The Great Rite in Truth
In my twenty-plus years in Witchcraft, I have had dozens of conversations about nearly every topic related to Wicca and/or Paganism, with the exception of the Great Rite in truth. For a long time it was something that existed only on the printed page in my world. It was a topic written about in Witchcraft books, but generally in a very clinical and uninspiring way. Sometimes writers would explain why it was being celebrated beyond the obvious, linking it to historical events or fertility, but exactly what the individuals doing the celebrating were getting out of it was left unsaid.
The Great Rite is a rather taboo subject in a lot of witchy circles, and much of that is because sex itself is still rather taboo in Western society. As a whole, Witches do a lot better than most people when it comes to the subject of sex, but it still sometimes leads to awkward conversations. The Great Rite is the most intimate of Witchcraft’s mysteries, and many people just don’t like sharing those kinds of experiences with others.
The Great Rite suffers from other problems too. Because many people perceive it as an exclusively heteronormative practice (an idea that I and many other Witches disagree with), there are some Witches and covens who want nothing to do with it. There are also people who have abused and sullied the idea of the Great Rite, using it as an excuse to coerce unwilling sexual partners into the bedroom.
In my own practice the Great Rite, along with drawing down the moon, are the greatest of Witchcraft’s mysteries, and both are the hardest to fully achieve. There are most certainly rites for these two practices (such as the ones in this book), but simply saying the words in those rituals doesn’t make drawing down the moon or the Great Rite happen. There are rituals for the Great Rite because those rites help to set up the experience, but the acting out of a ritual script is not the experience. The words in a ritual are there to help facilitate the experience, but the words themselves do not create the experience.
To fully draw down the moon or experience the Great Rite relies on a great many factors, and many of them are out of our direct control. Both rely on the cooperation of deity, and sometimes the Goddess and God just don’t want to show up. They are both also activities that require our body and mind to act in concert with each other and with the gods. My partner and I might want to enact the Great Rite, but if one of us can’t breathe due to a head cold, it’s probably not going to work. Sexual activity requires breathing, and if one of us can’t breathe, things are not going to go as planned, no matter how badly we might want them to.
Activities like the Great Rite also require cooperation from the world around us. On a Saturday night when Ari and I were planning on performing the Great Rite, our neighbors were having a party, and it was impossible to concentrate while just fifteen feet away forty people were listening to awful music and having inane conversations. Sometimes the distractions are even more mundane. For example, it’s hard to be in the mood for the Great Rite when it’s 100 degrees outside and your home lacks air conditioning.
The Great Rite can be hard to do, and it’s something that people don’t often talk or write about, but it’s still something worth doing because the results are extraordinary. It provides a transcendent moment where we become one with our deities, our universe, our earth, and each other. This sounds like a pretty big event, and it is, which is why it’s difficult to do sometimes. But Witchcraft was never meant to be easy, and the greatest mysteries are often the ones that are the most elusive.
When I’m asked what makes a good ritual, I often reply with the word connection. Witch ritual is most often about connecting with the earth, the gods, the coven, the turning of the seasons, the ancestors, magick, and many other things. The word connection also applies to the Great Rite. There are obvious reasons for this (two bodies penetrating each other are certainly connecting), but when we participate in the Great Rite we are connecting to other bigger things too.
Connecting with a Partner (or Partners). Ari is more than just my wife and best friend; she’s my magickal partner. In circle we act like extensions of each other, and we often know what the other is thinking before we think it. The Great Rite has been essential in drawing us closer together as working partners. To share magick and energy in such an intimate way deepens the bonds between partners.
Sex is something that can most definitely be a need shared between two people. I’ve had sex for the sake of having sex, but that’s not the Great Rite. When we perform the Great Rite, we most often are inviting our gods and the watchtowers to join us in that experience, and that’s not something most of us do on a day-to-day basis. Not only am I naked and vulnerable with my partner during the Great Rite, but I’m also sharing my gods with her (or him), allowing them to catch a glimpse into my spiritual self, and they are doing the same with me.
“Two becoming one” is something that sounds so clichéd, but it’s what we are attempting to do when we practice the Great Rite. Just where you end and your partner begins should be hard to grasp. Obviously bodies are joining, but so are hearts, minds, and spirits. When I’m truly lost in the magick and mystery of the Great Rite, the two of us do become one, if only for a little while.
