Ritual to Give Thanks for the Rains by Zoe Bullock

Kitchen Witch
2 days ago
6 min read

Background

I performed this ritual at the end of the rainy season where I live in Costa Rica. At the start of the season I performed a spell to call in the rain, and I wanted to show gratitude to spirit for what turned out to be a very good rainy season.

In the original spell I invited Chaac, the Mayan God of Rain, Thunder and Lightning, and of course I wanted to thank him. I also wanted to thank Jaguar because the spirit of the Jaguar has been revered for many, many generations in Mesoamerican culture, including as a rain deity in the Olmec region (which was based around the Gulf of Mexico from around 1400 BCE to 400 BCE and was thought to have extended down to what is now Costa Rica at one point).

There are many reasons for Jaguar’s significance, including its size, power and agility which make it a formidable hunter, the fact that it can live in both the trees and the water (one of the only cats that is comfortable swimming), and that it hunts both in the daytime and night time – these qualities have made it an ethereal, liminal and shapeshifting spirit animal for these cultures.

It is said to be a guardian of the spirit realms by many different cultures which extend down as far as Peru, and cover the Amazon tribes. It is a main candidate as a ‘nagual’, one of the power animals that a shaman can shapeshift into in order to protect the village or tribe.

Also, in the Mayan culture, Chaac the Rain God was said to preside over the transformation of an initiate into the jaguar – showing the links between Chaac and the jaguar.

When it came to thinking about offerings, I found out that many offerings of food, drink and precious objects are made to Chaac, as well as fervent prayers and chanting, in order to bring the rain. In the Yucatan Peninsula there is a cave with limestone walls and the people still go there to this day to collect the water which is so pure it is considered good enough for an offering to Chaac. I used some water that I collected during a storm this season, as I thought this might be a good substitute.

I love how the Kitchen Witch rituals often have some crafts involved and I wanted to do the same. The Black Jaguar has become a strong spirit guide for me, and I personally associate him with snowflake obsidian. I think that the snowflake appearance really emulates the rosettes on the Black Jaguar, and I wanted to use the ritual to consecrate and charge a piece, and then to wire wrap it to put on a necklace.

I also arranged a small vase of the herbs from my front doorstep that the rain has helped to grow this season, as a demonstration of my appreciation for all that the rain brings us.

For the feasting part of the ritual, I found out that Chaac was honoured with celebratory feasts by the Mayans, and many sacrifices were made to him. One example of a sacrifice was an ocellated turkey (a type of turkey found in Mexico). Its blood was spread on the fields in hopes of a good harvest. I am vegetarian, or I might’ve had a turkey sandwich or something! Instead I decided to have a cup of juanilama and butterfly pea tea, and eat some berries, because all of this was from my garden, which the rain helped to grow.

Items used:

White candle

Lighter

Frankincense incense (due to its strong relationship with deity)

Small cup of stormwater (collected from the rainy season I was giving thanks for)

Tea (juanilama and butterfly pea) and berries from the garden

Pictures of Chaac, God of Rain, Thunder and Lightning

Pictures of a (Black) Jaguar

Symbols of water element (shells and seaglass)

Vase of herb sprigs from my doorstep

Silver wire for wrapping crystals, plus tools

Necklace cord

Snowflake obsidian crystal

The Ritual:

Cleansing

Light the incense and smoke cleanse the room.

Circle casting

Ground and centre.

Light the candle – an offering and symbol of gratitude to deity. Recite the verse and visualise the white light forming the circle and the protective bubble.

“Circle of power, protect me this hour,

Shine your light bright, keep harm out of sight,

Weave your thread round, positivity abound

Over and under, bring magic and wonder”.

Calling the quarters

The reason that there are colours mentioned in these verses is because Chaac was considered to be both singular and also manifold. There are four Chaacs based around the cardinal directions, each with a corresponding colour – red for East (sunrise), white for North (the midday zenith), black for West (sunset) and yellow for South. I decided to include a reference to this in my calling of the quarters. (Additionally, these four Chaacs were sometimes represented as jaguars. The Aztec God of Rain was also represented as half jaguar sometimes, and when the God roared this was said to cause thunder).

Facing the relevant directions, recite these verses:

“White Element of Earth, please join me in this ritual,

Without you there is nowhere for the rain to fall,

Nowhere for plants to grow,

You are the root and source of all.

Hail and welcome!”

“Red Element of Air, please join me in this ritual,

Without you clouds would never form,

Never blow from sea to land,

You are the invisible conjuror.

Hail and welcome!”

“Yellow Element of Fire, please join me in this ritual,

Without you water cannot rise and move,

The cycles of life would fail,

You are the energy that powers all.

Hail and welcome!”

“Black Element of Water, please join me in this ritual,

Without you the land is dry,

Desolation strikes us all.

You are the essence of rain and life.

Hail and welcome!”

Inviting Deity

Recite these verses and visualise the deities joining you:

“Chaac, Revered God of Rain, Thunder and Lightning,

Still you are powerful, and you are needed.

I respectfully request your presence so that I may thank you.

Hail and Welcome!”.

“Beautiful Black Jaguar, I have been honoured by your presence,

You bring protection, love, and also the gift of rain.

I respectfully invite you so that I may thank you.

Hail and Welcome!”

Offerings

I normally explain my offerings to each deity.

Raising energy

When I performed this ritual I used a brilliant shamanic drumming recording on Insight Timer called ‘Walk with the Jaguar’ by The Mother Serpent, which not only was very appropriate, but it was also very energetic. I stomped around in my circle to this for five minutes until I thought that I had raised enough energy to send up gratitude to the deities and the universe. I also visualised the spirits dancing around with me.

The Working

For me this ritual was not so much about spell casting as about being grateful. I wanted to just let the spirits and the universe know how grateful I am for the rain this season. So, once I had raised enough energy I visualised the gratitude filling me as a white light, and then going down my arms and into my hands. Then I raised them skywards and released the feelings of gratitude up into the sky, and circling the earth. I recited this nine times (Otorongo is the name for the jaguar in Peru):

“Otorongo, I thank you,

Chaac, I thank you,

All spirits of rain, I thank you,

Please know and feel my gratitude”

Then I made the crystal necklace by first dipping the crystal in the stormwater to consecrate it, charging it with its mission, and then wire wrapping it (there are many helpful videos on YouTube, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOJRBhdaOBs). Finally I hung it on the necklace.

Feast

I drank my tea and ate the berries whilst visualising the rain falling and helping them to grow.

Closing

Thanking Deity:

“Revered God Chaac, I thank you for the rain.

You have blessed this land with your power this season.

I remain truly grateful.

I thank you for your presence in this ritual.

Hail and Farewell.”

“Beautiful Otorongo, I thank you for the rain.

You have also blessed me with your love and protection.

I will always be truly grateful.