Wicca Workshop
BASIC WICCA INTRODUCTION->Part 6 Ritual
Question: What's your favorite holiday and why? (Doesn't have to be a Wiccan holiday.)
I have always loved the gift giving custom of Christmas. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of Christmases past (and winters past) with the lights on the trees and houses, hot cocoa, sledding down hills and playing in the snow until I was so numb I could hardly walk home. Family is a big part of my Christmas memories, and my dearly departed figure strong in those memories. It just isn't the same anymore, though...but I still like to play in the snow!
Part 3 Ritual and Cycles of Life
What is a ritual?
A ritual is a set of specified actions that produce a desired result, in this case, worship of deities. Wiccan rituals usually involve creating sacred space (in this case a circle), invoking the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water at each of their directions, inviting the God and Goddess, performing the seasonal or lunar observation (or in the case of a magickal rite, the magick), the feast (traditionally called "Cakes and Ale"), thanking the God and Goddess, thanking the elements and finally, dissolving the circle. These steps are common in all of the rituals I have seen, heard, and read, although the actual working of which may range from simple to very complicated.
3.1 Creating Sacred Space
The first step to creating sacred space is to purify yourself and the area that you will be casting your circle. You may take this as literally as necessary. First I'd make sure my area that I'm casting a circle in is clean, running a dust mop over the floor, dusting the altar and such. Then I would wash myself, sometimes I soak in a bath with oil to allow my body to relax completely for the coming ritual. This would allow all the dirt and negative energy to be released into the water and go down the drain. You may also want to take the phone off the hook and be sure you're not disturbed. It can be quite a personal disaster when you're in the middle of a ritual and the phone rings.
Next, some prefer to anoint themselves with oil, or waft incense to them (this can be done in place of the bath). However you prefer to make yourself ready should be fine.
Now, you've purified the area and yourself. Next you need to sanctify it. Some people put the salted water and incense at this point. Whichever way you want to do it should be fine.
You may need a cord or rope and drape it around in as close to a circle as you can get it. It should mark the boundary of the circle you are going to create. Often, I get asked "How big should the circle be?" The answer to that would be "As big or as small as you need." So, if you're comfortable with a six-foot circle, use it. If you think you need nine, try it and if it works, use it.
At each corner should be placed a symbol of the elements. "Each corner? of a circle?" Yes, the "corner" is the directions that correspond to the circle, North, South, East and West. The symbol you select is personal preference, but most use candles that are either colored the direction/element's corresponding color, or the candle is white and the holder is colored. I have a future project I intend to create which would have both a place for a candle and a bowl with which to place the symbol, but I have yet to start.
Common Correspondences
East...air...yellow
South...fire...red
West...water...blue
North...earth...green
(Although these are common, different traditions may have different colors.)
Also, your altar, or a smaller version of it, should be in the circle. It should be wherever it feels most comfortable to be.
The next thing would be to create the circle on the astral plane. Using a pointing device (either a wand, athame, or finger) you would direct your power onto the cord of the circle, starting in the East, usually (some traditions start in the North). You'd visualize the energy moving out of you and into the circle, creating a sphere of astral power (in three dimensions). This takes practice. Some people find imagining a colored fire as the power helps. You go around the entire circle deosil, or clockwise (also called sunward, counter-clockwise is "widdershins")and then seal up the connection. Some use a ritual called the "Lesser ritual of invoking the pentagram" to do this. It involves drawing a pentacle in the air in a specific direction to "seal" the separation. Others simply "go over" the first part again, to overlap the circle. Either way is acceptable, but coven rule may be different.
Next, sprinkle blessed salted water around the area to help purify it, then incense smoke wafted around. This is usually done going around the circle sunward, starting from the east. Often a chant or blessing is said while moving around the circle.
3.2 Invoking the Elements
The next step involves moving around the circle again, to invoke the elements. If you have used candles, you would light them as you invoke. If you used a symbol, you may want to hold the symbol up as you invoke.
