Ceremonial Cacao As Plant Medicine
For thousands of years, humans have relied on plant medicines as a source of healing and connection to the divine. Beyond the regular use of herbal plant medicine, humans have a wide repertoire of visionary or psychedelic plant medicines. These allies from the plant world helped humans maintain balance and harmony, both within the human community, as well as with the sentient natural world. Plants such as ayahuasca, peyote, psilocybin, and iboga are more well-known examples of such plants that are integral parts of the cultures native to where they grew and the shamanic worldview they hold.
In the modern world, legality and cultural beliefs have kept psychedelics and their visionary experience at the margins. What science cannot explain in reductionist and observer/observed dichotomies, it dismisses as fantasy or imagination, devoid of significance or value. Even still, there have been waves of interest in exploring these plants, and their power to transform us, especially with experienced shamans or healers.
While there has been a growth of interest and experimentation in the modern world, many are still uncertain about the intensity of journeying with these more well-known plants. It is within this resurgence of interest in plant medicines that cacao has found a home, for it is a powerful psychoactive, without the same concerns.
Ceremonial Cacao is:
- A gentle energy that invites through love
- Far easier to integrate (in fact cacao directly fosters integration as part of its medicine)
- Safe to consume on your own
- Minimal in it's side effects
- Chock full of beneficial compounds & nutrients
- Completely legal!
Cacao has seen a rapid explosion of interest in the last decade and ceremonial cacao is becoming increasingly more well known and available. There is a good reason for this, as many are drawn to and inspired by their own work with cacao. As a plant medicine, cacao itself calls us to share its loving energy with others, helping it spread faster and wider around the globe. Cacao ceremonies are now practiced around the world and in many, many different formats.
A cacao ceremony is a time to slow down, connect within, and be supported in our healing and transformational work. Cacao is chock full of nutrients and compounds that help us open up, increase focus and access intuitive guidance. People can experience the healing of old wounds, new insights, new inspirations, greater flow in their life, deeper connection & intimacy with others, and ease in letting go of limiting beliefs.
A cacao ceremony can be anything from a morning ritual to an extended time of self-care or community ceremony. Cacao lends its energy to whatever space we’re in, internal & external. For this reason, set & setting are vital in a cacao ceremony. It’s important to set aside space & time to be fully present with the cacao and what you’re experiencing inside. Many who don’t experience the full benefits aren’t giving themselves or the cacao enough attention to really drop into what’s happening inside.
A cacao ceremony can look many different ways, and part of the beauty of the modern explosion of interest in cacao is that there are so many different ways that people are working with and sharing cacao. It might be paired with sound healing, yoga, meditation, dance, inner processing, nature connection, season celebrations, conscious conversations, or intentional parties. Whatever the setting, cacao will bring its medicine!
Ceremonial cacao has an important place within the mix of spiritual practices and psychedelic plants, as it provides a gentle way to experience plant medicine that is far easier to integrate. There are times in our lives when we need a stronger ally that will give us a harder push, like ayahuasca or peyote. However, there are also times when we need regular connection with deeper waters without the intensity. This is the sweet spot of cacao. It can be used regularly, at home, and bring us to that place of magic and beauty that we so often need, especially in the modern world.
It’s exciting and inspiring to see this massive explosion of interest in cacao ceremony and in sourcing high-quality ceremonial cacao to make the journey as potent as it can be. That’s why we started embue cacao, to share the love of this plant medicine through the highest quality cacao we can find, at a price that makes it a medicine for the people!
