Creating Your Own Rituals & Daily Practices

It’s a common thing to hear someone say that there’s a difference between their magical lives and their mundane lives. Rituals become the monthly or yearly gatherings (think High days and Holidays). In reality, we have the ability to step into ritual each and every day. And each and every day is sacred and its own ritual, if you make it so.

Here are a few simple suggestions for marking each day as sacred.

Waking Ritual – As you wake, stretch your body. Give thanks to yourself for what you can do with your body today (Leave the judgments, aches and pains for another ritual!). Connect with your breath and know that whatever comes your way this day, you can return to your breath.

Waking Ritual II – Tell yourself, a partner, a child a pet, a housemate or the plants in your home what they mean to you. “Good morning ____. I love spending Saturday mornings with you” can become a lovely ritual all by itself.

Meal times – Preparing a meal, for me, is the most sacred time of the day. A simple ritual you can create whether prepping or eating the meal is to reflect on these questions. Where did this food come from? Who grew it? Who made it? How did I get it? How will this food sustain me or the people it feeds? What would my life be like without this food? How could I acquire this food with as little impact on the planet as possible?

Cleansing Ritual – At the end of each day, give yourself the luxury of cleansing away the day. Whether in a shower, a bath or just by sprinkling yourself with aromatic water – gently wash away the day looking back at the challenges, joys, people and mysterious ones that participated in life with you.

Altar Ritual – You might choose to create an Ancestor altar, an Elemental altar, a Healing altar or an altar for a specific piece of magic you are working. Take a few moments each day to sit with it. What messages does it have for you? Does it need tending in some way? Is there something calling to be added or something that is being called to be removed?

Pleasure Ritual – Give yourself the gift of pleasure each day. This might be that 30 minutes devoted to reading an engaging book, having a cup delicious of tea, having juicy sex (with or without someone(s) else), singing in the shower – Something that speaks to you of pure pleasure for the sake of pleasing yourself  (Note: use good judgment here – the “17 shots of tequila” ritual may have unintended consequences and might not be in your best interests!)

Rituals can be wonderfully complicated, requiring tools and incantations and over the top  locations and they can be the incredibly, deliciously understated. The important thing, at least for me, is to recognize and engage with ritual practices often.