8 Simple Gratitude Rituals

What does gratitude do for you? It brings a sense of peace within you where there might otherwise be turmoil. Gratitude calms your nerves and makes you right-sized. All of that doesn't happen on its own. Gratitude is a state of being that can be accomplished more readily if you are vigilant about revisiting the gratitude rituals that work for you...and maybe even throwing in some new ones!

Practicing gratitude allows you to realign your roots with the universe. It can aid in manifesting your desires and help to pull you out of catastrophic thinking.  Keep scrolling for eight simple gratitude rituals to add to your practice.

1. Make a Gratitude Box

When we aren't getting what we think we should have, it's easy to lose sight of what we are grateful for. To help with this amnesia, create a Gratitude Box. Every day, put a piece of paper in it and scribble something on it that you are grateful for. In times of need, open your gratitude box and read the slips of paper. When you think you are having a tough day you might pull out a slip from a time when you were grateful for the roof over your head. For me, I know that most of my problems today are “luxury problems.” If I find myself upset that I didn't get a day off from work, I might pull out a slip of paper reminding me that I should be lucky I have such an awesome career in the first place!

2. Play the Appreciation Game

This gratitude ritual comes from Gabby Bernstein who is a goddess of gratitude and manifesting. She recommends playing the appreciation game, based on the idea that it’s good to feel good.

To play this game, “follow the fun” by focusing on what’s thriving in your life. Start to speak out loud a list of all the things you appreciate. This can range from simple physical things like your favorite ring or yoga pants to your amazing career or best friend. Start small and allow the vibration of gratitude to take you deeper and deeper into what’s thriving in your life.

If you get stuck for a moment, return to something you already said! Try to do this for at least 3 to 5 minutes, and afterward notice how you feel.

It can also be really fun to do this with another person or even a whole circle of people. Hold space for another to speak their blessings out loud, and then allow them to hold space for you.

3. Meditate with Mantras to Inspire Gratitude

Incorporate a version of this mantra that resonates with you into your meditation practice: I know the abundance of the Universe flows to and through me, and I receive freely without hesitation. I am so grateful for the abundance in my life, and I know it all comes from you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Gratitude is a muscle, and these rituals will help you flex that muscle so that gratitude becomes part of each day.

4. Ask Your Tarot or Oracle Cards

Try asking one of these questions, and then pulling a tarot card or an oracle card:

• What blessings are available to me now?

• What new blessings are coming my way?

• What am I grateful for in my career, relationships, or personal development?

• How can I express my gratitude towards myself?

• How can I express my gratitude towards others?

• What are the silver linings of challenges I have faced this year?

• How can I continue to create abundance in my life?

Tarot and oracle cards are incredible tools available to you as a mirror for your own inner wisdom. The cards you pull might give you a new perspective on certain situations or people in your life. To learn more about how to get started using tarot, click here. To learn more about using oracle cards, and get a free printable oracle card deck click here.

5. Create a Gratitude Crystal Grid

Invoke gratitude by opening your heart chakra! Gain a heart-based perspective by creating a gratitude crystal grid. Green and pink stones will speak to your heart chakra. They will vibrate love, truth, and compassion. You might choose rose quartz and green kyanite, and harmonize all of the stones with some clear quartz. If you are looking for something special choose a moss agate Merkaba for the center of your grid! You can find out more about crystal grids here.

6. Journal with Crystals for Gratitude

I encourage you to commit to doing this practice for at least ten days, and maybe even every single day. Before you go to bed each night, make a list of 10 things that you were grateful for today. You can use rose quartz to open the heart chakra, petrified wood to ease fear and connect to your deep roots, and tiger eye for balance and harmony as you journal.

What amazing things happened? What is the opportunity that something not-so-amazing may be creating for you? Create a journal specifically for this gratitude practice and flip through it when you feel discouraged to remember how blessed you are.

