wish to complete by placing both hands on your heart and taking a few final breaths before returning to your day.
Within many ceremonial traditions, cacao is regarded as more than a plant. Some people speak of the spirit, essence, or deva of cacao. A deva can be understood as the subtle intelligence or energetic presence of a plant - the unique qualities it carries and expresses.
Whether you view this literally, symbolically, or simply as a way of deepening your relationship with nature, connecting with cacao in this way can bring a beautiful sense of reverence to your practice.
If you would like to explore this and deepen your connection with the Cacao Deva, begin simply. As you hold your mug of cacao, close your eyes and take a few slow breaths.
You might silently ask: "What would you like me to know today?" or "How can I work with your medicine?"
Then simply listen - letting go of any expectation you may have and staying open and curious. You may notice a feeling, an image, a memory, a word, or simply a sense of warmth and presence - or you may notice nothing at all.
All experiences are equally valid, and all are welcome. Trust that what you received was exactly what you needed, even if it was subtle beyond your perception.
The practice is less about receiving extraordinary messages and more about cultivating a relationship grounded in listening.
Ceremony is not something we need to master, achieve or perfect. It’s more about allowing ourselves to remember.
A cacao ceremony offers an invitation to slow down to reconnect with ourselves amidst lives that are full, busy and often lacking meaningful connection.
Whether it lasts ten minutes or an hour, whether you receive profound insights or simply enjoy a moment of stillness, the gift of ceremony lies in the willingness to show up and be present.
Our Starters Ritual Box was created for exactly this moment, or you can explore our full range of Ceremonial Cacao.
From all the Sacred Earth Medicine team, blessings on your ceremonies.
May you deepen in presence and reconnect to the wisdom of your heart!
As long as feels right for you. A simple cacao ceremony at home can be a nourishing 15–30 minutes, while deeper practices may unfold over an hour or more. The willingness to be present matters far more than the length.
For a home ceremony, 20–30g of Ceremonial Cacao is a beautiful place to begin. You can increase the amount of cacao you use in your Sacred Hot Chocolate over time. A full ceremonial dose is around 45g - which is a strong dose for most people. Our dosage guide walks you through finding the amount that suits your body and intention.
No. A personal cacao ceremony requires no training, certification, or experience, only presence and sincerity. Facilitating ceremonies for groups is a deeper practice, which does require training and a much greater knowledge of cacao and ceremony. When holding your own ceremony at home, take time to be present with the cacao and feel into how this connection works best for you.
Absolutely. Solo ceremony is one of the most intimate ways to work with cacao, offering an uninterrupted space to turn inward and listen deeply. Ceremonies shared with a partner, friends, or a circle each carry their own magic, there is no set or best way to do cacao ceremony. Take time by yourself to discover your own way to connect to the plant spirit of cacao.
Morning ceremonies are wonderful for centering yourself before the day begins and setting intentions for the day ahead. Larger doses are best kept for the morning. Because cacao contains theobromine, a gentle natural stimulant, some people do find that drinking cacao at night can keep them awake, while others find it relaxing. We invite you to experiment with what works best for you.
Choose only ceremonial grade cacao made from heirloom Chuncho cacao beans - we recommend Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao! It is minimally processed, whole bean cacao paste with nothing added and nothing removed to preserve the rich spectrum of compounds that make it so unique.
Regular cocoa powder and supermarket drinking chocolate are heavily processed and don't carry the same spirtual depth or medicinal potency.
What might feel mundane and ordinary, the making of a cup of cacao, can become magical, when you slow down and bring your full presence into it.
While the answer is yes, our beans are hand selected, we want to highlight the importance of when that selection happens, and why we believe starting at the source makes all the difference!
The journey of womanhood is a series of profound initiations, and perhaps none is as misunderstood or as shrouded in mystery as the transition from the Mother archetype into the season of the Wise Woman.
In this journal, we’re lovingly inviting busy, stretched-to-the-limit mamas to embrace simple, soulful self-care cacao rituals infused with kindness that offer true nourishment.
