Beltane 2008

Items needed: violets, a coin, a slip of paper, dragon’s blood resin, silver (a dime will do), a stone, a cat whisker, and incense ash.

Ground and Center.

Invoke Inari with:

“Goddess of foxes and fire;
Lady of fields and mountains,
I now complete the sacred words to
Invite you here to my Circle.
Grant me your wisdom
In my worship and in my daily life.
Inari, hear my dearest wish –
From the heavens to my Circle descend.
Be here now,
Hail and Welcome!”

Pour the rice into the offering dish and say:

“Inari – accept my sacrifice!”

Invoke the Morrighan with:

“Goddess of life and death;
Lady of Sovereignty,
I now complete the sacred words to
Invite you here to my Circle.
Grant me your wisdom
In my worship and in my daily life.
The Morrighan, hear my dearest wish –
From the heavens to my Circle descend.
Be here now,
Hail and Welcome!”

Pour the wine into the offering dish and say:

“The Morrighan – accept my sacrifice!”

Invoke God with:

“Lucifer, Lord of the Morning,
I now complete the sacred words to
Invite you here to my Circle.
Grant me your wisdom
In my worship and in my daily life.
Great Ladies, hear my dearest wish –
From the heavens to my Circle descend.
Be here now,
Hail and Welcome!”

Place the pennies in to the dish and say:

“Lucifer – accept my sacrifice!”

Say:

“Welcome to the rite of Beltane, the Hinge of Summer, the Day of Blessings. Now the earth grows green again; warmed by the power of the Sun. Shoot has become bud; the bud is flowering, as all life burns with the kindling of love's fire. Now I rejoice in the heat of May, and look forward to the greater heat as the days grow longer. This is Beltane, the celebration of the beginning of summer and the fires of Bel. We are at a time of purification where I will burn away the darkness of winter as I release any ill will that I may harbor. I turn the Wheel and usher in the Light and flowering of Summer!”

Say:

“As the ancients did before me, so I do now, and so others may do in the future. I am here tonight to worship as they did, to make offerings to my ancestors; to the King and Queen of the Sidhe clans and to all the Kindred Spirits. I kindle a new flame in within myself as I move between the Beltane fires. And tonight, may all witches practice the Rites of Love in whatever way our spirits may guide us, to sustain the Power of Life.”

Honor the Sidhe with:

“On the feast of Beltane the veils between the worlds are thin. Now I honor the noble clans of the otherworld, the spirits of Earth to join our dance and receive due offering. Come through the Veil, gentle and lovely ones. Hear my call; I am a child of Earth, who remembers you. I offer you my friendship and my blessing. You who rule in the wildwood, who give luck or bane, you who teach us the hidden ways and aid the wise, receive now these offerings made in your honor:

(For each group of Sidhe make the offering listed after honoring them into the offering dish)

To the queens under the hill -- Oonagh the Lovely, Cailleach the Ancient, Medb the Mighty and all... (offer violets)
To the kings under the hill -- Finvarra the Handsome, Bodb the Red, Eochaid the Stallion and all... (offer a coin)
To all the Sidhe-folk of poetry and wisdom -- Inspirers and singers, you who grant sight and hearing... (offer a slip of paper)
To all the Sidhe-folk who are warriors, wardens and keepers, champions and hunters, wrathful protectors... (offer dragons blood)
To all the Sidhe-folk of the makers, silver Sidhe and gold Sidhe, wood Sidhe and clay Sidhe and the folk in the loom... (offer silver)
To all the Sidhe-folk of the soil, tillers and reapers, cattle Sidhe and arbor Sidhe and folk of the hearth... (offer a stone)
To all the Sidhe-folk of the Earth, stone and soil, stream and pool, bird and beast... (offer a cat whisker)
To all the Sidhe-folk of the sea, merrow and selkie, of sunlit shallows and the deeps... (offer water)
To all the Sidhe-folk of the air, trooping sidhe and the voices on the wind... (offer incense ash)
To all of you we give these gifts and ornaments, asking you to bless us in the joy of the living...

Say:

“Noble Sidhe, accept my sacrifice!”

Say:

“Let my voice arise on the Fire,
Let my voice resound in the deep,
Let the Kindred Spirits accept what I offer,
As honor to the old ways I keep.”

