SPIRITWAYS LAMMAS RITUAL - AUGUST 1, 2004

Items needed: Usual and customary items of a Spiritways ritual. Four altars and altar candles. Incense, matches, bowl of water, bowl of salt, feather, sage bundle. Cups and juice and loaf of bread. Lots for participation in the ritual.
Tools: Athame, wand, cup and pentacle.

Cleansing All will be smudged with sage and a feather, before entering the circle. Each one cleansed will cleanse the next in line (if the group is large we'll do have one smudger and do it in groups of three).

Smudger: "Better you should step aside then enter the circle with hate or malice in your heart. How do you enter?"

Smudgee: "With open heart and open mind."

Smudger: "Merry meet and Blessed Be."

Casting the circle:

Annabelle will cast the circle, with words or without, as she sees fit.

Consecrating the circle:

North/Earth and West/Water - North mix the salt into the water, then West walks deosil (clockwise) around the circle saying:

"Where this water and salt fall, let no fear remain. By the power of earth and water I consecrate this sacred space."

South/Fire and East/Air - South lights the incense from the south altar candle, then East walks with incense deosil around the circle saying

"Where this incense and air blow, let desire enter in. By the power of fire and air I consecrate this sacred space."

Inviting the Elementals:

East:

"Hail spirits of the East, who bring to us the power to know ourselves at our most complete, come join us and be present in our sacred rite. Hail and welcome, Blessed Be."

All: Hail and Welcome, Blessed Be!

South:

"Hail spirits of the South, who help us to direct our energy and our spirit to culminate our desire through our own, come join us and be present in our sacred rite. Hail and welcome, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Welcome, Blessed Be!"

West:

"Hail spirits of the West, who allow us to dare to reach our full potential, come join us and be present in our sacred rite. Hail and welcome, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Welcome, Blessed Be!"

North:

"Hail spirits of the North, who teach us to listen to ourselves and others as well as to speak, come join us and be present in our sacred rite. Hail and welcome, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Welcome, Blessed Be!"

Invoking the God and Goddess:

God:

"Sun God, Corn King, eternal sacrifice, Turner of the Wheel of the year, be with us tonight as we learn from your death the promise of a rebirth yet to come, we call and invoke thee. Hail and welcome, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Welcome, Blessed Be!"

Goddess:

"Mother, Giver of life, the Wheel Itself, be with us tonight as you mourn your partner, your playmate, your son and your equal, teaching us that with fruition comes a price, we call and invoke thee. Hail and welcome, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Welcome, Blessed Be!"

Reading/Intro:

To be read by 3 men:

Man One: "Where is the barley man cut back with sharpened scythe? Where is the antlered one whose grey coat is entwined with ivy green, His horns between the flower of the vine?"

Man Two: "Now come among the grain grown tall Now sing the forest daughter's home now dance among the grain grown tall."

"I am Lugh the staff wielder I furrow and sow, and I harvest the ripe"

Man three: "I am Cernnunos, wind brother Husband of the river"

"I am osprey, I am wren, as crow I jest, I am suckled and nurtured in Gaia's green breast I am born anew in the spirit of death And the harvest skies I crest."

"Mother, three colored, neath the ancient spires Accept the first grain offered to the fires."

Introduction:

"The feel of summer has changed subtly now, from the long tireless days of midsummer, to the flowing warmth of August. The days are getting slightly shorter, with long blue twilight evenings. In an agricultural community, haymaking has just ended, and the first corm harvest is beginning.

Lammas or Lughnasad in Ireland, is the feast o Lugh the Sun Faced. Lugh is the Irish Green Man who will be killed in the harvest to become King of the Underworld, in keeping with the agricultural wheel."

The making of the corn dolls:

Items needed: corn husks, raffia, wheat, a sense of humour. After completion we will put our corn dolls into the center of the circle to charge them at the end of our meditation exercise.

Guided meditation exercise: Harvesting your full self. (See below).

Do meditation exercise to raise group energy ending with bending to charge to corn dolls.

