PODCAST · society
Ritual Recipes
by Zita Christian
A podcast that celebrates the milestones of life and the cycles of nature, one ritual at a time. Are you a woo-woo woman? Getting married? Having a baby? Launching a project? Dissolving a relationship? Mourning a loved one? I have a ritual for that. Ready to align your spirit to the seasons and celebrate holidays without the commercial angle? I have a ritual for that. As a ritualist, certified Life-Cycle Celebrant and Connecticut wedding officiant, I draw from 20 years of experience in both public and private ceremonies. Sharing what I know is like sharing a recipe -- a Ritual Recipe.
Episodes
-
Sacred Cacao Rituals with Ceremonial Cacao Maker Dina Valentini
We're familiar with the image of a cold, snowy night with friends gathered around a fireplace laughing, telling stories, everyone enjoying a mug of hot chocolate, maybe with marshmallows. What might we be doing if our mugs were filled with cacao? A ritual? Yes! For more than 5 years, Dina…
more -
Summer Solstice - A Ritual Inspired by My Dying Husband
Whatever spiritual path we follow, whether we follow any path, we're far more alike than different. We all understand the importance of hard work and the value of sacrifice. We know how good it can feel to finally lay a burden down. We know how it feels to give or receive comfort. We know what it...
-
The Charming of the Plow - A Norse Winter Festival to Honor the Dwarves and Prep Your Tools
Are you an artisan, a craftsperson, a maker? It's February. It's time to affirm your faith in your talent, prepare your tools, and get to work on your big dream. If you lived in the Old World in the land of the Norse, you'd be preparing your iron plow. You'd be honoring the Dwarves whose skill…
more -
Hope and the Parliament of the World's Religions
After 2 challenging years, I found hope attending the virtual conference of the Parliament of the World's Religions. Its 1893 conference is considered the beginning of the interfaith movement. The Oct 2021 conference offered 583 programs, panel discussions, religious ceremonies and spiritual...
-
A Thanksgiving Ritual for Your Home
Think of your home as a living entity. A simple gratitude ritual can change your perspective on what your home really means. Your walls provide structure, shelter, and a sense of security. The floor supports you and keeps you grounded. Running water helps you get in touch with deep emotions. This...
-
Self-Care Rituals When Your Spouse Has Dementia
My husband and I have been married for 40 years. He has Alzheimer's Disease. Late stage. I'm his full-time caregiver. I'm fortunate to have a social worker on our medical team, and to be a member of an online dementia support group. Still, there are potholes in the emotional road we're traveling....
-
Everything Happens for a Reason - A Folktale
Imagine the story of your life. What happens to you after, "Once upon a time"? The ancient folktale of Fatima the Spinner is reimagined to support a woman's right to choose. Let it inspire your own story. The Power of Your Warp & Weft, a workshop designed by author and professional weaver Paula...
-
The Wedding Ceremony Arch
What does a wedding arch have to do with a king's scepter, a flag planted on the moon, and a Thomas Kincaid painting? Weddings are filled with symbolism. One that has been lost over the years is the original meaning of the ceremony arch. Hint: The meaning can be found in the night sky and the...
-
Yemaya and Victims of the Middle Passage
Yemaya, the Yoruba orisha, the Mother of All, is associated with cowrie shells, symbols of fertility, prosperity, and a woman's voice. This episode offers rituals using various shells, and a ceremonial ritual to discover your authentic self. Learn about the millions of Africans who died crossing...
-
Sedna, a Ritual for the Inuit Goddess of the Arctic Ocean
In the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, we find the Inuit goddess Sedna. There are several versions of her origin story, each one horrific. At the heart of each is the theme of betrayal. The rituals I created for Sedna are designed to help us reframe childhood beliefs, especially those beliefs...
-
Beach Wedding Rituals - The Language of Shells
Getting married at the beach? Mother Nature always leaves messages for us. Unfortunately, we don't always know how to read them. What messages can you find in seashells? The answers are important if you're having a beach wedding. Resources mentioned: Ocean Oracle: What Seashells Reveal about Our...
