Elizabeth:
listening, treasure hunt, bowls, the letter, the river, timeless, sacred
This ceremony acknowledged the breadth and depth of my motherhood journey thus far and the deep need to be witnessed on my journey. Newborn to toddler weaning, grief and mourning, joy and the deepest love, weeping and laughing, blood, milk, and river water.
The ceremony felt like a treasure hunt from the beginning: collecting and finding objects of beauty and planning mini ceremonies to gather items, discovering hidden mysteries and clues along the way. I brought all of this to the ceremony and now carry it with me after, in my life. I am forever grateful to you Georgia for helping me create such a sacred ceremony. I feel that honoring my early motherhood has allowed me to access a higher self, an up leveling, a true transformation.
Ginny:
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river, current, goose, free
This ceremony acknowledged my 65th birthday in a way that has left my life changed. Not instantly, but like a slow meandering through a forest, journeying through summer's green, to a destination not yet on the horizon. And I'm OK with this unknowing. I have been reciting--no, praying-- daily a vow Georgia wrote for me, about mothering my creativity into a daily creative practice which has since become foundational to my day. More, the word "practice" has found its way into everything I do, from cooking to writing, from art-making to loving. I have never had such a unique birthday ceremony before, one I helped to co-create, one that was filled with meaning instead of just superficial birthday greetings. The ceremony has helped me realize that I don't need a party to celebrate life's changes, and this has been freeing.
Katie:
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ancestors, blessings, water, motherhood, circle
Georgia, the ceremonialist, led a ceremony at our best friends baby shower last weekend and I cannot stop thinking about it. The ceremony allowed the group of women, all different ages, backgrounds and familiarity to come together as one and bond over the momma to be, unborn baby and motherhood in general. The love connection she created in the room was palpable. The words that were said, the objects passed around, and the conversational prompts Georgia gave to the group brought all of us to tears. The presentation of the ceremony was also beautiful and so so thoughtful. I love that one of the objects used in the ceremony and touched by all the women in the room, will be something the baby will be able to hold and cherish on her 1st birthday as well.
Alexis:
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blooming, alive, eternal, magical, releasing, poetry in action
This ceremony acknowledged my new medical diagnosis and helped me find balance, acceptance, and beauty as I accept my body with this condition. I feel supported by Georgia and my community.
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I started at dusk and it was beautiful. I loved watching the clouds change and the fireflies emerge during the ceremony. I was so moved by everything Georgia and I composed. The messages from friends and family made me bawl but I also appreciated the humor in them. It was all so tender and amazing. I feel so much more grounded and a bit lighter now. Georgia is a maker of magic. She was present during each conversation and helped me synthesize all my ideas and desires into image, symbol, ritual, and movement. She patiently worked with me until the ceremony felt authentic. Georgia is so kind and generous. She creates an opening for us to enter the realm of the unknown.
Jay:
baby blessing, community, flowers
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Working with The Ceremonialist, Georgia, was an absolute blessing as she guided us in welcoming our precious daughter into our community. Her presence exuded love, grace, and kindness throughout the entire process. Georgia's expertise and passion for her work were evident in the thoughtful rituals she designed, making the ceremony truly memorable. Her ability to create a warm and inclusive atmosphere allowed our family and friends to participate wholeheartedly in the celebration. We are deeply grateful to Georgia for making this significant milestone a beautiful and meaningful experience for our daughter and everyone involved.
Denise:
release, new begging, birthday blessing, opening channels, creativity, envision.
This ceremony acknowledged the start of a new decade as I move into my 40s. While looking back into my 30s I reflected on the experiences that lead to change and made me become the person I am now. The ceremony focused mostly on what I want to bring into my 40s which is more space for my creativity and opening the channels to bring in the light. I am very happy I started my 40s with such a meaningful and powerful birthday ceremony. I needed something special to complement an important milestone in my life. It was helpful to have a more clear vision in what I want to focus on the next decade.
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Georgia crafted a beautiful ceremony for me full of detail, elements and meaning. While gathering all the elements for the ceremony, I already felt so in touch with my creativity. At the end having an altar with a promise to myself it’s a great grounding anchor and a reminder to stay focus with my intentions.
Thank you so much for providing such a moving practice.
Colleen & Noah:
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love, union, blessings
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Georgia helped us create a wedding ceremony to be shared over Zoom that was special, celebratory and perfectly our own. Her thoughtful guidance brought the warmth of our love and loved ones to a shared digital space. She facilitated a beautiful and touching wedding between us and brought so many insightful ideas and details to the experience. Georgia was a thoughtful, caring, amazing officiant and we are so glad she could be a part of this special moment.
