AN ECLECTIC CIRCLE CEREMONY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Durwydd, 1989-90 Preliminaries WATER : Blessings upon thee, O creature of water, I cast out from thee all impurities and uncleanness of the spirits of phantasm, confusion, or any other influence not for the free will of all. SALT : Blessings be upon this creature of salt; let all malignity and hindrance be cast forth thencefrom, and let all good enter therein. Wherefore I bless thee and invoke thee, that thou mayest aid me. MIXING : I take this salt of the Earth, Blessed with the will of Fire; I take this water of spirit,Exorcised with mind of merit; I mix them with words of power, Dedicated to every Tower. By the power of moon and sun, By the power of Spirit,earth and sea, God and Goddess are part of One, As I Will, so mote it be! CASTING OF THE CIRCLE I conjure thee, O circle of power, As thou encircle every Tower. That thou beest a place of Truth, Joy and love, Encircling Flight of Eagle, Hawk and Dove. Mighty Aegis of the Lady and Lord, Rampart of thought, action and word. To work in Peace, Powerful and Free, Who walk between two worlds conjure thee; A boundary to Protect, Concentrate and Contain, That Power raised here be not in vain. Wherefore do I bless thee and consecrate thee, in the names of Cernunnos and Aradia. SEALING OF THE CIRCLE (seal with water/salt mixture) With potion of earth and water, I seal the sacred circle, Linking air and fire! With potion of earth and air, I seal the sacred circle, Linking fire with water! With potion of earth,air,and fire, I seal the sacred circle, Linking water with the Earth! As the four directions are brought to merge, Let influence of the mighty ones converge! (Seal with Censer) With Incense and air of Mind, East to South,I do Bind! With Incense and air of mind, South to West, I do Bind! With Incense and air of Mind, West to North, I do Bind! With Incense and air of Mind, North to East Completion Find! (Seal with Candle) With the Fire of emotion and will East to South, our dedication fulfill! With the Fire of veneration and Will, South to West, our allegiance fulfill! With the Fire of Devotion and Will, West to North, our consecration fulfill! With the Fire of Commitment and will, From North to East, This inscription fulfill! Within the circle All wills be free, The circle is sealed, So Mote it Be! SETTING THE WATCHTOWERS Ye Lords of the Eastern Tower, Airy Lords of Spirit; Let your influence of Power, Aid our minds with merit! I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the circle. Ye Lords of Southern Power Fiery Lords of Will. Pray do grace your Tower, Your Powers to fulfill! I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the circle. Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the West, Watery Lords of Death and Initiation; I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the Circle. Ye Northern Lords of the Earth, Though we be yet but Mortals; Bless our work with worth, Boreas, guardian of Northern portals. I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the Circle. Goddess and God, I would know, As 'tis above, so 'tis below Blessings on this work, please bestow! This be my will, true and free, I do so will, so mote it be INVOCATION OF THE ELEMENTS Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Elements of astral birth, I call you now; attend to me! In the Circle, rightly cast, Safe from curse or blast, I call you now, attend to me! From cave and desert,sea and hill, By wand, blade,and pentacle, I call you now, attend to me! This Is my will, so mote it be! A MABON OUTLINE: (soon to be a major Mabon Ritual, at a terminal near you.) General Mabon info to start with, set the mood, ect... : What is Mabon? Mabon, sometimes known as the Harvest/Thanksgiving Ritual of the Autumn Equinox, is one of the Spokes of the Wheel of the Year. In the many Earth of Pagan Religions, a special kinship with the passing of the seasons is felt... this is usually due to the history of the said Tradition, most of which stem from agrarian culture, where the season marked the way of life. From planting to reaping to winter to summer... the seasons were of great importance to our ancestors, for their very existence depended upon good harvests, mild winters, enough rainfall, and the like. So... having shown the importance of the seasons, we shall turn to Mabon itself. Autumn.. Harvest time.. the reaping of what was sown and cared thru during the year. A time of Thankfulness and Rejoicing. So, of course, someone, at some point in time must have said... "Now that the work is over... LET'S PARTY !!!" This is the essence of Mabon. Rejoicing in a bountiful harvest, thanking the Gods for being so kind during the year, and, hopefully, helping in winning over the Gods' favor for the coming year. About THE MABON RITE itself: Now, this will be a very Discordian Ritual in that each participant will be (more or less) writing his/her own part. This outline is provided to sorta nudge (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more sir, say no more!) people into making their individual pieces able to fit into the whole thing... ( I feel like the Green Ball outta "HEAVY METAL", the movie, something which ties things together). Back to the rite itself. Basically, 6 personages will be represented: A Caller or Watcher of the EAST SOUTH WEST and NORTH. A High Priest, and A High Priestess. Of course, since this is a generic Rite, the terms "Lord" and "Lady" will be used when referring to the Male and Female aspects of divinity/godhood/whatever... individuals may use which ever names they wish, for a Rose, by any other name, would still smell as sweet. OUTLINE: A. Invocation... once everybody has arrived, a Circle shall be cast, more or less, and the 4 Watchers/Callers each get to do their thing invoking that which that direction symbolizes to come and attend the festivities. After which, either the HPS or HP, or both would consecrate the circle... in our case.. the circle will be around each person at their 'puter.. with a sense of being connected to each other via the others' 'puters. So.. what we'll do is... after the circle is cast, and the 4 corners have done their things, then the HP will call upon the Lord to attend, and the HPS shall call upon the Lady, (or, if we want to be different, we can have the HP call the Lady, and the HPS call the Lord... it's not as traditional, but I know of some Ladies who are more likely to pay attention to some Young HP than some HPS, if you get my meaning [wink]). B. Once invoked... it's time for the thanksgiving part... we all got things we're thankful for... now's the chance C. After the Thanks are over, a customary requesting of Blessing for the coming year is asked. D. That done with, it's time to dismiss the summoned ones...first, around the circle... each corner doing it's thing...the dismissal consists of a Hail to the being summoned, a flattery (as I call it), and then a structured dismissal (eg. "Air of the EAST... blah, blah, blah,.. Go if thou must, but stay if thou wilt"). The HP and HPS dismiss the Lord and Lady last with similar words. E. PARTY TIME!!!! get out the Beer, munchies, what have you... celebrate.. you've earned it.