There are thousands of elemental invocations. It is my advice that you find the one you like the best and stick with it, or you may want to change it for the seasons. Whatever words you use, you'd need to start at whatever direction you started at before (east or north, depending) and ask the spirit of air to bless your circle, watch over you, direct you, all sorts of stuff. I have yet to see anything like what happened in "The Craft" happen, unless you count what happens in your mind. (But the whole "The Craft" deal is another workshop. If I get the chance I will break down everything they messed up and post it here.) Then you would move on in a sunward (clockwise) direction and do each of the elements in order. I'm not sure, but I think if you're in the southern hemisphere, the direction you would go would be reversed.
3.3 Inviting the God and Goddess
Wiccans "invite" the God and Goddess, we don't demand, we don't instruct, and if they don't come, that's okay. Who are we to command Gods?
Usually, inviting the God and Goddess is by invocation, the "Charge of the Goddess" is good for this at times. Other times you may want to create your own, or find one in a book. The invocation basically consists of saying "Oh, Great Goddess, come, observe and bless this ritual which I hold in your honor." There are lots of flowery ways of saying it, but the meaning is basically that. Then you would do the Invocation to the God, or if you prefer, do them in the opposite order. It's mostly personal preference, but most Wiccans invoke the Goddess first.
Also, the God and Goddess may not be invoked during some magick rituals.
3.4 Performing the Seasonal or Lunar observation, or magick
If the rest of the ritual is the bread of the sandwich, this is the meat. This is the reason you are doing the ritual, which could be almost anything. The most common reason is to celebrate a solar or lunar observation, a Sabbat or a full moon. Other reasons might include: your self-dedication (if solitary), your initiation (if in a coven), birth of a child (wiccaning), a funeral or remembrance ceremony, hand fasting (wedding), hand parting (divorce), or any other life changing event. Also, one might do a ritual for magick, but we will get to that in lesson 6.
The actual words will vary depending on the amount of people present and the ritual to be preformed.
Now, you're done the main part of the ritual. Your next step is to undo the circle.
3.5 The Feast (Cakes and Ale)
This part of the ceremony is also a key part to a ritual (usually). Wine (or ale, or almost any liquid, try to keep it a natural liquid though) is blessed and passed around the circle while thanking the God and Goddess for their bounty. (Saying something like, "Take this goblet and drink, may you never thirst.") Instead of wine, milk is usually used on the full moon. Then the cakes (try to keep these natural too, like bread or cookies) are blessed and passed around the circle in the same manner ("Take this food and eat, may you never hunger.") It truly is a beautiful part of the ritual.
A portion of the cakes and ale should be set aside for the God and Goddess (I use a special chalice and plate) and given to the earth after the ritual. You could do this by burying the cake, or breaking it apart for nature's creatures to find (this is why you need something natural), and the ale could be given to the earth by sprinkling it upon the ground (earth, dirt, grass), not sidewalk (how would the earth partake of it then?).
3.6 Thanking the God and Goddess
After the cakes and ale, always remember to thank the God and Goddess for their attention. It's just good manners. This might be done with something flowery, or it might just be "We thank the God and Goddess for their presence here and hope they guide us to good things."
3.7 Thanking the Elements
According to stories I've heard, elements can get nasty when not thanked properly. Again, it's good manners to thank each element separately, at the symbol or candle of it's direction, for their attendance and help. Something like, "Thank you, Air, Element of the East, for attending my rite." It should be done for each one, again, in a sunward order. (Some traditions thank the elements in a widdershins (counter-clockwise) direction. It makes sense in that one may want to do everything they did to invoke the elements, only in reverse, to thank them.)
3.8 Dissolving the Circle
The elements are gone, the God and Goddess are gone, and you're all alone again. Some traditions will go around the circle again (widdershins this time) and "suck up" all the energy used in building the circle, others simply say, "The circle is ended" and allow for the moving of bodies through the circle to dissipate it. Which you do is up to you. I have done both and both work well.
Bibliography and Further Reading:
Real Magic by Isaac Bonewits
A Witches' Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar
Wicca A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
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