7. Work with Essential Oils for Gratitude

Part of being grateful is staying grounded. It's planting your roots in what matters, and letting go of everything else. For scents that inspire gratitude, choose earthy oils such as patchouli and cedar. To keep yourself firmly planted in the present try this rollerball blend with your favorite carrier oil (mine is sweet almond oil!!)

• 5 drops patchouli

• 5 drops sandalwood

• 5 drops frankincense

• 5 drops ylang ylang

8. Get Outside

It may be chilly and gray where you live, or maybe it’s beautiful and sunny. Either way, take a walk outside sans cell phone and challenge yourself to be really present. Notice the beautiful things you see. They could be really simple— the shapes of the clouds in the sky, the color of the grass, a crisp leaf on the ground.

Beyond feeling amazing after practicing these rituals, carrying a heart full of gratitude is a great way to usher in a new year! Above all, be kind. Ultimately, gratitude is an action. It's a display of thankfulness.

Closing Year Rune Ritual

Are you energetically ready for the new year? Are the happenings of this year and what’s to come in the new year swirling around your energetic field? The moment December hits I can’t help but start evaluating what went well and what didn't for the year.

The closing out of one year and the beginning of a new year can cause quite the energetic upheaval for sensitive souls like you and me. Good news though, I’ve got some tools to help create meaning and ease the transition.

The first step to starting a new year off is energetically clearing out the current year.

I love to turn to rituals to help make this transition. Rituals are a powerful healing tool. I conduct rituals for almost any significant event or experience in my life. For me, rituals are a way to process emotions or feelings that are overwhelming and stressful.

Think of having a closing year ritual as a way to create an emotional container for all of your feelings around 2016 and the start of 2017.

For this closing year ritual, we’ll break out some of my favorite divination tools, Runes. If you're new to Runes, you can click here to read all about them and get a free printable.  Follow the steps below to join me in a closing year ceremony to clear the slate and prepare you for the energy of the new year.

What You’ll Need

• A candle in the color meaning of your choice

• A sharp tool to carve into the candle

• Runes(optional)

• Paper and pen

• Essential oil (EO) or incense (optional)

• Smoke wand

• Any crystals or other objects that you’re called to include in your ritual

At your altar or quiet area in your home, arrange your items in a way that feels right to you. If you have a favorite EO scent or incense that helps you get centered, then get that started.

Select Your Rune

First, you’ll need to select a Rune symbol that represents 2016 for you. Start by taking three deep breaths, then allow thoughts of 2016 to come into your mind. From here you can intuitively select your Rune if you have a Rune set, or research them and select one that you feel represents 2016 for you. I love this website for learning more about each Rune symbol.

Select Your Candle Color

Once you’ve selected your Rune, you’ll need to select your candle color. The color of your candle should energetically match the meaning of your Rune symbol. Here are quick descriptions of the meanings of each color.  If you're new to candle magick, you can click here to see all our blog posts about candle magick.

• Red - Strength & Passion

• Yellow - Joy & Inspiration

• Blue - Harmony & Communication

• Green - Abundance & Acceptance

• Purple - Transformation & Intuition

• Orange - Creativity & Intellect

• Pink - Love & Friendship

• Black - Grounding & Protection

• White - Unity & Healing

Carve and Light

Using a stylus or sharp object carve your Rune into your candle. Feel free to add any other words or decorations that you feel called to add to your candle carving. Create a space for your Rune candle and light it.

Honor and Release 2016

In this safe space take the time to honor and release the happenings of 2016. Here are a few ideas for honoring and releasing 2016 as you sit in the presence of your Rune candle. You can do as many or as few as you’d like.

• Write a gratitude list about the events of 2016

• Write a list of all the ways the meaning of your Rune showed up for you in 2016.

• Meditate and be witness to what thoughts come up about 2016

• Have an especially difficult year? Cry, scream, let it out.

Closing

Light your smoke wand to clear the energy of the area, thank the Universe for your experience of 2016, and blow out your Rune candle.

Like all rituals that I suggest, take what you like and leave the rest. Rituals are personal, please include anything that would bring meaning to closing out your year.

