SAMHAIN RITUAL
�1996 by Mareth SummerWind
This is the ritual that I have performed on Samhain for the past four years. Like most of what I do, it is a combination of my own creativity and wisdom culled from various outside sources. It was a very moving experience for me, so I thought I would share it. If you decide to use it, please e-mail me & let me know how it worked for you...
- Prepare the Altar: In addition to your accustomed Altar set-up, place 3 unlit candles in a central position on the Altar. The candle on the left should be white, to represent Persephone, the Maiden. In the middle should be a red candle, to represent Demeter, the Mother Goddess. The candle on the right should be black, to represent the Hecate, the Crone. These will be lit during the main ritual. Use alternating orange and black votive candles to mark the boundary of the Circle you will cast. These, too, should remain unlit until during the main ritual.
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Altar devotion
Casting the Circle:
�I conjure thee, great circle of power as a boundary between the physical and the astral planes. I charge thee in the name of the elements, my ancestors, and the Gods I serve to be for me a sphere of protection. May all negative energies and entities be repelled. May all positive energies and entities be welcomed. So mote it be!�
- Invocation of Deity:
Stand facing altar
Place arms in Goddess Position and Say:
"I call on this Samhain evening the three great Goddesses, Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate, who together form the whole, Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Join with me this night, great Goddesses three, and gift me with Your joy, love, and wisdom as I celebrate another turning of the Wheel. Celebrate with me."
Calling the Quarters:
Stand facing the East and say:�Hail, Falcon of the Element of Air, messenger of Hermes, who brings inspiration! I invite you forth this night to witness this rite and to guard this sacred space. Come! Join my celebration. So mote it be!�
Stand facing the South and say:
�Hail, Fox of the Element of Air, messenger of Eros, who inspires passion! I invite you forth this night to witness this rite and to guard this sacred space. Come! Join my celebration. So mote it be!�
Stand facing the West and say:
Hail, Mare of the Element of Water, messenger of Aphrodite who shows us to love! I invite you forth this night to witness this rite and to guard this sacred space. Come! Join my celebration. So mote it be!�
Stand facing the North and say:
�Hail, Wolf of the Element of Earth, messenger of Gaia who grants us fertility and stability! I invite you forth this night to witness this rite and to guard this sacred space. Come! Join my celebration. So mote it be!�
Light the Goddess candles
- Main ritual: Say:
Light the orange and black votive candles, to show the spirits the way to you. Say:"Blessed be the season of Samhain, the time of the all-knowing Hecate, the night of Persephone�s descent into the Underworld, the season of Demeter�s greatest sorrow, the night to celebrate the nearness of the spirit world, as the veil is drawn thin."
"Dearest loved ones, both newly departed and old, the veil between our worlds is at its thinnest on this night of Persephone�s descent. So long as your intentions are pure and your spirit is benevolent, come into my circle to commune with me, that I might share your wisdom as Hecate teaches Persephone."
Stand facing West and say:
"Farewell, old year. Farewell to the season of Demeter�s great abundance."
Using the athame, draw a Banishing Pentagram
Stand facing North and say:
"Welcome to the new year. Welcome to the season of the Crone."
Using the athame, draw an Invoking Pentagram
Move Persephone�s candle from the left side of the altar, placing it on the far side of Hecate�s.Move Demeter�s candle to the far left side of altar.
Say:
"Tonight, Persephone and Demeter belong to separate worlds, divided by the thin veil between the realms of the living and the dead. Blessed be the Maiden, Persephone, for Her desire to seek that which is hidden within the world of the dead. Blessed be the Mother, Demeter, sorrowful in Her great mourning for Her lost daughter. Blessed be the Crone, Great Hecate, the giver of life and the bringer of death, for Her great knowledge."
- Divination with Tarot cards
Shuffle the deck and say:
"Hecate, great wise One, Guide these cards that they might impart unto me some small insight into what is in store for me throughout the coming year."
- Simple feast of apples and juice: Hold Chalice in one hand, the plate of apples in the other.
Say:
"Great Goddesses three, Maiden, Mother, and Crone, I ask Your blessings on this food, that it might nourish both bodies living and the souls of those in the Underworld as they await their rebirth."
- Thanks to the Goddesses:
"Persephone, sweet Maiden; Demeter, loving, fertile Mother; Hecate, dark, all-knowing Crone; I thank You for Your blessings and for the lessons learned throughout this turn of the Wheel. I give You my gratitude in advance for that which is to come throughout the next year. I ask that you grant me the wisdom, strength, and courage to come through it all gracefully. May You go now in peace. Blessed be!"
- Farewell to the Quarters: Move widdershins, starting at North and ending at East, saying:
Extinguish each point candle as you dismiss that Quarter"Forces of (Element), I thank you for your presence and protection throughout this rite. May you go now in peace. Blessed be!"
- Banishing the Circle: Start at North, moving widdershins, and end at North, saying as you walk:
Stand facing the altar. Say:"Earth will crumble my Circle. Water will cause it to fall. Fire will burn what�s left in the urn, and the Winds will scatter it all."
Take the remainder of your simple feast outside if possible, to be left as an offering to the spirit world."The Circle is open, but never broken. I carry its protective forces now into the mundane world."
