Back in early 2014, in Guatemala, I had no idea that the Spirit of Cacao would enter my life. Several years and many ceremonies later, we are still working happily together, opening hearts, spreading love, and enabling people to find a deeper sense of connection. I am based in beautiful countryside near the delightful town of Bruton in Somerset in the West of England. I try to create ceremonies and circles as often as possible. As cacao is a plant medicine and a teacher plant, I bring a shamanic and animistic approach, and I like my ceremonies to be sensual experiences, using sounds, scents, and drumming. Sometimes there will be themes ... like a journey through the chakras for rebalancing, honouring the full moon or solstice, dancing ... and sometimes it's creating a safe space for people to be heard and witnessed and held in a supportive way.
RELAX ... RELEASE ... REVITALISE
Drinking Cacao is like arriving at a door that the Cacao Spirit will lead you to, and then you can decide if you want to go through that door and dive in deeper. The invitation is there. Cacao is a very gentle medicine ... you won't go on a psychedelic trip, but you may get advice or messages in the form of visual images during the journey. You may also allow yourself to release stagnant energies you have been carrying that you no longer need.
MY OFFERINGS Group ceremonies One to one ceremonies Team building ceremonies I am also very interested in co-creating events with others ... for example ... cacao with dancing, devotional singing, drumming, or themed meditations. There are no standard prices, it all depends on what is needed. I have created a day workshop for people who are interested in learning to facilitate cacao ceremony. Please contact me if this might interest you.
A testimonial from WD "Thank you so much for our very deep and beautifully held Cacao ceremony.I feel you have truly excelled today, and it was the most profound and beautiful ceremony I have done so far with you.Thank you for your loving presence and deep commitment to the work.I have already had some very positive feedback from some of the other team members."
A testimonial from EW ‘I recently attended Joanna’s workshop on how to run a Cacao Ceremony. Joanna talked about her experiences with Cacao, how it was made and all of its nutritional benefits, which was very interesting. She explained everything clearly and showed us how to prepare the Cacao for the Ceremony. We then joined the group of people who had arrived for the Ceremony, and we received the Cacao with a meditation, sound healing and drum journey. It was such a wonderful experience. I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and I am very grateful to Joanna for sharing her teachings.’
Since 2014, I have spent time learning about cacao, healing with plants, and the shamanic path, with the following teachers: Keith Wilson (aka The Cacao Shaman) - sitting in cacao ceremony in San Marcos, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala Introduction to Shamanism - Chris Waters - UK Plant Spirit Healing - Intensive part 1 with Pam Montgomery -UK Intuitive Herbalism Foundation Year with Nathaniel Hughes -UK Earth Energies, Dowsing, and Geomancy with Giulia Holland - UK Medicine Wheel with Leo Rutherford - Portugal One month course in Mexican Indigenous Medicine with Irma Luz and Teresa Contreras at Hoja Santa - Mexico Reiki Level 1 with Ella Rankine - Koh Phangan, Thailand I have completed the 'Spiritual Guidance' course with Lisa Fullbright Cossey - UK I am a now a qualified Shamanic Practitioner and Energy Healer. I have completed the advanced modules of the course (highly recommended) with Sue Holmes of The Modern Shaman Academy. And special thanks to Cori Ellingson, who gave me my first experience of the shamanic ceremonial path and has continued to teach me (often unknowingly) over the years.