Facing Your Ghosts: A Ritual Practice

It is the season of ghosts.

As we make our way towards the mid-point of Autumn, the darkness yawns open and shadows are revealed.

The thinning of the veils happens not just in the outer world, as what’s dying slips through to the spiritual beyond, but also within our own psyches and our own spiritual layers.

Our own hungry ghosts, that have been lingering just out of sight in the lighter months, now approach the altar of our hearts, awaiting to be seen and fed.

In blatant terms: some of the pain-points within us that generally hide beneath our conscious mind have a tendency to come to the surface right now. What they really wants is to be seen, held, and integrated.

These ghosts could be what we’ve tried to bury too quickly before properly grieving, feeling, or healing.

They could be parts of ourselves we’ve rejected or neglected.

They can be memories, longings, old patterns, feelings from childhood, memories from past lives, old trauma, old hurts, shame, resentment, or fear.

They feel ghost-like as we tend to be spooked by them, tend to run from them. But what they really need of us is an invite for a seat at the table.

In the past week, most of my clients came in with old-things-stirred.

Whether it be a childhood wounding, trauma re-activated in the nervous system, past life grief and pain, or a return of a physical symptom.

The sessions have been deep and powerful, and have all required the same thing: feeling, acknowledging, and witnessing something old and deep.

So if something like this is stirring in you, try letting it show its face, and invite it to share a meal with you (If you feel resourced. Always seek professional help, like a somatic therapist, if it feels too big for you to face alone).

The practice below invites you to approach your ghost(s) while still having some distance. In it, you will use the intuitive, imaginal, and metaphoric senses to engage with this ghost.

RITUAL PRACTICE: Facing your ghosts

What you’ll need: Cozy space and private time. A journal. 2 different colored pens or markers. An offering of food or drink. A candle to light.

• Create a cozy and supportive space to spend some time in

• Create some sort of circle around you in the clockwise direction, to act as a sacred container while you face your ghost (either a physical circle built around you, or an energetic circle you cast) - you can call in spiritual guides or other protection if that is part of your practice as well.

• Take a few moments to breathe, to check in with your body and your heart, and to get centered.

• Then, invite a ghost, known or unknown, to come to the outside of the circle

• Place your food or drink offering in front of your ghost, at the edge of the circle, as an offering for them.

• Close your eyes (or leave them in a soft gaze), and begin to sense into the ghost's presence. Notice what is happening in your body and in your mind's eye: What are the feelings, emotions, textures, images, and stories surrounding this ghost? What do you just know to be true about this ghost of yours? (Let your imaginal realm take hold here and use your intuition).

• Take out your journal, and begin to write with one of the colored pens or markers. Say hello to this ghost. You may want to ask them who they are, where they came from, their story, etc.

• In a different color pen/marker, let the ghost respond through you onto the paper. This process is intuitive, and I can't give you the script of what exactly to say. But the idea is to have a conversation with this ghost, going back and forth between colors to denote which part of you is speaking.

• Let the ghost tell its story, and share what it’s been longing to share (hence the reason for "haunting" you). Honor any emotions that stir inside of you, and let them release and move as they come. You may wish to ask your ghost questions, such as “what do you need” or “how can I support you?”

• When the writing feels complete or like you have come to a place of understanding or resolve, light your candle with a prayer for the healing and wholeness of this ghost within yourself.

• You can sit here as long as you need with your ghost, and with the prayers for healing and integration.

• When you feel complete, undo the circle in the counter-clockwise direction, thank any guides that came to support you, and send them off. Blow out your candle it that feels good, or keep it burning for as long as feels good.

• Nourish yourself: eat some food, drink some water, go for a walk, take a nap, etc.

• Follow through with what the ghost asked of you or needed from you if applicable.

If after this ritual you want to continue unfurling the beautiful layers of self-healing and ritual practices, Call Into Darkness: Deepening Plant Allyship is a deeply healing 6 week journey to guide you, with the support of the plants.

Beginning 11/5/23, each week of this darkest time of the year, you will work with a different plant medicine, getting to know their specific spiritual medicine, and how they support your own healing process.