Journey to meet the Sun: A Free Shamanic Cacao & Drum Ceremony
This ceremony is a little different. I filmed it outdoors, on the beach, in the warmth of the summer sun — no lodge, no candles, no gongs. Instead, my water buffalo drum is the instrument, and the sun itself is the sacred fire. The waves, the sand, the open sky — they are all part of the ceremony too.
We are going somewhere unusual in this journey: not down into the earth, not up to the spirit realm in the usual sense, but all the way out — through the atmosphere, past the moon, past Venus and Mars and Saturn, all the way to the core of the sun itself. And there, at the heart of the fire that gives all life on Earth its existence, we meet Grandfather Sun — or Grandmother Sun, if you are in the southern hemisphere — and ask for whatever we are carrying.
This ceremony works beautifully around the time of the solstice, but you can journey to the sun at any time of year. The sun does not keep seasonal hours. It is always there, always radiating, always ready.
Grandfather Sun, or Grandmother Sun?
In the Mayan tradition and many northern hemisphere cultures, the sun is understood as a masculine energy — Grandfather Sun, a great provider and illuminator, the yang to Mother Earth’s yin. But in some traditions of the southern hemisphere, the sun is experienced as feminine: Grandmother Sun, a matriarchal fire that holds and nurtures all life.
Whichever resonates with you is right for you. I use both in this ceremony, and I invite you to connect with the sun in whatever form feels most alive and meaningful. The spirit is vast enough to be both — and neither, and everything in between.
What the Spirit of the Sun Can Offer You
The sun is a spirit of transformation above all. Fire burns away what is no longer needed. It illuminates what has been hidden in shadow. It fuels new growth and gives life to everything it touches. When we journey to the sun with intention, we can ask it to burn off the old — the patterns, the grief, the stories that have kept us small — and fill that space with its light.
The sun is also a spirit of manifestation. This ceremony was recorded at the new moon — a time traditionally associated with setting intentions and planting seeds. The combination of fire energy and new moon energy is powerful: we release what is spent, and we send our new intentions up into the solar field to be ignited and sent out into the universe.
You might come to this ceremony to let something go. You might come with a new dream to launch. You might simply come open, ready to receive whatever warmth and wisdom the sun wishes to offer. All of these are welcome.
Cacao, Consciousness, and the Sense of Oneness
One of the things I love most about working with ceremonial cacao is the way she dissolves the felt sense of separation. In shamanism and in Buddhism, the idea that we are separate beings — isolated selves in a world of other isolated selves — is understood as an illusion. At the deepest level, we are all one. We are all made of the same light, the same stardust, the same living intelligence that flows through everything.
Mama Cacao helps us to feel that truth rather than just think it. She connects up the neural pathways, creates those ‘aha’ moments of clarity, floods the system with oxytocin and serotonin, and opens the heart chakra so that love can flow both in and out more freely. As someone who is dyslexic, I particularly value the way she weaves my brain into a more coherent whole — she brings my different ways of processing together and makes everything run more smoothly.
In this outdoor ceremony, sitting on a beach with the sun on my skin and the ocean behind me, I could feel the oxytocin working almost immediately. That sensation of being caressed by the breeze, warmed by the sun, held by the earth beneath you — that is Mama Cacao’s medicine amplified by nature herself.
The Water Buffalo Drum
This ceremony uses my water buffalo drum rather than the gongs. The drum is one of the oldest shamanic instruments on Earth — its heartbeat rhythm entrains our brainwaves into the alpha state, the threshold between waking consciousness and the dream. It is also particularly good for releasing: the vibration moves through every cell, loosening what has been held, shaking free what is ready to go.
The water buffalo drum carries its own spirit too — a grounded, earthy, powerful energy that is a beautiful counterpoint to the solar fire we are travelling towards. Earth below, sun above, and the drum keeping the heartbeat steady between them.
The Ceremony: Flying to the Core of the Sun
After cleansing our energy and calling in the seven directions, I guide you into an expanded state of consciousness through the familiar white light visualisation. We expand until we are holding the whole planet in light — and then we draw all the way back in, to that single point of pure white light in the mind’s eye.
Then that light flies out through the crown chakra, up into the sky, and higher. The earth grows smaller beneath you. You pass through the thin blue layer of our atmosphere — how fragile it looks from out here. The stars grow brighter. You pass Grandmother Moon, and then the planets of our solar system appear: Venus, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto — all watching over us as we travel.
The sun comes into view ahead — its oranges and reds and whites, the fire bursting from its surface — and it reaches out and wraps its arms around you, pulling you in closer and closer until you are held at the very core of its light. There, centred in the heart of the sun, you call Grandfather or Grandmother Sun forward, share your intentions, ask for the release or the healing or the illumination you need, and listen for what comes back.
How to Prepare for the Ceremony
Set these two things before we begin:
Your intention — what are you bringing to the sun today? Something to release and burn away? A new intention to launch? Or simply an open heart
Your sacred space — if it is possible to be outdoors, or near a window where sunlight is falling, this ceremony is particularly beautiful in direct contact with the sun
Practically:
Prepare your ceremonial cacao and hold your intention in the cup as you drink — or bring a warm drink of your choice
Use good headphones or speakers — the drum frequencies are deep and the outdoor soundscape is part of the ceremony
Make yourself comfortable, lying down or seated with cushions and a blanket
Have a journal to hand for immediately after the journey
If you feel any emotions moving through — tears, release, warmth, lightness — invite Grandfather Sun to burn and transmute them. That is his gift
Continue Your Journey with Me
The sun is the original teacher of transformation and illumination. However you meet it today — as Grandfather, Grandmother, pure fire, pure light — I hope it burns away what is ready to go and fills you up with exactly what you need.
→ Watch the free ceremony on YouTube
→ Book a one-to-one shamanic healing session
We can heal our world, one heart at a time. Let us begin with our own. 🌿
