Calling In The Seven Directions: A Heart-led Celebrant Practice

When training celebrants, one of the essentials they learn in creating Earth-based ceremonies is Calling in the Directions.

Many celebrants call in four directions: East, South, West and North.

My practice is to call in Six Sacred Directions or Seven Consecrated Spaces.

 

Each celebrant must find their own way, of course, and do what resonates with them/their clients and feels most authentic. For many years, I called in the directions starting with the East. This is where the majority of ceremonialists start. And it makes sense. Afterall, it’s the direction of sunrise. A place of new beginnings. The first light of day.

 

After much reflection, my practice changed. I now start with the North. Why? Because the North is Winter. The dark. A place of stillness and power. This is where seeds sleep and prepare for germination.

 

 

 

This feels more authentic for me, and also means, in terms of four directions, that we end with the West, where the Sun goes down over the horizon. This feels reflective of the human passage of time, too. Eventually our light goes out (or, at least, our light is only visible to those on the Other Side of the horizon). While some may call this death, others call it a ‘passing over’.

Deosil and Widdershins
Regardless of your starting point, the directions are called in Deosil (way of the Sun).

The first four directions speak to us of nature’s cycles on this Earth.

North
East
South
West

Each call is an embodied prayer to the direction, elements and seasons. In my practice, each one is a combination of

 

• intention
• visualisation
• ritual choreography

When we close a ceremony, we give thanks to each direction and release the energies; this is called widdershins (against the Sun).

However, in my practice I call in Seven Directions so therefore I don’t close after the West.

These are the next three directions:

[UP] Call in the Sacred Sky Above (fifth direction). Sky as shelter.

[DOWN] Then I call in the Earth Below (six direction). Groundedness.

[CENTRE] The seventh consecrated space is within. Heart. Is this where the soul resides? When I call to this place, I also ask those at ceremony to consider the One Heart that connects us all. When we find our centre, then we can orient our self to all the directions.

 

You don’t need to wait for a paid ceremony to call in the Seven Sacred Spaces. This can be part of your daily practice. Perhaps it will be as simple as standing at your bedroom window, or in the garden, each morning and calling them in; and then releasing them and giving thanks to each one before you go to sleep at night.

Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training Heart-led Celebrants attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.

Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Five Elements.

Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.