How to Prepare For a Cacao Ceremony

A cacao ceremony is an experience that gets you in tune with yourself on a deeper level as well as with the Earth, and spirit or soul guidance. You’ll likely notice intuitive downloads, creativity, and/or insights about yourself or any aspect of life. Emotions may come up during the meditation or journaling, you may feel like crying, moving, making noise. It’s ok to let it out! That’s how stagnant energy and emotions are processed and released! But honestly it’s best to release all expectations of what you may experience. Arrive with an excited anticipation. You were curious to join and that’s a perfect reason to show up for the experience.

Bring your prepared cacao drink, a journal, an item for the virtual altar (optional), water and an excited anticipation! It’s best to enjoy this experience in a quiet place you will not be disturbed. It may involve sitting, lying down or possibly moving around like dancing but start in a quiet seated comfortable spot. You can join through your computer or your phone. Remember to silence any notifications to avoid distractions.

I order mine from Soul Lift Cacao. Nick works directly with the Guatemalan farms who grow and prepare the ceremonial grade cacao for use. It is a high quality product, coming from cacao trees grown with respect, ethical trading and in benefit to the workers.

They come in 1 lb blocks of cacao paste which equal out to ~10-16 servings, depending on how many ceremonial vs daily cups you do.

*If you are not aware of the unethical practices of cacao farming and the commercial chocolate industry, I’d recommend watching the Netflix show Rotten, Season 2, Episode 5, “Bitter Chocolate.”

• If you are taking an MAOI you should NOT drink cacao.

• If you have a heart condition, cacao increases blood flow and may cause undesirable stress on the cardiovascular system.

• Pregnancy- there is no research in this area, but it has been heard that 25-50% of a ceremonial dose (no more than .75 oz, or about 1-2 Tbsp) is ok for pregnant women to consume. My recommendation is to drink at your own discretion and under the supervision of a doctor.

• Children have done well on smaller amounts of cacao, but they might become more energized.

• If you are taking 5-HTP or melatonin, drinking cacao may affect your sleep.

• It is not recommended to consume cacao later than 7 pm due to the effect it may have on your sleep.

• Ideally eat a small snack about 30 minutes before consuming cacao. It is best to not have a large meal beforehand, but also to not have an empty stomach. It may cause nausea or stomach upset otherwise.

• To prevent headaches and to ground yourself after, drink plenty of water and eat a snack or meal.

Cacao has little to no caffeine but it does has the active compound theobromine. This has an energizing effect and can make you feel warm and fuzzy. It increases heart rate and opens blood vessels, bringing more blood through your heart and into your brain. Because caffeine affects the nervous system, but cacao stimulates the cardiovascular system, drinking cacao has less jitters and no crash or cravings.

*If theobromine is processed with extremely high heat, such as in commercial chocolate processing, it can convert to caffeine.

The best expectation is no expectation! But I can let you know that cacao has a gentle spirit energy and will guide and support you in whatever you need.

Cacao is a gentle plant medicine. It has a spiritual energy and intelligence to it. It is a heart opener, it expands your connection and intuition. Depending on the activities of the ceremony, you may experience a feeling of being held by a higher power. Cacao has a motherly or grandmotherly spirit to her. “Mama cacao.” You may feel yourself to be in a higher vibration feeling during, and for up to hours afterwards.

Plant medicines are known to have an effect on the conscious mind, often altering our perception of reality. Well known plant medicines such as ayahuasca (DMT), peyote and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) have psychedelic and hallucinogenic effects. However these are not always used in the right context and setting. These plant medicines are known as entheogens (psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior for the purpose of spiritual development) and are HIGHLY recommended to be used properly and with a shaman or well-qualified guide. They have a spiritual, religious, shamanic or magical significance and are traditionally involved in practices like prayer, trance, rituals, chanting, peyote songs, drumming and ecstatic dance.

However, cacao is a gentle plant medicine and does NOT have any psychoactive or hallucinogenic effects like these other plant medicines.

Cacao is a gentle plant medicine. It does NOT have psychoactive or hallucinogenic effects. It does not force you into a journey like other plant medicines do. It is often said that it gently invites you to the door.

Cacao ceremonies are somewhat of a modern creation. In Central and South America, cacao is treated as a sacred part of their cultures and was consumed in ceremonies and in a ritualistic manner but it seems cacao was never the focus of the ceremony or ritual, as it is here in the context we are using it. There was never a facilitated spiritual journey centered around cacao.

The two best things we can do as we participate in a cacao ceremony or ritual, is to honor the traditional growing and preparing of this amazing plant by indigenous cultures and buy from direct trade sources like Soul Lift Cacao, who works directly with the Guatemalan farms who provide an ethical, high quality, high vibration cacao product. And the second way to respect the ceremonial aspect is to send a deep gratitude for all involved in the process, including a deep reverence for the plant and spirit of cacao as you prepare and sip your drink.

Drink a smaller dose of cacao daily to get into a creative flow, in touch with your intuition, heart, love and connection, content creation, artistic or writing.

Cacao enhances the experience, but other beverages like herbal tea, golden milk, kava, other drinks made from the Earth with little processing are ideal.