Cultivating Space For Effective Rituals

Ritual, when done right, is a sacred space of manifestation where we are able to connect more fully with ourselves and our spirit team to bring about the healing and growth we desire. There are many aspects to making a ritual successful. Setting the space is important to helping us achieve our desired results. There’s a reason for pomp and circumstance. It helps us set the right ambience so that we can enter the ritual fully in mind, heart, and body.

Setting the Space for Ritual

Wiccans cast a circle to create sacred space. I’m not Wiccan, and to be totally honest, casting a circle has never been helpful to me because I’m forgetful. Inevitably I have to breach the circle to go get something that I forgot. But I understand the symbolism of the circle. When you create a circle you are literally creating a separate, sacred space for your ritual. You’re drawing a boundary that says “the sacred is happening in here, and it is protected.”

If you’re like me and find that casting a circle isn’t conducive to your ritual, there are other ways to set the space. Utilize your five senses and consider how you use light, sound, scents. Low lighting or candlelight creates a quiet ambience that makes it easier to connect. Being outside in a special spot in your garden may feel sacred to you. You may prefer silence, or simple music like “Resonance Meditation” by Beautiful Chorus. Maybe your ritual benefits from a super energetic playlist. Every ritual is different and will require different energy depending upon the goal of it. Incense is commonly lit to begin a ritual and set the space. Scent is one of the most powerful senses we have, and can instantly put us in the right frame of mind.

Why Setting the Space for Ritual is Important

However you set the space, the important thing when you begin is that you recognize that you are setting the space with whatever mode you choose. Be intentional. The lighting of the incense or the candles, turning on the playlist, entering that space in your garden, are all meant to herald the beginning of this intentional time. It helps you get into the right mental space for what you’re doing.

If you don’t set the space, it’s too easy to breeze through the ritual as if it means nothing. It’s easier to become distracted, or to remain distracted. Setting the space is your way of signaling to yourself that all other cares and worries are now on hold. It’s a way to bring yourself into harmony.

Sometimes setting the space starts with a ritual bath or shower to cleanse yourself and prepare for what’s to come. This can have the added benefit of calming the mind, in addition to cleansing your energy and helping you to be prepared.

Cultivating the Right Mindset for Successful Ritual

This is possibly one of the hardest aspects of ritual. Often, we will perform a ritual when we are in need of something that we don’t have. For it to be successful, we have to believe that what we want is already ours, and that we are simply calling it to us. This requires confidence in ourselves, in our workings, in our spirit team.

It’s also one of the most difficult mindsets to achieve. This confidence and belief is required so that we can let go after we have done our part. How do we develop this confidence? Shadow work. Affirmations. Practice. There’s really no way around that. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, and if you don’t believe you can have what you want, why even do it to begin with?

Visualization techniques are helpful in this instance. So is journaling as your future self, where you write about how great your life is on a designated date in the future. Surrounding yourself with people and media that encourage you to stand in your power is also helpful. Getting to the bottom of why you don’t believe you can have what you want is invaluable, as is implementing new beliefs after you understand where this is coming from.

Nothing is Achieved Alone

There’s not one magick maker that hasn’t struggled with any of these areas at one point or another. You’re not alone and it’s OK to ask for help. As simple and obvious as it may seem, it’s also OK to ask for help from your spirit team. They’re already helping you as a result of the ritual. There’s no reason they can’t help you prepare for the ritual and heal what needs to be healed outside of the ritual.

Sometimes, the best rituals to start with are the ones that help you build your confidence and belief in yourself. The people and spirit beings who believe in you want you to be happy and to have good things. They want you to embrace your power, too. They’ll do what they can to help you. This often means showing you what you need to let go of so that you can get what you want and become who you want to be.

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Jessica Jascha is a Clinical Herbalist, Intuitive Consultant and writer in Minnesota. She also writes for Witch Way Magazine. She owns Jascha Botanicals and Owl in the Oak Tarot where she gives readings, teaches ritual, and provides holistic consultations. You can find her on Facebook.