Some Rites for Solitaries

by Ian Elliott   March 3^rd, 2015

(Note that the pentacle can be an inscribed disk of wood or stone, or else a special stone, such as a fossil; but in the latter case it should be semi-discoid in shape, and sufficiently flat so objects may be laid on it stably. [1] The pentacle should be consecrated first.)

Consecration of Magical Weapons:

Consecration of the Wand

Pass [2] the wand through the incense smoke thrice, say:

May this wand be pure.  May all its impurities be burned away, carried away on the incense-smoke. [3]

Pass [4] the wand through the fire (fire element candle), say:

Now through the fires of purification I pass this wand, where both past and present are burnt away. 

Sprinkle the wand with water thrice, say:

With the waters of time and forgetfulness I wash away the ashes of past and present.  Now this wand is ready to serve a new purpose.

  

Next lay the wand on the pentacle, say:

Now I ground this wand in the earth, womb of the Mother.   From her womb comes life, which when held within this wand shall be power to call and dismiss Quarters and all lesser beings attracted to my rites.  Now by her womb this wand becomes an instrument of my understanding. 

Breathe on the wand thrice, say:

As life is breathed into me, so do I breathe my life into you, in the name of the Lady be it so.

Hold the wand up before the candle of the Lady, look at the wand, say:

I name thee [name wand]

You must talk to your wand regularly, calling it by its name.  Its name should have special meaning for you, and be connected with an appropriate figure or place.  The scenes and stories connected with the name of the wand constitute its pedigree.

Consecration of the Athame

Pass the athame through the incense smoke thrice, say:

May this athame be pure.  May all its impurities be burned away, carried away on the incense-smoke.

Pass the athame through the fire (fire element candle) thrice, say:

Now through the fires of purification I pass this athame, where both past and present are burnt away. 

Sprinkle the athame with water thrice, say:

  

With the waters of time and forgetfulness I wash away the ashes of past and present.  Now this athame is ready to serve a new purpose.

Lay the athame on the pentacle, say:

Now I ground this athame in the earth, womb of the Mother.  From her womb comes life, which when held within this blade shall be power to charge the wine and direct the power raised in the Circle.  Now by her womb this athame becomes an instrument of my will. 

Breathe on the athame thrice, say:

As life is breathed into me, so I breathe my life into this athame.  In the name of the Lady, be it so.

Hold the athame up before the candle of the Lady, look at the athame, say:

I name thee [name athame]

You must talk to your athame regularly, calling it by its name.  Its name should have special meaning for you, and be connected with an appropriate figure or place.  The scenes and stories connected with the name of the athame constitute its pedigree.

Consecration of the Cup

Pass the cup through the incense smoke thrice, say:

May this cup be pure.  May all its impurities be burned away, carried away on the incense-smoke.

Pass the cup through (or above) the fire (fire element candle) thrice, say:

Now through the fires of purification I pass this cup, where both past and present are burnt away. 

  

Sprinkle the cup with water thrice, say:

With the waters of time and forgetfulness I wash away the ashes of past and present.  Now this cup is ready to serve a new purpose.

Lay the cup on the pentacle, say:

Now I ground this cup in the earth, womb of the Mother.  From her womb comes life, which when held within this vessel shall be power to receive the spell into the astral realm, whence it will rebound on the material basis.  Now by her womb this cup becomes an instrument of my daring. 

Breathe on the cup thrice, say:

As life is breathed into me, so I breathe my life into this cup.  In the name of the Lady, be it so.

Hold the cup up before the candle of the Lady, look at the cup, say:

I name thee [name cup]

You must talk to your cup regularly, calling it by its name.  Its name should have special meaning for you, and be connected with an appropriate figure or place.  The scenes and stories connected with the name of the cup constitute its pedigree.

Consecration of the Pentacle

Pass the pentacle through the incense smoke thrice, say:

May this pentacle be pure.  May all its impurities be burned away, carried away on the incense-smoke.

Pass the pentacle through (or above) the fire (fire element candle), say:

Now through the fires of purification I pass this pentacle, where both past and present are burnt away. 

Sprinkle the pentacle with water thrice, say:

With the waters of time and forgetfulness I wash away the ashes of past and present.  Now this pentacle is ready to serve a new purpose.

Next lay the pentacle in an earth-filled dish, say:

Now I ground this pentacle in the earth, womb of the Mother.   From her womb comes life, which when held within this pentacle shall be power to pull the will through the astral cup and ground both in the material basis of the spell, establishing the magical link.  Now by her womb this pentacle becomes an instrument of my silence. 

