Book Review: Sacred Ceremonies for a Sacred Earth
- Kirstie Ganobsik
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
Available for Sale May 6, 2025 on Amazon and for Pre-order through the Aniwa Council of Elders.
Sacred Ceremonies for a Sacred Earth combines compelling storytelling lessons with everyday ceremonial practices to help elevate your daily life. This savvy combination is key to the book’s success because it helps answer 3 key questions:
· What is the ceremony being practiced?
· How is it being performed?
· Why are we doing it this way?
For instance, we learn that a key meaning of the Māori sacred face marking ceremony is to remind each person of their life’s purpose (what), to go about that purpose with their heart rather than their ego (how), and that this is so important because it will help them accomplish their goal of serving others in their own unique way (why).
“My whole face has to do with my saying yes to why I came here to Earth to be of service.” – Louis Te Kouorehua Kereopa
Here are 5 additional takeaways from this one-of-a-kind book that manages to be both deeply grounding and incredibly celestial, all at the same time.
Find Your Particular Practice Easily.
Whether you’re trying to find your voice, are entering a new cycle in life, or want to connect more with your ancestors, the book’s easy-to-follow Table of Contents will get you to the right practice quickly.
Once you choose the practices that resonate most with you, the text offers wisdom from the book’s authors — the Aniwa Council of Elders — that encompasses not just the physical reasons for engaging in these ceremonies, but also the energetic ones.
“Through our training, we learn to understand the energy because we are energy, and we create energy with medicine.” – Nana Rosalía Zavala & Ixquik Zavala
Discover Ceremonies for Many Emotional & Physical Health Issues.
Within the book are holistic ceremonial practices given by community healers with training in nursing, naturopathy, plant-based medicine, and many other cultural professions. These ceremonies aim to assist people with addressing a variety of health concerns and life situations, including:
· Alcohol addiction
· Plant-based medicine addiction
· Anger issues
· Anxiety
· Stress
· Conceiving
· Giving birth
· Proper rest
· Grieving
· Feeling stuck
· Trauma
“Healing is to make whole again. One can be cured but not healed.” - Papali’i Dr. Tusi Avegalio
Learn that Medicinal Energy Resides in Each of Us.
You’ll be introduced to the concept of self-healing. This multi-step process starts by connecting with your heart center — and contrary to its name, it often involves outside help. The key is to use your own intuition to oversee your healing journey.
“If we believe that our body is sacred, like a sacred temple, then we have the ability to clean it.” – Nana Amalia Tum Xinico
Gently Uncover the Environmental Impact of Ceremony.
Aniwa’s Council of Elders helps us understand that our emotions directly impact the state of our Earth.
Scientists such as those at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the HeartMath Institute have also conducted studies showing that our emotions can indeed impact the environment around us.
In ceremonies such as Pagamento, you’ll uncover how to gently release your emotions to help clear negativity in yourself and transmit healthier energy to both the people around you and the Earth.
“Anger is like fire. If we let the fire out, it damages not only the people we express our anger toward but also the Earth. Mother Earth will show this fire as volcanic activity or heat waves.” – Rodrigo Kakamukwa, the sacred story of Ruawiku as told by Mamo Jose Martin Barros
Enjoy a Book That Is Itself a Sacred Ceremony.
Without even having to practice any of the ceremonies within this book, Sacred Ceremony for a Sacred Earth calmed and shifted my consciousness into a purer way of feeling and thinking. One example of this is when I was busy reading and taking notes — and then suddenly turned the page and stopped in my tracks.
Why? The picture before me was of the purest lake I’d ever seen in my entire life. It just was so vibrantly alive. This visual reached that place within me that’s beyond words. I felt like the water was speaking a silent communication, telling of the heaven that awaits us here on Earth when we practice caring, reciprocal relationships with all of Her creations.
“There is a basic level of medicinal energy always present in nature, in the cosmos always there, contacting, touching.” – Túpaq Ttito Kuntur
-Kirstie Ganobsik
Health and Wellness Writer