WO/MANNING CEREMONY Lady Jahali Firebearer Smyon-ma, HPs (original written for Aug 1992) 3 Apr 1995 Dedicated to Audrey-Lily East P/s: West P/s: South P/s: North P/s: Scribe: NOTE: All main roles are performed by people of the same gender as the Candidates. TOOLS blindfolds gift baskets strong wand black bowl red pitcher chalice bread salt dish Maiden art altar oil altar cloth drums mother letters Maiden art ancestry declamation GIFTS: East: Apple + Sage South: Moon calendar + red candle West: silver bowl + salt water North: Candleholder + milk (pint) new gowns red cords Books of Shadows PREPARATION The week before the rite, all candidates are brought into the Wo/Men's Circle for their introductory session. Alternately, the Candidates may be "kidnapped" from the previous mixed Circle by the Wo/Men's Circle, and told that they are about to undergo the Rite at the next Circle. This "kidnapping" can include all the preparation pieces, but the Candidates are taken home afterwards instead of returned to the ongoing ceremony. Ideally, if this is used, the opposite gender parent/guardian should stay somewhere else on the night of the kidnapping, and also on the night previous to the Rite. All Priest/esses, Crones/Mages, and other facilitators of the Rite should be present. A general description of the Rite may be shared, but no specifics; eg, "A sort of experience you might encounter could be ..." The Candidates are given copies of the Bread Blessing. Each Candidate is directed to create a song, poem, picture, or other creative artwork to share during the Rite. They are also offered the chance to take a new name, for Circle work and/or for secular life. Names of direct fe/male predecessors should be shared or researched then given to the HP/s to have added to the rite for the Acceptance portion. If the Candidates' mothers/fathers cannot be present, or as an optional extra, their living fe/male predecessors may write them appropriate letters of affirmation, advice, etc. to be presented during the rite. All gifts are blessed the week or Moon prior to the start of the Rite and left to sit on the altar. However, they should be placed in baskets prior to the rite to hide them from the Candidates. THE RITE CAST CIRCLE HP/s & two Eldest Wo/Men: [Cast gated Circle.] QUARTER CALL: [Either "Goddesses of the Quarters" or write "Gods of the Quarters".] "Goddesses of the Quarters" EAST: Sophia, Great Mother, Goddess of Heaven, and Spirit of Female Wisdom, we ask You to send us the Dove of Your Grace. Let us eat freely of Your Fruit of Knowledge, which You showed to the First Woman through Your agent, the Serpent. SOUTH: Shakti, Great Goddess, My Lady Soul, and Creatrix of Female Bounty, we ask You to send us Your Cosmic Energy. Fill us with Your Power to bring forth Life and to change our own lives. WEST: Mari, Mer of the Waters, Keeper of the Womb-Chamber, and Mistress of the Magic Cave, we ask You to guide us through the abyss of unknowing and help us understand the fates we have spun together on Your heavenly wheel. NORTH: Gaea, Mother Earth, Deep-breasted One, and Oldest of Divinities, we ask You to awaken us ever more fully to life. You Who contain the elements from which everything is made, help us to make the best of our lives. ENTRANCE Candidates: [Dressed in light colors or white with no bindings or jewelry.] Wo/Men: [Encircle the child-wo/men as some distance from the open temple. Blindfold the C's.] [For Womanning:] Women: [Sing "A River of Birds" as processional.] Men & Children: [Remaining on the outside perimeter of the Circle, they drum for all songs.] [For Manhood:] Men: [Sing "Om Nama Shivaya" as processional.] Mothers/Fathers: [Lead blindfolded C's last into Circle, holding their hands.] C's: [Must trust the wo/men as they are walked into the ritual space.] EW/M: [Form gateway through which all others pass and recieve blessing:] HPs: [for Womanning:] Enter now the womb of your Divine Mother. Just as you were born into this world of woman, So now you re-enter the womb with women. HP: [for Manhood:] Enter now the temple of your Divine Father. Just as you were born to a father in this world, So now you re-enter the temple with men. M/F's: [Once the blindfolds are removed upon entrance, lead the C's to Circle center.] ADMONITION HP/s: [Calls Scribe and C's to center. Questions C's as to whether they are ready for the Rite.] C's: [Reply.] Scribe: [Writes their answers in the C's Books of Shadows.] BLESSINGS: [Either Womanning "Goddess Blessings" or write "God Blessings", using same gifts.] "Goddess Blessings" HPs: [Instructs C's about approaching the Quarters.] Elder Maiden: [The most recently Maidened woman leads the child- women to each Quarter.] C's: [Follow, listening closely to Quarter Priestesses, and placing gifts in baskets.] EAST: Sophia, the Spirit of Female Wisdom, calls upon you to eat freely from the Tree of Knowledge. To seek to know Her is to look within yourself and to find your inner grace. As you are awakening to your womanhood, may your spirit also be reborn so that you may once again know yourself and your Divine Mother as clearly as you did when you were first born. To remind you to seek Wisdom, I gift you with an Apple; to make your Vision clear, I gift you with Sage. SOUTH: Shakti, the Creatrix of Female Bounty, has given you a great gift to produce life. She calls upon you to use this power wisely and to discover your sexuality only in your own time. As you discover greater depths and passion, may you also hone your will so that you, and not your desires, are master of your destiny. To remind you to honor your cycles in your own time, and to be mistress of your own blood-power, I gift you with this Moon calendar; to make your Will clear, I gift you with this red candle. WEST: Mari, the Dark Light of the Ocean, has given you Her love to share with all of Her children. She asks you to