2007 SAMHUINN/BELTANE RITUAL ENTRIES

[Earthwoman]

Notice: Please add your original rituals for the current Eisteddfod here. Entries for this category can include solitary rituals, group ceremonies, prayers and meditations.

[Twyrch]

Samhain Meditation
By Twyrch

Relax your mind, relax your body, and calm your spirit…

Take a few deep cleansing breaths...

Feel yourself connecting to the Earth below...

Feel the energy of the Earth climbing up your spine...

Continue breathing deeply...

Feel yourself bathed in the energy of the Sun and wind...

Let go of the world around you. Delve deep within yourself… Let your spirit dwell in the here and now...

Continue breathing deep, cleansing breaths…

Feel yourself floating on the wind, and as you float on the wind, allow yourself to come to another time and place.

Night is drawing close around you. Through the trees, you see the flicker of lights from the fires of the village where your family sits to feast, but you realize will not be joining them this time…

If you listen closely, you can hear the wind sighing in the treetops. You know that on this night, the old year will pass away and the next year will be born anew.

Your body now feels old and weak. You feel tired and full of pain. You realize that you will pass into darkness with the old year.

With your mind’s eye, allow yourself to follow a dark and narrow path through the forest. You can not see the way, but you trust your feet to guide your steps.

You feel a light breeze on your face and find yourself standing in an open meadow. Leaving the protection of the trees behind, you walk across the grassy field now bathed in faint moonlight. Faintly, you can just barely make out the barrow which holds the remains of your ancestors.

You slowly move closer for a better view and find the door to the barrow standing open and lit by torches. Pulled by an unknown need, you reverently enter the tomb, feeling the weight of the years upon your shoulders. The stones around you are hard and cold to the touch.

Ahead, you find the slab of stone which will mark your final resting place as you travel into the realm of the unknown. With a deep sigh, you lie down upon the cold slab, make your peace with the earth and prepare yourself to die.

As your spirit rests in the bowels of the earth, loved ones come to mourn your passing. You see before you a parade of familiar faces of family, friends and lovers, and you remember the good times spent with friends, the kinship of your family and the warmth of your lover’s kiss and the pleasures of a lifetime of joys shared.

You treasure each memory like a precious jewel, taking final comfort in the thoughts before the memories fall away into darkness once more.

Suddenly other memories fill your mind… memories of tasks done well… memories of a precious family raised… memories of the sun shining brightly in the sky… memories of the birds praising all of nature with their song…

You remember all that has been precious to you throughout your life, and then you allow those memories to fall away into darkness as well.

Your mourners leave, the torches fail and you lie alone waiting for the darkness to claim your soul. As you lie there, new memories fill your mind… memories that nearly as pleasant as those your just held… memories you wish you could forget…

You remember when you could have been a better friend… when you were unkind or betrayed a sacred trust… when you were self-centered and self-serving… when a friend lied to you or a loved one betrayed you… The memories rise from deep within your soul and the pain it brings drives you to tears.

You cry out in anger, pain and frustration, your tears flowing down your cheek, across the floor and into a cauldron placed beside your resting place.

Still, more memories invade your thoughts… The times you failed, the opportunities squandered, all that is too late to undo… each painful piece of your life is driven, unbidden before your mind’s eye, forcing you to look upon your life once more.

You once again cry out in anger, pain and frustration, your tears flowing down your cheek, across the floor and into a cauldron placed beside your resting place.

At last the memories leave you alone… leave you without joy… leave you without pain… Only the darkness which surrounds you can feel your life-force wan. Your heart slows and finally stops. With a final gasp and shudder, death finally claims its prey.

You float in the darkness… here, there is no more pain… no more suffering…no more guilt… all that was past is gone and can no longer consume you.

You float in the darkness… protected and held close by the Great Spirit… You are now safe and secure… You allow the sound of the Great Spirit’s life-force fill your mind and surround your thoughts…Your life-forces join to beat as one…

Suddenly, you take a deep breath of clean, fresh air… Tentatively, you open your eyes to find the tomb now bathed in light. You sit up slowly and realize your body has become whole and strong once more.

