Journey to Meet the Cailleach: A Celtic Goddess Cacao Ceremony

Cacao & Sound Healing
Written By Sorrell Robbins

There are goddesses associated with the warmth and abundance of spring and summer — and then there is the Cailleach. She is the Celtic goddess of winter, of wild landscapes, and of the raw, creative power that lies beneath stillness. When I first decided to journey to meet her, it was because I was struggling with winter. Not just the cold and the dark, but what winter asks of us: to slow down, to go inward, to rest. And I was also stepping into the winter of my own lifetime — reaching my 50th year, moving officially into menopause, and curious about what that new threshold had to teach me.

The Cailleach is credited with shaping the very landscapes of the British Isles — the mountains, the glens, the rocky coastlines. She is the counterpart to Bridget, goddess of spring and summer. Together, they hold the great turning of the year. I wanted to connect with her not just as a seasonal spirit but as a mirror — to see what she might reflect to me about where I am in my own life cycle, and what she might offer all of us who need support navigating the darker, quieter chapters of existence.

This ceremony weaves together ceremonial cacao, shamanic journeying, and live gong sound healing. It is designed to be done at any time you feel called to connect with the wisdom of the Cailleach — whether you are in the literal depths of winter, moving through a personal threshold, or simply feeling the pull to go inward and reconnect with your deeper self.

Who Is the Cailleach? The Goddess of Winter and Landscape

The Cailleach — sometimes spelt Cailleach or Kyash — is one of the oldest divine figures in Celtic and Scottish mythology. Her name translates roughly as 'the veiled one' or 'the old woman,' and she is most often associated with winter, storms, and the untamed wildness of the natural world. She is said to have created the mountains of Scotland and Ireland by dropping boulders from her apron, and many ancient standing stones and dramatic rock formations across the British Isles are attributed to her hand.

What I find most powerful about the Cailleach is that she is not simply a destructive force. Yes, she brings the frost and the ice. Yes, she is associated with endings, with the stripping away of what is no longer needed. But she is also a goddess of creation. Winter is not just death — it is the composting, the root-deepening, the gestation that makes spring possible. The Cailleach presides over all of this. She is the reason anything gets to be born again.

For me, she also represents the elder wisdom that our culture so often dismisses. The winter phase of a woman's life — the post-menopausal years — is, in many indigenous traditions, considered the most powerful. The Cailleach reminds us that what looks like decline from the outside may actually be the fullest expression of power from within.

Ceremonial Cacao and Gong Sound Healing: Opening the Inner Door

This journey is held within the container of a full cacao ceremony, which means we open sacred space, call in the seven directions, and work with cacao as a plant medicine to help soften the barriers between the everyday mind and the deeper shamanic awareness.

Ceremonial cacao — which is entirely different from commercial chocolate — works gently and powerfully to open the heart and expand perception. In Mayan tradition, cacao is considered a sacred plant spirit in its own right, and she is invited in as a co-facilitator of the ceremony. You do not need to have drunk your cacao before pressing play; I guide you through the opening ritual so you can prepare your cup as part of the ceremony itself.

Alongside the cacao, the gongs provide a powerful sonic environment for the journey. The sound of the gong moves through every cell of the body, encouraging the brain to shift from beta wakefulness into the slower theta or delta states, where shamanic journeying and deep healing become possible. I never quite know what sounds will emerge when I play — each session is unique — but they are always exactly what is needed in that moment.

How Shamanic Journeying Works: A Simple Explanation

Journeying is the foundational practice of shamanism across cultures worldwide. We use imagination as a doorway into the spirit realm — not as fantasy or escapism, but as a legitimate form of perception. In the shamanic worldview, there are three layers of reality: the middle realm (where we live our daily lives), the lower realm (the realm of inner knowing and this lifetime's wisdom), and the upper realm (the realm of higher consciousness and the infinite soul).

