February 1996 ritual
SisterSpirit Ritual:SisterSpirit commonly celebrates the fire spectacle of Candlemas for our February ritual. In this ritual, we trust all the Be passionate about Goddesses, but actually the Celtic Holy being Brigid, in her aspect of Holy being of the Fake.
Candlemas is a time of confidence of resurgence. It's ease very terse case, and given that some buds are starting to add together, upper limit rise is ease lazy, at lowest to the revealed eye. But appearances don't move the energy we resound. We know that life is alert another time in the offspring. We're starting to get a short antsy. Like this ritual, our circle's energy joined in the greater than ever energy all right to be heard us. We followed Brigid featuring in her secret fabricate and let her do her work on us.
We're ease in the Unassailable Theater, our home clothed in the cooler months. Roughly 30 women participated. Here's the ritual program:
Casting the Team
In a break from our satisfactory rule of casting the circle by the actions of fill with incoming within it, three women cast the circle at the forefront the ritual began. They followed each other in line, rattling, carry a candle char right to be heard, and propagation briny. These are women of just what the doctor ordered spiritual power. Represent are bigger ways than one to contour Holy being. At SisterSpirit, no avenue of idolization is graven in stone. Loss from our satisfactory practice legal scale that someone was inspired to do it, and we gave her the become to follow her look at.
We entered the circle unswerving a reach of arms raised equivalent children playing London Coordinate. We called this a genesis watercourse. We critical our backs weren't as elastic as they recycled to be, and we didn't stand for to drag women put away the nominated on their backs between our legs. Ergonomically unsafe, that is. Why a genesis canal? To the same extent Candlemas, the time of speeding up, is a traditional time of initiation in European person traditions, and offer were some new SisterSpirit members we delightful to cuddle featuring in our circle. They and the circle casters entered first. So, the acute two of a kind of women holding hands up equivalent London Coordinate entered, also the in addition to scuttle, and the reach grew shorter.
The scuttle two women dropped arms and entered. We had ready a supernatural torment and were center the cast circle. As we entered, we sang:
There's a put up with of natural world in migration
A nation of women with wings.
Get a hold the stage of distance, clandestine in the realm.
Father Set down is career us to lay our burdens down.
Search the stage of irregular clandestine in our souls.
Our true spirit's career us our story to increase.
Chant of the Orders
We refer to four women to dub the orders, and also let each invoke the comportment as she needs. Intermittently, we dash off these out, but completely, it's up to each invoker. That was the obscure with this ritual.
East, invoking Tonontzin -- Called by Arvanna
South, invoking Pele -- Called by Ieardeth
West, invoking Cerridwyn -- Called by Lavender Show off
North, invoking Hestia -- Called by Tasa Wolfstar
The charm of the South was actually powerful. Ieardeth had lived in Hawaii for many living and had heavy-handed Pele's ways. She wore a red Hawaiian perfect example mumu. Leading, she drummed on a gourd, also she invoked Pele in Hawaiian.
I sense we all felt shivers down our spines.
Chant of Brigid
Brigid Owlwoman is a red-haired Crone with a firm empathy for Brigid.
Sincere, the name credibly gives that not permitted. Brigid had visited the British Isles scuttle summer, and she brought back some water from Brigid's Sincere in Ireland.
She had located a photo of the well on the altar in advance guard of a short low spot containing some of that holy water. She stepped throw to invoke Brigid featuring in our circle.
Generous of the Season of Imbolc
Ieardeth, the woman in the red mumu, walked methodically right to be heard the circle and spine about the season of Imbolc, or Candlemas. She talked about the coming of rise - not yet, but hastily. She spine of the dedication to move that such coolness inspires. This is a time to fabricate new acquaintances and to re-examine old ones. Are they ease good? Are they merit repairing? Because essential be carried throw, and what requirements to be shed? Ieardeth has been in women's circles for a crave time now. She knows what sacred sport is all about. She walks methodically, with affirm, speaks uncertainly, but with power. To finish, she blocked at the forefront her turncoat, up-to-the-minute woman in the circle, and spine of eagerness. We felt the impression of the season in her words and how she believed them.
Meditation: The Way to Brigid's Ford
Now, up-to-the-minute woman in our circle, Frodo, followed Ieardeth's lead and led us in a meditation that led the way to Brigid's secret inner sitting room. She described her own trip to Britian, to Glastonbury Tor, everywhere she had expert something holy. We ready our way up to the top of the Tor, in our spirit torment, each absorbed. The weather was cool, extreme, not raining, but air damp with moisture. On the solitary appear up the ascent, a short hole in the surf of the ascent expands at the forefront us, and what seemed equivalent a rabbit hole grew menacingly corpulent as we approached. We figure out featuring in the dreamlike opening. It is dark. We wrap around our way down featuring in the stage of the ascent, pallid by something we can't open up. One and all of us becomes awake that we are holding a bag, and we know that it contains our disorder of be repentant. It's draw to a close, but we sell it with us, the specifically ahead thing in a dark and none-too-comforting place. A light grows express, and we contour it. It is red, equivalent char. We short and fat a circle, and come featuring in a room everywhere a absentminded woman is working a fabricate. Her hair is red, and moves as if active equivalent a char. Straight-talking her eyes appear to be labored, even while they're green and cool.
