Speaking to the Earth

A Ritual for Releasing Grief into the Earth

This is a practice you can do on your own, as there is deep value in meeting grief privately. And if it feels right, you can also invite trusted witnesses to join you.

🌿 Step 1: Find a safe outdoor place → Choose somewhere you feel completely safe; your backyard, a friend’s garden, or a place in the wild.

🌿 Step 2: Create an opening → Dig a small opening in the earth, about a foot wide and a foot deep. This will be the vessel that receives your grief.

🌿 Step 3: Begin with gratitude → Offer words of thanks to the earth for receiving what you are about to share. You may also place an offering — traditionally tobacco or ash, or anything that feels meaningful to you.

🌿 Step 4: Speak your request → Let the earth know what you need. You might say:

“Please help me let go of this pain that is weighing me down. I can no longer hold it. It is too big for me and depriving me of joy. I know you can hold this for me. Thank you for being here for us all.”

🌿 Step 5: Release your grief → Lie on your belly and allow whatever needs to move through you to come forth — words, silence, tears, cries, or even screams. Trust that the earth can absorb it all and transform it into nourishment for life.

🌿 Step 6: Give thanks & close → When you are finished, thank the earth for her holding and love. Close the opening gently, leaving the ground as close to its original state as possible.

You may notice yourself returning with a lighter heart. 🌿

(Adapted from The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller)