Purpose & Format of Ritual

1. The Need, The Desire, The Emotional Involvement
2. The Knowledge and Preparation
3. Belief and Manifestation
4. Ability to Keep Silent, The Willingness Release and Accept

STEP 2: The Knowledge and Preparation

• Writing the ritual / Finding inspiration
• Choosing your catalyst, workings, visualization, meditation…
• Deciding the appropriate time, place, and tools
• Preparing the magickal place and catalysts if necessary
• Preparing the self and the practitioners

Writing the Ritual: Inspiration

What to write the ritual around
Now that you know your goal how will you manifest it? Inspiration for this can come through song, story, myth, painting, movement, just about anything you have seen or read. Let them inspire you. Meditate on your goal and the reasons you chose it. Gather your covenmates and work together to focus your inspiration into action and ritual. Write out all your ideas, don’t censer them as one idea may lead to another. Eventually the ritual will start to take shape and pieces that do not fit in will fall away. At this point start adding in the mundane requirements (time, size, etc). This should give you a strong outline and now the hard work begins…

Language and Actions
Study the way a myth is written, seek out ancient hymns, listen to Irish ballads or Passion by Peter Gabrielle; read The Prophet, Shakespeare, poetry, invocations, other rituals; seek out that which touches you as you wish to touch to those participating in the ritual. Let the language flow from you, if you need to get a tape recorder and talk into it. If you are a composer write music. Start without limiting yourself - freely write onto paper all your thoughts and verse. Later you can edit it down.

Emotional Processing
Some rituals bring up feelings that cannot, and should not, be repressed. Sudden bursts of anger, sorrow, and joy are common and not always expected. Emotional reactions can occur while writing or performing a ritual. These feelings may change the goal and or the order of ritual, that’s OK. If you are leading a ritual you should be prepared to either deal with sudden shifts in focus or to be aware of your participants and their reactions so that you might aid them as needed. For emotionally focused rituals, such as the saying of goodbye to a loved one, you may even choose an assistant or greenman to focus on and aid the participants while letting you continue with the ritual.

For example, emotional processing frequently occurs when writing rituals based around healing physical or mental anguish such as in a healing from rape ritual. The original intent may be nurturing and healing yet instead leads to feelings of anger and pain regarding the historical mistreatment of women. The very writing of the ritual can change not only the focus of the ritual, but also the person writing it. Emotions that come up either in the writing of a ritual or during the performance of a ritual should be dealt with. This may mean that more than one ritual will be written, a ritual will change focus during it’s enactment, or that an additional ritual will be performed at a later date.

* Any ritual that may cause emotional issues to surface, such as one that deals with abuse or grief, should be discussed with the participants before hand. The intent of a ritual should always known by the participants before beginning ritual. Those who do not wish to participate must be respected for their decision - without question. All rituals should involve only those who are willing and informed participants.

The Catalyst

Ritual Workings
Directing Energy - Magick is the manipulation of energy, a thought is a form of energy and visualization is an even stronger form of energy. Your visualization can be a method used to intensify further and direct your will or the method by which you control the magickal energy you have produced. You must know what you want, see it. You must be able to feel the energy flow and direct it.

Actions
All actions while in circle are sacred. Everything you do should be oriented to the purpose of the ritual. Becoming aware of your movements and how they relate to ritual allows you to connect the mind and the body. Actions include but not limited to:
- casting the circle - speaking or singing invocations - eating
- narration (as in storytelling) - cleaning the house/ritual area - spells
- making e.g. a mask - swimming in a natural body of water - dressing for the ritual
- scrying - waving isncense - hugging/passing a kiss
- dancing/singing - taking a bath with herbs or salt - drinking from the chalice
- cutting bread - taking something off or on (e.g mask/veil)

Sound

music-recorded
The music for ritual should be carefully chosen and listened to ahead of time. Depending on purpose, music can be fast and rhythmic for dancing, or slow and dreamlike for meditation or deep journeys. The list of available tapes and music for ritual is practically endless and depends solely on the taste of the people involved in the ritual, although it is generally felt that heavy metal, country/western, rap, techno/pop, and elevator music are incompatible with the purposes of sacred ritual. One also needs to ensure that the record/tape/CD player has batteries or the right chord plugged in, also that the music is inside the circle.

music-live
If the group is going to sing, chant, and/or play instruments, one should make sure that the group members can sing or play the instruments. Live music can be powerful, but if some members can't sing, chanting can be used instead. The music should be known by the people performing it, and be simple (if everyone is going to participate) or well rehearsed (if one or two people are going to perform). Don't stop singing or playing if a note is missed, pay attention to the feeling and atmosphere and don't shatter it by stopping and apologizing for missing a note or beat.

Drums
Drums are a powerful way of raising energy or guiding a meditation. Keep the beats simple and consistent (4/4 or 6/8). “Beat impaired” people can dance or play non-rhythm based items. Always pay attention to the atmosphere and realize that trancing (either for power raising or meditation) is impossible if some of the participants are hopelessly arrhythmic.

