Follow the Sun
Did you use a spoon to stir your coffee or tea this morning? Did you feel a sense of power?
From at least the 1700s, ancient cultures in Europe, and I suspect elsewhere, too, considered clockwise movement to be the movement of the sun. Since the sun was seen as the bringer of life, anything that followed the sun’s path of east-to-south-to-west-to-north was considered auspicious. The movement itself was called “sunwise.” The Celts called it deosil. I’m told it’s pronounced “jess-ill.”
However you say the word, we see that right-handed movement in sundials and on the faces of clocks. We see it in plants and in 90% of seashells that spiral.
The opposite movement, counter-clockwise, is also powerful. The Celts called it widdershins. This left-handed movement is said to cause disruption and chaos. In fact, should you venture onto the Moors of North Yorkshire and dance nine times widdershins around a faerie ring, you could come under the power of the fey. You’ve been warned.
Far from the Moors, simply stirring your coffee is part of your daily routine. But stir sunwise, with the intent to build energy, and you perform a ritual.
Ritual: a visible act performed with invisible intent.
Spirit Spoons
Dedicate a particular spoon for your morning ritual and the spoon becomes a spirit spoon. I use a scalloped metal spoon for my morning coffee. I stir clockwise and tell myself this will be a good day. A spiritual ritual can be that simple.
A spirit spoon itself can be made of any material. The spirit is added by the user.
Other than my scalloped metal spoon, all my spirit spoons are made of wood. That doesn’t mean every one of my wooden spoons is a spirit spoon. Not at all. Spirit spoons are special.
I bought three of my spirit spoons in 2000 at an art show in Pensacola, Florida. I live in Connecticut. I was in Florida with my younger sisters, Eileen and Laurie, to celebrate Laurie’s 50th birthday. Every time I use those particular spoons, I remember how gratifying it was to spend those days with my sisters. Our mother died when we were young. A well-meaning neighbor warned us that because our dad was in the Navy and often at sea, we might be split up and sent to foster homes. Though that didn’t happen, the fear took root. Our sibling bonds grew both strong and fierce. Now, 61 years later, those bonds are stronger than ever. I think of my sisters whenever I use those spirit spoons. If you want a powerful spirit spoon, attach it to a personal story.
Handwriting
Decades ago, I maintained a certification as a handwriting analyst, specifically a graphoanalyst. Fundamental to the study are the beliefs that:
- There is a connection between handwriting and brain activity.
- Aspects of the writer’s personality can be seen in the writing.
Growing evidence supports the benefits of cursive writing. In January of 2024, Science News published an article by Claudia Lopez Lloreda who explored the findings of a study reported in Frontiers in Psychology. Here’s a link to Lloreda’s article.
I mention the article because I also believe there’s a connection between the hand and the heart. In the context of spirit spoons, I believe food tastes best when the cook works while holding loving thoughts for those who will eat the food. That’s why I dedicate and use spirit spoons.
Build Energy: Stir Up the Sun
With spirit spoons in mind, I created a simple ritual called Stir Up the Sun. The intent is to add auspicious energy to the food in the pot. The visible act is to stir… clockwise, to intentionally follow the path of the sun.
I stir with one of my spirit spoons. In addition to the spoons I told you about earlier (the ones that honor the bonds I have with my sisters), I have several other wooden spoons. My friend Carol Chaput used a wood burning tool to etch assorted designs into several of the spoons. One has a burst of stars. I use that spoon when I’m celebrating something or simply feeling happy. Another spoon has a fanciful owl. I use that one when I need wisdom. I use that one a lot. Does cooking discolor the spoon? It sure does. That’s how I anoint my spoons.
Release Energy: Stir Against the Sun
There have been times when I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. There have been times when I’ve seen that burden on the shoulders of my daughter. That’s when I hold loving thoughts for her, or for myself, and stir something counter-clockwise, against the movement of the sun. I do so with a clear intention: Lay this burden down.
Group Ritual: Spirit Spoons
Several years ago, I led a spirit spoons ritual at Meg’s, a local inspirational gift shop. When people registered, Meg asked them to bring a wooden spoon to the ritual. They did. I had a few extras for those who showed up at the last minute.
We shared memories related to cooking. Some of those memories were from childhood. Some were from our experience hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner. Some memories came with the aromas of homemade spaghetti sauce, or chicken soup, or African root vegetable stew.
Relationships are often nourished in the kitchen. So it was no surprise that some memories also turned to the person who taught us how to cook.
Those memories led us to the reason for creating a spirit spoon: We want to nourish the people we love.
If you’d been there that night, you might have said you wanted to build your child’s confidence, or improve the health of your spouse, or bring prosperity to your family.
Confidence. Health. Prosperity. We stood around a cauldron and spoke those words, and others, out loud. Using our spoons, we took turns stirring the imagined ingredients.
At the end of the ritual, we formed a large circle. We imagined all of our spoons infused with all the nurturing ingredients we had shared. We each held our spoon, pointing it to the center. One by one, we said our chosen ingredient out loud. When everyone had spoken, we stirred the air sunwise.
The following month, we used our spirit spoons in another ritual: Soup to Heal the World. My inspiration for both rituals came from the words of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lau Tsu:
Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch your actions, they become your habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Keep Lau Tsu’s advice in mind as you stir with your spirit spoon.