Next up on the blog, you guessed it, let’s get set up for a 2017 full of love, light, and openness.

3 Ways to Bring Meaning to the Winter Solstice

December 21st will mark the shortest day and the longest night of the year. This sabbat is also known as Yule. I've been anticipating how to best use this time to reflect on my spiritual work and honor the coming of the sun for self-growth. What were some big shifts for you this past year? What do you aspire towards in the seasons to come? Maybe these are questions better left to the night’s sky. And on the longest night of the year, I have a few ways to help you find your answers.

Enjoy this excerpt from “A Celebration of Winter Solstice” from The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr to get you in the right mindset for bringing meaning to the Winter Solstice.

But winter darkness has a positive side to it. As we gather to celebrate the first turn from winter to spring, we are invited to recognize and honor the beauty in the often unwanted season of winter. Let us invite our hearts to be glad for the courage winter proclaims. Let us be grateful for the wisdom winter brings in teaching us about the need for withdrawal as an essential part of renewal. Let us also encourage our spirits as Earth prepares to come forth from this time of withdrawal into a season filled with light.

As you embark on connecting with the Winter Solstice here’s a reflection to keep in mind.

Create Your Solstice Altar

Honor the Triple Goddess with the symbolism of the phases of the moon that represents the Maiden, Mother, and the Crone. As the cycle of the seasons comes full circle, you have experienced all of the faces of the goddess somewhere in your life. Do not forget what each has taught you.

Revisit these lessons by remembering where you have felt wild, abandon, or birthed a creation. Maybe you need to revisit a time of loss. Open your heart up to this life cycle and feel gratitude that you are still standing; that you have survived your darkest days.

Connect by decorating your altar with festive colors. Here’s a guide for bringing Winter Solstice colors into your sacred space.

Dig deep with red.

Red represents your root chakra. Stay grounded and humble with poinsettias, red ribbon, and cranberries.

Find faith with green.

Choose holly leaves or a miniature pine tree. It's said that once upon a time when the days grew short and cold, all of the trees withered in the sun’s absence. The Evergreen trees were the exception to this. They instead had faith in the sun’s return. Because of their faith, the sun rewarded them by allowing them to keep their green leaves all year round. Be like the evergreen, have faith that light will prevail.

Blessed is she who believes.

Stay gold.

“Oh, holy night. The stars are brightly shining.” Add some bling to your altar this solstice to represent growing daylight. Use gilded items to depict the growing sparkle in your heart and happiness in the face of adversity.

Celebrate with a Solstice Eve Ritual

Wear a Crown

On the night of the Winter Solstice, you can wear a holly crown. Holly is said to help soothe feelings of loss while ushering in new life. The red berries on the crown will awaken the root chakra as you dig your roots into the earth to meditate on the seasons of your soul.

Draw a Card

With an Oracle deck in hand meditate beneath the vast night’s sky. Let go of the past, and now see the sky as a blank canvas for your year to come. Next, draw an oracle card that will represent the theme that will inspire the next cycle of seasons in your life.

Light a Flame

Ignite the light within by lighting candles, burning a log, or stringing up lights on your altar. If you burn a log you can save a little to add to next year’s fire for continuity of the solar cycle (save the ashes to use in charm bags for protection).

I stopped looking for the light. I decided to become it instead.

Gather with Family

Spend this solstice with your family and friends. On the longest night of the year, you’ll have plenty of time for feasting, playing games, telling stories, and hopefully lots of good belly laughs! Stay warm and cheery in the wee hours of the night (and maybe until dawn) with this festive brew!

Wassail Recipe

• 1-gallon apple cider

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1 chopped apple

• 3 oz brown sugar

Bring cider to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and add spices. Stir until spices dissolve. Add chopped apple and brown sugar. Cook for another 10 minutes over low heat. Optionally, you can add sherry, brandy, or ale to this beverage for some extra warmth!