To journey to the Cailleach, we travel into the lower realm. I guide you through a full relaxation and visualisation process, then invite your consciousness to leave your body as a tiny point of light — like Tinker Bell — and travel to a place in nature. From there, you find your portal: a hole in the earth, a cave, a door in a tree, a body of water you can dive beneath. You do not need to be a visual person for this to work. Many people experience journeying kinaesthetically — as sensation, emotion, knowing, or simply a sense of following a story. However it comes through for you is exactly right.

Before meeting the Cailleach, you will also be guided to call in your power animal — the animal guide who will accompany you and offer their own wisdom for your journey. You may already have a sense of who this is, or you may be surprised by who shows up. Trust what comes.

Preparing to Enter the Ceremony: Energy Cleansing and Sacred Space

We do not step into ceremony without preparation. I guide you through a thorough energy cleansing practice I learned from the Kero shamans of the high Andes in Peru. We work through three layers of the energy body — the outer auric field, the emotional layer, and the physical layer — clearing anything that doesn't belong with the loving light of the heart chakra. This is practical shamanic hygiene, and it makes a real difference to the quality of what you receive during the journey.

We then open sacred space by calling in the seven directions: East, South, West, North, below (Mother Earth), above (Father Sky and the cosmic realm), and within (Great Spirit). Each direction carries its own teachings and guardian spirits — Condor and Eagle in the East, Snake in the South, Jaguar in the West, Hummingbird and the ancestors in the North. In the North, we give special welcome to the Cailleach herself, honouring her as the spirit of this direction.

This framework draws primarily from the Mayan medicine wheel tradition, but weaves in other lineages too. The Mayans themselves have always been open to this — invoking Hindu deities, Celtic archetypes, and wisdom from many traditions within their ceremonies. We honour that same spirit of integration here.

What the Cailleach May Show You: Blind Spots, Transitions and Inner Power

When I met the Cailleach on my own journey, she appeared to me as an enormous being — as big as a mountain, looking down at me like I was a tiny, fragile butterfly. That image told me everything I needed to know. She did not diminish me — she showed me scale. She was vast, ancient, and entirely unafraid. She offered me something I had not expected: a sense that what I was struggling with was not weakness, but initiation.

Your experience may be completely different. The Cailleach may appear in human form, as a flame of light, as a presence you feel rather than see, or as something entirely beyond categories. Whatever form she takes, I recommend using the shamanic rule of three: if you are unsure whether something is truly her or truly your guide, ask three times. The truth always comes through on the third answer.

She may show you your blind spots — those parts of yourself you have not been willing to look at. She may offer healing for something you have been carrying too long. She may have wisdom for a specific crossroads you are navigating, a question you have been sitting with, a relationship or a path you are uncertain about. Come on the journey with openness and without fixed expectations, and allow her to show you what is most useful for you right now.

After the ceremony, I encourage you to journal everything you can remember before the imagery fades. Sit with what came through. Come back to it in a week or a month. Identify one action you can take that demonstrates integration — something that shows you are not just receiving the teaching but living it. This is how ceremony becomes transformation.

How to Prepare for This Ceremony

  • Prepare your cup of ceremonial cacao before pressing play, or follow along as I guide the opening ritual.

  • Choose a comfortable position — seated upright works well if you want to stay alert; lying down is fine if you are happy to drift into a deeper state.

  • Dim the lights or wear an eye mask to help you go inward more easily

  • Use headphones or good-quality speakers — the gongs carry most of their healing through sound, and quality matters

  • Have a candle or a simple altar nearby if you would like to create a sense of ceremony in your space

  • Keep a journal and pen within reach — you will want to write immediately after the journey ends

  • Set aside at least 90 minutes so you are not rushing out of the experience

  • You can do this ceremony at any time of year, not only in winter — the Cailleach's wisdom about transitions, thresholds and inner power is always relevant

Ready to Go Deeper?

If this ceremony has opened something in you, there are many ways to continue the work:

Further Reading

Sorrell Robbins
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