Big and Small
Whether it’s taking a dip in the ocean to mark a meaningful moment or a destination wedding full of rituals, I am honored to accompany you and yours.
Weddings
I am a romantic at heart, a believer in the transformative power of love, and a reveler in celebrating other people’s joys. I work passionately for your passions, co-creating rituals that can connect to the shapes your dreams take. Wedding rituals are intricately personal and collaborative, whether you want some quick sweet vows or a weekend full of ritual structure. Your dreams, moods, and intentions make the chuppah your home.
Pre- and Post-wedding rituals
Some of my favorites have included an updated tana’im blessing, a romantic havdalah, and a blessing for ancestors’ heirlooms. These tailored experiences provide intentional spaces to connect, do something intimate, or play a little during a (delightfully) hectic time.
Spectrum of accompaniment
I am available to:
– Lead and officiate rituals
– Brainstorm ritual or logistics
– Provide pre-wedding alignment sessions
– Offer and translate ritual texts and readings
– Copy-edit your Ketubah
Transition
Becoming a new/updated/same you is a big deal. There are so many milestones that can be identified on the path of transition, and each deserves to be marked meaningfully.
My spectrum of accompaniment is broad and can take place in a day or over the course of years’ worth of milestones along the journey.
Mikveh
In 2006 I worked with the nascent Mayyim Chayyim mikveh in Newton, MA to develop their first trans-inclusive ritual. Since then, I have biult only more and taken my own spiritual practice to the ocean. Mikveh is about using intentional ritual immersion in “moving waters” to set and build intentions around moments of transition, empowerment, grief, release, or the simple need to re-start a week, a day, a lifetime, or a moment.
What brings us to each of our rituals, whatever they may be, can be woven into the ritual to bring a deeper connection to what is ancient, and what we make of the ancient.
Jewish protection magic is often rooted in creating a home that feels safe, protected, and is entered and exited with intention. Let’s affix a Mezuzah and introduce it to your space. Let’s create and place incantation bowls outside of or around your space. Let’s build an altar, a cleansing ritual, a protocol for moving that feels rooted, embodied, and meaningful to you.
Homemaking
COVID safety and accessibility
Safety and accessibility to accommodate physical needs and the need for clean air is of paramount importance to me. I encourage anyone holding gatherings to consider how to best keep their community safe at all times. I wear a mask in indoor spaces.
Ariel N Kates 