Ritual
Whether you find ritual in the kitchen or in the wild, ceremony and ritual help mark important moments in our lives.
From simple acts like enjoying a cup of tea, to momentous occasions like weddings, rituals can be created with care and intention to mark life's milestones.
Rituals already exist in our lives, whether devoutly religious, vaguely spiritual, staunchly atheist, or somewhere in between.
Ritual Offerings at Folke
Water Rituals
Amulet Folk Magic
Fire, Air, Earth Rituals
Reclaiming Ritual
The most meaningful rituals happen when we feel deeply connected to the work. One way to strengthen your connection is to take ownership of it, such as by adding elements that speak to you, and especially folk practices from your lineage; your people.
We strongly encourage you to use the folk practices of your people. Whether you are unable to do so, or in addition to those practices, follow your inner knowing to select from the suggestions below, or ones that come to you.
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There is power both in naming and in giving voice to things. Empower yourself to name your intentions, your spiritual allies and guides, and to speaking them aloud
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Repeat words, phrases, or action for emphasis, especially at the opening and closing of rituals
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Numerical importance can be found in folk practices throughout history and the world. The number 3 is one of many commonly occurring significant numbers. You can choose 3 items, 3 elements, or repeat something 3 times
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For bath rituals, or before your ritual begins, be intentional in cleaning your hands, face, and body. Many cultures practice ritual cleansing of items as well as bodies. Clean your body in a specific order, trace symbols, with items of significance such as a homemade soap, a sacred cloth, or in sacred waters
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Play intentional recorded music to open, close, or during your ritual
Sing on your own, with others, or along to music
Make music
Dance to music or to nothing
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Speak the names if known, or call upon them by title, such as “I call upon ____”, or “I invite my guides to join me”
Ask them for specific help, such as to clear your space, protection, guidance, etc.
Be sure to thank them when your ritual is complete!
Bringing in the four elements can help to strengthen your ritual and connection to land and place.
Name the element and their vital roles in life and in your ritual. Such as how it shows up in your life, how you depend on it. There is power in speaking it aloud, but you may also say these in your mind.
e.g. “I honor the fire”, or “I honor the fire that warms me, cooks my food, and lights my path.”
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Light a candle or candles as a way to signify the beginning of the ritual, blowing it out at the very end
Burn incense
Burn herbs to inhale
Burn herbs for cleansing
Be mindful of closed practices, especially around specific herbs. For example, burning white sage is a closed practice for indigenous people, and the over production and consumption of this sacred herb is causing scarcity. There are many cultures rich with traditional herbal cleansing, so be sure to select herbs that are significant to your own culture and lineages. Better yet, grow, harvest, and dry your own herbs with significance to you and your people, adding intention and care into every step!
Name the ways Fire helps you: warms, cooks, lights, burns away impurities i.e. cleansing fireLight a candle or candles as a way to signify the beginning of the ritual, blowing it out at the very end
Burn incense
Burn herbs to inhale
Burn herbs for cleansing
Be mindful of closed practices, especially around specific herbs. For example, burning white sage is a closed practice for indigenous people, and the over production and consumption of this sacred herb is causing scarcity. There are many cultures rich with traditional herbal cleansing, so be sure to select herbs that are significant to your own culture and lineages. Better yet, grow, harvest, and dry your own herbs with significance to you and your people, adding intention and care into every step!
Name the ways Fire helps you: warms, cooks, lights, burns away impurities i.e. cleansing fire
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Represent the earth with herbs, salts, minerals, such as those in our Ritual Bath Kit
Simply notice or name them
Bring a plant into the space
Name the ways Earth helps you: is home, grows food / medicine, is food / medicine, is a foundation, holds you up
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The air is all around you, ever present. Simply notice or name it
Burn incense to give a visual element to the air in your space
Open a window and notice the the breeze
Use a fan to circulate the air
Inhale the aromas such as those in our Ritual Bath Kit
Burn herbs to inhale
Name the ways Air helps you: supplies oxygen, fills our lungs, cools us / the planet, aids in pollination, allows movement for birds, bats, and insects, wafts aromas, allows for air travel
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Water is the central element in our Ritual Bath Kit and Simmer Pot Ritual Kit, simply notice or name it
Wash your hands, face, and/or body
Use a container to pour water over you
Add a liquid to drink, noticing it move through your body with each sip
Name the ways Water helps you: sustains life, makes up a large part of your body, holds you up, cleans, purifies
Ritual as a rite of passage
Ritual practices connected to the passage of time have been woven into mainstream religion and culture, but for some, have been forgotten entirely.
Humans need ways to process life’s experiences fully, and rituals can help folx tune in and develop their own rites of passage rituals. These can include events like birth or adoption, entrance into adolescence, passage into parenthood or matrescence, losses or grief, and seasonal rituals.
Ritual as a trauma-informed practice
We experience trauma with our bodies, and to heal, we must use both our minds and bodies to metabolize and release it. In his book on trauma, My Grandmother’s Hands, Rasmaa Menakem writes,
“A common first step in the mending of trauma is completing the action that was thwarted. This releases trauma energy stuck in your body. You can then use this energy to metabolize the trauma.”
This metabolizing can be completed either literally or symbolically through ritual, using physical movement, words, and symbolism.
Ritual as an ancestral connection
Most cultures and religions at one time used folk or earth-honoring rituals as a tool for ancestor connection, but many cultures have been unable to pass down that knowledge due to assimilation or persecution.
The most powerful ritual practices are those that attune to or reclaim an individual’s unique cultural history.
Plan a Ritual Session
Ritual sessions are personalized to meet each person’s needs. We draw on our own intuitions, cultural backgrounds, and witchy-woo weirdness when creating rituals.
Sessions can be booked to help in the planning and also to assist in guiding or leading a ritual.
Some options for rituals that we can help to plan or lead:
Mother blessing/Parent blessing
Coming of Age/First Menstruation
Transition Ceremony (for LGBTQ+ folks)
Grief and Loss (divorce, breakups, loss of pet, loss of loved one)
Medical Trauma or Diagnosis Processing
Home Blessing
Ancestor honoring/Altar Building