Lunar Grove Beltane Ritual 2008

Items Needed: The regular Altar tools plus a symbol for the House Guardian. The wand/ and or athame can be decorated with ribbons. House Guardian drawings. Incense a woodsy blend such as Pine or Patchouli for the God and Cherry Blossom for the Goddess.

Directions: Set up altar as normally. Using the besom, take it starting in the East and sweep. As you sweep imagine all the negativity leaving the area.

Say: All Negative out, all positive in…

Next stand before the altar. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Center your thoughts on the upcoming ritual and the reason behind it.

Ring the bell once and say: The Ritual has begun…

Next, take your athame and move to the East of the ritual area. Visualize a blue flame shooting from the tip of the blade to the ground. Walk clockwise around the circle, casting the circle as you draw.

Say: I consecrate this circle to the Goddess and the God. Here may they manifest and bless their children.

Return to the altar and stand facing it. Raise your arms with the athame in your power hand and say: This is a time that is not a time, in a place that is not a place, on a day that is not a day. I stand at the threshold between the worlds, before the Veil of Mysteries. May the Old Ones protect us that I may walk the true path forever. By the bright circle of the golden sun, by the bright courses of the glorious moon, by the dread potency of every star in the mysterious zodiac’s burning girth, by each and all of these supernal signs, I do call and command you with this sacred blade. Guard me in this time and place from all evil and unbalanced forces.

Lay the dagger on the altar, raise your arms in greeting, and say: Come, all those who would help us here this night. I give you welcome within this sacred circle. Join your powers with my desires that we may create and accomplish.

Take up the dagger and hold it point down over the chalice of water. Say: The Blessings of the Goddess be upon this water, symbol of Water, May it ever remind me of the endless cauldron waters of rebirth.

Hold the dagger with the point down over the container of salt. Say: The Blessings of the Goddess be upon this salt, symbol of Earth. May we ever honor the blessed earth that is Her body in the physical world.

With the tip of your dagger, scoop up a little of the salt and tip it into the chalice of water. Put the dagger aside and take up the chalice in your power hand. Swirl it gently three times in a clockwise movement.

Hold the chalice high over the altar and say: Water and Earth, Elements of birth. By touch, purify. By power, sanctify. Great Goddess, be you adored!

Using the fingers of your power hand, lightly sprinkle the water around the edge of the circle, beginning and ending in the East.

Replace the chalice on the altar, and take the dagger in your power hand. Hold it point down over the burning candle and say: May the blessings of the God be upon this candle, symbol of Fire. May I ever honor the sacred fire that dance within me.

Hold the dagger point down over the incense and say: May the blessings of the God be upon this incense, symbol of Air. May I always listen to the spiritual inspiration that whispers to my soul.

Lay the dagger aside. Take the candle and light it to the incense. Hold the incense high over the altar and say: Fire and Air, Elements so fair. By touch, purify. By power, sanctify. Great God be you adored!

Carry the burning incense around the circle, beginning and ending in the East. Return the censer to the altar.

Stand facing the altar and say: ,i>Round and round, the power has bound, this circle tonight in Otherworld light. NO evil may enter, no harm befall us. For this is our will, and so shall it be.

Purify yourself with the oil. Draw and solar cross and crescent onto your forehead. Say: I (name) am purified and cleansed in the name of the Goddess and God in this their circle.

Next, it is time to let people in and purify them. Ask those who would enter to approach the circle. As they approach, point the dagger at their heart. Ask:
Q: What do you want?
A: To enter the circle.
Q: How do you enter?
A: In perfect love and perfect trust.

Have them kiss the blade and say: Merry meet and welcome, take your place at the cardinal point.

Then purify them in the order they came in. Purify them as you would yourself. Next, it is time to call the quarters.

East: Air, South: Fire, West: Water, North: Earth. Allow for improv. As they call the quarters have them light their appropriate elemental candle. Have everyone draw the infinity symbol after they’re done calling down the element…

Tap the wand on the altar three times raise your arms in greeting and say: I call upon the Goddess, She who was once called Lady of the Greenwood, Mistress of Love and Fertility. Greetings, Lady of all things wild and free. We welcome you, and rejoice in Your presence. Blessed Be!

Tap the wand on the altar three times raise your arms in greeting and say: I call upon the God, He who was once called Lord of the Greenwood, Pan of the Forest, the Horned One. Greetings, Lord of all things wild and free. We welcome You, and rejoice in Your presence. Blessed Be!

Lay aside the wand. Dance or walk around the circle clockwise, beginning in the East. Pause at each quarter. Raise your arms in greeting, saying: The two are one, and the one is all!