Connecting with the Natural World. It’s become harder and harder to connect with the natural world in the age of cell phones, but Witches do it better than most, and one way to do it is through the Great Rite. I don’t know of any creatures in the wild that read books or watch TV, but almost every living thing on this planet copulates (or at least wants to). Does the history of the world from the smallest single-celled creature to us today flash through my mind during the Great Rite sometimes? Yes, it does.
I think we touch something deep in our genetic code when we participate in the Great Rite. We are connecting with everyone and everything that has come before us. In those moments my partner and I are one with the natural world. Instead of fighting nature, I embrace her and the joys, instincts, and freedom of choice 232 she has given me and every other living creature throughout the ages.
Connecting with the Greater Universe. I always come back to the phrase “and worlds are born” when thinking of the Great Rite. While the earth has certainly played a large role in our existence today, we wouldn’t be here without greater forces colliding, expanding, and transforming throughout the cosmos. We don’t think of it very often, but we are made of stardust, and our world is just one among possibly millions or even billions of others.
Opening up our consciousness to energies beyond the terrestrial earth is also a part of the Great Rite. It’s not necessary to imagine yourself as a moon or a star while making love, but we are connected to those bodies just as we are to our backyards or the rivers and oceans we live near. We journey through the world on our feet, and we journey through the universe on our blue marble of a planet.
Connecting with Our Deities. The Great Rite also serves as a way to connect with the goddesses and gods we worship, honor, and interact with. During the Great Rite we aren’t drawing them down necessarily (we want to remember the experience after all), but we are opening ourselves up to their energy and their presence. It’s an experience we share with them, and while we are experiencing it we further our understanding of them.
I’m not the god Pan during the Great Rite, but I can feel him hopping around in my brain. He shares his lustiness, prowess, and energy with me, all while allowing me to remember doing the Great Rite and connecting with all those other powers that are a part of it. At the same time, since I’m one with my partner, I can feel her goddesses (generally Aphrodite) within and without her too.
Sex is a sacred and holy act, something most Witches are cognizant of. In our myths, our gods have sex, and their sex often powers and changes the world. Celibate deities are deities that don’t understand the human condition. The Great Rite is not something just humans participate in; I’m sure our gods do it as well!
The Great Rite helps us tap into a multitude of different energies, with some being more dominant than others, depending on the individuals involved and the reasons behind the rite’s enactment. Sometimes during the Great Rite I feel very close to the Horned God, and sometimes it brings me closer to the natural world, and other times all I can see in my mind’s eye are swirling spiral-shaped galaxies. No experience is ever the same, which only adds to the ritual’s power.
One of the reasons the Great Rite is so effective at creating these experiences is because sex is an altered state of consciousness. When people think of altered states, they often think of drugs and alcohol or perhaps some sort of deep meditative state, but sex works too. Much of our rational brain shuts down during sex (think about where the blood goes!), opening our minds up to other worlds and experiences.
Sexual activity is also a magickal powerhouse. When we build the cone of power, we often think of dancing, music, etc., as a way of creating it, but sex can do that too. For two people who are intimate with each other, sex might be the best way to create the cone of power! The energy created from sex comes from our wills but also the muscles we use to grind, thrust, lick, kiss, and tease. There’s a third energy that’s often a part of sex too: the energy that comes from anticipation and excitement.
Energy builds differently during sex too. For many of us it builds slowly, with every kiss and caress. The energy is finally released during orgasm, a powerful piece of magick in its own right. Sex has been used in magick for centuries (or longer), and the Great Rite is a way to tap into that magickal energy when it’s needed most.
The Great Rite doesn’t have to be used for a specific magickal purpose, but it can be if that’s what’s required. The best thing about the Great Rite is that it serves many different functions. It can be a way to unite with various powers and energies, and it can also be used to enact change in our lives. Our sexuality is a gift from the gods, not a curse, and the Great Rite celebrates that, because sex can be a celebratory act.
When I engage in the Great Rite, my partner and I are paying homage to our trust in each other. The idea that someone would want me to share my gods and body with them is such a beautiful thing! Why shouldn’t it be honored with ritual, energy, and magick? The Great Rite is a gift, and how each of us experience it is going to be different, which is one of the reasons it’s a mystery.
The Great Rite in Truth: When and Where
The Great Rite is unlike any other ritual in Modern Witchcraft. It’s something my wife and I perform both in and out of the circle, during private rites involving just the two of us, and both before and after ritual with the coven (but not with the coven). No time is wrong for the Great Rite, and since it’s such a personal (and generally private) act, the whens and wheres will differ from couple to couple.
