The Rituals: Prisara, designer and ritual entrepreneur

Prisara is the co-founder of WooWoo Ritual Goods. It began when she and Jenn Simons, her partner, rediscovered a common interest for crystals, smudge sticks, energy awareness — essentially all things “woowoo” — and thought about starting a small shop as a way to honor these objects and share it with people. Prisara always had a thing for astrology, auras, "all the hippy dippy stuff," she called it.  While she deals often with the mystical at WooWoo, Prisara also designs and makes things, from the tactile to the digital. 

1) Tell us about your favorite rituals. 

I’m all about a “clean slate.” This is likely an effect of my Libra rising, and general obsessive-compulsiveness but my favorite rituals are ones that generate that intention or feeling. Smudging with sage or palo santo really feels like you’re clearing your space and energy with a ritual that is pure, timeless and of the earth. When you combine that with the actual, physical clearing of the space, it feels like a nice, fresh slate to start again with. Lighting a candle afterwards sets the tone and honors the ritual. I do this when I’m feeling mental or emotional clutter, and have the luxury of time. Or when the season calls for a major re-set (like during a New Year, or a special Moon).

And then I have what I call my daily "re-set" rituals. A morning bath and a meditative run outdoors, with a song on repeat as a kind of mantra. These signify a kind of re-setting to my day. They are simple enough to incorporate ritual and self care into everyday.

During this quarantine though, my rituals have been about finding some (or, a lot of) grounding. Like everyone, there are days when I can’t sit still and days that are glacially slow, and a thick cloud of anxiety and something that feels like grief hangs over it all. So amid all feelings of uncertainty in this moment, I’ve committed myself to some consistency.

My mornings start slow and I try to get some recreational reading in (which means no news! no social media!). I’ve been finding comfort in old classics and poetry and try to commit their words to memory. I read somewhere that books can be a comfort when life seems to lose its narrative structure; poetry a salve because it distills memory and feeling into something tangible. All true. Art has always been a big part of my life but this time in quarantine has made me even more grateful for the imagination and wisdom of others.

At dusk, I take my dogs for a walk and take some time to notice and name my surroundings, from what I see, hear, smell, and feel, and then a prayer. With all the uncertainty around us it can be so grounding to spend time in nature where all its rhythms continue. Walking too has become a kind of meditation where I’m inclined to move at the pace of my tiny dogs (who stop and smell Everything) - a slower, sympathetic pace, the speed of thoughtfulness.

2) How do your rituals fit into your morning or night routines? How much time do you allocate for them?

Our days are full and unpredictable, so making or finding time and space for ritual can be a luxury and a privilege. But I also believe we can ritualize any act if we do them with intention and sincerity ~ to heal, restore, release.

The act itself doesn't matter as much as what it symbolizes to you. It can be as simple as a short walk, or making a cup of coffee. It doesn't have to be complicated, or grand; it just has to be yours.

3) How long have you been following these rituals?

A favorite memory from childhood is my hippie grade school teacher having us sit down in a circle for morning prayer with the curtains drawn, a candle lit, (I think there was even incense) and one of us picking out an angel card to open and set the tone for the day.

These angel cards were really just folded bits of paper with single words, like imagine, believe.. Although my childhood was surrounded by ritual and ceremony (Catholic school and all), this was my first glimpse of what a ritual could also be — not necessarily religious or grandiose, but spiritual, meditative, personal. This really resonated with me and I’ve carried it since.

4) Who or what influenced you to follow them?

Just out of a need of self care. Listening to and nurturing all aspects of self ~ physical, emotional, creative.

5) What tools, items or products do you use in doing your rituals?

At their simplest: water, movement and breath.

A morning bath, an outdoor run.

And then there are the extras that make these acts ultra special, turning routine to ritual: a wonderful soap, a facial oil, candles (Saan Saan's Patchouli at the Temple is a favorite), palo santo, crystals, sound.

6) How did these rituals help you on a daily basis?

My rituals are a form of self care and they are a daily reminder to stop for breath, come back to myself, and be present. In a world that so easily puts us into autopilot, self care and love is how you take your power back. I really believe that. I expend so much energy in my professional work as a creative and this is my way to fill the well, show up in the world and be able to give more of my best self.

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Photos by Prisara. You can also follow WooWoo on Instagram at @woowoo_ritualgoods, a ritual goods store offering sage, palo santo, crystals and ritual kits inspired by the turning moons and seasons.