Love Cacao Ceremonialist Course
Welcome, future cacao ceremonialist! It is an honor to have you here. Please start by watching this video, then work through the course below. Take your time, integrate the teachings, and most of all, have fun! Holding cacao ceremonies - whether personally or publicly - for you to ENJOY.
Message from the Spirit of Cacao
Cacao has been used for millennia by the ancients to open their heart and minds. Today is no different. In ceremony, the energy of cacao is intensified by the shaman or facilitator, for deep healing and inspiration. Cacao is used to enhance the energy of the facilitator and open the participant to receive - removing barriers that are normally present. In ceremony, more energy can be moved than on your own.
All ceremonies are different. Create your own ceremony.
Welcome
What is Cacao?
Channeled from the Spirit of Cacao:
Cacao comes from the jungle to bring harmony to the planet. It does this through bringing harmony - internal balance - to each person that consumes it. The world is out of balance, and harmony is to be restored once again.
Cacao is a fruit originally from Central and South America, commonly used to create chocolate. The difference is the processing. When we say "cacao," we refer to unprocessed paste of the cacao bean. The bitter beans are removed from the sweet outer fruit, toasted to remove the shell, and ground into a paste. This paste is then shipped as the final product, which you consume in food or as a drink.
Internally, cacao has many health benefits (natural superfood), but the biggest benefits are energetic. Cacao opens your heart and mind, allowing you to access deep parts of yourself lost long ago. It accelerates healing, creativity, focus, idea flow, and allows you to access areas within yourself you didn't realize we're there. This is how cacao creates harmony within - by opening the heart, accessing deep within, and releasing inner pain and struggle. This allows for creativity and ideas to surface.
All of this starts to happen the moment you interact with Cacao - the moment you take your first sip. Is Cacao a superfood? Yes. Can it create better health? Absolutely. But the real benefits from this medicine are far beyond that. The real benefit is the internal transformation that occurs when you connect fully with the plant and receive her medicine.
By creating an internal shift in each individual, the world returns to harmony once more.
From Keith, the Cacao Shaman:
100% Pure, Ceremonial Grade Cacao makes every endeavor better! Whatever your excitement, Keith’s Cacao will facilitate ease, enhance the experience and bring forth your personal brand of magic!
The powerful nutrition in our cacao produces a sustained boost of energy, lasting several hours, without the inevitable crash associated with other stimulating beverages / foods.
Keith’s Cacao cuts through the mental clutter, enhancing focus and concentration while enabling you to hear your heart, making self-expression, creativity and connection easier and more enjoyable.
And our cacao does all of this while creating a gentle state of euphoria that makes everything seem brighter and more fun!
This powerful superfood, plant medicine has many benefits and uses, some of these include:
Consciousness / SpiritualityWorkplace productivityCreativity and artAthletics and physical trainingHealthy living
Resources:
Ceremonial Cacao Difference
Ceremonial Cacao is different from cacao powder you can buy in health food stores. To start, it is the whole bean, ground down into a paste. It includes the cacao butter, a healthy fat. Cacao powder has been separated from the butter, therefore only includes part of the food.
Ceremonial cacao has the energetic properties mentioned in the previous section, where cacao powder does not. Cacao powder has some of the superfood/health benefits, but it does not facilitate the heart opening and healing properties we desire.
Ceremonial Cacao is minimally processed and infused with love. From the moment of inception, the cacao is grown with one purpose - to hold of energy of ceremony, healing, creativity, and focus. By maintaining the integrity of the plant - keeping all parts of it together (paste vs powder), all the benefits are consumed.
Safety
Cacao is not for everyone. Share the potential harm of ceremonial cacao BEFORE people start drinking it. You don't want someone to leave your ceremony with a headache due to complications with their medications!
Cacao Ceremony vs Cacao Show
About Cacao
Nutrition
Lowers insulin resistance
Protects your nervous system: Cacao is high in resveratrol, a potent antioxidant also found in red wine, known for its ability to cross your blood-brain barrier to help protect your nervous system
Shields nerve cells from damage
Reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease
Reduces your risk of stroke
Reduces blood pressure
Reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease: The antioxidants found in cacao help to maintain healthy levels of Nitric Oxide (NO) in the body. Although NO has heart benefiting qualities, such as relaxing blood vessels and reducing blood pressure, it also produces toxins. The antioxidants in cacao neutralizes these toxins, protecting your heart and preventing against disease.
