Four Directions Ceremony, Spiritual Sovereignty, and Respect for the Sacred

Recently I had a one to one with one of my long-time mentees in the world of yoga, meditation, and ceremony. He is a white presenting, half Native American, half British yoga practitioner who is deeply respected and carries incredible integrity. We spoke about Four Directions ceremony and sacred medicine songs, and his questions felt so relevant that I wanted to share the discussion here with you.

Who Owns the Four Directions

The first thing I want to say is thank you to everyone who embraces Four Directions ceremonies and Four Directions meditations. I also want to offer some spiritual sovereignty here, because there is often an assumption that the Four Directions belong exclusively to Native American culture. This is the most famous expression, but it is far from the only one.

If you have studied Ayurveda, you will have seen cardinal directions spiritual meaning through the elements. If you practise acupuncture or Taoist arts, you will recognise them in Five Element theory in ceremony. In Europe, you will find pagan directions and druidic ceremony. These patterns appear across continents. Thanks to historical exchanges, including Genghis Khan’s role in spreading the shamanic drum from Siberia to the Americas, we see shamanic drumming, throat singing, and nature worship appearing in cultures that never met yet share the same love for the sacred earth.

Making the Directions Yours

When I teach Four Directions ceremony at Jambo Dragon School, I encourage people to adapt them to their current environment. Here in Indonesia, my North is the ancient mountains of China. My South is the revered and powerful sea. My East is the true rising sun, and my West is the Western world, my roots, my family connections, and old friendships.

This is where ceremonial practices for yoga teachers can truly come alive. The directions are not static; they are deeply responsive to place and season. Many traditions originally linked directions to agricultural cycles, animal migrations, or seasonal survival.

Directions in Other Systems

This adaptability shows up in feng shui cardinal directions too. Some schools fix the South at the front door and map the rest accordingly. Others use a compass to find the true North and work from there. Both are powerful, and it is your intent that moves qi and gives the practice life.

In my work at Jambo Dragon School workshops and Jambo Dragon School ceremony training, we follow each tradition respectfully. When I am in a yoga context, I honour the Ayurvedic model of cardinal directions spiritual meaning. When I am teaching acupuncture or Taoist practice, I lean into the Five Element theory in ceremony. In European coven circles, we use the local language and imagery.

Respecting Other Traditions

Respect means not lifting archetypes or sacred archetypes in ritual out of context. For example, I do not come from a place where bears are native, so invoking Bear as a directional guardian in my personal work does not feel aligned.

I grew up with Jesus and Quan Yin in my life. A Buddhist Taoist upbringing in the West meant Christ consciousness was as familiar as Quan Yin meditation. When I meet a tradition I am less familiar with, such as the Pomba Gira of South America, I do not simply adopt them. They are considered lower class spirits that require appeasement. That is not the same as calling on Red Tara, who comes whenever she is called out of pure compassion.

Trying to say these archetypes are the same is disrespectful to both. If I wanted to work with Pomba Gira or an African deity, I would seek a lineage holder or an experienced guide. This is the same as expecting someone to respect how I use chopsticks or how I fry rice, it is culture, it is lineage, and it matters.

When Misinformation Creeps In

Once, a student in my class confidently claimed that certain manifestations of Quan Yin were not truly her. Wrathful compassion is part of Quan Yin’s nature, like the guardian who acts firmly to protect a child. Removing this from her story erases a truth that exists in many traditions, from wrathful compassion in Buddhism to protective deities in shamanic ceremony.

Ceremony as Living Practice

Whether we are working with Four Directions meditation, sacred medicine songs, shamanic drumming, or integrating traditions in ceremony, we are engaging with living systems. They are rooted in place, season, and cultural history. They require spiritual sovereignty, respect, and the willingness to adapt our rituals to our current location and needs.

At Jambo Dragon School, my goal is to help practitioners, whether they are yoga teachers, acupuncturists, ritualists, or seekers, create cross cultural ceremony that honours the lineages it draws from and also breathes with the present moment.

Learn to Lead Ceremony with Integrity

If this conversation resonates with you, I invite you to join me for Jambo Dragon School Ceremony Training. Together we will explore Four Directions ceremony, sacred medicine songs, shamanic drumming, and the art of integrating traditions in a way that honours their roots and empowers your own voice.

You will learn how to adapt cardinal directions spiritual meaning to your location, how to work respectfully with sacred archetypes in ritual, and how to lead ceremony with both confidence and cultural awareness. This training is for yoga teachers, bodyworkers, energy practitioners, and anyone ready to bring deeper integrity and power to their ceremonial work.

📅 2-7 October 2025, Marseille, France and Online

🕙 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:30

💷 €1200

📧 Register by emailing at ca72ro@live.fr

Step into the circle with respect, clarity, and the tools to lead transformative ceremonies that truly belong to the moment, and the people present.