Some
Rites for Solitaries
by Ian
Elliott March 3rd, 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.
Consecration of Magical Weapons:
Consecration of the Wand
Pass
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.
Pass
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.
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.
12. Circle the temple deosil, starting from the East. Salute each Watcher in turn at the cardinal
points with his special mudra.
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,
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 31st): Lord candle red
in the center.
From Imbolc to the
day before Beltane (Feb 1st
to April 30th): Lord candle red, Lady candle white.
From Beltane to
Midsummer Eve (May 1st 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 31st): 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 1st) to Samhain (October 31st):
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 1st) 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’.
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.
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.
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.