Reflection - Embodied Practices

 Consider what are your own spiritual rituals and embodied practices. What are the rituals that you believe, or know, that your people at one time used to practice? Why did they give those rituals up? What would it mean for you to re-engage those rituals? 

I engage in ritual in small ways, although I have found that I actually really enjoy crafting rituals that are more ceremonial. Singing, drumming, sigil work, and poetry are probably my biggest form of embodied practice that I use in my rituals. If embodiment is the use of the whole body or the body from the neck down I would say all of these would count. 

Singing comes from the heart and throat, I would even go to say that poetry does too. Drumming is a whole body experience - especially when you hit a flow state. Sigil work comes from within your spirit, it moves through from thee heart/center, through the hands. Even a blind man can do sigil work - the head is not needed, in fact I would say that too much of the mind gets into he way and doesn't allow for a productive sigil. 

Singing, especially to nature, and drumming are practices - often used in ritual - that I feel were used by all lines of my heritage or the people I come from. They are used by all indigenous and ancient people in various forms; music is powerful magic. My "people" still use them. I sing to bodies of water, I sing to trees, I sing to nature  and spirits as offerings. I know this is not an uncommon practice amongst many spiritual people. 

Sigils are sacred symbols that come from Spirit, God, angels, spirits, Awen, Imbas, or whatever form of divine source you believe creativity comes from. I know my paternal family used them, although I do not know their methods on how they made them. I do know Christianity and social pressure for engaging in witchcraft is why this practice was done in secret, and that they were targeted by the local community for being witches. They now avoid that word - and call it "earth work" instead. 

Poetry is probably the one that may seem like the biggest stretch to most people as an embodied practice. I know its a spiritual practice my grandmother uses, she like me, has a gift of hearing spirits through writing poetry. For her it is limited to during thunderstorms, for me I can do it if I just get myself into a meditative state of sacred awareness. It is probably one of my biggest spiritual gifts that I do not utilize nearly as often as I should. 

Engaging in these rituals connects me to Spirit, to divine source, within myself and around me. It opens up my  "ears" to the unseen and allows me to channel messages and power from the divine. I don't engage in these practices as much as I wish I did and use to do. I know doing so would actually bring me great joy and fulfillment, and the sense of connection I feel to the divine is palpable. Whether that is Spirit, the gods, spirits, or ancestors - I think it varies, but the connection is there none the less.