Guards against toxins: as a potent antioxidant, cacao can repair the damage caused by free radicals and may reduce the risk of certain cancers. In fact cacao contains far more antioxidants per 100g than acai, goji berries and blueberries. Antioxidants are responsible for 10% of the weight of raw cacao.
Boosts your mood: cacao can increase levels of certain neurotransmitters that promote a sense of well-being. And the same brain chemical that is released when we experience deep feelings of love – phenylethylamine – is found in chocolate.
Is rich in minerals: magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese.
Resources with More Information:
Cacao History
From Native-Languages.org:
The cacao plant is a mythologically important one to the Aztec Indians and other indigenous tribes of Mexico. The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent, was believed to have brought the first cacao tree with him from the heavens when he descended from earth. Because of this, cacao beans were associated with wisdom and magical power by the Aztecs, and their chocolate drink, xocolatl, was primarily consumed during tribal ceremonies or prayer, particularly by priests and members of the royal family (who were considered divinities.) Ordinary Aztec people were only likely to taste this special chocolate concoction on their wedding day (when the drink was served to the bride and groom) or at a curing ceremony (where it was given as medicine by a priest.)
Other Mexican tribes, such as the Mayas, viewed chocolate more practically, and Mayan people from all walks of life frequently used it as a food flavoring. Hot and cold chocolate drinks are still extremely popular in many Maya communities today, although modern chocolate drinks tend to be sweet (ancient Mesoamerican chocolate drinks were bitter, like coffee.) During some time periods, cacao beans were so valued that they were even used as a form of currency in ancient Mesoamerica.
Chocolate is one of several food items with a name that comes from a Native American language-- "chocolate" comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec Indian) name for a chocolate drink, xocolatl. The words "cacao" and "cocoa" come from the Nahuatl name for the beans themselves, cacahuatl.
From the World Cocoa Foundation:
Cocoa and other chocolate products are enjoyed by billions of people around the globe, but surprisingly few people know the history of the confection. In fact, cocoa has appeared in different cultures worldwide for hundreds of years. Cocoa was first developed as a crop in many ancient South American cultures, with the Aztecs and Mayans being the most well-known of these indigenous populations. Researchers have found evidence of cocoa-based food dating back several thousand years.
The modern word “chocolate” stems from two words in Nahuatl, the language spoken by many native groups: chocolatl, which translated literally means “hot water,” and cacahuatl, which referred to a bitter beverage made with cocoa that was shared during religious ceremonies. The cacao bean was so significant to the local cultures that it was used as a currency in trade, given to warriors as a post-battle reward, and served at royal feasts.
When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the New World and began the process of invading, colonizing, and ultimately destroying the native cultures, they also discovered the value of the local cacao crop.
However, they brought their own innovation to the appropriated drink—the addition of sugar and spices to sweeten the bitter cocoa. After that point, chocolate became wildly popular amongst the Spanish, who kept the production method a secret from other Europeans for almost 100 years after their discovery.
However, the Spanish could not hold onto their secret forever, and chocolate quickly spread across the rest of western Europe. Chocolate—then still exclusively in the form of a drink—appeared in France, and then England, in royal courts and special “chocolate houses” that served the social elite. Hot chocolate was hailed by the upper classes as both delicious and healthy, and cocoa ultimately gained the reputation of being an aphrodisiac.
The exclusivity of chocolate was ultimately diminished by the onset of the Industrial Revolution, when steam-powered machines made the production of cocoa powder significantly quicker and more affordable. Solid chocolate hit the market and found wild success by 1850, due to the discovery by Joseph Fry that adding cacao butter to the cocoa powder formed a solid mass. Sixty years later, the art of creating chocolate confections with flavored filling—referred to as pralines by their Belgian inventor, Jean Neuhaus II—went public. From there, the chocolate and cocoa industry exploded in popularity and quickly spread around the world. Belgian pralines—commonly known in English as chocolate truffles—were invented in 1912.