When I draw down the moon, build the cone of power, or initiate someone, I do so inside a well-constructed magick circle, but I don’t always hold to this standard when performing the Great Rite. Sometimes a couple will just feel the need to engage on a deeper level, and be lucky enough to find themselves in circumstances where they can participate in the Great Rite without prying eyes or causing a scandal. Because of this I’ve done the Great Rite outdoors in the moonlight and in my own bed (and I’ll admit to my bed being the more comfortable of the two). When performing a more spontaneous Great Rite, there’s usually no higher magickal purpose beyond our coupling than becoming closer to each other and our gods.
There are also times when I do the Great Rite in a properly consecrated magick circle. In those instances I’m generally engaging in the Great Rite for a specific purpose. Perhaps my wife or I need to conjure up some very specific magickal energy, and sex feels like the right avenue to do so. Performing the Great Rite also draws us closer to the Lord and Lady, and sometimes we want as much of their energy as possible in our circle when performing certain rites or charging a ritual tool.
I’ll also admit that sex in a magick circle just feels extra sacred and adds extra power to our lovemaking. All that sexual energy that builds up stays right there with us, intensifying the experience. I’ve never cast a circle and said “Let’s do the Great Rite!” just because of the extra spice it adds, but I’ve been tempted to do so a few times.
In most instances Ari and I engage in the Great Rite a few hours before or after a coven ritual. Doing it before a rite in the space where the coven will be meeting charges our ritual area to the extent that people can feel the sexual energy when they enter temple space. This is an especially powerful magickal trick when trying to conjure up the reproductive and sexual energies that are associated with sabbat celebrations such as Beltane. Like attracts like, after all, and nothing attracts more sexual energy than actual sex.
Because the Great Rite provides a deep link with the deities we honor and worship, performing the Great Rite before ritual brings the energies of the Goddess and God closer to us. I find it easier to draw down the Horned God within a few hours of the Great Rite because he and I have already actively engaged with each other on some level that day. I find that my wife draws down the Goddess much more easily after the Great Rite for similar reasons. When we stir up the energies of the gods, those energies don’t just go away entirely after a drawing down or after the Great Rite.
For this reason, engaging in the Great Rite after ritual is an incredible experience. I’d never claim that I was “making love to the Goddess” after performing the Great Rite post-ritual, but her energies are definitely in there after the coven has done a drawing down. Those energies are different from what we experience on a day-to-day basis and add a level of power and gravitas to the Great Rite. If a Witch is performing the Great Rite for some sort of magickal purpose, it also adds the power of the gods to whatever they are working on.
Though it’s not something my wife and I practice with our coven, there are many Modern Witches who perform the Great Rite during coven ritual. In such instances the coven is generally cut out of the circle and led some distance away from the ritual space before the rite begins. With everyone gone, the individuals leading the ritual perform the Great Rite, letting everyone in the circle back in when they’re done.
Enacting the Great Rite in truth with the coven is generally done in times of great magickal need or perhaps to create a certain type of energy that can then be used by the entire coven. It can also be done to invoke certain deities. For instance, a coven might need the assistance of the Horned God at Samhain and use the Great Rite as a way to tap into his mysteries. The energies that are created during the Great Rite vary from couple to couple and group to group. The more the rite is practiced, the more likely it is for groups to find a need for the energies that come with the Great Rite.
In addition to performing the Great Rite in the middle of a ritual, there have been groups that perform the Great Rite in truth in front of the entire coven. This is not a common practice these days, and if you encounter a group that does this, I’d be cautious and ask for an explanation. If none is forthcoming, I’d head for the nearest exit. However, this technique can be used to raise a tremendous amount of power, so it’s not entirely unjustified.
When it comes to the whens and wheres of the Great Rite, there’s one absolute truth: The Great Rite is always about informed consent. The Great Rite shouldn’t be done while drunk or with a partner who is reluctant. Since the Great Rite requires at least two participants, those two people need to be in sync when it comes to wanting to enact the Great Rite. The Great Rite is not something that should be associated with potential regret.
The Great Rite is also not a rite that is required of anyone in Modern Witchcraft. Every year I read stories of “High Priests” requiring their students and/or initiates to perform the “Great Rite” with them in order to advance in the Craft. Such claims are absolute bullshit, and anyone making them is unethical and a liar. There is no sex in the circle without consent. The Great Rite is meant to be performed by partners who are looking to connect on a deeper and more magickal level. Anyone who would use the idea of the Great Rite in order to coerce someone to have sex with them is not acting on a deeper or more magickal level.
