My Brother, My Concerns, and the Family I Don’t Recognize

My Family’s Secret Rituals Are Getting Out of Hand

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

“Hi, how are you? Fancy going to your mom’s for a Rapé ceremony tomorrow? I’d love for you to come,” my cousin texted me after we hadn’t spoken or seen each other in months, maybe years.

I looked at my partner in confusion and did a quick Google search — I had no idea what a Rapé ceremony was or why my cousin was inviting me to attend. But then again, I had known for a while that my mom’s house had become a regular meeting place for substances and mushrooms, so the shock quickly turned to disappointment—they were doing it again.

My Mother’s Hidden Gatherings

Ever since my parents divorced and the house was left in my mother’s care, she had been organising gatherings with other family members, where they would eat edibles, inhale ancient shamanic elixirs, and ingest mushrooms.

I have a deep respect for what such ceremonies involve, and I see them as a deeply sacred experience that should be done in a safe space under the supervision of a shaman. This is exactly why I was so disturbed by these meetings that were taking place—all the important elements that would make such a ceremony sacred were missing—they were all being done in an…