The History
The Cacao Ceremony is a medicinal & healing experience for your mind, body, and spirit. Originally discovered by the Olmecs in 1500 B.C. and a staple in the Mayan and Aztec cultures for centuries, cacao had a place in these empires as a sacred, elite, and ritualistic plant. Present in Aztec mythology, cacao was often used in sacrificial ceremonies to lift the spirits of the soon to be sacrificed.
Today, modern medicine has revolutionized the way we understand ourselves. Often, these medicines heal our bodies, but in this healing we may be neglecting our spirits. Cacao Ceremonies can facilitate the potential for one to regain that lost spiritual balance. Other experiences centering around this spiritual healing often rely on hallucinogenic or out-of-body experiences, but a Cacao Ceremony is a time of relaxation and self-reflection to provide an inner-silence allowing one to purvey the mind in peace and become aligned with the self.
Through this peace, mental clarity can be achieved. Mental clarity is imperative to an improved daily life, uptakes in creativity, and self-guidance. The medicinal benefits of cacao have already been touted, but as recently mentioned, this ceremony is an exercise in mental health. A healthy mind allows for the preservation of the body.
Anastasia Belloneto is a mental Health Coach, Vedic Astrologer, and Ayurvedic Consultant. She combines modern science with ancient wisdom, merging her studies of Western Psychology and studies of Eastern traditions. Anastasia hosts Cacao ceremonies throughout Southern California. We had an esteem honor to invite Anastasia to our showroom in Palm Springs for this sacred practice, to bless our hearts and our energies.
To begin, the ingredients for the Cacao Ritual were ceremoniously prepared. Anastasia started by adding Rose and Blue Lotus flowers to a boiling pot of water. Rose flowers are used as a heart opener, a connection to our feminine side. The blue Lotus is used as an intuition flower, as the herbs brewed, the sweet aroma filled the air. The ceremonial cacao used was grown with pure spiritual intentions by the Arhuaco Tribe of the Sierra Nevada of Colombia. A meditation dose was then blended together with the herbs and then set aside for our healing tribute.
Anastasia then honored the space by sage smudging the room and each one of us in sessions. We sat in a women’s circle, and began setting our intentions by inviting the healing energy through meditation. We did a series of breath-work during the meditation, followed by the soothing vibrations of the Shamanic Drums. The sounds amplifies the vibration and awakens the sprits within us.
Anastasia then served each one of us the warm cacao in a small ceramic bowl, which we held near our heart space. Before we drank the cacao, we honored the sacredness of this holy plant, thanking the elements of nature, honoring our spirits, the universal energies, and gratitude to the Creator.
What does it taste like? It tasted like a thick, earthy, dark chocolate with a fruity bitter undertone. As the evening sun bid farewell, we closed off the ritual and went for an evening stroll. It was a heart-opening experience, feelings of Tranquility, Peace, and Bliss. It will be honest to add that at the end, there was also a feeling of rawness, vulnerability, and a slight tingle of an out-of-body experience.
Cacao ceremony is all about setting your intentions. This experience opened our hearts and allowed us to tune in to our inner-self. Thanks to the spirit of Cocoa.