The Great Rite Without Sex?
Because sex creates an altered state of consciousness, indulges the physical senses, and requires a good amount of physical activity, I’m not sure the Great Rite can be completely replicated without it. However, there are rituals that can be done that create at least some of the feelings that are experienced during the Great Rite. Since I believe much of the Great Rite is about connection, any rite that fosters a deeper sense of that feeling will include at least some of what is felt during the Great Rite.
The following rite can be done with any working partner you are looking to grow closer to. It does not require the use of a magick circle, but I find that casting a circle and calling the quarters, etc., gives the rite a little extra oomph. Privacy and quiet are essential, so make sure to find a place where you won’t be disturbed. A little incense or essential oil in a diffuser is also recommended. (I suggest rose, ylang-ylang, or sandalwood.)
This ritual can be done in place of a sexual Great Rite, and it can also be done as a prelude to the Great Rite in truth. I like using it as a “warm-up” to the physical Great Rite, but it also has connected me to people I would never have a sexual relationship with. I have many intimate friends I will never be intimate with in a physical sense, but I still want to grow closer to them. This rite is designed to help you do just that.
Soul to Soul: A Rite for Connection
Start by sitting in front of your partner, face to face, with legs crossed. You want to sit very close to each other, and if your knees end up touching, all the better. Each partner’s left arm should be extended knuckles up, about even with their shoulder. Each partner’s right arm should be extended palm up and sit about six inches lower than the left arm.
The rite begins with one partner saying “As above” and grasping their partner’s right arm (or hand) with their left. When that hand or arm is grasped, the other partner should reply with “So below.” This is repeated a second time (or a third or a fourth, depending on how many people are participating). Once your hands are linked, both of you should inhale and take a deep cleansing breath together.
Close your eyes and concentrate on the breathing of your partner. Hear their breath, and try to match your breath to theirs. When you have fixed upon their breathing, listen a bit more intently and try to hear their heartbeat. You also might feel that heartbeat in their hands or arms. Wherever you discover it, focus on it for a few moments and then open yourself up to it. Let your consciousness sink and focus just on that heartbeat and your partner’s breath. Imagine yourself entering the light of their existence.
At this point you might encounter each other on a spiritual plane or you might simply feel connected to your partner emotionally. However you experience your partner, be sure to focus in on the connection. Imagine yourself connecting with your partner while opening up your own will so that they are able to experience the essence of you.
Once you have felt your partner on the spiritual plane, send your senses outward and feel the deities, guides, and/or ancestors around your partner. Feel their energies and reach out to them. They may want to meet you or invite you to partake in their energy. At the same time your partner should be becoming cognizant of the forces that help guide you in your own life.
Out past the powers immediately around your partner are the energies and magick of the greater world. Feel these too, and open yourself up to how your partner interacts with them. Are they attracted to water? Fire? How does the changing of the seasons affect them? Feel the earth through your partner’s senses and try to understand their experiences.
Focus now on what lies beyond our planet, and project yourself up and out of our atmosphere into the greater cosmos. Visualize planets, stars, and asteroids, and feel your partner’s energy and presence next to you while you do so. Know that you both are a part of the vast universe and that your spirits are free to journey where they like.
After feeling each other’s energies out and beyond the earth, travel back the way you came. Go through the cosmos and back to the earth, touching your partner’s gods and guides, and then once more simply focus on their energy. Concentrate again on their heartbeat and finally their breathing. When you both have returned spiritually to the ritual space, open your eyes and share what you’ve learned.
This rite relies on a physical and a spiritual connection and crosses over into what many call “astral travel.” Astral travel is an out-of-body experience where our soul or essence experiences worlds and places beyond this mortal plane.233 Many Witches visit this other space with a great deal of frequency, and others less so. No one has to believe in or experience astral projection to be a Witch, but for those who practice it, their experiences there are equal to and just as real as anything that happens in this world.
As a result, if you’re limited by time and distance from actually physically being with a partner, the astral realm is a great place to engage in the Great Rite. For the experienced astral traveler, the results and sensations are the same as in our waking world. For Witches who already engage in the Great Rite on terra firma, practicing it astrally adds another layer to its magick and mystery.
The Ritual of the Great Rite
While I don’t feel that ritual is completely necessary to capture the power of the Great Rite, I find that it does help. Putting ourselves in a “Witchcraft state of mind” during our work always increases the likelihood of success. I’m sure there are some couples and working partners who are capable of experiencing the transcendent nature of the Great Rite without any sort of ritual buildup, but performing the rites associated with it reinforces its value as a spiritual exercise.
