- Advance Prep:
- - Have guests select a candle and choose where they will sit in the circle.
- - Send all but assistant out of the ritual space
- - Purify and cast circle with salt water; light sacred candle, and smudge circle with sage.
- - cut a door in circle and have assistant summon guests (all lights off ).
- - Assistant will help each person light their candle from the sacred candle as they enter.
- - smudge each guest with frankincense as they enter room and choose their seats.
Words spoken in italics - (Actions in parentheses)
- Account of Samhain:
- The purpose of this night's work is to celebrate the deeper mysteries of Samhain. Samhain is the beginning of the New Year... and the new year is born out of the death of the old. Thus it has ever been, and this is what we acknowledge this night: the death of the old in preparation for the birth of the new. This is a night of turning inward and seeking guidance for the spiritual journey ahead that the long winter will bring. As such, we seek this guidance from those who have gone before us; our ancestors, our family, our friends. For on this night the veil between the World of Form and The World of Spirit thins like the autumn mist... And for those who wish it, you may cross this shadow border and share in their wisdom.
- Let our journey begin...
- Opening Invocation:
- We enter this space with Love in our hearts,
To make it a place Between the Worlds and
Outside of Time.
- May the Eyes of the Universe
Lend witness and support to our gathering together.
So Mote It Be!
- Raising and Balancing the Energy:
- Begin deep breathing, summoning up energy. Starting with HPS, begin to pass ball of energy around the circle. Let everyone add to it or draw from it as it is passed from person to person. After the third pass around, HPS will expand the ball until it surrounds the circle in a sphere of shared energy, protecting the space.
- Grounding the Energy:
- Open your connection with the Earth. Extend your senses downward; through your body, through your feet, through the floor, and down into the Earth. Feel the energy within you slowly draining down through your feet and into the Earth. Imagine your bones are hollow like pipes, extending deeper and deeper into the ground. Let all of the negativity within you drain through these pipes and down into the Earth. Feel the weight of gravity settling on your shoulders, your head. Feel the weight of the Earth pulling you downward, and within.
- Now with your senses extended as far as they will go into the Earth, begin to pull that green, healing Earth energy up through your pipes and into your body. Feel the strength of the Earth being pulled up into your body and filling up every pore. Fill yourself with the strength and healing of Earth, until your whole body is a vessel for green, fertile Earth energy. When your body has taken in as much energy as it can hold, when it can't contain a bit more, place your hands upon the ground and send the excess energy back into the ground and into our circle. Feel the circle strengthen as it surrounds us and protects us.
- Now that we are all properly Grounded and Centered... we can begin to summon and stir the directions so that we may have a safe place where the Veil Between the Worlds may thin. I will take you on a journey. Although the journey seems to travel in a circle, it is actually a spiral, for where we end will not be exactly where we began.
- (add frankincense to charcoal, cense circle)
- EAST:
- We summon and stir the Powers of the East; The bright light of the Rising Sun and of the Cleansing Wind.
- Begin to take deep breaths... draw in the pure energy of the East with each breath, and let your tension blow away as you exhale. Close your eyes and picture yourself standing in a field of bright yellow flowers. It's springtime, and the sun is just beginning to color the horizon with the first pinks and yellows of the new day. You are still breathing slowly and deeply. You hear birds awake and begin to sing, and the breeze blows cool, fresh air past your face and through your hair. The Sun begins to rise above the horizon before you. As you turn your face to the East, you can feel the first stirrings of a breeze beginning with the rising of the sun. A cool, cleansing breeze blows gently through your hair. As the sun rises you can feel this cool, fresh breeze blowing through you, filling you with it's bright, cleansing energy. Take deep breaths of this fresh, clean air. Allow your whole body to fill with this clean wind... blowing away all of the dark, dusty places within you. Feel the wind blowing through your body, stronger and stronger, until it is as light as a feather, ready to float upon the breeze.
- (lift sacred candle)
- SOUTH:
- We summon and stir the Powers of the South; The burning light of the Noonday Sun and of the Purifying Fire.