-
Rituals to Renew Your Wedding Vows
Renewing your wedding vows can be a powerful ceremony You'll remember the happiest times in your marriage. You'll also remember the most painful. This episode offers two vow renewal rituals. One of them, The Growing Flame, can easily be adapted for any personal vow you make to yourself.
-
The 7 Hills of Rome Wedding Ritual
Did you fall in love in Paris? Or Podunk? Use that info to personalize your wedding ceremony. Use that same info to create a ritual for a birthday or retirement party. Use it for a student who is leaving home to study abroad. As often happens, this ritual was inspired by one of "my" couples…
more -
Is Your Child Leaving Home?
Imagine that you're a parent and your child is leaving home for college, or for a job, or some other grand adventure. You've equipped your son or daughter with all the necessities and you're excited to see your child take those first big steps away from home. But something doesn't feel right.…
more -
Spiritual Medicine of the Hawk and Falcon
The falcon is the consummate hunter. It teaches us how to make progress by blending speed and focus. The falcon wants you to see beyond your limits. The hawk's medicine is inward and deep. It wants you to see your life from a broad perspective and let go of unnecessary baggage. The hawk awakens…
more -
Owl Medicine for the Spirit
Imagine an owl. Did you feel a sense of apprehension or foreboding? No surprise. Owls have long been associated with death. Or, did you picture Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig? Beliefs about owls are contradictory because the owl is the symbol of death, and wisdom, and magic. At the heart of owl...
-
Eagle Medicine for the Spirit
Central to all birds of prey is their association with death and the cycle of life. This episode is the first in a series of how birds of prey can inspire rituals for a variety of situations: funerals and memorials, projects that require focus or the ability to see the big picture, and life…
more -
Rituals for Podcasters, Speakers & Storytellers
Discover your secret sound. Take a lesson from crows about adapting, from parrots about diplomacy, and from dolphins about communicating with other species. Build an altar to the element of air. Visit RitualRecipes.net for more details.
-
Rituals for Writers
To a writer, the blank screen can be exciting or daunting. Find helpful rituals with magic pens, stones, and draw on the special qualities of lions, ants, cardinals, and whales. This episode also looks back in history at cultural changes brought about centuries ago by the Black Death, the…
more -
Home Funerals
Did your grandmother's house have a parlor that was used to care for the dead? Mine did. When the time comes, which do you want: a funeral home or a home funeral? Burial or cremation? Fancy casket or cardboard box? Ashes in an urn or scattered someplace special? Who have you talked to about what...
-
Divorce: Funerals for the Death of a Marriage
Most couples don't get married expecting to get divorced. But when a marriage is dissolved, can ritual help the couple move on? Rocky Road is a marriage maintenance ritual. Untying the Knot is a funeral ritual for the death of a marriage. As heretical as it might sound, I don't believe that all...
-
Funerals for Pets
Over 11 million dogs and cats die in the United States every year. Because of the close bond people have with their pets, the people are often referred to as "pet parents." So, what do we do when a beloved pet dies? How do we celebrate the life that gave unconditional love? The first pet cemetery...
-
Croning - A Ritual to Celebrate Aging
She's a woman of "a certain age." Our culture thinks those words are better than saying "she's old." Well, I'm a woman of a certain age. I'm certain of who I am, certain of what I want, and certain of what I have to offer the world. I'm 72 and I'm a Crone. I claimed that title in a ritual called...
-
Colored - A Black Lives Matter Ritual
At 9 years old, I didn't care that my mother wasn't funny like Lucille Ball, or that she didn't wear circle skirts and twirl around the house like Loretta Young, or that she was no longer pretty like Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke. I wanted my mother to be brave, like Annie Oakley. Not long after Rosa...
-
Fairies - How I See Them
Do you believe in fairies? I do, but not in the way you might expect. My childhood ideas have changed. Now I think of fairies as thought forms of good energy -- helpful spirits, invisible, accessible. Hear about Ho Hsien Ku, "the immortal woman," one of the 8 fairies in the Chinese legend. Learn...
-
Love Knots - A Wedding Ritual
Long ago, when sailors navigated by the stars, when seabirds carried the spirits of sailors lost at sea, and when everyone knew that the bust of a naked woman on the bow of a ship would calm rough waters, a sailor would carry a cord with three knots. Bound in each was the wind itself. Inspired by...
