Rituals
Here you will find a selection of original rituals I have written and recommended classics.
~Invoke often and enflame thyself with prayer!~
Banishings
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP)
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram (LBRH)
Daily Practices
The Magickal Diary (or The Book of Shadows)
You should set aside a journal that is devoted to recording your practices, results and meditations as well as dreams or other magickal events in your life. The more detail you provide the better you will be able to reenact experiments and rituals you have performed. I also recommend decorating your journal with symbols, drawings and other meaningful ephemera to empower it with your essence and make it unique.
Original Rituals
A Yule Celebration of Rebirth
Pre-ritual Preparation:
Altar: God & Goddess candles, elemental symbols, evergreen boughs, a gold candle and any other festive yule decorations you deem appropriate.
Music: Middle-eastern style instrumental. Peter Gabriel's Passion is highly recommended. It should be planned ahead of time where to start to get the right slow/fast pieces at the right times.
Bath: salts with eucalyptus or other cleansing/purification herbs
Robe: Dark color for beginning of ritual and white for "rebirth"
Incense: frankincense & myrrh
Props: A pen and paper
Circle Casting:
Cast your circle in your own personal preference; I recommend doing the LBRP then physically drawing the circle with your athame. Then call the guardians. The following is a suggestion only.
Go to the East, light elem. candle, draw invoking pentagram and say: "I welcome thee, Guardians of the East, and the Goddess Hathor with her complete love and purity for all her creatures. I welcome the winged creatures of Air that represent this quadrant. May you watch over these rites, bless and protect us."
Go to the South clockwise and repeat the actions as before then say: "I welcome thee, Guardians of the South, and the Goddess Bast with her strength of healing, joy of song and dance. I welcome the creatures of Fire that represent this quadrant. May you watch over these rites, bless and protect us."
Move to the West etc.and say: "I welcome thee, Guardians of the West, and the Goddess Isis with her wisdom and skills at truth and magic. I welcome the creatures of water that represent this quadrant. May you watch over these rites, bless and protect us."
Move to the North etc and say:"I welcome thee, Guardians of the North, and the Goddess Nephthys who helps us face our fears and protects us. I welcome the creatures of earth that represent this quadrant. May you watch over these rites, bless and protect us."
Proceed to the center , light altar candles, draw pentagram and raise your arms to the sky and say:
"I welcome thee, Goddess Nuit, Goddess of Infinite Space and the element of spirit. May you watch over our rites, bless and protect us. The circle is complete." .
Invoke Nephthys with the following prayer:
I am the darkness of the womb. I am thoughtful silence.
I am the stillness of the tomb. I am thoughtful silence.
Nephthys, Dark Lady of Mystery.
I am the starlight in the night. I am thoughtful silence.
Soft the sounds of wings in flight. I am thoughtful silence.
Nephthys, Dark Lady of Mystery.
I am the chorus of the breeze. I am thoughtful silence.
Whispered winds through limbs of trees. I am thoughtful silence.
Nephthys, Dark Lady of Mystery.
At this time make a list of things you wish to let go of or be rid of in your life. As you write this reflect upon the past year and empower the list. Then put the list in your cauldron or on a fireproof surface and set it on fire. Watch as the flames take the paper and recite the Prayer to Set:
Comes the desert wind! Comes the desert storm!
Comes the Lord of all whose time is at an end.
When the storm has passed the temporal is gone.
Only the eternal shall remain in His wake!
Seek you now to grow? Seek you now to change?
See you to be one with all eternity?
Stand and face the winds, and when the storm is passed
Only the eternal shall remain in His wake
Now set about writing a list of things you wish to gain or build upon as your "new" reborn self. Once you have done this purify yourself in each element and then recite the Lament of Isis & Nephthys:
Come back, come back o beautiful boy!
come home to those who love thee.
Come back , come back, Beloved of all, to those who wait in mourning.
Come to thy sister, come to thy wife, and bring the joy back into life!
Come to thy house and ease the pain.
Oh, let our tears not be in vain.
Come back, come back, O beautiful boy.
Come home to those who mourn thee, who call.
Let the music begin at this point and as it slowly builds imagine Nephthys and Isis standing over the gathered pieces of Osiris and see Isis as she transforms herself into a kite and hovers over the body of her dead husband. As she casts her enchantment she brings life back to Osiris and at the same time conceives the son; Horus, the Hawk. When the music is approaching an energetic beat light the gold candle to represent Horus/ Osiris Reborn and recite the birth of Horus:
Horus, young lord, bright lord, Horus,
Lord of the morning, born of Isis, Horus.
Horus, son of Osiris, Horus!
Hawk of the Heaven, Horus!
Let the music continue to build and dance as you finish calling Horus until the energy is reaching a peak. Let yourself collapse when you feel it is time to release the energy. Slowly change into the white robe and rise up reborn. Dance if you feel like it to something light and airy then ground and center. Close the circle in your preferred manner and keep the list of "new" goals etc. somewhere where you will see it often and be reminded of the path you are on.
TOOLS:
Incense: Sage, Lavender, Frankincense, or Copal
Candles: White
Water blessed, consecrated and infused with lavender
A Broom (if you have a magickal one use it in addition to a regular broom)
Cleaning fluid (I recommend Simple Green)
Sponges
Mop
Spray bottle for the lavender water
This can be done in any room of your house, but it is written with a kitchen or bathroom in mind. Since Imbolc is a sabbat that centers on cleansing and purification and "spring cleaning" is just around the corner this is a good time of year to try this. If you like the results I recommend doing it once a month.
Start by picking up and clearing the space as you would normally do when cleaning. Once this is done prepare your cleaning fluid and lavender water so they are readily on hand. At this point you can cast a "circle" around the area if you wish or just invoke the deities in whatever manner you feel appropriate.
Light the white candle and focus your thoughts in preparation to do a cleansing ritual. Once you feel ready take up the broom and begin sweeping the area. If you have a magickal broom use this first to banish negative energy. Sweep (with a regular broom) in the same manner until the area is clean. Then get a sponge and with your cleaning fluid wipe down/scrub etc. every surface and imagine that not only the physical dirt but negative energies are being wiped away as you clean. Take your time and concentrate while you are doing this. It may be housework when you do it every day, but this time you are doing it with magickal intent. When you have finished with the surfaces go ahead and mop the floor in the same way.
Take a break when this is done to allow the floor and surfaces to dry. This is the time to take a ritual shower or bath. Visualize positive things that you desire in your life and as you reenter the area light the incense. Take the lavender water and either sprinkle or spray it all over the cleansed area. Take a clean dry sponge (a different one from the one you used to clean before) and with the lavender water wipe down all the cupboards and countertops and then do the same with the mop. When you are done admire your hard work and take a moment to give thanks to the deities. If you need to, ground yourself with cakes and ale.
This will give your household a little boost of energy and help to reinforce positive feelings. Every time you enter the "cleansed" room you will be reminded of the magickal purpose you invested in it. You can also easily adapt this for different purposes. By changing the incense used and the herb for the water you can do a luck, prosperity or love cleansing. Be creative. After all, being a witch isn't just about reading books and full moon rituals; it's about living magickally. And part of that is having a magickal (and clean!) household.
More to come soon!