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In a couple of weeks we will be
taking you through your first Temple Ritual or Esbat. Rituals are the
key to success in Wicca. They are fun and they are powerful. They need
to be approached sincerely and with proper preparation.
Before your first Esbat it is essential that you have collected most of
the ritual tools mentioned is a recent monograph AND that you have
studied and understood ALL of this course so far. If you have any doubts
or questions, NOW is the time to write in and ask us for advice. We are
always pleased to help.
In this monograph we are going to take a closer look at some of the
ESSENTIAL preliminaries and concepts.
RITUAL can be thought of as the way we speak to the Gods. It works by
putting us into a special frame of mind where communication with higher
realms is possible. In the monograph on correspondences we introduced
several ideas that must have seemed odd at the time. However these are
actually very important pieces of psychological shorthand. They work by
mental association.
Of course, our rituals were invented by people, and any sequence of
actions can become ritualised and used to symbolise anything. I suppose
something similar can be said about language, about words, and that
doesn't prevent us from trying to communicate with each other. So why
let it stop us communicating with the gods.
Magical ritual taps into primitive (and potentially dangerous) psychic
forces. This is why it is important for students to resist the
temptation to rush into ritual unprepared. Through this course you will
learn to how to channel and direct these forces safely.
As Wiccans we work within a sacred circle and use consecrated tools and
the magical names of various gods and goddesses to invoke Powers. It
seems to work. Or at least it works for some of us, some of the time. If
you don't seem to be getting much at first, be patient. Some Witches
take years before they feel the power, others get their heads blown off
(metaphorically speaking) first time.
If magic is to be anything other than a superstitious handing down of
mumbo-jumbo, we need a model of what is happening, a causality of magic
against which it is possible to make judgments about what dose and dose
not work for us. For this reason is is very important top keep a magical
diary, and record the details of every ritual we perform.
So what are there powers? Traditional ideas of angels, spirits, gods and
goddesses, ancestral spirits and so on are useful up to a point, but
these are not the end of the story. As we saw in a previous monograph,
such things are only models of the powers, not the powers themselves.
They serve to help us get our heads around difficult concepts and in
penetrating beyond these "intermediaries" the magician is forced to
confront the nature of consciousness itself and become something of a
mystic.
Once we accept that it is possible to create "thought-forms" and
"artificial elementals", it is a small step to admit that the gods,
goddesses, angels, and spirits of traditional magic may have no
objective reality outside of the consciousness which creates and
sustains them. On the other hand there is a general understanding that
while these archetypes may be the creations of consciousness, such
things take on a life of their own through the power of our thoughts. So
in practice they can be treated as if they were real.
THE MAGICKAL DIRECTIONS:
In ritual we associate different directions with different purposes.
NORTH - Earth - Money, Home, All material things, The Home of the Gods
WEST - Water - Emotion.
EAST - Air - Communication and all things intellectual.
SOUTH - Fire - Action, Power, Energy.
These different direction are sometimes called the Watchtowers, and each
has a guardian who must be invoked at the start of each ritual.
RITUAL DRESS:
Never enter a sacred circle in your street clothes. Some Witches make
special robes for ritual while others prefer to work ritual skyclad. So
will you work
ROBED or SKYCLAD?
If you feel comfortable doing so, it is best to always go naked (skyclad)
before the Gods. This acts as a symbol of purity and that you have
nothing to hide.
If you are not comfortable or if it is too cold to go skyclad, wear a
ritual robe. A dressing gown will do for the time being. If you intend
to work robed, try to make yourself one as soon as possible. Then keep
it strictly for ritual and always wash it yourself by hand.
MOOD:
Before each ritual, put yourself into a calm, relaxed mood with a ritual
bath. Use only candle light, have some incense burning, and play soft,
meditative music.
Release all tension, forget the worries of the day, and think of the
purpose of your impending ritual.
SOME RITUAL COMPONENTS:
Now is a good time to introduce you to some of the things you will say
and do in your first Esbat.
CASTING THE CIRCLE is the way we create our sacred space. It is an area,
cleansed and purified in which we worship the gods and work our magick.
It is like a portable temple that we can set up anywhere, on a secluded
beach, a woodland glade or a mountain top. We also cast a circle inside
our home temple, even if it is a room set aside especially for ritual.
It makes it special and puts us in a sacred state of mind. You will learn
how to cast a circle when the time comes.
A traditional blessing we often use is: "FLAX, FLAGS, FODDER & FRIGG".
It is also a powerful spell in which you are asking for plenty of FINE
CLOTHING (flax), GOOD LIVING QUARTERS (flags or flagstones), GOOD FOOD
(fodder), and PLENTY OF PHYSICAL LOVE (Frigg). Frigg is the Norse
Goddess of Love, a version of Venus. (Now you know it is a goddess name,
please never use it as a swearword!)
SO MOTE IT BE is an old English version of So May It Be, or So Be It, or
if you prefer Amen. It is a good traditional way to end any spoken
prayer or spell. There is a certain mental discipline associated with
it. When casting a spell you will need to concentrate very hard upon it,
work up as much emotional energy and power as you can, and then with the
words SO MOTE IT BE you cast all the power from you, out into the
cosmos, or to the person you are hoping to affect. With this phrase, and
any accompanying hand gestures you find helpful, you dismiss the whole
thing from your conscious mind. You will not think of it again because
until you release it, it can not begin working. (You will learn much
more about this in future monographs).
CAKES & WINE is a traditional and very effective way to wind down a
ritual and to ground yourself. Rituals, especially the more advanced
ones, raise a very great deal of power. This power needs to find its way
into you naturally and constructively, otherwise it can laterally drive
you crazy. Eating and drinking closed down your body’s chakras or energy
centres (of with you will learn much more in future monographs). So
before commencing any ritual remember to stash a bottle of wine or cider
or ale; and some munchies; under the alter.
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