-
A Gathering of Ancestors
The power of this ritual comes from exploring the past, getting to know your ancestors and what they might have survived -- plagues, natural disasters, persecutions, wars, genocide. Whether or not you know who is on your family tree, they existed. You're the living proof. What do they have to…
more -
Spanish Flu and Covid 19
Why was the death toll in the Spanish Flu of 1918 so high? Why were the details not shared with the public? Why were Black doctors and nurses so key to the survival rates of Americans not serving in WWI? Zita Christian interviews retired Connecticut state senator and history professor Mary Ann...
-
Key to My Heart Wedding Ritual
All over the world, the presence of a key indicates there's something to protect. When you love someone, you trust them with a metaphorical key to your heart. Based on this understanding, I created a ritual called "The Key to My Heart." As part of a wedding ceremony, this ritual acknowledges how...
-
Maiden Mother Crone
Every Maiden isn't young. Every Mother doesn't have a child. Every Crone isn't old. What distinguishes the three is not age, but energy. Let me show you how the three faces of the Goddess can be used in a group ritual for your Moon Circle, or as a ritual you can do by yourself. If you don't have...
-
Interfaith Weddings, Chuppahs, Royal Stars of Persia
Long before organized religion, people found meaning in the stars. People saw the night sky as a canopy with four corners watched over by four bright stars: Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares, and Fomalhaut. In time, those watchers became royal stars, and those stars became archangels: Michael, Raphael,...
-
Winter Solstice Messages from the Trees
Trees shape the mythology of cultures all over the world. Trees show us where the fairies live. Just as the forest is the place where untried heroes are transformed, we, too, can be both lost and found among the trees. That's because trees have messages for us, if we'll just listen. I offered 14…
more -
The Wedding Ritual of Circling
The Game of Thrones Season 1 relationship between Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen reveals the Venus-Mars energy in the wedding ritual of Circling. The ritual can also be used in a vow renewal celebration. Once you understand the power of the Moon, the Circling ritual isn't as patriarchal as it...
-
An Abundance Ritual for Thanksgiving and Beyond
When life feels anything but abundant, sometimes the smallest gesture can transform that feeling. That's a lesson I learned from my daughter when she was a teenager working at a candy counter. She wasn't the only employee selling gourmet jelly beans that day. I watched as customers politely...
-
Why Carry A Bouquet
A pregnant bride in her early thirties didn't want to carry a bouquet and asked me if she had to. I assured her there were no requirements that she carry flowers. I also explained why she might want to reconsider her decision.
-
Funeral and Memorial Rituals
In August of 2008, I was one of six women gathered on Cape Cod, laptops in tow, to work on a manuscript begun by our friend Liz Aleshire. At the time, Liz was in the cardiac ICU unit of Hartford Hospital. Liz was a multipublished author. This latest book was to be a tribute to her son who had…
more -
The Making of a Medicine Woman
For years, "Grandmother Mechi" Garza had been channeling a spirit entity named Lothar. In her dreams, he dictated 12 volumes of information and a type of healing called "Kolamni." He said the knowledge would save our world from the destruction of his world, Atlantis. He told her to tell her story...
-
My Podcast Origin Story
It was 2005. I was in New Hampshire, in the woods, with a small group of men and women who had come to study astrology and Goddess spirituality. One of the men, Dan Graham, commented on the red sweater I was wearing. He was totally blind. That simple comment opened a discussion about how he could...
-
Samhain - Threshold, Map, Animal Guides & Community Fire
The dark half of the year is fertile ground for fears. In this year's Samhain ritual, I incorporated a map of fears, a community fire, animal spirit guides, and the energies of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Mentioned in the episode is the oracle deck "The Illustrated Bestiary" by Maia Toll, a...
-
3 Wedding Rituals - Pandas, Moths, Flours
Can't have everyone you want in your wedding party? Don't give those special people boring tasks! Give them a meaningful role in your ceremony. How? With a creative wedding ritual. Here are 3 of my "gift-giving" rituals. One involves bamboo and is based on the couple's love of Giant Pandas. One...
