RITUALS AND SPIRITUALITY

Enacting a ritual removes us from the ordinary flow of life and places us in a sacred space. Rituals roots are in religion, as they act as a bridge between our inner and outer worlds, the sacred and the mundane, the spiritual and the everyday.

This bridge is constructed of the symbolic acts we perform when we enact a ritual. Think of the way the joined palms, fingers pointing upwards towards heaven and the head bowed symbolise communication with the divine power above. At the same time, the action centres the attention, creates a closed loop of the body, draws the person praying inwards to reflection.

Similarily, the ritual action of lighting a candle gives physical expression to inner illumination. A kind of magic is sparked when we create a physical manifestation of inner intention. This acknowledgement of a reality beyond the everyday activates the unconscious and touches our spiritual core.

I can light a candle because I need the light or because the candle represents the light I need - Christina Baldwin