Throughout its centuries-long evolution, one factor has remained consistent—cocoa has attracted devotees worldwide. Today, over 4.5 million tons of cocoa beans are consumed annually around the globe, in everything from drinks to candy bars. It’s safe to say that the ancient Mesoamericans who pioneered the crop could never have imagined the popularity cocoa would someday experience.
Prepare Your Cacao
Individual Cacao Prep
Spice Suggestions:
Vanilla
Wild Orange
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Cayenne Pepper
Honey
Cacao for Ceremonies
Remember to bring sweeteners to your ceremonies for your clients to add to their drink! Honey, Agave, Stevia, Monkfruit...
Recipes
You can purchase essential oils at doterra.com. Please note that most essential oil brands and oils are NOT edible. The ones I mention in the video from doTERRA are.
Please submit your favorite recipes to hello@lovecacao.com to share with our Cacao Ceremonialist community!
Creamy Cinnamon Cacao - Nancy Anger
1 1/2 tbsp of cacao
1/3 dropper of vanilla creme stevia
A couple of big shakes of cinnamon
2 - 3 tbsp coconut milk
Things to Avoid
Avoid milk, including nut milk, sugar, or any other processed foods. To maintain the integrity and healing properties, the cacao must be consumed with minimal processing.
Limit foods for 2 hours before consuming cacao, as eating minimizes its heart opening and healing properties.
Consume with integrity and intention. This food is not to get a "high," rather it is to go within.
Holding Ceremonies
Creating Your Own Ceremony
Ceremonies Touch All the Senses
Ceremonies touch ALL the senses
Taste - cacao
Smell - cacao, incenses/sage/copal
Sight - altar, YOU, cacao
Hear - music, guided meditation
Touch - cacao in their hands
Energetically Clearing the Space
Clear the energy using one or more of the following tools:
Smudging - Sage, Copal, Palo Santo, Incense
Sound - drum, singing bowls, chimes
Calling on your Angels and Guides
Violet Flame
Energetically Clearing
And more!
Holding Ceremonial Space
You are the CHANNEL, calling in the energy of the ceremony. You are not alone.
Altars
Create an alter that FEELS good to you. There are no rules. The alter is holding the energy of the ceremony.
You can invite your participants to bring something for the alter if it feels right.
Intention Setting
Intention is everything! Set the intention for the ceremony, as well as allow each participant to set their own intention before drinking their cacao.
Grounding
Ground yourself before the ceremony, and your participants at the end.
Ceremony Flow
Flow of most ceremonies:
Determine Theme
Prepare cacao
Clear energy of the room/space
Create Altar
Open up sacred space - for ceremony
Participants arrive - sit down
Pass out cacao - discuss benefits and risks
Invite participants to call in their guides
Set intention - infuse into cacao
First sip - drink at own pace afterwards
Open discussion or ceremonialist talks - approx 30 minutes so cacao can get into the bloodstream
Activity - guided meditation, healing, sound, yoga, etc - create YOUR own ceremony
Ground the energy
Offer water
Close space - gratitude to Spirit of Cacao, Angels, Guides, Higher Beings
Logistics
Before you arrive at your venue, always ask what they already have, and what you need to bring.
Things to consider:
Cups
Towels/napkins (spills happen)
Spoons
Cacao to drink
Cacao to sell
Email list sign up sheet
Cayenne Pepper
Honey/sweetener
Altar and sacred items
Instruments
Sage/copal/whatever you will use to clear the space
Speaker
Online Ceremonies
Ceremony Ideas
Cacao + Sound
Here are some playlists you can take songs from to include in your ceremony - if you search "Cacao Ceremony" on Spotify you will find a great selection.
If you make a awesome playlist, please feel free to share with me and I'll add it here :)
Intuitive Dance Cacao Ceremony
Instrument Ideas
These are a few instruments that are easy for everyone, even if you are not musically inclined. If you are a sound healer, then I'm sure you already know what to use :)
Chacapa
Rain Stick
Rattle
Cacao + Movement
Yoga, Dance, Stretching... so many ways to move your body and allow the cacao to flow!
