Working Rituals with Children

Summer, or any school holiday break, is the perfect time to introduce your kids to the wonders of working rituals. Tap into that natural inquisitiveness and sense of wonder using rituals created just for them. In the process, you’re sure to learn a few things as well since kids can be some of the best teachers. Besides, it can be A LOT of fun, watching the kids getting excited and happy while doing a bit of something that the adults get to do. I’ll toss out some sample rituals in a post next week, but for now, let’s just talk about some of the things to keep in mind when you’re working with kids and ritual.

Try to keep in mind the following suggestions as you prepare. It’ll help out quite a bit and hopefully keep your frustrations to a minimum.

Talk to your child about what types of rituals they might like to do. You know your child best in this regard, so if you’re worried they might want to work a ritual or spell letting them fly, for example, then narrow down their options. For instance, ask if they’d like to do a protection ritual and if so, what kind – who or what do they want to protect? That will give you both something to build on.

This is a great time to introduce kids to how rituals are performed. If they’re interested, help them learn the parts of a ritual and let them help you with the planning.

Also, keep in mind the ages of the children involved. A ritual designed with a 5-year-old in mind usually doesn’t appeal to a pre-teen. There are also different safety concerns for different ages. For example, an older child would be safer around fire than a younger one. Safety is important here as well, so try to anticipate where things might go wrong ahead of time and then address those issues as best you can before you start.

Keep it short, or at least be able to shorten it if needed.  Kids tend to get bored easily if what they’re doing hasn’t caught their attention. And as we all know, once you’re bored, it’s hard to stay in the moment and focus.

Kids like helping create sacred space. Let them cast the circle, help call the quarters, or any of the other tasks you use when performing a ritual. They may even have some inventive suggestions for your altar set-up. Take all of their input seriously. After all this is their ritual too.

Finally, remember that these are only some guidelines. You know your child the better than anyone else, so if you’re certain your 7-year-old can handle that sword in circle casting, then so be it. And remember the most important rule – have fun, or at least be engaged! Otherwise, no one is going to get anything out of the activity. This is a great way to spend some meaningful time with your kids while also introducing them to an important part of your life. Enjoy building these memories together while creating magic.

Blessings,

Laurel