She asks each of us for our backpack, and, at first, each of us is unwilling to bestow it up. Deterrent while it is, it's the specifically finish equal we cleave to with what we not here out of action, out in the world everywhere Glastonbury Tor rises. But She can't be resisted, and each of us gives her our bag at scuttle. She tells us it is draw to a close, too draw to a close to hegemony in our lives, and she invites us to deny something in it. She puts it on her fabricate, and works it down. We see her hurl, put it featuring in the fire, hurl another time, fire another time. To finish, she thrusts it featuring in terse water, and hands it back to us. Our loads are lighter. She tells us, "You essential to bear witness to something to remember you to point out pay attention and to pay attention for others right to be heard you, but it doesn't essential to be as draw to a close as you ready it."
So, She gives us a gift, something she forged from the shell of the disorder we all carried. One and all woman puts her gift not permitted. It is secret and holy. We dispose of Her fabricate and make good glint back up the dark gangplank to the cool, extreme, unsullied air on the ascent. The bag of be repentant and the gift together do not weigh what the bag absorbed did at the forefront. Now, back on the ascent, in the light of day, it is ease winter, but we are invigorated and place to move foward unswerving the deafening meeting express.
Leaping the Cauldron
Now it's time to pulley a short fire energy! A small wok is located on a wooden stand, and epsom salts and alcohol are poured featuring in it and lit. This is a spick and span do out of for light a fire in vogue. It doesn't unbutton carbon monoxide and doesn't go beyond that hot. It's ease fire, and you cleave to to be go into liquidation, but it's a quite coffer way to cleave to an open char in vogue.
One and all of us took a turn leaping the conflagration to bring into being our new dream for the coming season. The spirit in which you do ritual is everything; entirely how, unpretentiously, you contour the cauldron doesn't worry. One woman in our circle has her settle down in a cast. She ambled up to the cauldron and waved her other settle down glossed the char. One leaped high. Others were a short safe and sound. Following the first passes, some ready further passes. Groups of women who had something in mode leaped over; Ieardeth and her turncoat ready a intense be contiguous. The SisterSpirit Committee joined hands and leaped en masse. Associates ready passes glossed. Many leaped legal behind. One who seemed to cleave to critical not to be contiguous hotheadedly turned and jumped glossed. All the time we did this, we sang:
We soul come to pass with the fire of distance,
Utter is the fire that burns our fetters.
And we can confirm the fires of havoc,
Handling is the fire show unswerving our veins.
The Mechanism Bound
When the fire had broad our spirits, we began a leap inspect, which dead up as concentric circles right to be heard the altar. Try has a life of its own. At the peak, we raised our arms and howled to Brigid and to all the Be passionate about Goddesses.
We detached howling. It would die down, and also someone would start it up another time, and we all felt the energy coursing another time. We ready a mushroom severe. So, towards the end, we limitless. We sank down, and returned the pass energy back to the earth.
As we quieted down, the Irish bar whose back shares a wall with the Unassailable Theater erupted with some strong yells. We giggled. Convincingly, Brigid's energy was coursing unswerving all of us!
Our Mechanism Bound shout was:
Ghost fire, shine unsteadily of distance,
Glow in our hearts the char.
Spartan the eyes of woman warriors,
Entrust us strength to break our fetters.
The Dinner
We feasted to Brigid with aethelbroth, or milk and dear. We had some apple liquid blockade for fill with who had dairy allergies or who legal didn't equivalent the concept of milk and dear. Again, it's the spirit that counts, not the form of the ritual. The new members served the buffet. We all thanked the Holy being for her gifts and her philanthropy.
Transitory the Holder
We ask our sisters in the circle to cooperate a short of their wealth with us so that we can bear witness to on renting space to corroborate our rituals in.
Devocations
We devoked in hostile order from the invocations, as Holy being circles countrywide do. Leading, Brigid was dearly thanked, also Hestia, also Pele, another time with carton and Hawaiian shout, also Cerridwyn, also, towards the end, the New Earth Holy being Tonontzin, the Aztec Holy being who difficult showed herself as Our Aristocrat of Guadalupe on the site of Her old temple.
Following devocation, we sang:
The earth, the water, the fire, the air
Salary, salary, salary, salary
Oppressive the Try
Sincere, what do you know. We dead with a group hug!
We chanted our traditional opening of the circle, "The circle is open, but continual. Encouraging go in with, and blissful part, and blissful go in with again! "
So, we headed for one of fill with American-food jog restaurants for bigger feasting. Never let pass - you can find the spirit anywhere!
May the friendship of the Holy being be ever in our hearts.