Breathe on the pentacle thrice, say:

As life is breathed into me, so do I breathe my life into you, in the name of the Lady be it so.

Hold the pentacle up before the candle of the Lady, look at the pentacle, say:

I name thee [name pentacle]

You must talk to your pentacle regularly, calling it by its name.  Its name should have special meaning for you, and be connected with an appropriate figure or place.  The scenes and stories connected with the name of the pentacle constitute its pedigree.

Rite of Purification and Dedication:

Best performed at night.

1. Take a ritual bath:

Materials:  Candles, salt (sea salt is best) in a dish.

Light the candle, say: Honor to Fire.

Turn off all other lights.  Begin filling the tub.  Taking the dish of salt in the receptive hand, pour some salt into the palm of the projective hand.  Hold it at the heart, fling it into the bathwater, say:

I purify by the Maiden.

Pour more salt into palm of the projective hand, hold it by the heart and fling into the bathwater, say:

I consecrate by the Mother to [name quality, such as balance]

Pour more salt into palm of the projective hand, hold it by the heart and fling into the bathwater, say:

I charge by the Crone.

Pour more salt into palm of the projective hand, hold it by the heart and fling into the bathwater.  Say nothing.  This cast is for the Dark Moon.

Bathe leisurely, getting thoroughly clean.  When finished, stand and thank the water elementals thus:

I thank Nicksa and the undines for [name the quality, such as balance]

Step out of the bath and towel dry, then say:

Honor to the Maiden, honor to the Mother, honor to the Crone, honor to [saying nothing, meaning the Dark Moon]

Snuff out the candle, say: Honor to Fire.

Meditate for a few moments.

2. Clean and straighten the temple.

3. Light the circle candles, begin in the East and proceed deosil

(clockwise), ending in the North.  Bow to the East.  Light the cross-quarter candles on a separate pass if between Yule and Ostara (the spring equinox). 

4. Bring in salt, water in a ewer, a bowl, sage and a holder for sage.  Have athame ready to mix salt and water.  Have hand bell ready.

5. Ring hand bell thrice.

6. Pour water from ewer into bowl.

7.Tip salt with tip of athame into bowl of water thrice, stirring with point of athame. 

8. Place index and long finger of projective hand together and dip into salt water, say:

With the power of the Sea that washes the shores, I am purified. [5]

Anoint forehead between brows with invoking pentacle of Earth.

9. Repeat 8 above, anointing lips in same fashion.

10. Repeat 8 above, anointing heart in same fashion.

11.  Light the sage.  Wave the sacred smoke on the head and chest, pass it around the body thrice deosil, say:

May I be pure.  May all my impurities be burned away, carried away on the incense-smoke. [6]

12.  Circle the temple deosil, starting from the East.  Salute each Watcher in turn at the cardinal points with his special mudra. [7] Seal to the East to finish.

13.  Face the altar deities, say:

I dedicate myself this night to the service of the ancient Gods.  May that service be acceptable to them.

14.  Salute the altar deities with their mudras,[8] then extinguish the candles.  Begin in the East and extinguish the quarter candles deosil, sealing to the East.  Then, beginning in the Southeast, extinguish the cross-quarter candles if they were lit, sealing to the East again.  Extinguish the altar candles last.

15.  Ring the hand bell thrice.  Bow and withdraw from the Temple.

16. Meditate for a space.

17.  Return to the Temple and remove the salt and water.  Place the salt in the salt dish in the bathroom for future ritual baths.  Return the water to the Earth, say:

Return to the elements whence you came.

Candles:

The altar candles represent the Lady and Lord reigning at this particular time of year.  The Lady’s candles are white for the Maiden, red for the Mother, and black for the Crone.  The Lord’s candles are red for the Oak King (called Red Campion [champion] in folklore) and green for the Holly King. 

Where both candles are red, a single red candle may be used.   The altar candles should be large and thick.  As the high priest/ess faces east, the Lady candle should be to the left of the center of the altar, that is on the northern side, and the Lord candle to the right or on the southern side of the center.  There should be a small space between the two.  The colors of the altar candles at different times of the sacred year are as follows:

Altar candles

From Yule to the day before Imbolc (winter solstice to March 31^st): Lord candle red in the center.

From Imbolc to the day before Beltane (Feb 1^st [9] to April 30^th): Lord candle red, Lady candle white.

From Beltane to Midsummer Eve (May 1^st to the night before the summer solstice): One red candle in the center for the Lord and Lady together.