The light is coming, but until then, enjoy and reflect in the dark spaces. Soak up the love and gratitude from your family and friends and enjoy a warm cup of Wassail! Find more rituals for the Winter Solstice here.

DIY Wintertime Self-Care

Are you ready to take on winter like a glowing goddess? Despite all of its beauty, winter brings with it some blustery weather that will surely sap your skin dry. And let's not forget all the wintertime illnesses that linger in the air.No worries though, I've dug up some delicious DIYs to carry you through this winter season! Bonus, they make perfect handmade gifts.

Evergreen Lip Balm

Our super sensitive puckers are left on their own to brave the elements. Smooth, shine, and refresh your lips with this grounding lip balm!

Supplies

• lip balm tin

• double boiler (or a glass bowl fit into a saucepan)

• grated beeswax

• virgin organic coconut oil

• organic raw honey

• vitamin E capsules

• toothpick

• your favorite evergreen EO (mine is Plant Guru’s “Deep Forest”)

How To

Add 1 TBSP beeswax to double boiler at low heat. When halfway melted add in 1 TBSP coconut oil. Melt together, then add 2 vitamin E capsules or ½ tsp. Remove from heat and quickly mix in-dash of honey and a few drops EO. Add mixture to the tin container before it solidifies. In order to keep ingredients from separating, continue to stir with a toothpick until the mixture is more solid.

Benefits

Beeswax is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and full of antioxidants. Heals damaged skin and protects against UV rays. Locks in moisture, soothes dryness, contains vitamin A for healthy cell development.

Coconut oil contains lauric acid that dives deep into the skin barrier to relieve inflammation.

Honey sucks moisture from the air and locks it into your skin, a natural exfoliant, heals, nourishes, protects.

Vitamin E fights off free radicals, softens skin.

Evergreen is a grounding scent that promotes harmony and clarity.

Vanilla Bean Body Oil

This sensual body spray is my new favorite. It smells heavenly and its added health benefits make it a cold-weather must-have.

Supplies

• glass spray bottle

• macadamia nut oil

• sweet almond oil

• 2 organic vanilla beans

• vanilla essential oil (optional)

How To

Combine equal parts macadamia nut oil and sweet almond oil into your glass spray bottle. Cut vanilla beans in half (lengthwise) and add to oil. The vanilla beans can take some time to infuse with the oils. For instant aroma add a few drops of vanilla essential oil. Spritz the oil on after your shower to seal in moisture! Once you’ve used up the oil, salvage the vanilla seeds and use them as a facial exfoliant or add to a body scrub!

Benefits

Macadamia nut oil is lightweight, reduces itching and inflammation; linoleic fatty acid helps skin retain moisture.

Sweet almond oil has 200% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin E, packed full of antioxidants that help protect against UV damage, contains vitamin A that can help prevent acne, helps with psoriasis and eczema.

Vanilla anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, contains antioxidants, packed with vitamin B for healthy skin! The scent of vanilla is said to promote feelings of well being, and the Mayans even believed it to be an aphrodisiac!

Homemade Honey Cough Syrup

Every year, I think I'm in the clear. And then...it hits me! Bam! That first cough/cold combo of the season is bound to happen. Whip up a batch of this cough syrup while you’re feeling good so you can tackle that sickness with a vengeance when it comes your way. You can even start taking some now as a preventative! This recipe will stay good for a few weeks when stored in a cool and dry environment.

Supplies

• raw or manuka honey

• ground ginger (fresh or dried)

• ground black pepper

• lemon

• ground thyme (fresh or dried)

• water

• mixing bowl

• mason jar with lid

How To

Mix 10 TBSP honey with 4 TBSP warm water. Stir in 1 ½ tsp each of thyme, ginger, and pepper. Squeeze in the juice of ½ of a lemon. Mix together thoroughly. Store in a sealed container.

Benefits

Honey coats irritated membranes with its strong antibacterial properties.

Ginger is a natural expectorant, anti-inflammatory, and helps sweat toxins out of the body; antiviral.

