Full Moon Rhythms & Visions Cacao Ceremony

Full Moon Rhythms & Visions Cacao Ceremony

Embodying Cyclical Living and Wildness 

Saturday 11th January 2020

13:00-19:00

The Forest & the Yurt, Aspley Guise

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We come together at the start of a new calendar year to honour the returning of the sun and the lengthening of days. An invitation to begin a slow and naturally timed emergence from the dormancy of mid-winter to the ever approaching spring. In January we find ourselves in a liminal space hovering between two worlds; one part still deeply rooted in the rest of winter and the other looking ahead to brighter days and all of the hope and possibility that the returning sun can bring. 

This intimate afternoon of nature & ceremony offers the space to straddle these two worlds with deep rest and replenishment and the invitation to begin tending to seeds of intention that lay dormant yet pulsing with possibility beneath the winter soil. A space to rest as much as you feel and to move as much as you need.

Spaces limited to 12 due to the size limitations of the yurt. 

'The way to maintain one's connection to the wild is to ask yourself what it is that you want. This is the sorting of the seed from the dirt. One of the most important discriminations we can make in this matter is the difference between things that beckon to us and things that call from our souls.’ ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

WHAT TO EXPECT:

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Nature ~ we will begin our ceremony in the forest, soaking up the healing properties of the nature and reconnecting to earth 

Cacao ceremony ~ self-enquiry through meditation and journaling, song, stillness, movement and embodiment practices to soften tension, open up to receive and release and let go, intention work and dance. Our ceremony will be spacious and open allowing plenty of time for the plant to work its magic and for your experience to be personal and intuitive. We will close with deep rest and tap into our innate visioning capacity as women with a Visioning Yoga Nidra.

Women's circle ~ Down to earth, real talk circles where you can show up exactly as you are always. A 'brave space' to connect to yourself and others, reclaiming community. A women's circle is simple ~ it's a space where we can come and just be. A place to rest, breathe, feel and move. A place to be seen AND heard in a world where women have been taught to be seen and NOT heard.

(You are welcome to join the ceremony without ingesting cacao) 

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RHYTHMS

There is something incredibly powerful about women gathering together in sacred space. In the moon lodge we can show up exactly as we are and feel heard, nurtured, supported and understood. In a world of predictability and restraint here we are reminded of our innate cyclical and feeling natures and are invited to explore a life lived in full flow of our emotions and at an intuitive pace.

In the sanctuary of the moon lodge away from the distractions and demands of the day to day we reconnect to the rhythmic pulse of our inner metronome, reaffirming our connection with the inner and outer rhythms that guide and inform our very being.

VISIONS

The moon lodge was traditionally a place of retreat where women would go to surrender to menstruation in the support of sisterhood. It is here that the women would receive visions and messages for the community. Retreating and surrendering to the dreaminess of our bleed gave way to our innate ability to vision quest.

Dreaming and times of dreaminess are healing; dreams provide access to our unconscious and help us find clarity, answers, signs and signals that we might not hear or see in our every day consciousness. 

Neglecting this time of dreaminess is detrimental to our health. The symptoms of dream deprivation and rest deprivation at menstruation are almost identical. We need to dream and we need to rest and when we’re bleeding we need to dream and rest even more than usual. Around this time our REM dreaming increases and if ignored can show up as premenstrual tension in the daytime.

CACAO

As part of our ceremony we will be using ethically sourced cacao to facilitate a deeper dive. 

Theobroma Cacao, Cacao’s full name, is derived from the Greek for the ‘food of the gods’ and was originally used by the Mayans and Aztecs in ceremony and ritual. 

Cacao is a gentle yet powerful plant medicine with vasodilatory properties, which can manifest in feelings of softening and heart opening, revealing a deeper and more authentic connection to ourselves, others and nature. 

Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants and magnesium of any food in the world, rich in chromium, theobromine, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, vitamin C, omega-6 fatty acids, tryptophan, serotonin, and more.

Cacao is a highly effective natural energy enhancer and aphrodisiac.

Cacao contains PEA, a chemical that we produce in our bodies when we fall in love. PEAs also play a role in increasing focus and alertness. 

Anandamide is an endorphin that the human body naturally produces after exercise. Anandamide is known as the bliss chemical as it is released while we are feeling joy. It has only been found in one plant - cacao.

(information from https://www.cacaomama.com)

Contraindications

• Antidepressants that use MAO inhibitors 

• Serious heart conditions (increases heart rate/vasodilator)

• Pregnant/breastfeeding/low body weight (lower dose/1oz)

• Can be a laxative 

• Stimulant (can keep you up at night) 

Giving back:

These gatherings help to raise funds for our chosen charity: TreeSisters.

Planting trees and supporting the women planting them across the globe.

www.treesisters.org

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​INCLUSIVITY:

Explorations of the Feminine are inherently inclusive and as such these circles are open to all who identify as women including trans, non-binary or any other expression or identification of femininity. These circles value diversity of expression, experience and perspectives. 

Open to all ages, life stages and cycle phases, including babies and young children (with adults).

Sliding scale pricing

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LOGISTICS

How to Attend: 

~ Register here

~ Choose manual payment for bank transfer, bank details will be emailed to you automatically on booking 

~ Paypal if you prefer (Paypal take a fee from me, so transfer is my preferred method of payment)

Exchange: 

High Income £51    

Medium Income £41 

Low Income and unwaged £31 

Free via Suspended Yoga (this event uses 3 suspended yoga spaces @ £8 each) select suspended yoga ticket option at registration to choose this option

Children and babies free

Spaces limited to 12 due to the size limitations of the yurt

£1 from each ticket will be donated to TreeSisters and you can choose to make additional donations during the day via cash or card. TreeSisters are my chosen charitable donation, you can read more about their work via their website. Giving back to the trees as we work to become a restorer species. 

Suspended yoga:

https://moonforestflow.com/suspendedyoga

Click to view current available free spaces or to make a donation

To attend a yoga class for free simply choose the suspended yoga ticket option at check out 

Location:

The Yurt, Aspley Guise

A rural log burner heated yurt space nestled in a beautiful private garden just a few minutes walk from Aspley Heath forest.

To bring: 

~ Yoga mat (to separate you from the floor) 

~ Cusion/pillow 

~ Blankets 

~ Eye pillow/eye cover/scarf 

~ Yoga bolster if you have one otherwise another cushion/pillow 

~ Plenty of drinking water (no tap) 

~ Thermos of tea (optional) 

~ Mug for cacao 

~ Journal and pen 

To wear: 

~ Whatever you feel comfortable in for the ceremony anything welcome from soft, warm PJs to glitter and party get up and everything in between 

~ Warm comfortable layers (it gets HOT in the yurt with the fire on)

~ Walking boots and waterproofs for the forest 

~ Slip on shoes recommended for easy entry to yurt 

Detailed information will be sent out a few days before our time together. 

Inclusivity policy: https://www.moonforestflow.com/inclusivityanddiversity 

Wild love, 

Carly x 

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Moon Forest Flow 

Cyclical living and wildness

Yoga . Nidra . Nature . Women’s Circles . Menstrual Cycle Awareness

www.moonforestflow.com