Looking around you, the walls of the tomb now glow white and pulse with the life-force of the Great Spirit. The floor glitters like a sea of jewels and your eyes travel to a caldron now sitting in the middle of the room; the same caldron which once sat at the edge of your resting place.

A voice echoes throughout the room, reverberating in your soul. “Choose wisely, the memories you wish to keep take with you.”

You choose the memories you wish to keep, leaving the rest to be purified by the Great Spirit. Leaving the barrow, you step into sunlight once again and the barrow closes, taking with it all that was of your former life, where it will no longer bring you pain.

The meadow seems vibrant and alive… the sky is the purest of blue and the new year dawns. You cross the field and return to the path which led your through the woods.

As you exit the woods, you can hear the voices of your friends and loved ones in the village below. You rush forward to greet them and they welcome you with open arms. You know that you are safe and that you are loved.

You now feel rested, cleansed and renewed. When you are ready, open your eyes and return to this world.

[DaRC]

DaRC Blot;
as a solo Heathen-Druid my tradition is to Blot (perform ritual) in the garden. I take a drinking glass or horn (I picked one up last year) and fill with a drink suited to the occasion;
Mead or Beer is traditional, currently I tend to use my home made Sloe Vodka (with a mixer of Mead at Yule).
The Ritual
======
Hallow - ask the Gods to make this Blot and the drink a sacred event; most heathen's invoke Thor but I usually follow this formula
"May the Gods and Goddesses make this blot sacred."
Whilst doing this pass it over a flame.

Blessing - I then cast a circle using my fingers or a sprig of holly dipped in the drink ensuring the quarters are covered.

The Toasts or Fulls - I then raise 3 toasts firstly raising the glass for them to drink and then myself taking a sip;
the first to the Gods; mentioning any specifically,
the second is to the Elves / land wights
the third is to the disir and the ancestors; at Samhuin I mention any that I am particularly thinking of.

If you are to make a commitment (aka boast) of intent on what you would like to achieve in the next year then between the first and second toast is the time to do it.

Consume and meditate - I then drink what is left and meditate or commune with the spirits of that time and place

Yield - the last drink in the cup is poured on the ground and gifted to Loki.

Leave - with a final Thanks I leave the Blot.

[Fitheach]

SAMHAIN TAROT RITUAL

Layout

On your working altar place a black or dark colored altar cloth and, using a compass, mark the four cardinal directions with the four Aces from the Tarot deck. These Aces represent the Magician’s magical tools:

East - Ace of Swords
South - Ace of Wands
West - Ace of Cups
North - Ace of Pentacles/Shields

Also place a dark “scrying” bowl with a floating candle in the center of the altar. Have a lighter handy.

We honor the deities in our rituals. The God and Goddess can be represented by many different cards, including the Emperor and Empress or Magician and High Priestess.

The Rite of Samhain is represented by the Death card. This card needs to stand upright. (A clear plastic or wire book holder would accomplish this.)

The Ritual

Casting the Circle:

By the power of the Ace of Swords,
This magic space I do ward!

Greeting Directions:

We greet the East
With the Ace of Swords
Powers of Air
Hear our Words

We greet the South
With the Ace of Wands
Powers of Fire
Passion responds

We greet the West
With Cups, the Ace
Powers of Water
Dreams we embrace

We greet the North
With the Ace of Shields
Powers of Earth
Strength never yields

Greeting the Deities:

We call upon the Empress
Of the Universe Divine
Power of the Goddess
In whom all are entwined.

We call upon the Emperor
Of the Celestial spark
Power of the God
From which we all hark.

Samhain Tarot Working:

(Place the Death card next to the scrying bowl with the floating candle.)

As the season turns dark
Death now reigns (light the candle in the bowl)
To our ancestors we hark
As the old year wanes.

(With Death as your guide, scry into the bowl, focusing on either the water or the candle)

Death is a Seer
Who shows us the way.
Into his world we peer,
As he forms the new clay.

What do you see
In the shadows around?
We hold the key
Where our answers are found.

What do you hear
From ghostly voices?
There’s nothing to fear
From their eerie noises.

What do you smell,
An otherworld fragrance?
What can it tell,
Of the vagaries of chance.