- The Sun has risen now and shines directly above your head, sending it's heat and light down through the top of your head and into your body. A bonfire burns brightly before you, sending up showering sparks of light into the bright sunny sky. You can feel the heat of the sun combine with the heat of the flames, warming your skin. As you look into the flames, you can feel the heat building within your body. Your whole body begins to tingle with energy. This heat and light fills you, warming you until you reflect the heat of the sun. Your nerves tingle as fire races up and down your spine. Feel the sun burning within you, shining through every pore of you body until you glow from within. Light fills you up, spreading to every part of your body, filling you with it's strength and energy. Your aura begins to glow with the light of the Sun's rays, until your aura is shining as brightly as the Corona. This light fills you with passion, energy, and strength. You are immersed in the burning energy that dwells inside you.
- (pour water into goblet)
- WEST:
- We summon and stir the Powers of the West; The golden light of the Setting Sun and of the Cleansing Water.
- The Sun is setting now, and the golden glow is reflected in a large lake nearby. The sky above your head is turning a dusty blue as twilight descends. The faint stirrings of a breeze cause ripples to form on the water and lap gently against the shore. Stare at your reflection in the water, watching the image ripple and shift with the movement of the water. Put your hand into the water; feeling the cool, clean weight slide across your skin. Now enter the lake, taking small steps and letting the water slowly rise from your feet up your body. Let the water wash around you and surround you. Feel it cleanse and refresh you, soothing all of your aches and worries. slowly let the energy of the water inside your body, filling you up with it's gentle cleansing touch. Feel this energy flowing within you, washing away all impurities until you are filled with it's gentle blue touch.
- (place hands in dish of dirt)
- NORTH:
- We summon and stir the Powers of the North; The Twilight of the Hidden Sun and of the Healing Earth.
- Now feel your connection with the earth once again. Let gravity pull you downward and within. Follow the path you just recently created, down into the Earth. Extend your senses down through the ground, deeper and deeper. Reach down into the Earth; and touch the green, fertile, healing energy within it. Feel it's power and energy surge upward from the Earth into your body. Let this power fill you with strength, blending with the energies of Air, Fire, and Water. Draw all of these energies together into your bodies... Feel them blowing and burning and flowing. Ground these energies with Earth. Feel the Earth energy join together and create a balance within you. Pull this Earth energy within you, until you are full.
- ABOVE:
- We summon and stir the Powers of Mystery: Above, Below, and about us; The domain of the Deities and of our Ancestors.
- Feel the mystery stirring within you. All of the energies that you have raised and pulled within you are now calling out to your ancestors. Think of those who have passed beyond the veil... family, friends, animal companions, strangers. Feel the veil that separates the worlds begin to thin and stretch... the barrier is thinnest now at this time of year. Call your ancestors to you and let them pass through the veil and into our circle. All is safe here, nothing can come to harm. Invite them in to share in our celebration. Let them share with you their wisdom.
- (Pause for a significant stretch of time... meditate)
- Does anyone have any messages from beyond for those within this circle?
- Grounding and Dismissing the Circle:
- Close your eyes and feel again your connection to the Earth. Feel the energy flowing through your body and into the Earth, pulling you down into stillness. Feel gravity pushing down on your body, massaging away tense muscles. Relax completely, and allow all of the excess energy within you to drain away into the Earth.
Now begin to pull clean, healing energy from the Earth and into your body. Fill yourself with it's green, soothing strength. Allow your body to become a channel for this energy to flow through, connecting you with the Earth.
Thank your ancestors for joining us this night. Release the bonds that join you so that they may depart in peace. Merry meet, merry part, merry meet again... We thank you for your presence at our celebration.
- Feel the energy of our circle holding us in it's embrace. Silently acknowledge and thank the directions for supporting and protecting us in tonight's work, and then release them. Feel the energies slowly sink down into the floor and fade. Let the circle slowly dissipate, like mist. It is done.
- The Circle is open, never broken... Go forth in Peace.
- Happy New Year!!!
- Now it's time for cakes and ale... let's party!
- (pass our the cider and donuts - help people process the experience.)