During the Midsummer Eve rite, the Holly King replaces the Oak King.  This is signified, among other ways, by changing the altar candles: Lord candle green, Lady candle red.

From Midsummer to Lammas (Lughnasadh) Eve (July 31^st): Lord candle green, Lady candle red.

At midnight on Lammas (Lughnasadh) Eve, the Lady becomes the Crone: Lord candle green, Lady candle black.

From Lammas (Lughnasadh) day (August 1^st) to Samhain (October 31^st): Lord candle green, Lady candle black.

At midnight on Samhain, the Lady goes to the Summerland to rest during the winter; this is signified by, among other acts, the removal of the black candle at midnight.

The day after Samhain (November 1^st) to Yule eve (the night before the winter solstice): Lord candle green, by itself in the center of the altar.

At midnight on Yule eve, the Oak King is reborn and defeats the Holly King.  This is signified by, among other acts, the replacement of the red for the green candle in the center of the altar.

Quarter and Cross-quarter candles

The old Celtic colors are as follows:

East: red for the break of day.

South: white for the noontide hour.

West: twilight grey.

North: black, for the Place of Power.

Quarter candles should be tall tapers.

Cross-quarter candles should be cup candles, and can be a uniform green or white.  They are lit only between Yule and Ostara, the spring equinox.

Mudras:

Mudras are ritual gestures used in saluting various deities and demigods or nymphs.  They engage the body of the witch in the rite, allowing him or her to make a more personal social gesture towards the divine than simple bowing would do.

The mudras for the Lady and the Lord are taken from Celtic Wicca but derive originally from the Italian witchcraft tradition, known as stregheria. 

The Lady: The Lady is saluted with the mano en fica, the sign of the fig, a symbol of the vagina.  Hold both hands towards the Lady candle, palms forward, fingers folded over.  Thrust the thumb up between the index and middle fingers.  This is the ‘fig’. [10] The Lady should be saluted before the Lord.

The Lord: Salute the Lord with the mano en cornuta, the sign of the horns.  Hold the palms forward towards the Lord candle, with the index and little fingers upright, forming the ‘horns’.  Make a circle with the thumb and the middle and ring fingers. [11]

The mudras for the Watchers (in stregheria, the Grigori) are taken directly from stregheria, as presented by Raven Grimassi in his Italian Witchcraft. 

The East: The Watcher of the East (Paralda in ceremonial magic, Alpeno in stregheria) is saluted by extending the arms out to the side, palms down.

The South: The Watcher of the South (Djinn in ceremonial magic, Settrano in stregheria) is saluted by extending the arms upward at a forty-five degree angle, with the palms forward.

The West: The Watcher of the West (Nicksa in ceremonial magic, Meana in stregheria) is saluted by placing both hands across the belly, palms up, the left hand over the right.

The North: The Watcher of the North (Ghom or Ghob in ceremonial magic, Taga or Tages in stregheria) is saluted by simply letting the arms hang down at the sides, the fingers unfolded, the palms facing backwards. [12]

              BIBLIOGRAPHY

CROWTHER, Patricia, Lid off the Cauldron; A Wicca Handbook, York Beach,

Me, Samuel Weiser. Inc., 1992.

GRIMASSI, Raven, Italian Witchcraft; The Old Religion of Southern

Europe, St. Paul, MN, Llewellyn Publications, 2000.

SERITH, Ceisiwr, A Book of Pagan Prayer, Boston Ma, York Beach, Me,

Samuel Weiser, 2002.

VALIENTE, Doreen, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, Custer, Washington, Phoenix

          Press, 1987.

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[1] For the design of the pentacle, see Valiente, Doreen, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, p. 167.

[2] Hold tip of wand about 3 inches above the incense burner or joss stick.  Pass tip downward in a vertical circle through the smoke deosil three times, ending at the upper point again.

[3] Based on Serith, Ceisiwr, A Book of Pagan Prayer, p. 31.

[4] Begin with the point of the wand to the left of the tip of the flame, then swing it down swiftly through that tip and back up to the corresponding point on its right; then back to the left again in the same manner.  Repeat twice.

[5] Serith, Ceisiwr, Op. cit., p. 31.

[6] Ibid.

[7] See section on Mudras below.

[8] See section on Mudras below.

[9] Many modern covens celebrate Imbolc on Feb 2^nd, but this is a christianized date.  The pagans celebrated it on Feb 1^st.

[10] Crowther, Patricia, Lid off the Cauldron, p. 103.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Grimassi, Raven, Italian Witchcraft, p. 69.