Whose cold touch
Prickles your skin?
Ghost, goblins and such
Haunt from within.

What do you know
From uncanny sources?
Do your visions show
Strange new forces?

Tarot Augury:
(Using another Tarot deck, do your favorite Tarot spread for yourself. Samhain is an auspicious time to do any kind of divination.)

What tell the cards
We lay on the table?
We ask in regards
To our life’s fable.

Dismissing Death:

We thank Death
Our Dark Seer
Who steals our breath
But leaves us clear.

Releasing the Directions:

We thank the East
With the Ace of Swords
Powers of Air
Hearing our words

We thank the South
With the Ace of wands
Powers of Fire
Passion’s response

We thank the West
With the Cups, the Ace
Powers of Water
Dreams embraced

We thank the North
With the Ace of Shields
Powers of Earth
Strength never yields

We thank the Empress
Of the Universe Divine
Power of the Goddess
In whom all are entwined

We thank the Emperor
Of the Celestial Spark
Power of the God
From which we all hark.

Releasing the Space:

By the power of Swords, the Ace,
We release and ground this sacred place!

[Abhaill]

DUMB SUPPER AT SAMHAIN

Prepare a feast to share together at the table. All members of the household should be present. Set a place for each participant and one for the Ancestors.

Decorate the table with items that remind you of the season, your family history, your present family, your countries of origin, etc.

Prepare as many dishes yourself as possible, including specific dishes known to be favourites of family members who have passed on, or examples of traditional foods from one or several of the cultural strands of your families' branches.

Discuss the proceeds with all participants beforehand, so that you might avoid speaking during the meal.

Extinguish the lights in the house and close all doors and windows. One participant should go to the front door and open it wide to the night. We light lanterns at the door to signal the beginning of the meal and to invite the Ancestors in to share it with us.

Light candles at the table and/or in the room where you will be eating. You may wish to light a candle for each participant at the table, or each family, or each country represented.

When everything is ready, call your Ancestors in to supper with the following or similar prayer:


Tonight we celebrate our ancestors

Those families who have passed their blood
Like strands in a web
From place to place and time to time
The many threads woven together
To these individuals who have joined together
To form a household

Here we stand
(insert name of participant)
and
(insert other names of participants as necessary, until all are named)
At the end of our threads
At the end of your threads

From (insert countries of origin, as many as there may be)

To all the members of our clans
If you are walking the lands
If you have passed through the veil
If you will come and bide awhile
You are welcome here this Samhain night
We have set you an honoured place at our table

May a beacon shine forth
May your path be alight
To this threshold
This supper
This night

May your presence here be noted
May your journey here be blessed
May you find honour in this household

Bide ye well


If possible, leave the front door open, or at the very least unlocked, for the duration of the meal. You may wish to open a window if you need to close the door.

Serve and eat the meal in total silence. Allow your mind to dwell on the members of your family who have passed on either in this past year or those previous, and listen carefully for any guests that may arrive.

Give the participants – both physical and metaphysical – ample time to commune, visit, reflect, and consume their meal. With a non-verbal signal ascertain that all are ready to conclude.

This is a good time to offer gifts, verses of thanks, farewells, songs, poems, or any other offerings the participants may wish to pass along to the Ancestors.

Signal the end of the supper to all by bidding the ancestors farewell with the following or similar prayer:


Blessed ancestors of this household
We are honoured by your presence at this table
We are honoured by your presence in our home
We are honoured by your presence in our lives

We rise now at the conclusion of this meal
And thank you for your company
On this Samhain night

You remind us that our blood is a legacy
You remind us that death is a doorway
You remind us of the power of kinship

With many thanks
We bid you good night
A pleasant journey
And a sweet farewell


You may wish to record any experiences with your Ancestors in your journal or share them with the other participants. Or perhaps you may enjoy sharing favourite memories or stories of those who have passed on.

Another activity might include the laying out or drawing of cards, lots, or use of other divinatory tools to commune with your Ancestors on one of these most auspicious nights for contact between the worlds.

Leave the plate out for the night and the window open, if desired. Or place the plate outside the door for other wandering souls at Samhain, friends and strangers alike.


~ Abhaill