Say:

“Now as I stand filled with the power of my Goddesses and God, I work the spell of the Beltane fires to drive away ill and bring luck in the coming summer.”

Light the fire-vessels and say:

“I kindle these magic fires
In the presence of the mighty ones
With the power of lovers.

Rise as the warmth of summer's sun
This Beltane day
Kindle within my heart
A flame of love and wit and might
To friend and foe and all beings
Bring peace and beauty to the land
As life begins anew.

I step lightly between the fires
and leave my winter cares behind
I receive the blessing of the Old ones
As I pass between the faery fires
Rejoice now in the coming of the May!

As I pass between the two fires
Allow them to purify and renew me!”

Pass through the fires. On the opposite side pause a moment and offer a bow, then
pass back through to where the altar is and repeat the bow.

Say in blessing:

“Bless, O great ones true and bountiful
Myself, my kin and my friends
My work and my wealth.
May the Old Ones sustain me
May the Fire of Passion enliven me
From day to day through every turning moon
From season to season
Through all the sacred year.
May my ancestors strengthen me
May the Sidhe-folk open my ways
May the goddesses and gods grant me wisdom.
Let the seeds of spring shoot and bud
And let my life blossom with the May.
By my magic and by the blessings of the old ways
Let all the blossoms come to fruit!”

Prepare to take the omen, saying:

“Gift of blessing, gift of destiny,
I have opened myself to my Gods
And the Kindred Spirits of this place
That surrounds and upholds me.
I ask those ancient and wise ones –
May the true sight be in me,
May the true speech be mine.
O Gods and Kindred Spirits,
What blessing to you offer me
To take into the world?
What can we expect between now and Midsummer?”

Draw three runes and interpret them. If the omen is unfavorable, redraw it.

Say:

“Now the blessing of this High Day fills me
I carry it with me into my life.
The worlds are in me, and I am in the worlds
The spirit in me is the spirit in the worlds
By Gods, Kindred, and Sidhe;
The blessing flows and shines in me!”

Say:

“As has been done in the past, so I have done now, and so it will be done in the future. I have once again forged a link in the chain of tradition and the Gods have heard me. Now I go into the world in the secure knowledge that this ritual has pleased my Gods and I go forth with their blessing.”

Raise cakes and say:

“Behold the gift of the God!”

Raise the wine (keep the cakes raised) and say:

“Behold the gift of the Goddess!
Eat and drink;
Be filled with the blessing of the Deities
and in the silent mirror of my soul
behold that thou art divine!
May I never hunger!
May I never thirst!”

Perform the Piacular offering:

“If out of ignorance or faulty memory,
If for any reason I have made offense,
Gathered Deities and Kindred Spirits,
Hear me now!
Accept this offering as recompense
And know my heart and my intent was pure.
Accept this sacrifice!”
(Place the offering in the dish.)

Say:

“The gods have blessed me. With joy in my heart, let me return to the realm of mortals to do both their will and my own. Every time I invoke them, they become stronger and more alert to the needs of the folk. Now comes the time when I must prepare to depart. So let me give thanks to those whom we have invited here.”

Say:

“Children of the earth,
May the sacred presence remain within you always,
Go now in blessings and peace
Our rite has ended.”

Eidolon Moon's Notes:

Just to show you how lazy I am, this was supposed to be my 2007 ritual. Well, that fell through because the husband and I had a spat and I was in no mood or condition to do ritual. So I revamped it for 2008 and this is what we got! It's still very ADF, I think, because I couldn't really get away from that style without messing up the ritual. But it is still leaning toward where I'm going and I can see my development in it.

The new style of Deity invocations came about because at Ostara I went to do ritual but ended up in the emergency room instead. Over time the idea came to me that the Morrighan wanted a sacrifice, one that was Hers uniquely. So, instead of sacrificing to both Ladies at once, they each get their own invocation and sacrifice. I think that works out much better because (a) different Deities and (b) it just seems more respectful to me.

I had forgotten to gather the violets for this ritual and I tend to these fairly late at night - midnight or later. So, there was me running around in the dark after 11:30 pm looking for flowers. I did find some, but man. What the neighbors must have though. The lesson here? Make sure you have all your supplies on hand before the sun goes down. *laughs*