Cacao + Meditation
Cacao enhances your meditation, allowing you to go deeper and meditate longer than on your own.
Cacao + Energy Healing
Use energy healing - reiki, theta, etc. - during your ceremonies, either at the group level, or on individuals.
Cacao + Breathwork
Serve cacao before your breathwork ceremonies for a bigger effect.
Cacao + One to One Sessions
Enhance your one-to-one healing or coaching sessions by having your clients drink cacao first. Cacao reduces their resistance, so you can get deeper and create more transformation in a shorter period of time.
Where else?
Cacao can be used in so many ways!
Masterminds, men's/women's groups, Kirtan, festivals, workshops, to name a few.
You don't have to hold a cacao ceremony to benefit from cacao. Anywhere you would like people's hearts and minds to open up, you may serve Cacao!
Attunements
Your Role with Cacao
Listen to the 'Your Role with Cacao' attunement
Directions:
For this attunement, sit in a comfortable seat or lie down on your back. Listen and follow the visualizations if you can. If you don't see anything, don't worry, it is still working. If you fall asleep, it means you are deeply healing and need to sleep to integrate. You may feel tingles or sensations in your body as the energy is moving and releasing.
Set a journal beside you to capture any insights that come up during your journey.
Disclaimer:
Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Release Your Limits
Listen to the 'Release Your Limits' attunement
Directions:
For this attunement, sit in a comfortable seat or lie down on your back. Listen and follow the visualizations if you can. If you don't see anything, don't worry, it is still working. If you fall asleep, it means you are deeply healing and need to sleep to integrate. You may feel tingles or sensations in your body as the energy is moving and releasing.
Set a journal beside you to capture any insights that come up during your journey.
Disclaimer:
Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Sacred Exchange
Listen to the 'Sacred Exchange' attunement
Directions:
For this attunement, sit in a comfortable seat or lie down on your back. Listen and follow the visualizations if you can. If you don't see anything, don't worry, it is still working. If you fall asleep, it means you are deeply healing and need to sleep to integrate. You may feel tingles or sensations in your body as the energy is moving and releasing.
Set a journal beside you to capture any insights that come up during your journey.
Disclaimer:
Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Heal Yourself, Heal Others
Listen to the 'Heal Yourself, Heal Others' attunement
Directions:
For this attunement, sit in a comfortable seat or lie down on your back. Listen and follow the visualizations if you can. If you don't see anything, don't worry, it is still working. If you fall asleep, it means you are deeply healing and need to sleep to integrate. You may feel tingles or sensations in your body as the energy is moving and releasing.
Set a journal beside you to capture any insights that come up during your journey.
Disclaimer:
Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Seeds of Transformation
Listen to the 'Seeds of Transformation' attunement
Directions:
For this attunement, sit in a comfortable seat or lie down on your back. Listen and follow the visualizations if you can. If you don't see anything, don't worry, it is still working. If you fall asleep, it means you are deeply healing and need to sleep to integrate. You may feel tingles or sensations in your body as the energy is moving and releasing.
Set a journal beside you to capture any insights that come up during your journey.
Disclaimer:
Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Create Your Ceremony
Listen to the 'Create Your Ceremony' attunement
Directions:
For this attunement, sit in a comfortable seat or lie down on your back. Listen and follow the visualizations if you can. If you don't see anything, don't worry, it is still working. If you fall asleep, it means you are deeply healing and need to sleep to integrate. You may feel tingles or sensations in your body as the energy is moving and releasing.
Set a journal beside you to capture any insights that come up during your journey.
Disclaimer:
Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Practice!
Morning Ritual
To hold your ceremonies at the highest level, connect with Cacao DAILY. It is the consistent contact with this medicine that creates the relationship and ability to hold space with her.
Practice Your Ceremonies!
Practice helps you feel confident holding the space and charging for your ceremonies. Practice practice practice!
Go to Glow
Smile in your heart to raise your vibration! One of my favorite go-to meditations to raise the frequency of a ceremony, or any time of the day.
On Demand Ceremonies - Examples
Sacred Desire Cacao Ceremony
This ceremony was created for my Magical Money Multiplier course, as a bonus.
