Ceremonial Cacao Recipe

Welcome to the Full Moon in Scorpio 2021! I will be celebrating this Super Moon with a cacao ceremony, co-hosting with a dear sister of mine. We will gather together with a bunch of friends, sharing intentions, conversing about the cosmos, dancing on the beach under the moonlight, sweating in a volcanic temezcal, and eating dinner by a bonfire on the Pacific coastline of Nicaragua.

Hosting your own cacao ceremony is deeply nourishing and fun. I share all about how to host one yourself, as well as the history of cacao and its benefits on a physical and spiritual level. You can read all about it here! I recommend making your own cup of cacao using this recipe below whilst you read it.

For this vegan ceremonial cacao recipe, like most of my recipes, I don’t give exact ingredients. This is because when I work with food, I approach each meal with intuition and a beginner’s mind; this approach has been helpful for my eating disorder recovery. The practice of following intuition rather than sticking to rules, especially when it comes to creating potions like cacao, means that we end up creating the exact medicine that is needed. The body is different from day to day, and so when we follow our inner guidance, we end up giving ourselves what we are truly needing for our well-being at that time.

Medicine is intelligent, and works in ways that are unique to each person and their own body. Cacao, like all plant medicines, know where she needs to go. She understands what needs to be brought to the surface, amplified, seen to, and released.

There is more to creating a magic potion of ceremonial cacao than just the ingredients. Music, purification techniques, gratitude, and intention setting are suggested when making your cacao.

1. Certain sound frequencies can amplify the potency of the cacao, and so I recommend playing medicine songs, songs with uplifting lyrics, mantras and any song that makes you feel good in your heart and soul. Sing along while you make you ceremonial cacao. Sing to the cacao directly! She will sing back. If you would like to follow some of my own playlists, you can head to my Spotify account for music inspiration.

2. Smudge like palo santo, sage or any smoke wand that carries the resonance of clearing and purifying the energy field for you, is useful to include. You can clear the space by lighting your herbal/floral smudge stick of choice, asking for the room to be cleared of all negative energies in order to allow the spirit of cacao to be well and truly present, free from obstacles. You can also use this time to clear your own auric field so that you are clear and focused for the medicine.

3. Speaking to the cacao is an honourable gesture and a way to build a relationship with the plant. After all, you are ingesting the medicine and so it is a good idea to get to know the plant spirit beforehand - and of course to continue building this relationship outside of drinking. You can thank the cacao for her medicine, and for her presence in your life. You can thank all of the elements, and the many hands and technologies it took in creating the very cacao you have in your hands. You can ask what the medicine herself may be needing and how best you can support her.

4. Finally, infuse your intentions into the cacao. Set your intentions by speaking them out loud and imagining them swirling in the medicine. When you finally drink your ceremonial cacao, you are literally absorbing your words of prayer and intention into your body, and bringing them closer to manifestation. Intention setting ideas can be around what do you want to call in and what can you put down. You can state things like: I want to feel more flow. I want to feel grounded in my own resilience and empowerment. I want release and surrender without judgement to the grace of the Divine. I want connect to my Higher Self (or Source), remaining open to and trusting its guidance.

And so, with all of this in mind, I encourage you to create your own ceremonial cacao drink and see where the medicine takes you!

PS: if you would like to add some more comic delight to your cacao, you can follow my magic mushroom chocolate recipe here.

I would love to hear more about your cacao journey, so feel free to reach out to me anytime by commenting below or popping me a DM on Instagram, at @francescaeatsroses.

ingredients

500g 100% raw cacao

A big pot of water

1 can coconut milk

A few Tbsp maple syrup

A few drops vanilla essence

Pinch of salt

A small knob of fresh ginger, finely grated (optional: use powdered form)

A small knob of fresh turmeric, finely grated (optional: use powdered form)

Optional Extras: sesame oil, chili flakes, cashew butter, cacao butter

method

1. Put on your favourite medicine music. Sage. Give thanks. Set your intentions.

2. Thinly slice the raw cacao.

3. Boil water in a big pot. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer.

4. Add the cacao to the water, melt the cacao slowly. Stir a few times. Watch as the cacao melts and dissolves with the water.

5. Add the coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla essence, salt, ginger and turmeric. You can add anything else your heart desires (see Optional Extras for ideas). Continue stirring slowly and occasionally.

6. Taste and adjust by adding more of something. To thicken it up, add more cacao or cashew butter. To make it more liquid, add more water. Serve warm.

PS: If you wanting to get your groove on for this Full Moon, I have created a number of guided dance meditations with my sister, including one for Scorpio season which works well for this Full Moon. You can check out our guided movement and sound journeys here. We go under the name, your gf.

Join our guided dance meditation for the Scorpio Full Moon

Photos by Sigmund, Viacheslav Bublyk and Ly Le Minh on Unsplash