We gathered today To honor the Kindred, And walk through the cycle of the year. Our work is done, But may our sacred fire burn within our hearts Until we meet again. - Rev. Amber Doty - ------------------ The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. We’ve done all of the steps in our ritual, and now it is time to Close the Rite. As we started our ritual, we initiated the rite, showing a clear cut beginning of our work. We’ve taken all the appropriate steps, and now it is time for us to depart and to close our rite and bring our work to an end.
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Earth Mother, primal goddess of the world, Great mother of all. First born from Chaos, From you all life has formed. With your support, we grew and changed. Thank you for joining our rite. With you, may we learn to love. With you, may we learn support. With you, may we all walk in peace. Earth Mother, we thank you. ------------------ The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. We’ve nearly finished our ritual, and have only one more being to thank, the Earth Mother At the very beginning of our ritual, we called to the Earth Mother as the first being to be welcomed to our ritual. We now thank her for upholding us and supporting our work. This is done after the Gates are closed since we always have a connection to the earth. ⠀ Grey-eyed Athena, strong and wise,
Thank you for joining me by my sacred fire, And for granting us gifts wit and skill. Shining Ones, deities of my hearth, Thank you for joining me by my sacred fire, And for granting us inspiration and guidance. Nature Spirits, creatures of fur, feather, and scales, Thank you for joining me by my sacred fire, And for granting us sustenance and companionship. Ancestors, loved ones of heart, mind, and blood, Thank you for joining me by my sacred fire, And for granting us your knowledge and love. Thank you to all we have welcomed into this sacred space, May our paths forever be peaceful, positive, and hospitable. ------------------ The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we start to wind down our ritual by Thanking the Beings. Earlier in our ritual, we called to the Being of Occasion and the Three Kindred, asking them to join us in our celebration and be with us in our sacred space. As we near the end of our ritual, we once again reach out to those beings to thank them for participating in our rite and for the gifts that their presence has brought to us. We pass the waters, From the Kindreds to us, From us to our community, Gifts given and gifts received. Drink in these blessings. Let them flow through you And into your life. - Rev. Amber Doty - ------------------ The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today finish our work with the Waters of Life by Affirming the Blessing. In the previous two steps, we called to the Kindreds and asked them to send their blessings to us, and hallowed the waters into something sacred. Now is the time for us to confirm that we’ve accepted the blessings the Kindreds have given to us, and integrate those blessings into our beings. In a group ritual, confirming the blessings may involve the celebrant asking participants if they accept the blessings being offered and hoping for an affirmative message in response. The blessings are then integrated by either consuming them, or taking them into yourself in some way, whether physically ingesting them, or taking the time to spiritually and mentally accept those gifts into themselves. The sacred waters flow to us, Gifted to us by Kindreds. Ancestors, Nature Spirits, and Shining Ones, Hallow these waters. Bless our lives with your gifts, And as we drink deeply Let our lives be filled with your bounty. Hallowed and blessed, These are the Waters of Life! ------------------ The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about Hallowing the Blessing. In the previous step, we called to the Kindreds and asked them to send their blessings to us. Now is the time for us to recognize their arrival. The word “Hallow” means to make holy or sacred, so in this step our waters are filled with the blessings and power of the Kindred, and the waters become the “Waters of Life.” In larger rituals, other methods may be used, but this is the most common way of Hallowing the Blessings. In the next step, those waters are affirmed and shared with the ritual participants. We have given our gifts freely, As was done by our ancestors, and in return a gift is given. We call to the Kindred and ask That your pour your blessings into our cups So that we may drink deep from their gifts. Mighty Kindreds, we ask you to guide us with your blessings! ------------------ The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about Calling for the Blessing. We have given our offerings to the Kindred and taken an omen, and as we build our reciprocal relationships, it’s now time for us to receive gifts in return. Calling for the Blessings is the first of 3 steps involved with the “Return Flow” or Waters of Life portion of our ritual. In this step, we request from the Kindreds that they send blessings to us, and express when and how to convey them upon us. Most often in our rituals, we use a beverage of some form, known as the Waters of Life, to share the blessings. We’ve gathered in this time and place And we’ve given our gifts to the Kindreds, And now we ask what messages you have for us. Beings of prophecy, deities of oracles, I call to you now and ask for your aid. Let your wisdom guide my hands. Let your vision shine through my eyes. Let me hear your words with clarity. Beings of prophecy, guide me. --------------------- The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about the Omen. Up until this moment, we have called to the Kindreds, given them offerings, and spoke directly to them. The Omen is the opportunity for the Kindred to talk back to us in response. The Omen is taken after the offerings have been made, but before the blessings have been received. It allows us to communicate with the beings we have invited to our rituals directly. In order to receive the omen, a ritual participant will utilize a method of divination, be it Runes, Tarot, Ogham, or some other method and interpret the symbolism in that divination. Often the seer will ask questions like “Have our offerings been accepted” or “What blessings are offered to us?” but each seer is different and may approach the omen in slightly different ways. Honor to the Nature Spirits, Beings of land, sea, and sky! Honor to the Ancestors, mighty dead who have gone before us! Honor to the Gods and Goddesses of many names! We give these gifts to you in honor, respect, and hospitality. Mighty Kindreds, accept our offerings! --------------------- The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about the Prayer of Sacrifice! The Prayer of Sacrifice is the final moment of energy building within the COoR, and in the step that follows (the Omen) we begin to see the energy once again return to the ritual participants. This is usually a short step in which one final offering is made usually with an accompanying short prayer to summarize the work we have done to that point. With this offering, we send our energies into the Cosmos. Athena, Grey-eyed goddess of wisdom, Crafty, quick-witted, and strong. You ignite the path that we should take And help us know where we belong. Mistress of reason, wisdom, and truth, Your cunning and guile so well known, You guide our journey, like heroes of old And teach us which skills we should hone. You provide many gifts to those you have blessed, Defender of cities and master of might. You are welcome at our sacred fire, Please join in our rite tonight. --------------------- The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about Key Offerings! At the heart of our ritual, we’ve opened the gates, we’ve invited our guests, and now it’s time to welcome the Being of Occasion, our special guest for the ritual. They are the primary being called during the ritual, and usually the ritual is centered around them. This could be more than one being (such as honoring the Ancestors during Samhain), but essentially this being is the focus of our rite and shapes the culture and seasonal customs that we may include for our ritual. The Key Offering happens at the center of our ritual. During this step we call to the honored being that we wish to honor and make offerings to them. We may also take part in seasonal customs that are tied to that being of occasion specifically during this step of the ritual. Ancestors, You who walked this land before us, You who share our stories, You who live on in our hearts, I ask you to join me at my hearthfire. You are welcome in this space. Nature Spirits, Creatures of fur, feather, and scales, Minerals from deep inside the earth, And plants growing and green, I ask you to join me at my hearthfire. You are welcome in this space. Shining Ones, Deities of my hearth, Beings who bless us with many gifts, You who guide and influence our paths, I ask you to join me at my hearthfire. You are welcome in this space. --------------------- The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about Inviting the Three Kindreds The Three Kindreds is grouping of three types of spiritual beings that we recognize within ADF which is made up of the Ancestors, Nature Spirits, and the Shining Ones or Deities. In this step of our rituals, we call to each of these three Kindreds and simply invite us to join us in our ritual. We do this both to show them that we honor them, but also so that they can join us in our celebration. |
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