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Yule
The Spirits of the Season
We redid The Spirits of the Season ritual for Yule. This ritual involved 8 golden masks representing the gifts of the sun that we rely on: light, heat, time, weather, color, harvest, reflected light, and the sun of Solstice. One by one, each of us held our mask in front of us and explained what gift we were represented. The final mask was the sun of Solstice and we celebrated this event with carols and a toast.
We were read a wonderful poem “The Shortest Day” and sang some more (this was Solstice and we like to sing).
Samhain
Walking the Wheel in Moonlight
Since Samhain is the witch’s new year’s, we did a ritual counting the full moons of the new year and honoring each one. I used an altar cloth that depicted a ring of full moons. We will took time into our hands and pushed the wheel around the year, month by month. For each month, one of the participants lit a candle for that month and read a verse about that month, about turning leaves and apples for the Hunter’s moon or flowers and sunshine for the Flower Moon. We walked to the next moon in magic space, placed a small mirror on the altar cloth for that next month and proceeded to the verse and candle for that month.
At the end, we had a ring of burning candles reflected in the mirrors. We raised the power over the candles and blessed the year ahead.
We finished with a Happy New Year toast and the poem “October's Bright Blue Weather”.
Walking the Wheel in Moonlight
Since Samhain is the witch’s new year’s, we did a ritual counting the full moons of the new year and honoring each one. I used an altar cloth that depicted a ring of full moons. We will took time into our hands and pushed the wheel around the year, month by month. For each month, one of the participants lit a candle for that month and read a verse about that month, about turning leaves and apples for the Hunter’s moon or flowers and sunshine for the Flower Moon. We walked to the next moon in magic space, placed a small mirror on the altar cloth for that next month and proceeded to the verse and candle for that month.
At the end, we had a ring of burning candles reflected in the mirrors. We raised the power over the candles and blessed the year ahead.
We finished with a Happy New Year toast and the poem “October's Bright Blue Weather”.
Maybon
The Experience of Time
The ritual about the idea of time - how time flows through us and our lives. It gives us a chance to consider the idea of balance, of equilibrium. Everything happens in its own time on its own scale.
While we measure time in precise increments, we don’t experience time that way. Some things take place in an instant, but last forever. Some things seem never changing, but are really always different. Some things exist in an eternal now. Our experience of time can be episodic or eliptical or periodic and seasonal. Some time flows past us in a smooth succession of days and months and weeks and years.
The ritual uses sand to symbolize time. There are five parts to the time ritual. A pentacle is on the altar. Each part represents a “kind” of time. A jar of yellow sand stands in the east, one of red sand in the south, one of blue sand in the west, one of green in the west and one of purple at the point of the pentacle. An empty dish is in the middle of the pentacle.
The altar also has wands and bubbles for each participant, along with a dish of apple pieces, a basket of small crystals and a pitcher of water and glasses.
A participant measures a tablespoon of yellow sand into the middle dish. This represents ephemeral time. All the participants meditate on things that happen in an instant. They blow bubbles to symbolize ephemeral time.
Another participant measures a tablespoon of red sand into the middle dish. This represents seasonal time. All the participants eat a piece of apple and meditate on periodic, seasonal time.
A third participant measures a teaspoon of blue sand into the middle dish. This represents flowing time. That participant also pours a glass or water for each person. The participants drink water and meditate on time without measurement.
Another participant measures a tablespoon of green sand into the middle dish. This represents lasting time. The participant offers each person a crystal. The participants hold the crystals and meditate on eras and eons.
Another participant measures a tablespoon of purple sand into the middle dish. This represents time outside of time, time that cannot be measured because in no real sense does it exist. The participants hold hands and raise the power over the sand. Each person stirs the dish of salt to blend the colors. The sand is poured into small bottles so that everyone gets a little to take home.
The Experience of Time
The ritual about the idea of time - how time flows through us and our lives. It gives us a chance to consider the idea of balance, of equilibrium. Everything happens in its own time on its own scale.
While we measure time in precise increments, we don’t experience time that way. Some things take place in an instant, but last forever. Some things seem never changing, but are really always different. Some things exist in an eternal now. Our experience of time can be episodic or eliptical or periodic and seasonal. Some time flows past us in a smooth succession of days and months and weeks and years.
The ritual uses sand to symbolize time. There are five parts to the time ritual. A pentacle is on the altar. Each part represents a “kind” of time. A jar of yellow sand stands in the east, one of red sand in the south, one of blue sand in the west, one of green in the west and one of purple at the point of the pentacle. An empty dish is in the middle of the pentacle.
The altar also has wands and bubbles for each participant, along with a dish of apple pieces, a basket of small crystals and a pitcher of water and glasses.
A participant measures a tablespoon of yellow sand into the middle dish. This represents ephemeral time. All the participants meditate on things that happen in an instant. They blow bubbles to symbolize ephemeral time.
Another participant measures a tablespoon of red sand into the middle dish. This represents seasonal time. All the participants eat a piece of apple and meditate on periodic, seasonal time.
A third participant measures a teaspoon of blue sand into the middle dish. This represents flowing time. That participant also pours a glass or water for each person. The participants drink water and meditate on time without measurement.
Another participant measures a tablespoon of green sand into the middle dish. This represents lasting time. The participant offers each person a crystal. The participants hold the crystals and meditate on eras and eons.
Another participant measures a tablespoon of purple sand into the middle dish. This represents time outside of time, time that cannot be measured because in no real sense does it exist. The participants hold hands and raise the power over the sand. Each person stirs the dish of salt to blend the colors. The sand is poured into small bottles so that everyone gets a little to take home.
Samhain
The Descent into Darkness
This ritual was based on the myth of Inanna’s descent into the underworld. She travels downward and passes through multiple gates as she descends. At each gate, she gives up something that defines her. I updated it so it pertained to a 21th century person. We started our descent into darkness wearing our jewelry, a crown (or other indication of profession or status), clothes (represented by a scarf) and carrying a book and a small heart. In front of us were washcloths and sleep masks. In fact, this ritual used a lot of “props”. There are 12 Gateways:
At the first gateway, we gave up our personal belongings, symbolizing by jewelry.
At the second gateway, we gave up our crowns, symbolizing our earthly professions and status.
At the third gateway, we gave up our clothing, just a scarf in this case.
At the fourth gateway, we gave up our beliefs and opened our minds to the darkness, symbolized by dropping the books we were carrying.
At the fifth gateway, we shed our relationships by putting a crystal heart in the box of possessions
At the sixth gateway, we give away our bodies by symbolically washing our faces.
At the seventh gateway, we give away our personal selves and don a sleep mask.
After a meditation, we come back to the world, light a candle and drink water. We think about what is important and what was hard to disavow.
Yule
The Circles of Peace
At Yule, I often do a ritual of peace. This year (2020), when even families were split and at odds, a call for peace seems completely appropriate. I made 3 rings of candles on the altar: an outer circle, an inner circle and a center circle. The outer rings had five candles in a pentacle shape. The center circle had 3 for the 3 faces of the Goddess.
For each candle in the first ring, we called for peace in a region of the world, ending in the US. For each candle in the inner ring, we asked for tolerance and kindness within families, among friends, in the public arena, and among strangers. The last candle in this circle was for unity among people.
For the center candle, we asked for peace within ourselves and for our own relationships and peace with our own minds and bodies.
We added the power of song to the power of light. We raised the power and sent it out to the world to bring peace wherever it touched.
These are my blogs describing our rituals over the years. I intend to start up the blogging again, but here's the old stuff.
