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After the group has finished with the shield project, the men will wanderoff for a period of private meditation before the circle.
While the men are away, women will prepare and cast the circle.
Clear the circle area of all debris.
Sweep out the Circle going deosil.
Place and light quarter candles.
Trace the outline of the Circle with the appropriate tool.
The HPS shall take up incense, a censer or a smudge stick and cleanse thegathered women, or assign a woman to do so.
The HPS will purify the women with salt water (mark on forehead), or assigna woman to do so.
HPS Charges Athame by passing it through each of the elements representedon the altar in turn as she says:
HPS Takes up the bowl of salt and says:
Blessed be the salt that purifies that which it touches; bones of the earth,bane of the unclean. Be consecrated and bound to our purpose: To makewhole that which is broken, to Heal that which is unwell, to rejoice inthe Glory of the Earth our mother. As it is willed, so mote it be.
She replaces the bowl of salt upon the altar and takes up the chalice ofwater into which she places three pinches of salt. She then consecratesit saying:
Salt and Water, Inner and Outer, Soul and Body be cleansed! Cast out allthat is harmful. Take in all that is healing. By the power of the Motherof all Life and her Lover the Horned God, as it is willed, so mote it be!
The HPS picks someone to asperge the Circle and hands that person the chaliceof salt water and the aspergium. The Asperger shall begin in the East sprinklingthe quarter three times saying:
With Salt and Water I cleanse the East (South, West, North).
When finished, she returns the chalice and aspergium to the HPS who replacesthem on the altar.
HPS designates someone to cense the Circle and hands the person the censer/incenseand a feather. The censor shall begin in the East censing the quarter threetimes saying:
With Fire and Air I charge the East (South, West, North).
When finished, she returns the equipment to the HPS who replaces them onthe Altar.
HPS faces the altar and takes up her Athame. With arms raised she says:
I invoke thee, o Circle of power, to be a meeting place of love and joyand truth, a shield against all danger and a space between the worlds. I bless and consecrate thee in the name of the Lady and of the Lord. Asit is willed, So mote it Be!
HPS steps to the Eastern quarter of the Circle and all members turn to faceEast, raising their right palms to the direction as the Circle is cast. With her Athame in her right hand the HPS salutes the Earth, lays the Athameover her heart, and then salutes the heavens. She uses her Athame to tracean invoking pentagram of Earth, calling astrally to the Guardians of thedirection. When the tracing of the pentagram is complete she speaks thesummons aloud:
From the center of the pentagram she traces the circle deosil to thesouth where she repeats the above as appropriate for the direction, continuingaround the Circle until returning to the East. Then the HPS steps to thecenter of the Circle and traces the Wheel of Spirit overhead saying:
Then the HPS kneels and places her hands upon the ground saying:
She stands, raises her arms wide as she faces the gathering and proclaims:
The HPS turns to the altar and invokes the Goddess and the God.
HPS will sound the chime. The men will be pre-assigned numbers and comein that order. (1-HP, 2-Oak King, 3-Holly King, then alternate Oak andHolly followers). When the 1st man comes to the circle, they will be cleansedwith salt water by one of the coveners. When the salt water blessing begins,the HPS will sound the next chime. The Oak king will stand in the West,the Holly king in the East. The others will stand between women. Try tokeep the circle as male-female as possible.
HP will read the following:
HP: In the days of old we honored the changing of the seasons. We, as peopleof different bloods, clans and nations, were united in the worship of thesesolar cycles. They guided the times of fertility. Times to sow, timesto plant and times to harvest were choreographed by the dance of the spheres.
HPS: Today, with notable exceptions of course, we live in a technologicalnation. We have artificial light, we have artificial temperature control,we have fresh fruits, vegetables and meats available 24 hours a day, 365days a year.
HP: And yet, with all our advances, we still stand in awe of the sun andthe moon. We look to the longest day and wonder. We may know the physicsbehind why the days begin to shorten, but knowing the science behind theact does nothing to diminish the awe it brings. In truth, it makes themystery of it all the greater.
HPS: The Sun God is still strong, be he Jesus, Mithras, Amon-Ra or Lu. And it is at this time that the Sun God is at the height of power. Thewaxing of the year is complete, and the reign of the Oak King is ended.
HP: With the Sun God at the height of his splendor, the waning of the yearbegins. The Holly King must slay his brother the Oak King, and rule overthe Land until the depth of winter, when his brother shall be born again."
The Oak King and Holly King will square off, sizing each other up andwhat not. They will fight. After a while, it becomes clear that they areevenly matched.
The other men will move into the center of the circle, slow fight with theothers (some are obviously Oak, others Holly).
After a while, it becomes clear that the Oak Kings men are besting the HollyKings men. One of the Holly King's men will fall.
OK: "Halt! This is not as it should be. I am destined to dieso that the year may wane, let no more blood be spilt."
With that, he drops his staff, and kneels down before his brother, the HollyKing. The HPS will place the veil over his head. The men move back to thecircle, the Holly King moves to the Altar between the HP and HPS.
The coven will do a slow dance around the Oak King, reciting the following:
When the energy reaches peak, ground it. HPS will call DOWN, coven willdrop to the ground and place palms to the earth.
HP and HPS will move to the Oak King. She will remove the veil, thenHP will remove his crown. Direct Oak to stand and join the coven as a normalguy.
HP/HPS perform the Symbolic Great Rite over the Caldron (which is filledwith water). Once it's done, HP will take up Wand and Scourge in the Osirusposition. The HPS will face him, and invoke joyfully:
HPS: Great One of Heaven, Power of the Sun, we invoke thee in thine ancientnames -- Michael, Balin, Arthur, Lugh; come again as of old into this thyland. Lift up thy shining spear of light to protect us. Put to flightthe powers of darkness. Give us fair woodlands and green fields, blossomingorchards and ripening corn. Bring us to stand upon thy hill of vision andshow us the path to the lovely realms of the Gods.
She then traces the Invoking Pentagram of Earth in front of the HP withher finger. HP raises both hands, then plunges the want into the waterin the cauldron. He then holds it up, saying:
HP: The Spear to the Cauldron, the Lance to the Grail, Spirit to Flesh,Man to Woman, Sun to Earth.
The HP lays the wand and scourge upon the altar and joins the coven.
HPS picks up a branch (gathered earlier) and stands by the cauldron.
HPS: Come before the Cauldron of Cerridwen, the Goddess, and be ye blessedwith the touch of these consecrated waters; even as the Sun, the Lord ofLife, arises in his strength in the sign of the Waters of Life!
The coven, led by the HP, will approach the HPS and get sprinkled with waterfrom the cauldron.
Wine and Cakes
Open the Circle.
Eat, Drink, and be merry!