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Litha Ritual 2004
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By: Pam Parker
The young lady is ritually bathed by her female relatives. She is then anointed with oil and dressed and her hair and make-up are done. Flowers are placed in her hair. She is then brought to her bower (a quiet pleasant place where she will be able to meditate without interruption for awhile). The HPS is there waiting for her (she has been busy cleansing and purifying the area, lighting candles and incense, etc.) The HPS embraces her and says:
�In older, less industrialized times and today in more primitive cultures where men and women are more in tune with natural laws, all women are influenced by the Moon, their Mother. They all bleed on the New Moon and are fertile on the Full Moon. For this reason, our menses cycles have been called our Moon cycles. We honor you tonight as Sister as your Moon cycles have now begun.
Name, I would like for you to now spend some time in quiet reflection on the child you used to be, on the young lady you now are, and on the woman you will become. Take from the child all the beautiful qualities you possessed: humor and quick wit, compassion for others, your willingness to help, your love of fun. Incorporate them into the young lady you are now so they will not be lost to you and will serve you well as you become the powerful woman that is your birthright.�
Young lady goes to her bower and meditates while her friends and family prepare. When all is ready she is brought from her bower by her mother and presented to those assembled. Her mother says:
Today, Name, you are here with your friends and family � your clan sisters to be welcomed to your rightful place among them and to be honored as you have now begun your journey to womanhood. (mother can add any words here that she wishes)
Megan is embraced by HPS who takes her by the hand to each of the four quarters.
HPS at East: Spirits of the East, I seek your presence here this night. This is Megan, child of my heart who comes before you seeking enlightenment. Name, listen to the Spirits of Air, allow them to impart their wisdom to you. Let them guide you whenever you have need of them. Seek their counsel in matters of communication and thought. (Megan is smudged with incense)
HPS at South: Spirits of the South, I seek your presence here this night. This is Megan, child of my heart who comes before you seeking enlightenment. Name, listen to the Spirits of Fire, allow them to impart their wisdom to you. Let them guide you whenever you have need of them. Seek their counsel in matters that touch your heart, your passion and in dealing with relationships. (candle flame is passed all around Megan)
HPS at West: Spirits of the West, I seek your presence here this night. This is Megan, child of my heart who comes before you seeking enlightenment. Name, listen to the Spirits of Water, allow them to impart their wisdom to you. Let them guide you whenever you have need of them. Seek their counsel in matters of change � the ones that have begun to transform you and the ones that will surround you all the days of your life. (Megan is anointed with water)
HPS at North: Spirits of the North, I seek your presence here this night. This is Megan, child of my heart who comes before you seeking enlightenment. Name, listen to the Spirits of Earth, allow them to impart their wisdom to you. Let them guide you whenever you have need of them. Seek their counsel in matters of home and anytime you need a firm base � a center from which to evolve forth into the unknown. (Earth or salt in sprinkled on Megan)
HPS then takes the young lady to the center and calls upon the Lady:
�Glorious Lady of all that is � Maiden, Mother and Crone, I call upon you this night on behalf of Name, the newest member of our sisterly number. We ask that you join us here that you may impart your vast wisdom as Maiden, as Mother, as Crone. Take Name into your presence and bless her with your love and understanding of the cycles of her life. Help her to grow in spirit as well as body. Grant her grace and humor and compassion for all life. Teach her the ways of her body as well as the ways of the earth and the cosmos.
�Name, the Goddess is with you always. Listen to her words in the beat of your heart, the breath in your lungs, the blood flowing in your veins. Her wisdom and mystery is alive within you now as each month your body prepares itself to be the vessel that carries these mysteries and passes them on throughout the generations of our existence. You are the thread that crosses the barriers of time and links us to our ancestors and to our offspring yet to be. The greatest mystery of all has now been given to you � the mystery and ability to create and nurture life. Rejoice in this for as you take your place in the cycle of life, you partake of the ecstasy of the divine. Approach each moon with this knowledge and you will experience the fulfillment that only women can know.
�Sisters, I ask you now to come and embrace Name. Welcome her and share your store of wisdom with her as she takes her place among us.�
All present embrace the young lady and share secrets, insights, jokes, wisdom, etc.
HPS: �Lady of the Wheel, she who spins night and day, birth and death with the threads of creation itself, we have been honored by your presence here among us. Our thanks to you for welcoming Name into the mysteries of Womanhood. Peace and love to you as you leave our presence or stay and rejoice with us. Blessed Be!
�Powerful Spirits of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, thank you for being here tonight. Thank you for welcoming Name as our Sister and thank you for the guidance you will provide for her in the days ahead. Peace and love to you as you leave our presence or stay and rejoice with us. Blessed Be!
�This rite is ended, our Sister, Name, is now one with us. Each of us will honor the bonds made between her and us tonight just as we have always honored the sacred bonds between women � the bonds of body and spirit that link us all to one another and to the Lady � the bonds that are forged between us as we experience the cycle of life within our own bodies and realize that we are Goddess, we are creation, we are existence for our cycle is but a mirror of the Cycle of Life by which all must live and die and live again.