RITUALS

About Cassandra Gemmell of Ritualhaus Healing in London Ontario

Mama, massage practitioner, witch, kitchen dancer, sex positive spiritual baddass

‘Infusing my world of witchcraft into the business of massage has given me the creative freedom to take my professional training into a liminal space of my making. Where massage meets magic, science meets spirituality, and the rules are irrelevant.’

THE SWEET SPOT

I sat down at my computer today to write this profound intro, an inspiring piece for the masses. Something equal parts spiritual baddie, wise, but still edgy, hilarious, sexy even.

Wanting so badly to connect with people, but in all the right ways and check off all the right boxes.

When I started my career as a spiritual baddie I thought I had to check off all the right boxes, training by a shaman, a cool aesthetic, write a blog post that read like calligraphy, a song, essentially walk on water.

I was just a regular single mom, riddled with trauma and anxiety, wanting to heal, and help others along my journey. So that’s what I set out to do, but not with my aesthetic (hello flannel doesn’t scream let me heal your soul), not with messages of love and light, but with realness, rawness, a humanness that lets the mess and the depth of emotion have an important presence.

The sweet spot is somewhere between the mess, the dark parts we don’t speak of, and tools we use to heal.

Stick around, it’s about great really good and messy

RITUALS

Rituals vary, in complexity, intensity, time and intention, different from person to person. There are no real rules, this is a space for you, your wants and needs and feeling into however you need to get those met.

Don’t be afraid to get creative!

Physical practice opens up the body, releases the stress laying dormant within the tissues and makes space for the emotional and spiritual practise to take place. Physical practise can mean any kind of movement that resonates with you. Lifting heavy, yoga, dancing, literally dropping it like we did in the club in the early 2000’s, now in the kitchen while we make school lunches.

Our physical practise can lend an opportunity to clear our energy and open the channels for any messages we may need to receive at this time. If you are looking for a starting point, a way or a day to begin, now is as good of a time as any!

Start small and choose a couple of things that are a priority to you to dedicate your time to. Perhaps it could be a shower, a yoga practise, journaling, lighting a candle and speaking your intentions for the day out loud, or something you enjoy doing that sparks joy.

My morning ritual consists of starting the kettle for tea (or coffee maker!), lighting my favourite incense, turning on music that fills my soul (lately a mix of local hardcore bands I loved in college or 90’s hip hop) and move my feet. I take at least 10 minutes every morning to sip my tea, drop this ass, breath in the clarity and dance out any stale energy.

Starting my morning with such clarity and unfiltered joy is a beautiful way to continually make space to release and rebuild.

COMING HOME

‘As I watched the gnarled edges of paper, on it written my words of my pain, ebb and flow in the wind, much like the dance of my own weakness and strength, slowly crumble, I too wished to fall to the floor, relief I’d not feel that pain anymore. ‘ -Cass circa 2019

Written several years ago, what feels like a lifetime. My decision to commit to myself, my own happiness and process of self discovery, initially felt selfish, as a single mom you get accustomed to giving everything of yourself to the point of depleting yourself to an unhealthy level.

This moment, those words, it was my beginning. The recognition of self, facing my own faults, insecurities and emotional cycles. This was my checkin point, where was I? Where am I now? Where am I headed?

How do you check in with yourself?

Today I needed to remember who I am and how far I’ve come.

Sometimes the lessons are so damn obvious we look right passed them. Doing a deep, for what seems like an eternal (but really one very long winter) dive into my trauma, I have spent a lot of time walking around continually triggered.

While I am certain I have excellent coping skills, to now view each person solely based on my experiences with them, differentiate past emotions vs current ones, and have damn good boundaries, I am le tired.

Tired of walking a new and still strange path of self worth.

Today I was reminded of the basics.

After vivid dreams of dogs, coyotes, wolves, being called to the spirit of a coyote rib, a new little friend in the shop, and some epically timed howling of a pack of wolves during a tune ( ok ok I’m listening!!!) I am reminded of my first guided journey.

In that liminal space was when I met a fury face, cold wet nose, piercing blue eyes. The face of a gentle, loving and fierce protector.

Today I was reminded to come back to myself, my allies, my spirit guides, call in my circle of protection to carry me through this frigid chapter.

Lean on them so that you may lean in.

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