Altar:
Prosperity Crystal Grid:
Description (Feel free to use or modify for your ceremonies):
What is a Cacao Ceremony?
Every Cacao Ceremony is different. My ceremonies are focused on receiving healing and insights/clarity about your life and purpose, being shown your next steps, activating your energy to new levels of manifestation and abundance, and of course having fun with it all!
The ceremony includes a guided meditation, group energy healing, and DNA activation to connect with your sacred desire.
What is Cacao?
"An indigenous myth tells us whenever the balance between humans and nature becomes threatened, cacao comes from the rain forest to open people's hearts and return the planet to harmony" - Keith, the Chocolate Shaman
The Mayans believed cacao to be the "Food of the Gods."
Cacao beans are the seeds of the cacao tree, and are used to make chocolate. To do so, the beans are processed, sugar and other ingredients added, and most of the nutritional and energetic properties of the raw cacao is lost. To keep the integrity of the cacao, and receive the benefits in ceremony, we use minimally processed Cacao.
In ceremony, we drink a hot cacao drink to connect with the Spirit of Cacao, your angels and guides, and hold space for healing, insights and transformation. Cacao is a gentle plant medicine. You will not hallucinate or receive any conscious-altering effects. Rather, you will feel your heart open, concentrated, and happy. Sometimes you even feel euphonic! Cacao allows you to focus for several hours at a time and enhances your creativity, so deep transformation can take place.
Where do you get ceremonial grade Cacao?
My favorite Ceremonial Cacao comes from Guatemala. This cacao is prepared by Mayan women in Lake Atitlan, and has a beautifully calm, heart opening effect. You can purchase it here.
Note the difference between ceremonial grade cacao and cocoa or powdered cacao. These lower quality products will not give you the energetic and heart opening benefits of the drink. If you must buy cacao in the store, purchase nibs instead of powder.
How to Prepare Your Cacao Drink
Place 1oz (about 4 tbsp) in the blender with spices of your choice. I enjoy orange essential oils, cardamom, vanilla, or cinnamon. Add sweetener to taste. Add a cup of hot water, blend, and enjoy!
Optional: to receive a bigger effect from the cacao, add cayenne pepper. This helps it get into your bloodstream faster.
Bring the drink with you to our ceremony. It takes about 30 minutes to feel the full effects of the cacao in your body. When we drink it in ceremony, cacao becomes a medicine.
Precautions: If you are currently taking anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, start with a partial cup of cacao. A reaction can occur with the medicine which causes a headache about five hours after consumption. Cacao can cause a slight increase in your heart rate. If you have a heart condition, start with half a glass.
If you don't want to drink the cacao, that is fine! You can still join and receive the benefits. Cacao is always optional.
Sacred Relationships Cacao Ceremony
This ceremony was created for my Collective Consciousness Cleanse course, as a bonus.
Altar:
Description (Feel free to use or modify for your ceremonies):
What is a Cacao Ceremony?
Every Cacao Ceremony is different. My ceremonies are focused on receiving healing and insights/clarity about your life and purpose, being shown your next steps, activating your energy to new levels of manifestation and abundance, and of course having fun with it all!
The ceremony includes a guided meditation, group energy healing, and DNA activation to connect with your sacred desire.
What is Cacao?
"An indigenous myth tells us whenever the balance between humans and nature becomes threatened, cacao comes from the rain forest to open people's hearts and return the planet to harmony" - Keith, the Chocolate Shaman
The Mayans believed cacao to be the "Food of the Gods."
Cacao beans are the seeds of the cacao tree, and are used to make chocolate. To do so, the beans are processed, sugar and other ingredients added, and most of the nutritional and energetic properties of the raw cacao is lost. To keep the integrity of the cacao, and receive the benefits in ceremony, we use minimally processed Cacao.
In ceremony, we drink a hot cacao drink to connect with the Spirit of Cacao, your angels and guides, and hold space for healing, insights and transformation. Cacao is a gentle plant medicine. You will not hallucinate or receive any conscious-altering effects. Rather, you will feel your heart open, concentrated, and happy. Sometimes you even feel euphonic! Cacao allows you to focus for several hours at a time and enhances your creativity, so deep transformation can take place.