-
Summer Solstice, Sun, Moon, and Butterflies
The ritual described in this episode honors the harmony between the Sun and Moon. Too much heat, crops burn. Too much rain, crops drown. Like crops, our personal wellbeing depends on our ability to balance work and rest. Seeing the cycle of light and dark play out between the Winter and Summer...
-
Beltane, Fairies, the Hawthorn, and the Goddess Bloddeuwedd
The Celtic festival of Beltane, celebrated on or about May 1, is associated with fertility, flowers, fairies, the Hawthorn tree. From the Hawthorn, we get the story of Bloddeuwedd, a woman created from nine plants and trees by two magicians who wanted to make the perfect bride for a young man.…
more -
Ostara and the Spring Equinox
Spring is here! It's time to break the bonds of winter. How? This episode offers safe and simple rituals for groups and individuals, adults and children, to celebrate spring: Break chains. Plant symbolic seeds. Plant metaphysical seeds. Wake up the trees! As one season begins, another season…
more -
Valentine's Day Rituals for One
Combine acts of kindness and generosity with safe and simple rituals designed to open the heart to give and receive love. Each of us has something to give. That may be time, or money, or things, or energy. How much we have will vary. What's important is to recognize that these gifts have an…
more -
Unity Rituals for Weddings
Unity candles and sand ceremonies are lovely but couples do have other options. On this episode, you'll find ways to personalize the meaning of the traditional rituals and discover new rituals inspired by the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Any ritual can fall flat without context....
-
Imbolc Swans, the Goddess Brigid, Blacksmiths, Brewers and Bards
The Celtic fire festival of Imbolc is celebrated in early February. It honors Brigid, patron Goddess of blacksmiths, brewers, and bards, also referred to as smithcrafters, healers and poets. For an individual, follow a simple ritual using a red or white candle and something to symbolize Brigid…
more -
Steps in a Rite of Passage for a Wedding or Competing on The Voice
A Rite of Passage ritual has three steps: Separation, Transformation, and Incorporation. Seeing those steps in a wedding deepens the meaning to the elements of the ceremony. Those same rite of passage steps can also be seen in the process a contestant goes through to win the television reality...
-
Winter Solstice Ritual and the Infinity Symbol
What does the Winter Solstice have to do with gifts and candles, pigs and wine, freedom and fear, New Year's resolutions, handfastings and the infinity symbol? A lot! Helpful links: For the associated blog post with photos - http://moonriverrituals.com/blog For "Light is Returning" on the CD "The...
-
Animal Totems as Spirit Guides to the Underworld
I learned a valuable lesson the day a skunk crossed my path. It was about animal totems and the magical medicine they offer. Seeing animals as spirit guides is at the heart of a public ritual I created for Samhain, the Celtic festival that marks the death of summer. The mysteries of Samhain are…
more -
Butterfly Blessings Ritual for Weddings, Funerals and more
How to use the physical and metaphysical properties of butterflies to create rituals for wedding ceremonies, funeral services, and memorial celebrations of life. Did you know that in some Native American traditions, a butterfly is thought to be a living piece of a rainbow? That's just one of...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast that celebrates the milestones of life and the cycles of nature, one ritual at a time. Are you a woo-woo woman? Getting married? Having a baby? Launching a project? Dissolving a relationship? Mourning a loved one? I have a ritual for that. Ready to align your spirit to the seasons and celebrate holidays without the commercial angle? I have a ritual for that. As a ritualist, certified Life-Cycle Celebrant and Connecticut wedding officiant, I draw from 20 years of experience in both public and private ceremonies. Sharing what I know is like sharing a recipe -- a Ritual Recipe.
HOSTED BY
Zita Christian
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Ritual Recipes have?
Ritual Recipes currently has 58 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Ritual Recipes about?
A podcast that celebrates the milestones of life and the cycles of nature, one ritual at a time. Are you a woo-woo woman? Getting married? Having a baby? Launching a project? Dissolving a relationship? Mourning a loved one? I have a ritual for that. Ready to align your spirit to the seasons and...
How often does Ritual Recipes release new episodes?
Ritual Recipes has 58 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Ritual Recipes?
You can listen to Ritual Recipes on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Ritual Recipes?
Ritual Recipes is created and hosted by Zita Christian.
URL copied to clipboard!