An important note before we move forward
Cultural Appropriation & Cacao
More than 20 years ago, I was initiated into sacred ceremony by Indigenous elders who shared their powerful (non-cacao) medicines and ceremonial tools with me. However, I’ve stopped sharing them in my offerings, and I invite you to read this post written by Indigenous medicine woman Asha Frost that was influential in guiding my decision.
I share this because the appropriation of Indigenous cultures runs rampant in many cacao “ceremonies” (and moon circles!) via regalia, face paint, language (including “A’ho!”), and smudging with white sage. Many non-Indigenous practitioners – especially spiritual white women – take from Indigenous cultures without both giving back financially and sincerely acknowledging the colonization, genocide, and other atrocities that Indigenous peoples have endured and continue to endure to this day.
Note that my offerings are not replicas of Azetc or Mayan traditions. Rather, they are powerfully curated soul experiences and deeply inward meditative, trauma-informed journeys with conscious use of invitational, non-appropriated language. They do not involve ecstatic dance, and they give back to the Indigenous communities that have shared their medicine with us. That is all.