Where do you get ceremonial grade Cacao?
My favorite Ceremonial Cacao comes from Guatemala. This cacao is prepared by Mayan women in Lake Atitlan, and has a beautifully calm, heart opening effect. You can purchase it here.
Note the difference between ceremonial grade cacao and cocoa or powdered cacao. These lower quality products will not give you the energetic and heart opening benefits of the drink. If you must buy cacao in the store, purchase nibs instead of powder.
How to Prepare Your Cacao Drink
Place 1oz (about 4 tbsp) in the blender with spices of your choice. I enjoy orange essential oils, cardamom, vanilla, or cinnamon. Add sweetener to taste. Add a cup of hot water, blend, and enjoy!
Optional: to receive a bigger effect from the cacao, add cayenne pepper. This helps it get into your bloodstream faster.
Bring the drink with you to our ceremony. It takes about 30 minutes to feel the full effects of the cacao in your body. When we drink it in ceremony, cacao becomes a medicine.
Precautions: If you are currently taking anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, start with a partial cup of cacao. A reaction can occur with the medicine which causes a headache about five hours after consumption. Cacao can cause a slight increase in your heart rate. If you have a heart condition, start with half a glass.
If you don't want to drink the cacao, that is fine! You can still join and receive the benefits. Cacao is always optional.
Sacred Synchronicity - Wealth Ceremony
This ceremony was created for my Sacred Synchronicity course (one of twelve ceremonies included in the course).
Description (Feel free to use or modify for your ceremonies):
What is a Cacao Ceremony?
Every Cacao Ceremony is different. My ceremonies are focused on receiving healing and insights/clarity about your life and purpose, being shown your next steps, activating your energy to new levels of manifestation and abundance, and of course having fun with it all!
The ceremony includes a guided meditation, group energy healing, and DNA activation to connect with your sacred desire.
What is Cacao?
"An indigenous myth tells us whenever the balance between humans and nature becomes threatened, cacao comes from the rain forest to open people's hearts and return the planet to harmony" - Keith, the Chocolate Shaman
The Mayans believed cacao to be the "Food of the Gods."
Cacao beans are the seeds of the cacao tree, and are used to make chocolate. To do so, the beans are processed, sugar and other ingredients added, and most of the nutritional and energetic properties of the raw cacao is lost. To keep the integrity of the cacao, and receive the benefits in ceremony, we use minimally processed Cacao.
In ceremony, we drink a hot cacao drink to connect with the Spirit of Cacao, your angels and guides, and hold space for healing, insights and transformation. Cacao is a gentle plant medicine. You will not hallucinate or receive any conscious-altering effects. Rather, you will feel your heart open, concentrated, and happy. Sometimes you even feel euphonic! Cacao allows you to focus for several hours at a time and enhances your creativity, so deep transformation can take place.
Where do you get ceremonial grade Cacao?
My favorite Ceremonial Cacao comes from Guatemala. This cacao is prepared by Mayan women in Lake Atitlan, and has a beautifully calm, heart opening effect. You can purchase it here.
Note the difference between ceremonial grade cacao and cocoa or powdered cacao. These lower quality products will not give you the energetic and heart opening benefits of the drink. If you must buy cacao in the store, purchase nibs instead of powder.
How to Prepare Your Cacao Drink
Place 1oz (about 4 tbsp) in the blender with spices of your choice. I enjoy orange essential oils, cardamom, vanilla, or cinnamon. Add sweetener to taste. Add a cup of hot water, blend, and enjoy!
Optional: to receive a bigger effect from the cacao, add cayenne pepper. This helps it get into your bloodstream faster.
Bring the drink with you to our ceremony. It takes about 30 minutes to feel the full effects of the cacao in your body. When we drink it in ceremony, cacao becomes a medicine.
Precautions: If you are currently taking anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, start with a partial cup of cacao. A reaction can occur with the medicine which causes a headache about five hours after consumption. Cacao can cause a slight increase in your heart rate. If you have a heart condition, start with half a glass.
If you don't want to drink the cacao, that is fine! You can still join and receive the benefits. Cacao is always optional.