Beltane 2003

Items needed: a candle in the cauldron, wand, and bell.

Purify self and Cast Circle.

__________________ invoke the Goddess with:

“Goddess of fire and passion, by whatever names we call Thee - ________________ - we know that You hear us. We now complete the sacred words and invoke Thee here to our Circle, to bless it, cleanse it, and make it whole. Join us as we celebrate Your divine union with the God, hear our dearest wish – from the heavens to our Circle descend. Hail and Welcome!”

__________________ invoke the God with:

“God of field and forest, by whatever names we call Thee - __________________ - we know that You hear us. We now complete the sacred words and invoke Thee here to our Circle to bless it, cleanse it, and make it whole. Join with us as we usher in the warmth that will flourish into summer. Hear our dearest wish – from the heavens to our Circle descend! Hail and Welcome!”

__________________ say:

“This is the time when sweet desire weds wild delight. The Maiden of Spring and the Lord of the Waxing Year meet in the greening fields and rejoice together under the warm sun. The shaft of life is twined in a spiral web and all nature is renewed. This is the time of flowering, when we turn the Wheel and dance the dance of life.”

__________________ stand with the wand raised and say:

“Tonight we celebrate the love of the God and Goddess and the sacredness of our own loves. We honor Your union as nature rejoices in a riotous blaze of color and life. As the Lord and Lady lie down in the newly plowed fields and spread their fecundity throughout the earth, from Your mating shall spring forth life anew; a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands and the winds will blow pure and sweet. Ancient and Shining Ones, we celebrate with You!”

Pass the wand to __________________, hold the wand against the cauldron lip and
say:

“The fertility of the Earth is dependent on the fruitfulness of the God and Goddess. We celebrate ecstasy; we usher in the full blossoming of Summer.”

__________________ ring the bell seven times and say:

“The Goddess of Summer walks through the land with the God of the Forest, and the dark time of Winter is behind us.”

__________________ say:

“The animals breed and plants pollinate, and the May Queen and the Green Man bestow their blessings upon the Earth and all of her creatures."

__________________ say:

“We, who are Their children, rejoice with them and ask that Their happy union become the example for all humanity to live in love and harmony.”

__________________ light the candle in the cauldron and say:

“May the light of the May fire bring happiness and peace, and may the victory of the King of the Wood come into our lives that we may dwell in the joy of the Lord and Lady. The dark days have now been cleared away that the May Day can now begin!”

__________________ hold the chalice in your left hand, hold the athame in your right hand. Slowly lower the point of the athame into the wine and say:

“As male joins with female for the benefit of both, let the fruits of Their divine union promote life. Let the earth be fruitful and let her wealth be spread throughout all lands. As we enjoy the gifts of the God and Goddess may we remember that without Them we would have nothing. As freely as we have received may we also give food for the mind, body, and spirit of those who seek such from us.”

Everyone say:

“Blessed be!”

Works of magick may follow.

The chalice was blessed during the Great Rite, __________________say:

“As we drink from this cup, Goddess, fill us with the nectar of Your love.”

__________________ bless the cakes with:

“Growing God, Lord of Summer, I offer these cakes in Your honor,
As we eat them, fill us with the power of Your spirit.
Blessed be.”

Eat simple feast and close Circle.

Phaedra's Notes:

This is very much just a simple expansion of my older Beltane ritual. It has the 'newer' changes that have crept into my style and I have added a few things that I think help to round out the ritual experience and leave the participants feeling more complete by the end.

I do have the symbolic Great Rite being done by one person, however when I work with a group, we tend to break it up when we have the chance. Other than that we tend to do the ritual pretty much as laid out, there are enough parts that we all feel that we have done a goodly amount of participation.