Post by Helen Milano on Aug 23, 2006 15:26:22 GMT -5
This ritual is designed for a High Priestess and two others, one bearing the chalice of salt water and one carrying the incense. Start with candles lit at the cardinal points and a cauldron in the center of the Circle area.
The High Priestess starts at the altar. With unsheathed Athame she salutes the Sky and Earth. At the East corner the Priestess raises her Athame and calls out:
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East,
Powers of Air!
We invoke you and call you,
Golden Eagle of the Dawn,
Star - seeker,
Whirlwind,
Rising Sun,
Come!
By the air that is Her breath,
Send forth your light,
Be here now!
As she speaks, she traces an invoking Pentagram in the air with her Athame. She sees it, in glowing pale blue flame, and through it she feels a great onrush of wind. She breathes deeply, drawing in the power, then earths it through her Athame, which she points at the ground.
The High Priestess traces the Circle as she continues around the edge. The other quarters are similarly called in turn:
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtower of the South,
Powers of Fire!
We invoke you and call you,
Red Lion of the noon heat,
Flaming One!
Summer's warmth,
Spark of life, Come!
By the fire that is Her spirit,
Send forth your flame,
Be here now!
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtower of the West,
Powers of Water!
We invoke you and call you,
Serpent of the Watery abyss,
Rainmaker,
Gray-robed Twilight,
Evening Star! Come!
By the waters of Her living womb,
Send forth your flow,
Be here now!
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtower of the North,
Powers of Earth,
Cornerstone of all Power
We invoke you and call you,
Lady of the Outer Darkness,
Black Bull of Midnight,
North Star,
Center of the Whirling sky Stone,
Mountain,
Fertile Field, Come!
By the earth that is her body,
Send forth your strength,
Be here now!
As the Priestess completes the Circle she again salutes the sky and earth, turns and touches the tip of her Athame to the central cauldron and says:
The Circle is cast.
We are between the worlds.
Beyond the bounds of time,
Where night and day
Birth and Death
Joy and sorrow
Meet as one.
The High Priestess starts at the altar. With unsheathed Athame she salutes the Sky and Earth. At the East corner the Priestess raises her Athame and calls out:
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East,
Powers of Air!
We invoke you and call you,
Golden Eagle of the Dawn,
Star - seeker,
Whirlwind,
Rising Sun,
Come!
By the air that is Her breath,
Send forth your light,
Be here now!
As she speaks, she traces an invoking Pentagram in the air with her Athame. She sees it, in glowing pale blue flame, and through it she feels a great onrush of wind. She breathes deeply, drawing in the power, then earths it through her Athame, which she points at the ground.
The High Priestess traces the Circle as she continues around the edge. The other quarters are similarly called in turn:
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtower of the South,
Powers of Fire!
We invoke you and call you,
Red Lion of the noon heat,
Flaming One!
Summer's warmth,
Spark of life, Come!
By the fire that is Her spirit,
Send forth your flame,
Be here now!
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtower of the West,
Powers of Water!
We invoke you and call you,
Serpent of the Watery abyss,
Rainmaker,
Gray-robed Twilight,
Evening Star! Come!
By the waters of Her living womb,
Send forth your flow,
Be here now!
Hail, Guardians of the Watchtower of the North,
Powers of Earth,
Cornerstone of all Power
We invoke you and call you,
Lady of the Outer Darkness,
Black Bull of Midnight,
North Star,
Center of the Whirling sky Stone,
Mountain,
Fertile Field, Come!
By the earth that is her body,
Send forth your strength,
Be here now!
As the Priestess completes the Circle she again salutes the sky and earth, turns and touches the tip of her Athame to the central cauldron and says:
The Circle is cast.
We are between the worlds.
Beyond the bounds of time,
Where night and day
Birth and Death
Joy and sorrow
Meet as one.
