The Art of Ritual: Creating and Performing Ceremonies for Growth and Change

by Renee Beck, Sydney Barbara Metrick, Angeles Arrien (Contributor)

Rituals mark life's momentous and symbolic from special birthdays and holidays to personal affairs such as a child's first day of school or the death of a beloved pt. Over time, and as people and circumstances change, some rituals become merely habitual, losing their significance and creating a hunger for more meaningful methods of celebration. In THE ART OF RITUAL, Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick explain the power, relevance, and need for ritual, describing the various types of rituals and their myths, symbols, and history, as well as how Prepare, perform, and complete rituals; Integrate the five elements into ritual practice; Craft and consecrate ritual tools; Make and use altars. This revised and updated edition also includes a new healing ritual for small groups and a series of self-exploration exercises that assists with the integration of ritual into daily life. Presenting a multitude of ways to create ceremonies for healing, growth, and change, Beck and Metrick will inspire you to honor each rite of passage in a truly personal way.

218 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2009

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kris asked that I read and participate in this book as a way of incorporating ritual into my life and centering the natural cycles of earth. I read the book over the course of 2 months and I participated in the Self Explorations, just not all of them to the degree that the authors intended. I found a lot of the notes on elemental symbology to be helpful, and I appreciated that this book was easy to read and take notes from as an atheist. The authors set up their rituals very much like a teacher puts together a lesson plan. I found that to be both helpful and not. I don’t plan to host large scale ritual ceremonies, so tapering their ideas down for a private practice felt really feasible. I get bogged down with all the planning, which is where their approach was more than I needed. I did appreciate how simple and humble the rituals were in execution, often involving just a cloth, some plants and a candle. It felt accessible and put the focus back on the intention and thought process behind everything.