Let's make ourselves nice and comfortable.
Close our eyes,
Placing both our hands over our heart as we start to come into this moment.
Arriving here in our bodies,
Taking some beautiful nourishing breaths.
Tonight's ceremony is all about the waning crescent moon.
It's our natural time for rest,
Surrender,
Self-care,
Nourishment and reflection.
And I love honouring this phase of the moon,
Because taking time out to rest is not only really important but it's something a lot of people really struggle to do.
There's also one of the phases of the moon that gets overlooked.
We know a lot about the new moon and the full moon,
But this waning crescent moon is really important.
Self-care time,
Relaxation time.
So tonight is all about,
All about rest,
Surrender.
And as you continue to breathe into your heart,
I'm going to call upon the beautiful goddess.
Thank you for this day.
Please guide and protect us as we honour your way.
Your light of protection,
We carry it strong.
No ill wishes or troubles can come along.
Nothing can harm us or weaken our soul,
Because light is our weapon and peace is our goal.
May the universe surround us all with its beautiful light and love to protect and shield us from above.
Surrounding us with a shield so bright,
Keeping us safe both day and night.
I invite you to breathe in that light.
Breathe in that love.
That white light from the universe,
Feel it wrapping around you like a blanket.
This energy connects us,
Energises us,
Protects us.
Breathe it into our hearts.
Coming here together tonight under this waning crescent moon.
Taking one more nice deep nourishing breath in,
And a slow exhale out.
When you are ready,
I invite you to pick up your cacao,
Holding it in cupped hands so that you feel the warmth in your fingers,
Starting to smell that beautiful aroma.
As we take a moment to pay gratitude for this beautiful plant medicine.
Mama Cacao,
Thank you for your divine gift that we're about to receive.
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners,
Farmers and ancestors of the sacred lands from which you came,
And the lands on which we all now stand.
For me,
I thank the Yugamba people for this beautiful place which I get to call home,
And together we pay respect to all the elders of all the lands,
Past,
Present and emerging.
With this cup of cacao tonight,
We open and connect to the wisdom of our hearts.
We gather together under this waning moon to say yes to rest,
Without guilt,
Without shame,
To soul deep permission to soften,
To slow down and to surrender.
Dear Mama Cacao,
Wise and loving heart medicine,
As we open this sacred space,
We invite you to walk with us through all that we have been,
All that we are,
And all we are becoming.
And as we prepare to take our first sip together,
This sip will be in honour of our past self,
The one that we've been,
The one who walked through fire,
Who carried burdens,
Who made mistakes,
Who learned,
Who survived.
We sip to their strength,
For they walked before us and we thank them for bringing us here.
And as you feel that first sip entering your body,
The waning moon reminds us that we do not need to carry it all,
What is complete can now be released.
As we say to ourself,
I release the weight of what was,
I honour the past and I let it rest.
I release the weight of what was,
I honour the past and I let it rest.
Breathing into that energy,
As we prepare to take our second sip together,
This next sip is in honour of our present self.
And we meet the us of now,
The one breathing in this moment,
Feeling,
Listening,
Softening.
May we be present with our truth,
Held in compassion,
Rooted in love,
Exactly as we are.
We call in presence and power and we sip to being here fully,
Wildly,
Tenderly,
Right now.
As you breathe in to the energy of that sip,
The waning moon invites us inwards to soften into our own quiet knowing.
As we say to ourself,
I choose rest,
I trust stillness,
I am enough as I am.
As we say to ourself,
I choose rest,
I trust stillness,
I am enough as I am.
Breathing into that energy,
As we prepare for our third sip together,
This sip is to bless the person we are becoming,
The dreamer,
The healer,
The ever evolving soul.
May we walk with courage,
With vision and with trust.
We sip as we continue to grow as the path ahead is lit with magic,
Wonder and the excitement of new journeys.
Breathing into the energy of that sip,
A waning moon reminds us that the future does not need to be forced,
We only need to trust and have an open heart ready to receive.
As we say to ourself,
I surrender to becoming,
I move forward with grace and ease.
I surrender to becoming,
I move forward with grace and ease.
Breathing into that energy,
Mama Kakau,
Thank you for weaving us back to our wholeness,
Our past,
Our present and our future held together in one heart.
I invite you to continue sipping your cacao and as you drink,
As you remember,
Tonight we surrender.
I now win a gentle peace,
I am here now and in this time,
Choosing rest so I can shine.
I trust the self I've yet to meet,
Becoming comes with gentle feet.
I honour who I was before.
Breathing into that energy and if you are still sipping your cacao,
That's okay.
Otherwise,
I invite you to make yourself nice and comfortable,
Keeping your eyes closed as we take a little journey together with cacao running through our bodies,
Opening our hearts,
Softening our energies.
I invite you to imagine yourself standing in a quiet,
Open field with a giant tree right in front of you.
The moon above is a soft waning crescent and its faint silvery light is leading you towards the tree.
As you reach the tree,
You hear it whispering to you,
Inviting you to sit down and as you look down,
There within the roots of this beautiful tree is a space large enough for you to nestle in amongst the moss and the grass that surrounds its roots.
The energy from this tree wraps around you like a warm,
Soft,
Cozy blanket.
You feel safe and at ease.
A gentle wind carries away anything that you're done holding on to and as you snuggle into the base of this great,
Wise tree,
Its roots whisper,
You are allowed to rest.
You do not have to earn it.
As you breathe,
Feel your body sink.
You are resting,
Not because you are broken,
But because you are wise.
Let the earth hold you.
Let the moon sing you into stillness.
Let your breath be enough.
Rest now,
Weary soul of mine.
Safe to soften,
Safe to slow.
Safe to simply let things go.
Safe to soften,
Safe to slow.
As we rest here in this moment,
You don't need to do anything but receive.
You are worthy of rest.
You can honour the rhythm of your soul by saying yes to slowing down.
As you slowly awaken from this restful moment,
From this pause in your day,
You rise,
You thank the tree,
And you start to walk back along that silvery glow of the moonlight.
Walking back into yourself,
Lighter,
At peace,
Knowing that you can give yourself permission to rest any time you need.
As you gently come back into your body,
Taking a moment with a nice deep breath,
To pay gratitude to Mama Cacao for supporting us tonight,
For the energy that comes from that beautiful waning crescent moon,
And most importantly,
Gratitude to yourself for showing up and receiving this gift of rest.
Whenever you are ready,
Perhaps starting to wiggle your fingers or your toes,
And ever so gently starting to stretch,
Before gently opening your eyes,
Returning into your surroundings,
And remembering that you deserve rest,
And you don't have to earn it.
Thank you,
And blessed be.