Other
Wind chimes, fountains, wind, rattles, bells, clapping, the human voice, whistles, and the unexpected.

Sounds excluded
These are just as important as ones included in ritual. Sound to consider: dripping faucet, crying child, cell phone; air-conditioning unit, etc.

Musical Correspondences
From what I can discern, one should use all of the notes, from one to 10, in each “Scale”. So, starting at E-natural, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#. The harmonics of Air are minor, flowing in 4/4 time, and slow, like wind. Dynamics rise and fall. Suggest that one use the notes and dynamics in a rising and falling pattern, ending in a crescendo. (more information is available in the Spell Corrospondences paper)

Air (also mercury): E natural major.
Earth: D-flat minor.
Water: G-sharp or A-flat minor
Fire: C-natural major

Smell/Scents
Do research before the ritual so that appropriate incense can be made or used. Frankincense invokes the Goddess and is a good all-purpose incense, as sage is a cleansing herb and can be used to get rid of unwanted energy. Cunningham’s Incenses, Oils, and Brews is an excellent resource for scents used in ritual and the specific properties of the different materials.

• Be attentive to the attendants and the possibility of allergies.
• Candles used should not have commercially added fragrances, as these may not be appropriate.

Colors
Colors can affect the atmosphere of the ritual and the intent and there by need to be selected with care. While there are no hard and fast rules concerning which colors to use, below is a list of the typical associations of colors. *Colors mean different things to different people, thereby the colors used should have a specific meaning to the person using it, not to any color chart.

Timing
Choose your time carefully. You should take into consideration all astrological implications, energy currents and moon phases. Whenever possible follow nature's energy currents. There is a natural time for starting things (a planting time), for maturing things (a growing time), for reaping things (a harvest time) and, of course, a time for rest and planning (a dormant time). Flowing with currents of nature will make your magickal work much easier. Moon phase, astrological time, time of day, time of week, can all influence your rituals. You can get many of the correspondences, such as days of the week, astrological signs, time of year, and planetary influences from most spell books. But the most basic instruction is to follow the phases of the moon.

New or Waxing Moon (from dark to full) : magickal workings for gain, increase or bringing things to you.

Full or Waning Moon (from full to dark) : magickal workings of decrease or sending away.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Environment
In choosing a place to do your magickal working pay particular attention to your needs, you must be comfortable. Your place should be private, quiet and secure. If at all possible, set aside a special place for this purpose only. An unused room, a special corner of your bedroom, a quiet, secluded spot in your garden. A place that is yours, where you can go whenever the need arises and that is as free from intrusion of others as possible. Anything that interferes with your ability to concentrate upon, reach, and control the high energy state necessary to perform magick should be avoided.

• amount of room needed for dancing/meditating/casting circle
• flammable materials - curtains, rug, robes, altar cloth, shellac on a cauldron\
• permission for use of land
• visibility to houses, roads, neighbors
• medical needs of your participants (allergies and health issues)
• location and phone number of nearby hospitals

  Nature’s elements

• weather conditions (hot or cold)
• plant life
• animal life such as fire ants, mosquitoes, gnats, chiggers, flies, spiders, and snakes. *All wildlife is potentially dangerous when you might be seen as a threat or intruder

  Man’s elements

• traffic and airplanes
• the neighbor’s dog or air conditioning unit
• curious passerbys which might include neighbors, police, a forest ranger, picnic goers

Clothing (Practical Considerations)
The general rule is to wear whatever feels witchy/magickal. Street clothes are appropriate for informal ritual, and should be loose and comfortable. Outdoor ritual clothes depend on the security of the location. Insects, poison plants, briars, fire ants and other natural elements must be taken into account when planning what to wear. Most people have different robes for different seasons and functions - tunic and trousers for outdoors, wool for winter, light cotton for summer. Clothing considerations…

Material: natural fibers such as cotton, linen, silk, wool. For hot climates, sleeveless or light natural fabrics are best.

Style: loose and comfortable. Elastic is distracting, and a tight robe (oxymoron?) does not allow for ease of movement. For men a drawstring tunic, Indian or mid-eastern styles work very well.

Length: ankle or mid-calf with slits up the sides for ease of movement. Tripping over your robe when jumping over a fire can lead to a dangerous outcome.

Fire Retardant: As many rituals contain either candles and/or small fires, the material of your clothing should be flame retardant. Billowing robes are impressive but dangerous. Bell sleeves, billowing robes, “broom” skirts, peasant sleeves, and saris are all easily set afire. Just be careful and use your intelligence.

Decoration: Robes can be decorated with anything the person feels is magickal and appropriate. Zodiac symbols, Celtic knot-work, unicorns and fairies are common. Within the context of this tradition, skulls, swastikas, and abusive things in general are not considered appropriate or desirable (and I would closely question the person displaying them).

 

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