use this love to guide you through all periods of darkness and to give and receive freely of it. As you grow in this compassion, may you strengthen your heart to know that just as you have been greatly gifted, so too are you a great gift to the world. To remind you to rely on your intuition, I gift you with this silver bowl; to help you see, I gift you with this blessed salt water. NORTH: Gaea, Mother of all the Goddesses, has given you a wondrous body. She asks that you respect your own life as sacred, and to honor all life as reflections of Her. As you become grounded in this reverence, may you vibrate with the power of eternal growth, and foster this in others. To remind you to honor your body, I gift you with this candleholder; to help you grow, I gift you with this milk. EVOCATIONS [For Womanning:] Women: [Sing "Kore Chant" as a round, or "7 Goddess Chant".] [For Manhood:] Men: [Sing "7 God Chant."] Wo/Men and Children: [Drum if not directed to sing.] PASSAGE P/s: [Names], you are in between the realm of childhood and the realm of adulthood. Before you rush into the world of adult responsibilities, adult pleasures, and adult problems and successes, what three things would you most like to remember from your childhood? C's: [Reply.] S: [Writes their answers in the C's Books of Shadows.] SHARING [Reverse for Manhood Rite: Men share stories; Women share hopes; Fathers share letters.] W: [Each share one story or idea of what it means for her to be a woman, or a piece of advice about being a woman.] M: [Share something about what they find most special about women or a hope for the C's life as a woman.] Mothers: [Gift C's with letters of female predecessors, either read aloud or to be read later.] CHALLENGE P/s: [Holds wand to each C's chest in turn, and speaks in challenging voice:] [Name], you have brought yourself to this circle of friends to receive your Initiation into Wo/Manhood. Know that it would be better to remain forever a child than to enter into adulthood unaware of your rights to be loved and trusted as a unique and dignified human being. What are the Watchwords of Circle? C: Perfect Love and Perfect Trust. HP/s: [If C cannot answer, asks if anyone would like to share the Watchwords.] P/s: Go now to the earthly incarnation of your heavenly Mother/Father. HP/s: You have come to us in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust. You were charged with creating a new piece of art for our community. Have you completed this task? C: [Answers.] HP/s: Please share your work with us. C: [Shares their artwork.] NAMING HP/s: [To each C. in turn:] Daughter/Son of Heaven and Earth, born of mortal and divine parents, it is your right now to take on a new name for your adulthood. What would you have us call you? C: [Answers.] Scribe: [Writes in C's Book of Shadows.] ACCEPTANCE [For Womanning:] HPs: [To each C. in turn:] [Given name], daughter of [mother], daughter of [grandmother], daughter of [great-grandmother, etc.], called [new name], receive from my hands this cord and this gown "it is thy right to wear. Daughter thou art to the Great Mother; daughter and sister and mother to every other woman." [*] [Presents red cord and new Circle gown.] [For Manhood:] HP: [To each C. in turn:] [Given name], son of [father], son of [grandfather], son of [great-grandfather, etc.], called [new name], receive from my hands this cord and this robe it is thy right to wear. Son thou art to the Great Father; son and brother and father to every other man. [*] [Presents red cord and new Circle robe.] WO/MAN BLESSING [For Womanning:] HPs: [Blesses each point with a kiss, the forehead also with oil:] I bless your mind, that you may know the Goddess. I bless your mouth, that you may speak Her words. I bless your breasts, that you may nourish Her children. I bless your loins, that you may bring them forth. And I bless your feet, that you may walk in Her Path. [For Manhood:] HP: [Blesses each point with a kiss, the forehead also with oil:] I bless your mind, that you may know the God. I bless your mouth, that you may speak His words. I bless your breasts, that you may nourish His children. I bless your loins, that you may bring them forth. And I bless your feet, that you may walk in His Path. MILK BLESSING: [Either "Spirit and Body" or another; then "The Cup".] "Spirit and Body" P: The sun-son brings forth Light/ness. Ps: The moon-womb holds It in Dark/ness. B: As above, so below: As yin is to yang, so the receiving is to giving. The Beginning, the Continuation, and the End, Over and over and over. P: As the athalme is to the mind, Ps: So the cauldron is to the emotions; P: The athalme strengthens our Vision of Being; Ps: The cauldron sustains our Spiritual Life; P: The wand fires our Will to Be, Ps: And the pentagram affirms the connectedness of all Being. P: As the Spirit masters the World, Ps: So the Body heals and nurtures It. B: Together joined, They are One in Light, Life, and Truth. There is no greaer Joy on All the Earth, Than that of the sacred halves Joined in the Bonding Freedom of LOVE. "The Cup" P/s: [To Initiates:] The cup symbolizes the Cauldron of Inspiration and Regeneration, the Great Cosmic Womb. In the cup is everything in the Universe, both Created and as yet to be. But the cup is not controlled by what it contains. The cup gives shape, form, and meaning to its contents. As you drink deeply from this cup, think as deeply of what you want to contain. BREAD BLESSING "Staff of Life" Bread is the staff of life. It is the fruit of the Earth, remade by human hands, and shared as a promise of friendship and devotion. Take this bread now and eat of it, sharing in our community and celebrating the Wheel of Life. DISMISS & THANK QUARTERS OPEN CIRCLE All: [Sing "May the Circle Be Open".] FEASTING & GENERAL REVELRY ------------- [*] Bradley, Marion Zimmer. FALL OF ATLANTIS. NY: Baen Pub. Ent., 1983, 156-7.