Journey to meet Bear Spirit: A Cacao & Gong Ceremony
There is a particular quality to the turning of the year towards autumn. Something in us recognises the invitation to go inward, even before we consciously acknowledge it. The light changes. The leaves begin to release. The harvest is gathered. And something old and wise in us understands that this is a time for reflection, for release, and for dreaming forward into what comes next.
Mama Bear is the perfect guide for this threshold. She knows the darkness. She is unafraid of the long sleep through winter. She can show us what is ready to fall away, and what seeds need to be planted now — deep in the earth, through the cold months — so that when spring comes, they already have strong roots and are ready to reach the light with grace and ease.
This ceremony was recorded at the time of the autumn equinox, but you can work with it at any time of year. Mama Bear’s medicine is not seasonal — her gifts of introspection, courage, solitude, and healing are available whenever you call for them.
Mama Bear on the Medicine Wheel
In this ceremony, I work with a slight variation of the Mayan medicine wheel, swapping Jaguar for Mama Bear in the West direction — because Bear’s energy aligns so deeply with the qualities of this direction: the setting sun, the going within, the darkness that holds the seeds of new life. The West is where we celebrate how far we have already come, and it is also where we enter the inner realm to face what we have not yet fully met.
Bear spirit guides appear in many traditions across the globe, from the Celtic world to North American indigenous cultures to Scandinavian traditions. Wherever humans have lived alongside bears, they have recognised in this animal a reflection of something deep in themselves: the capacity to be both fierce and tender, solitary and communal, fully present in this world and also able to descend into the great darkness of the inner realm.
What Mama Bear Can Offer You
Mama Bear is a teacher of solitude — not the painful kind, but the nourishing kind. She knows how to be alone with herself. She can help us face our loneliness and transform it into something rich and restorative. In a world that often confuses solitude with loneliness, and quiet with emptiness, Bear reminds us that going inward is not a retreat from life but a return to its source.
She is also a teacher of courage and strength. Bears do not shy away from difficulty. They face what is in front of them with their full presence. Calling on the Bear spirit can help us meet the parts of ourselves we have been avoiding, or step forward into something that has felt too big to attempt alone.
In this ceremony, the invitation I extend through Mama Bear is twofold: to ask what is ready to be released (what leaves are ready to fall?), and to ask what seeds need to be sown now for the year ahead (what wants to take root and grow?). You may also come with your own question entirely. Bear is wise, and she will meet whatever you bring.
Bear also carries medicine around healing gifts — she is strongly associated with the healer’s path across many traditions. If you are called to offer healing to others in some way, she may have something to show you about how to step more fully into that.
Sacred Tobacco and Clarity of Sight
In this ceremony, I offer sacred tobacco to Mama Cacao on the altar before we begin. Tobacco, when used ceremonially rather than recreationally, is a sacred plant medicine in many indigenous traditions. It helps us to see clearly — it clears the channels of perception so that what we need to see can come through with more precision and truth. I include it here as a dedication to clarity on the journey, not as something you need to use yourself.
The Gift of a Journey Journal
I have kept a journey journal since I began working shamanically — going on 27 years now. I still go back to those early entries and find them remarkable: the seeds that were planted in ceremony that later grew into the defining experiences of my life, the guidance I received that only made sense months or years later.
A shamanic journey is like a dream: vivid and real in the moment, but quick to fade once ordinary consciousness returns. Writing or drawing immediately after a journey — even just bullet points — preserves the wisdom you have received. And particularly at this threshold time of year, that reflection can become part of a wider annual review: celebrating how far you have come, releasing what has served its purpose, and setting clear intentions for the year ahead.
The Ceremony: Meeting Mama Bear in the Lower Realm
After cleansing our energy field and calling in the seven directions, I guide you into the lower realm — our inner landscape, our subconscious, what I prefer to call our mega-conscious — through a place in nature that feels safe and familiar to you. We descend through a portal: roots in a tree, a cave, a doorway in the earth, wherever your imagination leads.
At a particular beautiful point in this journey, before we descend into the lower realm, I also guide you to expand your consciousness outward to hold the entire planet in white light — sending love and healing to the places that need it most, the ravaged rainforests, the places of war and poverty, the relationships between humans and the natural world that are asking to be restored. This is the earth-keeper dimension of the ceremony: we are not only here for ourselves.
In the lower realm, we call for Mama Bear. Remember the rule of three: if you are not certain whether the being that comes is the right one, ask three times — and trust the third answer. Bear will arrive in whatever form is right for you today. Spend time with her. Ask what you came to ask. And before you leave, ask if there is anything she needs from you in return.
How to Prepare for the Ceremony
Settle these two things before we begin:
Your place in nature — somewhere real, familiar, and peaceful. Woodland is particularly fitting for a Bear journey.
Your intention — what are you asking Bear today? You may use mine: ‘What is ready to be released? What seeds shall I sow for the year ahead?’ Or bring your own
Practically:
Prepare your ceremonial cacao before we begin, or bring a cup of tea or water
Have cushions, a blanket, and a comfortable space ready — lying down is ideal
Use good headphones or speakers for the full gong experience
Have a journal, paper, or drawing materials to hand immediately after
Have tissues nearby — as the heart opens, emotions sometimes move through
Drink water after the ceremony to flush the system clean after the gong frequencies
Continue Your Journey with Me
Letting our power animals guide us through the sacred phases of the year is one of the most grounding and nourishing practices I know. Mama Bear is with you, whether you journey with her today or simply carry her spirit in your awareness as the seasons turn.
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We can heal our world, one heart at a time. Let us begin with our own. 🌿