Unlike drawing down the moon, which has a fairly standard set of ritual procedures associated with it, the Great Rite is much more of a blank canvas. I’ve read very little in the way of “Great Rite Rituals” over the years, and what I have read I have often disagreed with. Many of the instructions given for the Great Rite use language and terminology that excludes any pairing beyond male-female. Because I believe that the Great Rite is for everybody, I consciously avoid such terminology.
What follows is the rite I use with my wife when performing the Great Rite in a fully consecrated circle. I like to open with invocations to the deities we are close to, but that’s not something required for the rite to be effective. Because this is the ritual I use with my wife, I’m using the terminology of “High Priestess” and “High Priest” in some places, though any combination of genders is appropriate. The Great Rite part of the ritual begins after the quarters have been called and the circle cast.
The last part of the rite involves kissing the invoking pentagram of spirit onto a partner. In my practice, “spirit” most often references everything in the universe and the cosmic glue that holds it together. Because the Great Rite allows us to become one with everything, its use feels especially appropriate here.
High Priest: I call to the Great God, the Horned One of fertility and the wild spaces. Lend your energy to our rites so that we might grow closer to you. May we experience the mysteries and the wonders of this world through your power and might. Let us walk between the worlds and know what it is to celebrate life, the gods, and the joys that are the Craft! Be a part of our lovemaking as you are a part of our lives! Hail and welcome!
After the God has been invoked, the High Priestess calls to the Goddess.
High Priestess: I call to the Great Lady, the Mother of us all, she who has given us the blessings of life upon this earth! Touch us this night as we seek to explore your mysteries! Through your grace and your power may we grow closer to each other and this world that you have created! May we know what it is to go beyond ourselves, to touch the soul of another, and to touch what lies beyond ourselves. Bless and consecrate our lovemaking so that we might know you and the mysteries of the Craft! Hail and welcome!
After the gods have been called, bless each other’s body with this modified version of the fivefold kiss. Unlike the traditional fivefold kiss, this version is meant to be done slowly and to be enjoyed. Linger over the parts of each other that are pleasurable, and with every kiss know that you and your partner are experiencing something divine. There’s no right or wrong about who is blessed first. Let the moment dictate what is appropriate.
High Priest: And now we bless the most sacred of all temples, the body of you who is my High Priestess and Queen.234 Within you lies the essence of all that I love and adore, and also the spirit of she who is Queen of all the wise.235 With my lips I do cleanse and consecrate you!
Blessed be thy feet that have brought thee to me this night.
Kisses feet.
Blessed be thy knees that have knelt at the sacred altar.
Kisses knees, first left then right.
Blessed be thy sex, source of all that is pleasurable and life-affirming.
Kisses genitals (and remember, you can do more than kiss here!).
Blessed be thy breasts, which are both beautiful and strong.
Kisses breasts/nipples, left first and then right.
Blessed be thy lips, which have spoken the truths of the Lady and Lord.
Kisses lips.
When both participants (or more, if you have several folks involved) have been cleansed and consecrated via the fivefold kiss, one partner should lie down on the bed or ground with their legs and arms outstretched (forming a star), with the other partner moving toward their feet. Beginning at the reclining partner’s left foot, the invoking pentagram of spirit is drawn up the body, with kisses at the left foot, right hand, left hand, right foot, and finally the lips. This is repeated for both partners.
Invoking Pentagram of Spirit
Starting at the left foot of the reclining partner, the partner doing the physical invocation begins to call upon the powers:
I invoke the mystery of mysteries, that which begat the universe and to that which we all return.
Moving to the right hand, the rite is continued:
I invoke the power of the Great Goddess, she who is the beauty of the green earth and the white moon amongst the stars.
The left hand is kissed and the Horned One is invoked:
I invoke the power of the Horned One, he who stands at the threshold of death and life eternal.
The right foot is now kissed:
I invoke the powers of creation, the forces from which all worlds are born.
And then the lips are kissed:
And finally I invoke thee, my love, for there is no part of us that is not of the Lord and Lady.
Looking down at their partner, the one doing the physical invocation says:
We shall be as one with the universe and our gods. May the magick of joining empower us to fully walk between the worlds and experience something greater than ourselves. I shall be you and you shall be me, and together we will join together as one to feel the ecstasy and wonder of the universe. So mote it be!
