Within Kejawen, ritual life orbits around the search for harmony between the human community, the unseen spirit world, and the Divine. One of the most emblematic practices is ruwatan, a purification rite intended to liberate individuals from misfortune, curses, or spiritual danger, especially those considered sukerta or born under inauspicious circumstances. This ceremony is often centered on a wayang kulit performance of the Murwakala story, accompanied by offerings and prayers, and is understood as a way to restore balance and avert calamity. Closely related are broader communal ruwatan for land or villages, which seek to cleanse and protect an entire locality from disaster or disharmony.

Equally central is the slametan, a communal ritual meal that marks almost every significant threshold of life and community. It is held for births, deaths, marriages, harvests, and other transitions, and is also performed at key calendar moments such as the Javanese New Year in the month of Suro. Through shared food, prayers, and remembrance of ancestors, the slametan weaves together social solidarity and spiritual protection, affirming that everyday events are embedded in a wider sacred order. In many places, Suro itself is observed with cleansing practices, processions of heirlooms, and additional slametan to seek blessing and protection for the year ahead.

Several other observances further illuminate the syncretic character of Kejawen. Nyekar, the visitation of ancestral graves on important dates, expresses reverence for forebears and a desire to remain in right relation with those who have passed on. Tirakat, involving fasting, meditation, and other ascetic disciplines, is undertaken to purify the self and cultivate inner power, showing that ritual in this tradition is not only communal but also deeply interior. Bancaan, the offering of ritual food to spirits and guardians at homes or sacred sites, and mitoni, the seven‑month pregnancy rite that joins Islamic prayers with Javanese symbolism, both reveal how domestic life is continually sacralized.

Kejawen also embraces large public celebrations that blend Islamic commemorations with Javanese courtly and mystical forms. Muludan and Sekaten, both associated with honoring the Prophet Muhammad’s birth, are marked by gamelan, traditional arts, and court ceremonies, demonstrating how devotion to the Prophet is expressed through a distinctively Javanese aesthetic. Labuhan, the offering of ritual objects and food at seas, mountains, or springs, extends this pattern into the natural world, acknowledging powerful spiritual guardians in the landscape and reaffirming gratitude and dependence upon them. Weton observances, based on one’s Javanese birth date, add a more personal layer, guiding the timing of important actions and reminding practitioners that each individual life is woven into a larger cosmic rhythm.