Time: 1 hour during Moonlit Hours
Who is this for: People of all faiths or no faiths who want to connect deeply to the living world.
Location: A private space of any size or shape where distractions are as limited as possible.
Dress: Dress in a way that feels cozy. Add a piece of clothing or accessory which helps connect you to what is sacred to you. There will be the option to wander outside, so have your shoes and coat handy.
Materials:
- A candle and matches or lighter
- A journal and pen
- Some colored pencils, markers or crayons
- Optional: drum, if you have one
As with anything I ever offer you, feel free to modify, to add or subtract anything you like. And please, have a little fun with this!
Deep Listening: A Solo Ritual Recipe
Tune Into Your Breath
Once you have gathered your materials, and have set up your space, it is time to move into the Ritual. With eyes closed begin to let you awareness ride the waves of your breath for a minimum of 11 rounds (an inhale and exhale is one round).
Our breath helps us to become present in our bodies and the moment. The breath also has a way of helping us bridge the perceived gap between the inner world and the outer world.
Befriend your breath for the entirety of the ritual.
Lighting the Candle with the Wild Spirit Invocation
As you light your candle, whisper or speak these words aloud:
Let this flame represent the wild spirit which burns within each of us.
As we awaken our own wild spirit, we awaken the collective spirit.
Here you step from mundane space into the liminal space of ritual by evoking that mysterious spark of life which animates the living world.
Calling Upon Qualities
For this ritual, you are encouraged to call upon three helpful qualities.
Write them each in your journal in any color you wish:
“DEEP LISTENING” – Here we call upon a listening at the most subtle level, listening with every cell of our body, opening our inner ears to any and all guidance that comes through.
“CURIOSITY” – Here we call upon the part of us which says, “I wonder…”, and is more interested in exploring questions than the having all the answers.
“PLAY” – Here we remember we can be sincere without being hyper-serious and call upon a way of being that is child-like, open, adventurous, and full of wonder.
Identifying a Question in Your Heart
Ask in, “What am I curious about right now? Is there a question in my heart?”
You can take your gaze to the flame as you sit with these questions. There is no rush. Simply breathe and contemplate.
When an answer bubbles up, write it down in your journal: “Right now I am curious about …” or “The question in my heart is…”
You can imagine setting the curiosity/question down on the altar of your heart. No need to reach for the answer, just setting the question there.
Turning Toward the Natural World
The living world, of which we are a part, is a sphere of guidance that contains the wisdom of the ages. Every moment we allow our attention to inhabit the natural world around us, we open ourselves to nature’s experiential teachings.
In your own way, turn toward this essential Sphere intentionally, saying to the natural world, I am listening.
11 Minutes of Wild Wandering
Time to Wanda! Go outside or near an open window or toward your houseplants and creatures. Relish in following your curiosity with no agenda other than to tune in to nature.
You might ask, If nature is a school, what lessons are being taught right now?
Use your five senses to explore for 11 minutes.
Gathering Treasure
In your journal, with as much color as you like, write and/or draw anything you noticed, any lessons you sensed, any messages that came through. Take as longs as you like with this.
Then, after journaling for a while, see if you can name one gem of guidance from the natural world that you want to remember.
Write it in a sentence or less.
Make an Offering of Gratitude to Nature
In your own way, express gratitude to nature for the treasure offered.
You can speak, sing, drum. Calling upon touch and vibration can really help here. No one is watching, so what you feel. Follow your instincts.
Sit with Your Findings
Look at journal.
See, feel, remember your original question/curiosity. See, feel, remember what nature had to teach and offer today. See, feel, notice any threads of connection between the question and the teachings/offerings.
Then close your eyes and come back to your breath. What is here now? Inside of your body, heart, and mind?
Sit in stillness and silence for as long as you like. See if you can find some pleasure in the simple nourishment of the moment – no where to go, nothing to do.
Closing Howl and Blowing Candle.
When you’re ready and only when you’re ready:
Take a breath in, then exhale a howl at any volume. (Honoring the instinctual)
Take another breathe in and exhale blow out the candle to close the ritual space.
If you like, let me know in the comments how your solo Ritual time went! I always love to hear from you ♥️.
On the Horizon
Join an international, intergeneration group of weird and wonderful wild-hearted Women in our online Cave (which lives on an app)!
We meet weekly in Circles, Workshops, Practices to keep our wild spirits lit!
Upcoming Weekly Gatherings:
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on May 7th!
Online, from anywhere.
Using a dynamic meditation journey, we will tune into the New Moon, to your own Inner Guidance, synced up with wild-hearted women from around the world. This offering will include music, storytelling, meditation, journaling prompts & intention-setting.
Can’t make it live? No worries. All participants will receive a copy of the recording with 24 hours of the session.
We have Wild Woman Project-trained Circle facilitators is 26 countries, and 44 out of the 50 United States.
Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer & facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine & profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.
An ever student of the great mysteries of existence and nature itself, Chris believes women are holding innate gifts & tools that society at large needs – now more than ever. She is committed to helping women remember their special magic and to bring it forward into every corner of their lives, for the greater good of the planet.
Thank you, Chris, for your offering of this lovely moonlit ritual. <3
You’re very welcome, Rita ♥️ Hope you are well!
Thank you so much. This email came at a time when I really needed to look at a dark place and did not want to. This ritual gave me the strength to do the work and boy did Mother Earth and the Universe answer! I am no longer lost in the woods. My howl is still faint, but it’s there and only going to get stronger!
I’m so happy to hear this, Elisabeth ♥️ So happy you made the space & happy nature came through. (Doesn’t she always?) howls to you!