What a Spiraling Heart ritual might look like . . .

Spiraling Heart rituals vary greatly. There is no strictly defined liturgy. But there is a time-honored framework we use.

We start each ritual with cleansing. We may smudge with sage or do an asperging with consecrated or scented water. This helps to cleanse negativity and quiet the mind to prepare our entry into sacred space.

Next we ground and center. This is a meditation to connect to the earth and the energies around us, so that we can flow with and direct energies throughout our rite.

Then the Circle is cast. This is a magickal working that creates sacred space; a safe place where time begins to lose meaning; a place between the worlds. The Circle (which is actually three dimensional, like a globe or egg) also acts as a container for the energy we raise until we decide to send it out with a purpose.

After the Circle is cast, we invite the energies, spirits, and Guardians of the four directions to join us. The Energies of each direction are associated with an elemental aspect – east–air, south-fire, west-water and north-earth. We also call the spirits of Center and invoke Love into our sacred space.

After Directions are called, we invoke the Goddess and God. There are different views of divinity within our Coven, and our invocations take many forms. We may call a more generic sort of Goddess or God, or we might call specific deities by name. While we usually call both female and male deities into our circles, we do not generally see the inclusion of the God as necessary for “balance.”

Next is the “tofu” of the ritual, which varies according to the purpose or focus of each ritual. We usually chant and/or sing to raise energy; we discuss the meaning of the season for high day rituals; we may do journey work or group meditations; we may work magick or spells. After our seasonal or spell working, we usually chant and dance around the fire/circle area to raise energy to send our magick out into the universe to manifest.

As the ritual begins to wind down, we share food and drink – (cakes and ale). This is a celebration of the bounty of the Goddess and God in our lives, and of the connections we have with one another. This also helps to “ground” the energy of the ritual and ourselves.

We then “dismiss” or “release” those energies and entities that have joined us for our Rite, open the Circle, and return our attention to the mundane world.