By Amanda Moreno

It’s been a while since I’ve done any ‘shamanic’ journeying, so I decided to make a solar eclipse ritual out of it. I think that sometimes people shy away from ritual because they think it needs to be a certain way. I figured I’d take this opportunity to give you a glimpse into my often whimsical process of creating a ritual.

Photo by graywacke/A Landing a Day

In my very simple, often spontaneous method the basic structure of a ritual comprises a beginning, middle and end. Pretty easy, right?

For this one I began by smudging first myself then my space with some sage. I lit some candles, started an oil burner with some essences to promote purification (rosemary, lavender) and easier breathing (fir needle), and then called in some allies from the four (or five…or was it seven?) directions. I then sat and went through a grounding and centering visualization to infuse myself and my space with some grounded cosmic love vibes.

The intention I set for the ritual was for it to promote gentle release of what is not serving me in the area of relationships — being that this New Moon and solar eclipse took place in my 7th house — and for general healing at all levels. During the journeying, which made up the middle of the ritual, I planned on traveling to a place I go sometimes to receive healing from my guides and to do a visualization exercise I call “Walking around my chart.”

I went ahead and put on a drumming track that would loop for about 45 minutes, lay down and closed my eyes, and called on Eagle to bring me to the upper worlds. I ended up at a slightly different spot from where I intended to go, yet one I’m also familiar with. It became clear to me then that ‘purification’ was going to be a somewhat unanticipated theme of the journey as I found myself immersed in water.

Normally at this stage in the game I head towards a waterfall that I know quite well. This time, however, I realized that not only was I compelled to dive deep into the water, I was enjoying the sensation of going with that instinct. The feeling of swimming deeper and then experiencing the buoyancy combined with the pressure of the depths — especially knowing I didn’t have to worry about breathing — brought about a sense of vibrancy at my root and sacral chakras that seemed to undulate through my spine. Soon, a spirit animal friend arrived and we were tossing about in the water together, alive with the sensuality of it, and then rising to the surface to take a swim.

Eventually I redirected myself, remembering my initial goal. Energetic cleansing and re-balancing occurred under the guidance of my guides, and I allowed some kind of releasing process to convene without really understanding what was being let go, but rather trusting the process. I’ve found lately that my ability to trust these things is heightened, a welcome change and something I have been working on for years.

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Finally, I decided to take a little walk around my chart. I visualized my chart spanning out in front of me as if I were standing on the spot where the eclipse was occurring.

I tuned in to my left where, about 90 degrees away, my natal Neptune seemed to be erupting in torrents of fluid fire in a cushion of pure indigo blue. It felt energizing, smooth, and quite sultry and sexy — like a much-needed infusion of a spritely romantic surge — carrying the tones of the 5th house, Sagittarius and Neptune.

It was one of those ‘duh’ moments when I had a full-bodied sense of just how much fire infuses my Piscean 8th house Venus through this square to Neptune, and how boundary-less that energy sometimes wants to be — and for good reason. It feels incredible!

I then walked around to several other key spots in the chart and uncovered some insights there as well; for example, how much more slowly my 4th house Scorpio Moon reveals what is going on with it than that Neptune. I was also able to locate a feeling of friction and crankiness I’ve been experiencing lately, thereby giving me some insight into what area of my chart I can work with to better understand what has been arising there.

I eventually called Eagle back in to take me back to this world, and then to end my ritual I gave thanks, released the directions and washed my hands.

Afterwards I felt a need for calm, for quiet, and for a social media break. It’s amazing to me how these days it seems that sometimes I forget how to do those three things together. Instead of turning on something mindless, I decided to use my post spontaneous eclipse ritual time to write up the experience, just in case it’s of some value to you. Whatever the case, now that we’re officially in it — happy eclipse season!