Ritual practice in Kejawen unfolds in a fluid, syncretic way, yet certain patterns recur with striking consistency. Ceremonies are often held in homes, at family shrines, graves of ancestors, or at natural and village sacred sites such as springs, trees, caves, or beaches. The space is ritually prepared, frequently with incense and carefully arranged offerings, and the timing is chosen in harmony with the Javanese calendar and significant life events. At the heart of these gatherings lies the intention to maintain balance between humans, the unseen world, and the divine, rather than strict adherence to a fixed liturgy. This orientation allows Islamic elements, older Javanese traditions, and local spirit beliefs to coexist within a single ritual frame.

Offerings (sesajen) form a central axis of practice. Typical offerings include rice preparations, flowers, betel leaves, fruits, snacks, tea or coffee, cigarettes, and sometimes meat dishes, all placed with deliberate intention. These are directed to God, ancestral spirits, and local guardian entities, accompanied by short invocations for harmony, protection, and blessing. In many settings, this offering practice appears within the slametan, a communal meal-ritual marking births, marriages, death commemorations, building houses, agricultural cycles, and other turning points. Neighbors and kin gather, sit together on the floor, listen to prayers that blend Qur’anic recitation with Javanese supplications, and then share the blessed food, which extends the ritual benefit into each household.

Inner discipline and contemplative practice are equally important. Practitioners engage in semedi, a quiet, often nocturnal meditation carried out in secluded rooms, graveyards, mountains, or caves, focusing on breath, divine names, or inner light. This is frequently supported by laku or tirakat, forms of fasting and asceticism that may include Islamic-style fasting as well as special food restrictions or periods of silence and darkness. Such practices are understood as polishing the heart and strengthening the efficacy of prayers and offerings, opening the way to deeper spiritual insight and a more intimate sense of the divine presence.

Kejawen also gives a prominent place to ancestral veneration and communication with the spirit world. Offerings and prayers at graves, household shrines, and other sacred spots honor the dead and seek their guidance, while certain adepts may conduct spirit-invoking rites or trance states to receive counsel or protection. Traditional arts such as wayang kulit, gamelan, and courtly dance are not merely entertainment but can function as ritual acts, framed by offerings and prayers and conveying cosmological and ethical teachings. Throughout these diverse forms, Islamic prayers, Javanese mantras, and respect for local spirits are woven together, expressing a vision of spiritual life in which outer ritual, inner discipline, and everyday community bonds all serve the pursuit of harmony with the visible and invisible realms.