What to Expect in Ceremony

No two journeys are ever the same. Every ceremony is its own unfolding, shaped by your intention, your inner landscape, and the wisdom of the medicine. That said, knowing what might arise can help soften some of the fear or uncertainty around stepping into altered states.

Here are a few things you may experience in ceremony:

1. A shift in perception
Time may lose its shape. Colors may become more vivid. You might notice the breath of the trees, the pulse of the land, or patterns in the world around you that feel deeply interconnected. These perceptual shifts are common and usually signal the medicine beginning to work.

2. Emotional waves
Ceremony can stir buried emotion. Grief, joy, longing, wonder, fear—they all may arise. Rather than resisting them, try to greet each one like a visitor. Emotions are often the gateway to insight, release, and healing.

3. A conversation with your inner world
You may meet different parts of yourself—an inner child, a protector, an ancestor, or a version of you you’ve long forgotten. These inner encounters can bring clarity, resolution, or deep tenderness.

4. A sense of connection to something greater
Many people describe a feeling of being held by something larger than themselves: nature, spirit, source, or the deep intelligence of life. This isn’t always loud or dramatic. Sometimes it’s a subtle sense of belonging.

5. Stillness, discomfort, or silence
Not all journeys are filled with visions or insights. Sometimes the medicine simply invites you to sit. To be. To feel what you’ve been avoiding. Trust that this, too, is ceremony.

Ceremony doesn’t give us what we want. It gives us what we need. The more we let go of control, the more the experience can unfold with grace.

Tips for navigating the unknown:

• Breathe. If things feel intense, come back to your breath.

• Let go of needing to understand everything in the moment.

• Remember: this is temporary. You will return.

• You are never alone. Even in silence, the space is being held.

Whether the journey is gentle or wild, quiet or revelatory, the invitation is the same:

To meet yourself with compassion, and to trust in what is unfolding.