Modern day rituals based on sacred traditional alchemy

I have been spending time on understanding the importance of history of rituals and the importance of how they can help with every day manifestations
I recently traveled to Bali and visited the Tirta Empul Temple,
40 minutes outside of Ubud. The temple is considered one of the six most holy temples in Bali. Considering Bali is called the island of a thousand temples, you can be sure that this sacred space is exactly that, sacred.
You walk into the gates of the temple and you feel something, I have not been able to wordsmith it but the words to describe the feelings are of awe, calmness and magnificence swirling around with a mixture of clarity and purity seem like a good starting point of an explanation.
We are living in a world where science is starting to prove that auras exist and acclaimed business reviews are explaining ancestry stories can be tracked through DNA linage. It is completely fathomable why rituals are important and how they effect our current state and road map of our future.
Based on inscription and carbon dating, the temple was constructed on the site of natural spring in 926 A.D (882 Saka) during the rule of Warmadewa and believed to have magical power and can loosely be translated into “the holy spring bubbles and gashes up through the land”. The spring is the source of the Parkerisan river.
The purification ritual
People from around the world form snake like lines waiting to dip their heads and pray below 31 water fountains whilst wading in a pool filled with stone, fish and rays of sunlight.
The three main purposes of jumping into a pool with strangers and bowing to fresh water gushing sprouts are to clear away bad and evil spirits, increase your worldly prosperity and purify your body, mind and soul.

The Legend behind the springs
According to Floating Leaf “The prevailing legend comes from an epic battle between a powerful and magical king named Mayadenawa and the God Indra. Mayadenawa possessed the spiritual power to transform himself into any form he desired. But he became careless with his powers and used them for black magic. Indra took exception to this and brought his army to right the wrongs of the evil King. Mayadenawa caught wind of the plan and snuck into Indra’s camp as the army slept. He created a beautiful but poisonous pond that the army would drink from upon their awakening.
As Mayadenawa snuck into the camp, he walked on the sides of his feet so as not to leave footprints- thus the name Tampak Siring or tilted palm. In the morning Indra awoke to find many of his men dead and scores more sick and dying. It was then, with mighty power that the God Indra piercing the ground with his staff and created the sacred healing spring of holy water.

The Ritual Process
You are expected to wear a sarong as part of the water temple ceremony, bring one or buy one; you will not be allowed to do the ritual without it. It is a beautiful way to show respect.
Ask one of the temple guides to walk you through the process if you get confused. I was lucky enough to have the temple keeper come up to me and explain how karma unfolds in the universe in a revered kind, humble and enlightening way. He was only too happy to share his experience on being the temple keeper for the last 4 years and how we are made of infinite love.
When you walk around Bali you find everyday offerings placed outside properties, roads and businesses. I was very inquisitive as to what and why this happened. Our guide told me that it is customary to give thanks for the abundance that you all ready have and not asking for anything in return, you being here is abundance enough. “Mind blown, giving instead of taking, what sorcery is this.” How awesome to visit a country where altars and prayers are a daily ritual incorporated into the fabric of their beautiful society.

Setting your intention
You obviously are drawn to a water temple for a reason, embrace it, go with intuition, your imagination and set your intention. It could be around purification or bountiful blessings, it could be about working out that pattern that keeps coming up in your waking life or it could be just asking what the best version of YOU needs to know right at this moment in time.
This temple feels magical because it is steeped in history and ritual. Go with it. Don’t get caught up in the drama of what is going on around you, just do YOU.
Offering
We have to offer “sajen” as permission of purifying before you can climb down the steps into the pool (they are slippery, go carefully). The “sajen” can consist of flowers, rice or incense sticks. The intention is as important as the offering. You cannot build a road to clarity if you don’t know which destination you want to get to. Think of basic goal setting as a guideline. Again, don’t overthink it. You got this, just do the best version of you!
You go from left to right (east to west) with the fountains facing south. It is a little tricky and I have not found any literature that explains what each fountain spout is but there is an order. Each fountain symbolizes different sins.
Each of the fountain’s have their own name which are Pengelukatan, Pebersihan, Sudamala and Cetik (posion)
The process is offering a small prayer, kneel and bend in front of the fountain and let the water wash over you. It is not cold and rather refreshing. Local custom rituals request that you rinse your head, face and drink three times, swallowing the water on the third gulp. I didn’t see too many people doing this and seemed to be adhered to only certain individuals who were locals rather than tourists.
My favorite part of the ritual is that it was for everyone, kids of all ages, parents, tourists, lovers and traditionalist. There was no right or wrong (as long as done with respect), there was just humble intent threading everyone together. There are also special ceremonies held every 210 days, on full moons and Balinese holidays.

Structure
As customary, in Balinese temples they consist of 3 parts / yards
Front / Outer courtyard: Jaba Pura
Center courtyard: Jaba Tengah — contains two purification pools.
Inside courtyard: Jeroan
You will see shrines to Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, as well as one for Indra and Mount Batur and the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, a hindu god for the supreme consciousness Narayana.
The Purpose
Hundreds of locals and tourists come to the temple mainly for 3 purposes.
Tirta Gering — Cleaning bad / evil sprits
Tirta Meta — Prosperity
Tirta Sudhomala — Purifying the body and spirit
Want to go?
The temple is open seven days a week from 09:00–17:00.
Adult entrance fee an adult is Rp 15 000 and Rp 7 500 for a child
Sarong fee Rs 10 000
Toilet Rp 2000
References:
Bali Floating Leaf
Gorgeous Bali
Discover your Indonesia
Bali Golden Tour
Miller Memoires
Bali Around
Bali Hello Travel