Lemon is super immune-boosting packed with vitamin C.

Black pepper is antibacterial, packed with vitamin C and antioxidants, and helps loosen phlegm when used with honey.

Thyme opens and relaxes airways, reduces inflammation.

Now you’re ready to take on wintertime like a glowing goddess. I hope you enjoy these blends as much as I have! Do you have a favorite winter self-care recipe? I’d love to hear about it, feel free to contact us.

3 Healing DIY Herbal Tea Blends

Is coffee your main squeeze? Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to convince you to give up your morning caffeine! Coffee drinker or not you can still enjoy the magic of herbal teas, and I’ve got some good reasons why you’ll want to add them to your healing arsenal.

This one is for my novice and veteran tea drinkers alike!

I'm going to tap into tea’s magical powers and present you with a list to create your own fusion and 3 of my favorite recipes! Caffeine doesn’t agree with my body so I enjoy multiple cups a day of herbal tea. The varieties of herbal blends are endless, but my favorite part is that each blend comes with multiple healing benefits.

Tea really is a gift from some ethereal being. After all, legend has it that the second emperor of China discovered tea when some tea leaves mysteriously blew into his pot of boiling water. Today, you can elaborate on this otherworldly brew by picking herbs to tailor-make your special blend.

The Herbal Lineup

Here are a few of my favorite common herbs to give you some ideas on your path to becoming a tea blending guru!

Ginger: digestive issues, nausea, colds, immune booster, improves diabetes, reduces inflammation

Chamomile: helps prevent illness, helps heal bacterial infections, calms muscle spasms including menstrual and digestive cramps, soothes the nervous system for decreased feelings of anxiety and improved sleep, promotes clear skin

Rose Buds: flushes toxins from the body, immune booster, improves digestion and blood flow, improves skin elasticity, helps with menstrual cramping and stress

Peppermint: fever reducer, soothes nausea and stomach pain, opens airways, appetite suppressant, stimulates the mind

Elderberry: immune booster, contains fiber for gut health, heart health, improves and prevents diabetes, reduces joint pain, slows aging of the skin

Raspberry Leaf: amazing for women, uterine tonic, antioxidant, protects against cancer, improves circulation

Hibiscus: blood pressure management, liver protection, lowers cholesterol, thirst-quenching, can help with weight loss, tastes amazing!

Echinacea: immune booster, anti-inflammatory, pain reliever, mental health, improves skin, fights infection

Lemongrass: cleansing and detoxifying, can reduce arthritis pain, antimicrobial, antioxidants

3 Healing Herbal Tea Recipes

If you want to create blends that you can premix and keep on your shelves you’ll want to use all dried herbs for each ingredient. Some of these herbs can be used fresh, you just won’t be able to save them.

Goddess Tea Blend

A goddess inspired floral fusion! Package this one in a mason jar and tie it up with a big pink bow before gifting it to your bestie. Include:

• rosebuds

• chamomile

• red raspberry leaf

• orange peel

• hibiscus

• honey or stevia (optional)

Immune Booster Blend

Here's an immune booster you’ll want to keep handy this winter. Store this one in an airtight container with your other natural remedies for warding off illness. Include:

• elderberries

• echinacea leaf

• lemongrass

• ginger to taste

• honey or stevia (optional)

Cacao Peppermint Dessert Tea

Calm the spirit and enliven the mind with this delicious dessert blend! Serve it up with cream and raw honey at your next dinner party. Include:

• peppermint

• cacao nibs

• dried coconut

• cinnamon to taste

• milk substitute (optional)

• honey (optional)

Brewing Instructions

Mix equal parts of each of the herbs, place in your favorite herbal tea bag or infuser, pour hot water over the herbs, maybe even drop a crystal in your glass for an amped up elixir, cover with a lid or plate as the herbs infuse into your water, wait 5-10 minutes, remove your tea infuser, enjoy!

Have a favorite herbal blend? I’d love to hear about it!

