Sections in green are just for informational purposes.
The Altar
White Cloth
Rose to represent Goddess
Holly leaf mask to represent God
Three candles, two gold & one yellow
Dish of salt
Dish of water
Plate of cakes
Bottle of grape juice (instead of wine)
Chalice
Pentacle
Athame
Seasonal flowers & fruit for decoration
Lavender, Chamomile, St. John�s Wort, Thyme, and Vervain
Bell
For Quarters
North green candle & dish of earth
East yellow candle & incense
South red candle & fire
West blue candle & dish of water
If outside, the circle will be marked with stones and each person will be smudged before entering.
Cast Circle
Take Athame and place tip in the bowl of salt saying
�Be this salt dedicated to the Lord & Lady, to keep us from evil & protect us in this time�
Place Athame in the bowl of water saying:
�Be this water dedicated to the Lord & Lady to keep us from peril and to purify this place.�
Tip the water into the salt and mix them together. Sprinkle around the circle clockwise saying:
�May we cast from us all evil and darkness, viciousness and malice. May we become that which we must be before the Lord & Lady, seeking ill to no one. May we be clean within and without, so that we are acceptable before them.�
Finish by sprinkling each person in turn.
Connect the circle to all three realms by invoking the Axis Mundi (�Axis of the world� an imaginary or magically invoked pole that links a place or person to the realms of heaven, earth & the underworld.)
Stand in the center of the circle pointing the Athame above saying:
�Powers of the world above, I do summon, stir and call you up to guard our circle and to witness our rites.�
Bring the Athame down in a straight line and point it downward saying:
�Powers of the world below, I do summon, stir and call you up to guard our circle and witness our rites.�
The circle is then invoked. Take the Athame and begin the North and move around to the east. At the east, draw a pentacle in the air saying:
�O mighty powers of the east I do summon, stir and call you up to guard our circle an witness our rites.�
Repeat this in the south, west and north.
�O mighty powers of the south I do summon, stir and call you up to guard our circle an witness our rites.�
�O mighty powers of the west I do summon, stir and call you up to guard our circle an witness our rites.�
�O mighty powers of the north I do summon, stir and call you up to guard our circle an witness our rites.�
Return to the altar and consecrate the candles by saying:
�Be to us the fire of the moon
Be to us the fire of the night
Be to us the fire of joy
Turning darkness into light.
By the virgin, waxing cold
By the Mother, full and bold
By the Hag Queen silent, old
By the moon the on in three
Consecrated. Blessed Be.�
Light the candles and take one around to light all the quarters.
The God and Goddess are then invoked:
�Diana, I invoke and call upon thee, threefold Goddess of the moon. Diana, Queen of moonlit sea, fairer than night and silver clad, thee I invoke. Mother of the moon and calm waters, let thy light fall upon us for thy hair is a pool of stars in the darkness, I call upon thee window of the waning moon whose children have left thee to sorrow. Guard us with learning and grant us a place in thy dark cloak of understanding, thee I invoke. Descend, I beseech thee and be with us now.�
�Apollo, Lord of the heaven and power of the sun. Lord of the hunt and forests I invoke thee in they secret of Apollo. Come unto us and honor our circle, we beg of you Mighty One, our Lord, all honor to thee, Consort of the Goddess. Come, I call upon thee, Descend I beseech thee and be with us.�
The purpose of the ritual is then stated.
� Lord and Lady, God and Goddess, sacred pair that were with us before the dawn of time and shall be until its dusk, hear now the purpose of this ritual and witness it. We gather now on this sacred night of Summer�s eve and join ourselves to the powers and forces of this mystical season. On this night the Folletti (spirits that travel in the wind, like butterflies. They are friendly towards humans bur mischievous and annoying at times) gather, as do all those spirits in nature to which we are kindred. For the Witch and the Fata (spirits of the woods and water. Shape shifters that often appear in human or animal form.) are of a similar race. So it was in our beginning, so it is now, so shall it be.�
Dion -
Blessed be the Star Berries
Nestled in the Jersey Pines,
Your creation gives us nourishment and medicine.
ALL:
We offer our thanks Great Mother, for this gift.
We ask your blessing for our Star berries
Members can then state any other purposes they wish to focus on.
The circle dance is performed to raise power. Everyone links hands and circles the fire chanting:
� Thrice about the altar go
Once for Virgin pure as snow
Once for Full Moon�s soft sweet breath
Once for dark Moon old as death
Thrice about the altar spin
That the rite shall well begin.�
When the work of the ritual is accomplished, the cakes and wine are blessed and shared. Take the wine and pour it into the chalice saying:
�Lord and Lady I call upon you to bless this wine, the blood of the earth pressed smooth. As we drink of thee, may we learn of the wisdom of the Goddess.�
Pass the chalice around.
�Lord and Lady I call upon thee to bless these cakes, the fruit of the womb of the Goddess without which we would not live. As we eat of thee, may we learn of the love of the Goddess�
Pass the cakes around
Circle is kept open until sunrise.
When all is finished the circle is dissolved. Take the Athame and cut through the circle near the east and say:
�Mighty powers of the east, thank you for guarding our circle and for witnessing our rites. I bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.�
Repeat in the other three directions.
�Mighty powers of the north, thank you for guarding our circle and for witnessing our rites. I bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.�
�Mighty powers of the west, thank you for guarding our circle and for witnessing our rites. I bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.�
�Mighty powers of the south, thank you for guarding our circle and for witnessing our rites. I bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.�
Cut through the center of the circle and then thank the powers of above and below.
�Might powers of the world above, thank you for guarding our circle and for witnessing our rites. I bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.�
�Might powers of the world below, thank you for guarding our circle and for witnessing our rites. I bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.�
Thank the Lord and Lady saying:
�Companions we have met together this night to celebrate the feast of Midsummer. Together we have worked for our purposes the God and Goddess have witnessed our workings and only they will measure purpose and our hearts. Together we have invoked for power to accomplish our workings, but it is no for us to command those whom we worship. Nor is it for us to bid them gone. We cannot dismiss them. I ask instead of the Lord and Lady, Diana & Apollo, that they be with us all our days, guiding our feet and lighting our paths. I ask that the Lord and Lady are with us in our lives and in out deaths, our true parents, even as we are their children. Let the circle be extinguished, but let us not forget the workings of this night. Let candles be put out but let us not forget what we have learned. Let the rite be ended now in the knowledge we shall meet once more before the Lady and Lord, Diana and Apollo, God and Goddess, the rite is ended. Blessed Be.�
Put out the candles and dismantle the altar.