The invocation is repeated for the other people, and after all the words have been said … well, what happens in the ritual circle during the Great Rite is a private matter. It’s considered poor form to ever question another Witch about it.
There Is No How-To
When It Comes to the Great Rite
Unfortunately, there is no real how-to when it comes to the Great Rite. We can do all the rites associated with the practice, call to our gods, and then take off our clothes, but all of that is no guarantee that anything will happen on a deeply spiritual level. But I do think there are a few things that can be done to make a heightened experience much more likely.
Make It Special. Sometimes we end up performing the Great Rite without a lot of preparation because time and circumstances don’t allow for it, but in most instances it’s something we plan for. When that’s the case, I like to build up to the event over several hours. I’ll take a long, hot shower while listening to some music that puts me in a spiritual frame of mind, and spend a little extra time on my hair and pre-ritual wardrobe. (After all, I want my partner to find me attractive and desirable.)
My wife and I most often perform the Great Rite in our ritual room, which means moving a mattress onto the floor and getting out some extra bedding. While I’m setting up the “activity area,” I’ll also throw some rose petals on top of our blankets and place some crystals and stones around the area that stir up sexual energy. Some of the more common stones for this purpose include carnelian, sunstone, and yellow zircon.236 Whatever you do here, just make sure that the touches you are adding appeal to you and your partner and whatever deities you might invite.
Other pre–Great Rite suggestions include a leisurely meal with foods that are either sacred to your gods or full of sexual energy. I also just like spending quality time with my partner beforehand, perhaps by going for a walk or sharing a nice glass of wine. There’s no right or wrong here, but the more you think about the Great Rite beforehand, the better your chances for success will be.
Use Ritual Space. While I’ve certainly participated in the Great Rite outside of ritual space, it’s always much better in a fully cast circle with all the usual accompaniments. I like to have the incense going, the candles lit, and my altar within view, along with the quarters and the Lord and Lady called to. The extra buildup that comes with creating sacred space will help put you in the right frame of mind for ritual.
If you find yourself in a place where it’s not practical to create a fully realized ritual circle, you can still add a little bit of that energy to your Great Rite. Share the Charges of the Goddess and God with each other, or simply ask the deities you honor to join you in your lovemaking. Every little bit helps! Even just lighting a candle goes a long way. What’s important is separating the Great Rite from your everyday way of doing things.
Cleanse and Consecrate. If you and your partner have taken a pre-ritual bath, it might seem redundant to cleanse and consecrate in the circle, but I highly recommend it. Cleansing the body is not quite the same as cleansing the mind, and a bit of “in ritual” cleansing helps me get into the right mindset for magickal work. Anoint each other with salt water or a favorite oil, and let the incense smoke wash over you. Both of you will feel refreshed afterward and ready for the Great Rite.
I find that the Great Rite works best when I release all of my inhibitions. I don’t want to be thinking about things; I want to be doing the things! And while I do them, I want to reach out with my soul and spirit and see what’s out there to grasp. That means trying to touch the earth, my partner, the cosmos, and my gods with the spiritual essence of my being. Turn off your conscious mind and rejoice in being alive and able to partake in the gifts that the Lord and Lady have provided for you!
Certainly you want to be responsive to your partner and focus on their pleasure, but this can be done without having to rely on the analytical parts of your brain. Sex is an instinct after all, not a learned behavior. We can let go of the mundane world during the Great Rite while still being attentive to our partner’s needs. And sex can sometimes be ridiculous because our bodies are sometimes ridiculous. Don’t be scared of sharing some laughter if it’s called for.
Ultimately I find that the Great Rite is most effective when it becomes transcendent. That means I go beyond myself and no longer feel as if I’m in “just a room” or on “just a bed.” I feel as if I’ve been transported to another place and that I’m experiencing something that exists both totally in the now and all throughout time. My mind drifts to moments throughout creation, and my heart feels linked and connected to my partner. The Great Rite, like so many of Witchcraft’s greatest mysteries, is not something that can be described; it’s something that must be experienced.
232. That freedom of choice can just as well be the choice not to have sex, which is also perfectly natural.
233. If you’re exploring the astral realm, I wholeheartedly recommend Devin Hunter’s book The Witch’s Book of Spirits, which was published in 2017 by Llewellyn. Devin includes techniques, along with descriptions of the places and things he’s visited.
234. Alternatively, of course, “High Priest and King.”
235. Alternatively, “and also the spirit of he who guards the portal between life and death.”
236. These suggestions are from Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic by Scott Cunningham.