When finished, return to the altar, and say: We are followers of the Lady and the Lord. Through us They make Themselves known upon the earth. We have pledged ourselves to Their service. Fill us as a cup with knowledge and understanding. Let our ears hear your blessed words. Let our hands do your work, and feet follow Your path forever. For we our followers of the Old Ways!

Pass the incense smoke around the drawings of the house guardians. Say: Lord and Lady, We present to You the guardians of our homes. We thank them for all they have done for us, and ask that You also bless them. Spirit guardians, we ask you to continue your good work. Blessed Be.

Next, it is time to read the Beltane benediction…

Beltane Invocation
Light a fire in a cauldron. Turn to the east and say: Out the east the sun wells and whitens, the darkness trembles into light, and the stars are extinguished like the lamps of a human city. The whiteness brightens into silver the silver warms into gold, the gold kindles into pure and living fire, and the face of the east is covered with elemental scarlet. The day draws its first breath, steady and chill, and for leagues around, the woods and valleys will sigh and shiver. From every side the shadows will leap from their ambush and fall prone. The day of prosperity has come! This I give to thee, O sacred fire, so that I and my family shall be spared from all evil.

Walk around the cauldron three times, then repeat the following invocation:
Maypole rise to the heavens, lengths of colored ribbon,
Flutter in the morning sunlight tokens kept and given.
Costumed lords and ladies step quick in deosil round
Weaving love and harmony as the sun goes down.
Circle in to touch the sky, and out to manifest
spiral dance around the ring grant us our request!
Venus rules, her passions deep in love and games of war.
Taurus vows that he will keep great riches at the door.
Cupid's bow is pointed to shoot right through the heart
Aphrodite's scented lips breathe, "Romance is an art."
Circle in to touch the sky, and out to manifest
Spiral dance around the ring grant me my request!
The maypole is the World Tree, Poteau Mitan of love
That draws from ebony oceans, stars to earth to shore,
And carries power to the dance through streamers of each hue
The spark of life that is required to make a Witch's brew.
Circle in to touch the sky, and out to manifest
Spiral dance around the ring grant me my request!
The first dew of the morning and rowan on the ledge
Are secrets of the season renewing each year's pledge
Of joy and peace within my home, prosperity and more
Magic thunders from my palms and penetrates the core.
Circle in to touch the sky and out to manifest
Spiral dance around the ring grant me my request!
Deosil thrice around the bonfire leap the roaring flame
Cast off the old and birth the new in God and Goddess' name.
Protection for the animals, god fortune, healing too
Bonnach Bealltain, an offering, to make my dreams come true.
Circle in to touch the sky, and out to manifest
Spiral dance around the ring grant me my request!

After the benediction and invocation is complete, It is now time for prosperity work. Some ideas include some spell work, meditation.

After complete, set the athame into the chalice symbolizing the Great Rite and say: As this athame is the male, so this cup is the female, and joined they bring blessings.

Raise the chalice high over the altar and say: To the Old Ones! Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet again. Blessed Be!

Have everyone drink a little of the sparkling cider, saving some for the nature spirits.

It is now time to close the circle. Have each person dismiss their elemental corner. Have them snuff it out tracing a banishing pentagram after the candles flame is extinguished. Have them improv on how they would like to dismiss them. Starting in the East, ending in the North…

After everyone has dismissed their cardinal point, have them place their hands upon the altar. Have them ground the remaining energy. Raise your arms in greeting and say: Fairies, Spirits, Elementals, and all in the invisible, we give our thanks and blessings. May we always work in harmony together. Blessed Be.

Extinguish the Deity candles. Saying: Lord and Lady, we thank you for your presence in attending our rite! Honor to the Old Ones!

Take your athame in the East. Point it down, drawing the energy back into the athame from the circle. As your walking say: The circle is cut, but the blessings remain. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again! Blessed Be!

Eidolon Moon's Notes:

This was the first High Day ritual that I did with the Lunar Grove, until this point we had only done esbats. It had been a while since I had done a strictly Wiccan ritual so it took me a moment to 'get back into the flow' as it were. It didn't help that I was exhausted when we started the ritual, so I was feeling a little clumsy and slow. However, it turned out to be rather moving and very energizing.

Lady Anise is a Third Degree Gardnerian High Priestess, so there were bits in the circle casting that were new to me. Mainly it was the kissing the blade, I had never seen or heard of that before and for me that takes more trust than the challenge into the circle. It's a very powerful symbol between the entrant and the Priestess, I don't think it would adapt well into other forms but I think it works well in a Gardnerian setting.

The long maypole chant we actually split up and was said by four different people. With each section that ended "...Circle in to touch the sky, and out to manifest; Spiral dance around the ring grant me my request!" would end one person's verse and the next person would pick up the narrative.

All in all it was a very nice ritual and I really enjoyed it. It was absolutely wonderful to get to worship with a group again. I didn't realize how much I had been missing it until I got to do it again.