Music: "I am the Goddess" chant by Spiral Rhythms

Lyrics:

"I am the goddess My feet are rooted deep within the earth my head among the stars my crown the universe"

"my arms are open wide to hold eternity i am the tie that binds encircling you and me"

"I am the goddess My feet are rooted deep within the earth my head among the stars my crown the universe"

"I am the Goddess"

Cakes and Ale:

"Cakes" person:

"The Mother's Earth grew the seed, The Sun nurtured the grain, It took a farmer to grow this, It took a harvester to reap this, It took a baker to bake it, May each be blessed in the love of Goddess and God, So mote it be."

then carries the loaf of bread to each member, each member pinches off a piece of the loaf. Pour the juice into cups,

“Ale” person - carries the tray of drinks (don't let Pamela do it, she spills) and goes to the first person, hands her/him a drink and states a genuine compliment to that person. The one receiving the compliment may only say "Thank you" in return. They turn to the person on their left and repeat the process, until everyone has received a compliment. The purpose of doing this is to affirm our good qualities to ourselves and to learn to hear these good things without making self-deprecating remarks. Cheers!

Releasing the Elementals:

East: "Thank you spirits of the East, who brought us the power to know ourselves tonight. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and farewell, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!"

South:"Thank you spirits of the South, who helped us direct our energy and our spirit to do our will. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and farewell, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!"

West: "Thank you spirits of the West, who dared us to reach our full potential. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and farewell, Blessed Be. Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!"

North: "Thank you spirits of the North, for showing us how to listen to ourselves. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and farewell, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!"

Releasing of the God and Goddess:

God:

"Thank you, Sun God, Corn King, Sacrifice to the land and people, Turner of the Wheel of the year, stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and farewell, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!"

Goddess:

"Thank you, Mother, Giver of life, the Wheel Itself for your presence with us tonight. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and farewell, Blessed Be."

All: "Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!"

Open the circle:

Everyone sings:

"May the circle be open but unbroken,

May the love of the Goddess be ever in your hearts

Merry Meet and Merry Part, and Merry Meet again!"

All clap to disperse the energy.

Guided meditation exercise: Harvesting your full self

Get in a comfortable position, sitting or lying down. Feel your breath moving in and out of you as you relax. Feel the parts of your body that are touching the floor blend together with the floor, softening the surface beneath you, noticing less and less where you end and the floor begins as you breathe.

pause (breathe, breathe)

Feel yourself tight and full, like a seed. You resting on the ground. Slowly slip into the warm moist earth, covering yourself completely in the feeling. Slip a bit further down to where the earth becomes cooler and more moist.

pause (Breathe.)

You are becoming less tight as the earth's moisture softens your seed shell. You sense an urge to unwind, releasing the tightness and allowing your potential to push forth. Feel your legs bend at the knee as your feet push further downward. Your feet grow and spread into the earth. Your arms unwind and your fingers and head sprout through the earth's surface.

pause (breathe.)

Your arms are now reaching for the sky, flattening and widening to drink in all that is good, filling you with your desire. Your potential expands with your growth as your feet pulse deeper into the earth, pulling the energy you need to fulfill your desire.

pause( breathe.)

Filled now and ready to burst you gently lift yourself to your full height, standing now feet above ground, arms raised above your head. Feel the energy of your full self moving around you. The energy begins to spiral, slowly at first, at your feet. twisting as it rises, wrapping you, lifting your desire. It moves faster as it spirals up your body, circling your head, up your arms, gathering momentum to your hands. You feel your potential at its fullest, pulsing for release. Spread your fingertips wide and release your potential to the universe. Feel it rush from you, expanding and rippling away from you, becoming manifest in the world. You feel empty and full at the same time. Your abstract desire now a tangible part of you.

pause

Gently lower your arms to your side. Feel the earth's surface hard beneath your feet. The edges of your physical self become more rigid, your body's boundaries return.

pause (breathe. breathe.)

You're becoming more aware of the sounds around you, the sense of the floor under you, the people around you. breathe. Slowly open your eyes and return to us. Still feeling the height of the exercise as a group bend to your corn dolls and lay your hands on it pouring forth your energy into it and you state your desire.

A blessing for you: "May the powers of the Earth Mother and Sky Father lead you ever onwards in your quest for Enlightenment!"