There is almost no second substance growing in nature which fascinates me like Cacao. Sure, there are incredible powerful things growing on our planet, like psychedelic mushrooms, Ayahuasca, Cactus, or secrets of frogs, and so on. But very few work as subtly and powerfully as Cacao does.
The Orginis of Cacao
The term cacao itself traces back to the Mayan “Ka‘kau,” literally meaning “heart blood,”.
By ancient south and middle american cultures, Cacao is held in very high esteems and is seen as sacred. According to Mayan–Aztec lore, Cacao was believed to be bestowed on humanity as a direct gift by the gods. Specifically by Quetzalcóatl — the feathered serpent, who represents the embodiment of the balance of heaven and earth. The feathers represent the freedom of birds and their connection to the sky and heaven. The serpent is the creature most intimately connected to the earth, and in many cultures seen as a wise being. Cacao was therefore a divine gift, connecting the mortal world with the celestial realm.
The official botanical name — Theobroma cacao — literally translates to “food of the gods”.
The cacao plant needs a tropical climate to grow properly. Therefore it grows only in south/middle america, africa, and in some south east asian countries. All of those regions are famous for their ancient traditional cultures, shamanism and connection to the spirit of the Earth and the cosmos.
What we know as Chocolate today also has its origins in mayan-aztecan culture, where it was — and still is — a ceremonial drink, held in high sacredness and adoration. There it was originally used as a ceremonial drink, before we also made it into the form of chocolate bars as we know them.
The word „Chocolate“ comes from „Chokola‘j“, which means “to drink together”.
In the western world, we mostly get our Cacao from Africa, where it grows and gets sold in a highly commercialized way. But there are many varieties of the Cacao tree. Some are almost impossible to find and only grow in certain areas, like the colombian „Copoazú“ which only grows in the amazon region of colombia. The middle/south american Criollo type is probably the most qualitative and tasteful one among all varieties. Its color looks more like milk chocolate, not even fitting the name of „dark chocolate“ as we know unsweetened bars in the west. It is also far away from the bitterness of the african varieties, and overall very surprising to the western tongue, which are mostly exclusively used to Chocolate coming from africa.
The psychological meaning of Cacao & Chocolate
Cacao is famous for activating and working very well on the energy center of the heart(Anahata) and its compassionate primordial qualities. It opens it, cleans and amplifies its energy in a very subtle and harmonious way. Cacao is used in shamanic rituals and in sacred ceremonies, with a lot of appreciation and care in the way how it is prepared.
My friend and well-known homeopathic teacher, Antonie Peppler (†), once analyzed and talked about the psychological meaning of Chocolate (not the Cacao plant itself). She came to the conclusion that Chocolate can be best described as „the materialised orgasm“.
And this is not surprising if we see it from the standpoint of the Chakras, and look at the two main ingredients of Chocolate – Cacao and sugar.
Cacao works primarily and very effectively on the Heart Chakra – Anahata. Sugar on the other hand works tremendously on Svadhistana – the Sex Chakra. Both of those Chakras are majorly involved in the process of orgasm and the energy it is made up of.
It is like the sweet dopamine-enhancing sugar is giving a greater intensity to the loving and soothing energy of the Cacao, and both amplifying each other.
At the same time it also involves the second chakra, adding to it its unique form of a very potent type of energy in the process.
In some traditional ceremonies, Cacao gets oftentimes mixed with other ingredients and spices. This adds additional quality to the already very potent heart energy. Chili for example is connected to the fire element. As well as cinnamon, together with a touch of the earth element. These ingredients are intensifying the heart energy with the quality of other elements. Other substances can have different effects, according to their unique substantial properties.
Some yogic schools, or practitioners of the „Creative Homeopathy according to Antonie Peppler“ can give more insights about the psychological effects of certain substances.
If you want to learn more about the elements, look up my Free Mini Workshop, where you learn to charge your whole being with the 5 elements directly.
Last Words & Recommendations
Cacao is a very powerful substance, and not as sufficiently appreciated as it is able to benefit us. If you are looking for a good Cacao, I can generally recommend biodynamic products of Demeter, which is probably the highest standard of systemized agriculture available in stores. Unfortunately mostly available in germany.
For taste, colombian or mexican Criollo cacao is very nutritious and tasty, even without any sugar or further ingredients.
„El chocolate tiene magia para sanar“
– latin-american proverb (= „Chocolate has the magic to heal“)