3 Anxiety Reducing Tips for the Holidays or Post Election

Do you sense it? That palpable feeling of uncertainty, anger, and anxiety in the air?

I intended to share this blog post closer to the holidays, but hey, I think we might all need it now and the holidays really aren’t too far away!

If you’ve been sitting in a combination of befuddlement, anger, and anxiety over the last few days, like me, you might be getting to the point where you’re asking yourself, “what now?”

Well, I might not have the big answers for you but I do have 3 quick tips for reducing your anxiety, which will hopefully give you the tools you need to answer, “what now?”, for yourself.

Not only can lingering feelings of anger and anxiety make it hard to move forward, but they can also seep out onto others and wreak havoc within your body. Here are 3 of my favorite go-to’s to help heal mind, body, and soul during intense times of anger and anxiety.

Golden Milk Latte

Turmeric is the main ingredient in golden milk (I could write a whole post just about the health benefits of turmeric alone) but I’ll save that for another day! Studies have shown turmeric to help with inflammation, depression, and anxiety.

This recipe has quickly become my favorite anxiety soothing beverage. Bonus, it’s delicious. Move out of the way pumpkin spice!

Golden Milk Latte Recipe

• 1 tsp of golden milk powder

• 2 cups of coconut milk or your favorite milk substitute

• Honey to taste

• Heat your milk substitute on the stove, whisk in your golden milk powder, and add honeyto taste.

Gold milk powder ingredients will vary, though my favorite blends include ashwagandha root. Ashwagandha root is an adaptogenic herb that is also helpful with combating anxiety. If you’re live in Phoenix, I purchase my gold milk powder locally from Strawberry Hedgehog Soap shop (available in her store only) but you can also purchase it here.

Have turmeric at home and want your soothing beverage now? Not a problem, add 1 tsp. of turmeric to your milk substitute then blend in some cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom, to taste.

Earthing: Get Grounded

Have you had a hamster wheel of thoughts and emotions cycling through your head over the last few days? It’s to be expected, anger and anxiety often come with a whirling array of constant thoughts that can be hard to silence.

Getting a big dose of grounding energy is a great way to help silence the mental chatter and may even lower your cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

There are countless ways to invite grounding energy in, but sometimes the simplest are the most healing. Have you heard of Earthing before? It’s the idea that you can be healed from the Earth and there’s actually some science behind it too. A recent study indicates that skin contact with the earth can actually lower cortisol levels.

When I was dealing with the anger and sadness of the loss of my Grandma and Father last year, I had a strong desire to lean on trees and lie on the ground. It was strange and I didn’t know why it was happening, but I went with it. After learning more about Earthing it makes sense, and now I listen to those gut instincts and get in some grounding time when I need it.

I know it might be getting cold where you are, and sometimes it’s too hot here in the desert. My second grounding go-to is an earthy essential oil, it’s not quite the same but it can help in a pinch!

Anxiety Tea Bath

The power of a bath is often overlooked but your skin is your largest organ! Can you think of a more relaxing way to get in your favorite calming herbs? With open pores from warm water, your body can soak up the healing powers of herbs quickly.

Think of this as making a giant cup of tea for your body. Many herbalists actually prefer this method for administering herbs. Here’s one of my favorite recipes from Rosemary Gladstar’s book Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health.

Mix these herbs into a muslin cloth bag or a cotton cloth that you can tie a knot in one end. Tie or wrap the bag of herbs around your faucet so the running water runs through the herbs.

• 2 parts chamomile

• 2 parts lavender

• 2 parts roses

• 1 part comfrey leaf

• I love to add in some Epsom salt and essential oils to the mix for the ultimate calming bath.

Will any of these tips heal the world? Nope. I simply want to offer you some of my favorite tools when sometimes taking any action to move forward seems difficult. There is much work to be done here on this Earth plane, and I don’t want you or me to be a ball of angry anxiety as we embark on it!

Have a favorite de-stressing tip? I’d love to hear it, feel free to send me a DM!