Holly:
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poems, community, intimacy
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I worked with Georgia to create an intimate and unique gathering to bless and release my forthcoming book of poems.
The process of deciding what to do and how was shaped by her sensitive listening, intuitive guidance, and very helpful questions and suggestions. I felt at ease and well looked after throughout this phase which made the actual ceremony that much more powerful. I was reassured by Georgia's graceful presence during the (virtual) gathering and the photo I received afterward is a treasure token of a very special experience, for which I am grateful. This ceremony helped me to transform feelings of isolation, apprehension and grief into something that feels more grounded and celebratory. Now I can enjoy the fact that I have written a book and it exists in the world!
Rich & Marjorie:
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together again, love, spring, aware, laughter, lucky
This ceremony acknowledged Rich’s return from his COVID hospitalization. For those two weeks, we all felt trapped in a deep, cold winter - unable to think of much else other than a return home and a gathering around our dining table full of memories and good times. During our ceremony we celebrated our home that supported Marjorie during this time, and helped Rich heal when he returned. We celebrated each other and our fifty years of change and never-ending love, love that makes us one (NannyBebop). With our children we acknowledged that no matter where we are and what we are doing, we are aware of each other, in touch with each other, connected - just as a forest is aware, each tree communicating in unseen ways with everything that surrounds it. Finally we acknowledged that despite the constant changing of seasons, our family will always remain, growing stronger with each of those seasons.
Georgia quietly steered us through this all. She took a one hour conversation full of loose ideas and turned them into a ceremony that provided our family with a way to accept, and honor, our winter and look forward to our spring. During the ceremony itself, she gently and intuitively guided us through each segment ensuring that each of us felt present and respected.
Taking the time to give voice to these feeling with those closest to us was a powerful, meaningful and, all agreed, much needed experience.
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Natalie:
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pinecone, divination, poem
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This ceremony acknowledged my 33rd birthday and the questions I had for the year ahead.
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Georgia's ceremony for me included a prompt to create my own divination board to answer questions I have about my life and the unknown future that lies ahead. She listened closely, offered insight, and ingeniously used material from our conversation to generate the prompt of making my divination board. Her presence and insight allowed me space to feel my way towards discovering some answers, and the creation of the divination board itself was a meaningful and important part of the ceremony. Through this experience I feel more connected to my own inner knowing, my creativity and am so grateful to have had the chance to work with Georgia in this unique and truly special way.
Chris:
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remembrance, honor, laughter, love, healing
This ceremony acknowledged the life of our daughter, Nicole, who died from Covid-19 at the age of 34. Initially we hoped to be able to hold an in-person ceremony, and Georgia helped us develop one that would have captured Nicole's spirit and honor her life. But with the rising numbers of individuals testing positive for the virus, we needed to change course and celebrate her via Zoom.
Georgia took all this in stride, with her gentle demeanor, and joined with us in this endeavor, offering her creative ideas, her technical support, and her quiet dedication to getting it right.
Over a hundred people attended the ceremony with several participants offering eulogies that represented the beautiful spirit of our daughter, Nicole. Georgia served as our facilitator and guided us through it all, with reverence and respect, creating a ceremony filled with love, light, and beauty.
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The ceremony provided us with a step towards our healing and a belief that Nicole would have approved. We received many positive words about the ceremony from family and friends, and I know that Nicole's spirit and love of life was seen by all. We have Georgia's help and guidance to thank for that.
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Julia:
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pre-linguistic, somatic, loving, presence
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This ceremony acknowledged a moment of great transition for me, between decades, cities, and partnerships. Georgia developed a ceremony and daily ritual with and for me that created a loving layer of support in my process of transition. Together we realized that the nurturing that I needed most was languageless presence, so the ceremony and ritual occurred mostly in silence and included touch and movement in place of words. In the work I became empowered to "fill in the gaps" with self-love and was able to express gratitude for all of the people and love that I have received in my life. Objects that I have made and collected over the years were given new meaning in an altar space.
I am going to continue engaging with the daily ritual because it has been so grounding for me and has enabled me to embrace my inner child in profound ways that I didn't have access to before. This ritual, combined with the ceremony, created a feeling of power and grace within me. Working with Georgia has been one of the greatest gifts that I have given myself.
Robin:
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laughter, light, friends, family, flowers
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This ceremony acknowledged my new home and the start of a new chapter in my life.
