Satanic Self-Care: A Ritual for Balance in the Midst of Chaos

Hello Readers!

I hope you all are doing OK during this frightening and overwhelming time. This week marks the Vernal Equinox - the beginning of spring. Over the years I’ve found this seasonal marker to be a good time for rituals of renewal and intention setting. This year, the seasonal change is accompanied by a global pandemic that has turned our worlds upside down. We are overcome with confusion, worry, uncertainty and fear.

Ritual can often provide a space to ground and empower ourselves. This equinox, I reached out to my friend Scorpio Boligrafo to share a ritual they’ve developed to help ground us during this difficult time. Scorpio is a Satanic ritual practitioner, an advocate for personal autonomy in healthcare and a scientist with a doctorate in biology who collaborated with me on my chapter on the scientific case for ritual in The Devil’s Tome. Check out their insight and spring equinox ritual below.

-Shiva

Spring Equinox 2020: A Suggestion for a Collective Ritual for Balance

 The spring equinox symbolizes renewal. Under normal circumstances, we would come together to celebrate – to sow seeds and to germinate both our plants and our plans. This year, it is more challenging to feel refreshed as people worldwide suffer immensely. Times of crisis draw communities closer together; paradoxically it is also imperative that we resist the urge for physical closeness. I am yearning for the intimacy of a gathering – and the catharsis of group ritual. For many who do not identify as solitary practitioners, we may now find ourselves on our own. I truly believe in your power. I believe in your power as an individual. I also believe in our power together. I believe in our collective strength. I believe that we will join each other this equinox.

 A Most Open Invitation

Whether you are experienced in your practice or you have never considered ritual until just now, I offer my thoughts and suggestions for this somber yet powerful equinox. I invite you to join my circle of womxn, witches, and wonders - from wherever you may be. From your home altar, your home office, and from the front lines – let us come together to join in ritual practice. Let us appreciate and be inspired by the balance shown to us by the day and the night.

The significant demands many people are facing will require tremendous feats of balance. May your ritual help to support a reestablishment of homeostasis for yourself, your family, your community, and your world.

Homeostasis and Satan

As a secular Satanist, I look to science and humanity as my guide posts. This spring equinox provides a rare moment of balance in our daily physical world. A window into the homeostatic mechanisms of our planet. Homeostasis is not a condition of stillness or stopping. Homeostasis is a beautifully balanced act - a symphony of rheostats and feedback loops. Homeostasis is  biological balance from the organismal all the way down to the single cells of which it is composed. Cells are self-contained units, each with their own molecular devices that allow them to adapt and establish a new normal in changing conditions. As cells work together in tissues, layers of homeostatic processes work together to maintain coordination and functionality within that tissue. When injury or disruption occurs, the cells within us coordinate their response to try to restore balance to our organism. This is constantly occurring within us and in our ecosystems - from the smallest cell to the largest galaxy. As above, so below.

 A Ritual Space in Uncertain Times

You may not have access to your normal ritual space or ritual goods. I encourage you to join me in creating a makeshift altar in whatever space you might have. If you are alone, you could take this opportunity to make the largest altar you ever have. If you are sharing space with non-practicing family members you may want to either invite these individuals to join you, or choose a safe space with as much privacy as your situation allows. For those of you providing critical services, if you find only a moment for your practice, let your ritual space simply be the space you occupy at that moment.

 Creating Your Altar

For this ritual, create an altar out of what you have. If you are at home, you may want to incorporate some of your favorite things. If you are at someone else’s home, try to incorporate as many things as you can that comfort you and make you feel safe in this space. If you are at work, use whatever makes sense such as your desk or a quiet hallway. If you are in a busy or hectic environment, try to build a simple altar in your mind through meditation. Challenge yourself to create a beautiful altar using items from your surroundings (indoors and outdoors) and to minimize waste. Use crystals, textile, wood, ceramic, and other items to create an altar that, to you, symbolizes balance.

Scorpio’s altar - The Water Signs Sisters’ Equinox altar:

Dining room table, well loved textile, obsidian, North American quartz, amethyst, citrine, slag glass, wavelite, coal, fulgurite, wood from our father’s tree, seashells, peacock feather, handmade ceramics, a reflective pyramid containing our wishes, salt, copper, bronze, water with Petoskey stones, and an antique scale and chest.

 A Ritual for Balance

At this crucial moment, we are asked to remain physically still and to heed the urgency of the situation. We take slow breaths to still our mind while using all of our physical energy to support our communities. We remain on high alert while also trying to foster calm and alleviate panic. We have the opportunity to align ourselves with the daily cycle of time and be transformed by this moment of balance in this otherwise chaotic time.

Close your eyes and reflect on yourself and yourself alone. Take a moment to go deep within yourself, beyond even your breath – and know that you are still, that you are okay. Open your eyes and move forward into your ritual space. Imagine those you hold dear stepping into their ritual spaces. Imagine people all over the world engaged in ritual practice at this enchanting time of year.

Reflect on this moment in your life and in the world. If you are with others, you may wish to share words. Meditate at your altar for as long as is appropriate for your situation. Return to your altar anytime you need during the day and the night.

 To make this time both heavy and light; we look to our power in the day and the night.

 With love,

 Scorpio Boligrafo, PhD

Scorpio Boligrafo, PhD is a Michigan native, a ritual practitioner, satanist, and an advocate for personal autonomy in healthcare. Scorpio is a scientist with a doctorate in biology. Through their secular ritual practice Scorpio draws no distinction between the scientific and the spiritual. The sun, moon, seasonal transitions, and cycles of birth and death are universal aspects of the human experience. Scorpio’s rituals foster personal practice while remaining intentionally inclusive for friends and family with a wide range of beliefs. Dr. Boligrafo believes in the power of the individual and the power of the pen.

Want more love rituals? Check out Shiva’s book The Devil’s Tome and pick up ritual tools to accompany your practice in our shop