Ritual Magic: Daily Rituals of Greeting

Daily rituals of greeting are just what they sound like. These are rituals done every day greeting and acknowledging those spirits above us in the hierarchy that find magic and miracles to be simple. Greeting them daily introduces you to them, and starts you on your way to developing a relationship between you. Once you have a relationship, meaning you have reached out to them and you have felt them make contact with you, you can begin to ask them for help and guidance.

Ritual Magic: The Navajo Beauty Way as a Daily Ritual
The Navajo Beauty Way is a very powerful daily ritual that can be used for greeting and to start you on the way to developing a relationship with higher powers and beings. It is a non-denominational set of exercises that was created in very ancient times and is designed to:

• restore personal power through developing trust in one's wisdom gained through personal experience
• enhance creative flow and one's connection to the environment and nature's laws and forces
• help us learn new skills and use new tools for observing and maintaining harmonious and pro-active inner states
• develop a practical working relationship with higher powers and beings or natural forces and laws
• create stability and choice in walking in different realities and worlds
• being safe and protected without the need to build walls or hide behind masks
• establish and maintain contact with higher powers and beings or natural forces and laws so as to live in compliance with and gain support in our creative endeavors
• maintain spiritual integrity for individuals or groups during times of high external change and stress
• preserve cultural and spiritual identity beyond the efficacy of sociological myths in times of breakdown, and restructuring of communities, tribes or nations
• restore the balance both internally and externally between the feminine aspect of integration and oneness, and the masculine aspect of separation and duality

That's a lot to get from one simple daily ritual! If I had to pick just one daily ritual to have in my life, the Navajo Beauty Way would be the one. Time and time again, I see the magic, enlightenment, guidance and wisdom this ritual has brought to my life and those of others in my magical circle. There are actually 3 parts to the Navajo Beauty Way: the exit ritual, day greetings and day endings and the walking litany. Our Basic Magic Students are taught this ritual from the very first day of class and continue using it as a daily ritual throughout their studies and beyond. I have personally seen it open doorways through which I was able to see other beings such as animal totems and garden divas and received guidance from higher beings for problems I have faced.

A Personal Experience from Daily Ritual
Just to give you an idea of the power of this daily ritual, here is one instance I will never forget. I was facing a situation in which my reputation was in question and would be attending a meeting that would address the issue the next day. Needless to say I was dreading it. The night before, I went out and did the Exit Ritual and asked for the truth in this situation to come out and for others to be able to see my true self. After I finished the ritual, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look and saw a skunk walking towards me. Not just any skunk mind you, but a skunk that was around 4 feet in height. Obviously a totem!! I ran inside to check the Medicine card book for the interpretation of the skunk and sure enough – reputation. I'm sure you can guess how the meeting the next day went and it was definitely settled in my favor. Not all experiences with the Navajo Beauty Way are this dramatic, but in all the years I have been doing this daily ritual, I have definitely received continuing magical guidance and beauty in my life.

Doing the Beauty Way Exit Ritual
One of the most common forms of the Beauty Way is called the Exit Ritual. You do the Exit Ritual every time you leave an enclosed space, like your car or your house. It takes a little practice to make this a part of your life that comes naturally. For some people there is an embarrassment factor to overcome when they start doing this daily ritual. Others find that they forget to do it each time they exit somewhere. That's all OK, don't stress about it. Just keep doing it and it will come more naturally as time goes on.

So are you ready to dive in and add this powerful daily ritual to your life? Here's how:

1. Once you exit your house or car or other enclosed area, stop and put your focus up into the sky and say aloud, "Sky Above" or "Sky Father." (Note: the reason we extend our focus first is that the exit ritual is a form of asking favor from powers and beings, so it is appropriate that we go to them rather than asking them to come to us. In ritual, when we have carefully prepared sacred space, we can then invite them in and then bid them farewell).

2. Keeping the awareness up above, extend your focus into the earth and say aloud, "And Earth Below" or "And Earth Mother."

3. Then, keeping awareness of both above and below, say aloud, "I Greet You."

4. Wait a moment and see what happens. Be alert for acknowledgement or response in one of these three ways:

• From within you, such as a realization, a change of attitude or belief, a new awareness.
• Changes in your environment, such as a sudden breeze, a change in the color of the sky, a bird or animal suddenly appearing, or a tree or shrub suddenly becoming vividly visible or possibly a four foot skunk to come walking by.
• A response from Sky and/or Earth: a special message for you, an answer to a question, or guidance and new directions.

5. What happens may happen in just that moment, or it may happen throughout the day. It may change the quality of your day, your awareness ... whatever you notice.

6. You may also want to use hand gestures. Arms raised in a upward facing V for "Sky Father" and arms down in a downward facing V for "Earth Mother."

The Exit ritual is also a quick and easy way to get reconnected with your inner peace and serenity. Deep inside, you are always peaceful, happy and serene - sometimes you just don't know how to access that part of yourself. So, if you find yourself getting frustrated, negative or stressed out, go outside and do the Exit Ritual. See what changes this simple daily ritual can make in your life. To learn more about the Navajo Beauty Way and other magical daily rituals, get our Daily Rituals ebook.

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