Georgia created a ceremony for me to celebrate my new home and start of a new chapter in my life and the ceremony she planned was genuinly one of the most special days of my life. Georgia thoughtfully put together a ceremony that represented exactly what I intended. A celebration with friends and family to fill my new home with so much warmth and love. Georgia had ideas for my ceremony that set the mood for the day and connected everyone to the intention I wanted to set forth going forward in this new home. We asked guests to bring fresh flowers and salt. On the day of the ceremony my new home was filled with so many fresh flowers and the salt we collected during the ceremony is lovingly used when I cook today. Since my ceremony my home feels like MY home now. The memories I have from this day will last a lifetime. Thank you, Georgia.
Jennie:
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transitions, clarity, reciprocity, love, forgiveness
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The ceremony acknowledged both my pain and possibility. The ceremony acknowledged the magnitude and multitudes of my heartbreak and simultaneously reminded me of my power, and my inner most longings.
The ceremony(ies) that Georgia helped prepare with me/for me brought ritual into my life in a way that I've been trying to access for years. In a way that felt so relevant that it was impossible not to integrate into my daily life. The gift of this ceremony was and is something I can always return to. Something I can iterate from and towards. It's anti-singular, as am I, and that helped too. The process with Georgia, the altar and practices that came from it, supported me at a time when I needed it most and for that I'm forever grateful. It was also, really fun to collect pieces for the altar and invite people in my life to sit with me and listen to me read my intention.
Nooshin:
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light, voids, objects
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The ceremony acknowledged my story of exile from my country of birth, my internal voids and shadows. It also celebrated my vision as an artist, my strengths and my inner light.
I was touched deeply by Georgia’s vision, her thoughtfulness and attention to little details to connect every part of the ceremony to my personal life was unique and special. Her writing brought tears in my eyes. I felt transformed and empowered in a way that I had never felt before.
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Eden:
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women, friendship, ancestry, transition, hair, haiku
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The ceremony acknowledged the power of and importance of female friendship leading up to my marriage.
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Leading up to my wedding, there was - as expected - a great emphasis and focus on my relationship with my to-be husband. But this moment also marked a larger transition in my life — from child to adult, from nuclear family to building a new family, from exploration to commitment. As such, it was very important to me to acknowledge the other relationships in my life and the way they had led me to this point and would support me in all points to come.
Jena & Justin:
birth, rose petals, ancestor, sea water
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The ceremony acknowledged the birth of our first born and her position in our family.
The ceremony emphasized the deep connection between parent and child, exploring the idea that a child chooses their parents and has something valuable to teach their parents. The ceremony began with each family member coming into a circle around our baby and making a silent wish for her as they each tied a knot in a piece of fabric taken from Jena’s wedding dress. Georgia acknowledged the ancestors and other family members not present by creating an altar on a rock beside where the ceremony was held. The ceremony was meaningful on a personal and communal level and allowed us to welcome our daughter into our lives in holistic way with joy and soul.
Maggie:
mandala, play, awe, honoring
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This ceremony acknowledged my recommitment to myself as an artist.
I was deeply moved at how seamlessly Georgia incorporated the elements that I had told her were most important to me. She told me that she thinks of her work as co-creation, and that showed. She created so many ceremonial elements that allowed me to elevate simple moments to ritual. She especially helped me address my discomfort and dis-ease with money. She also made sure to create mementos that I could keep with me in my daily life that would remind me of the ceremony and my recommitment. These have meant a lot in the weeks since the ceremony. Truly a special experience.
Sharon:
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horse, wash, warm water, candle, red powder
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This ceremony acknowledged that I am courageously facing difficult things in my art practice and in my life. It acknowledged that three parts of my life are intimately connected: the family I come from, the art I am making, and the family I want to have.
Georgia designed a daily ritual for me, a weekly meditation, and an additional daily prayer. I have been practicing all three regularly for the last month and have felt a noticeable shift in my approach to my art and to my family, and to my wish to have a child. I feel less anxiety in all three areas. I feel less doubt in all three areas. I am more patient with myself too. I am not fighting anything; I am moving forward with an open heart.
Millie:
communication, painting, history, body, seed, breath, guidance
This ceremony acknowledged the four generations of women artists, of which I am a part of. This ceremony acknowledged the bounty of resources, creativity, and complexity that these generations hold. This ceremony acknowledged that history is passed down through bodies and physical being. This ceremony gave me rituals for honoring my maternal lineage and nurturing my journey to come.
For days after the ceremony I would count out four breaths a day, each breath dedicated to a woman in my maternal lineage. After the ceremony, I felt I could more clearly embrace the abundance passed down from my female ancestors while committing to my own vision. I felt a deeper sense of forgiveness and admiration for my female lineage, while also a renewed sense of discovery in my own feminine wilderness.