Tenth Lunation: Waning Moon Cycle
Days 16–28
Summer Solstice
Magical Purpose: Reimagining this sabbat.
Our purpose over the next days is to look at the traditional Summer Solstice mystery play and rewrite it based on the mythic stages. Here then is the Summer Solstice mystery play.
Summer Solstice Mystery Play
After the circle is cast, all coven members, using their chalices, draw water from a central water source placed in the west (could be any large container for the water). After drawing the water, members pour the water into the central cauldron. Members keep drawing and pouring until the central cauldron is at least half full. Then the leading priest/ess places flowers around the base of the cauldron and three more inside of it (representing Maiden, Mother, and Crone).
The priest/ess draws a fire-invoking pentagram over the cauldron with the athame. Then priest/ess holds the wand above the cauldron with both hands, with the tip pointed downward, saying:
Great One of heavens, power of sun,
Usher thy might, O Sacred One.
Your mighty flame no respite knows,
From whom the dark of winter arose:
Benevolent One, to thee we cry,
Forever whirling ’cross the sky;
Whose ample blaze doth turn the wheel,
To bless, to strengthen, to grow, to heal.
Ethereal, earthly, whose all-various frame,
Azure and full of forms, no power can tame.
All-seeing ancient ancestor of time,
Forever blessed, deity sublime.
Give fair woodlands, green the fields,
Bring bounty that the orchard yields.
The priest/ess then draws a second fire-invoking pentagram with the wand above the cauldron, then plunges the wand into the water, saying:
Spear to the cauldron,
Lance to the grail,
Spirit to flesh,
Sun to earth,
Magic to the world.
Each coven member approaches the priest/ess, and they kiss over the cauldron. The priest/ess then dips a bundle of rue into the cauldron waters and asperges the member with the blessed water.
When all members have been blessed, the priest/ess holds the wand and athame in an X formation above the head, saying:
Dance ye about the cauldron of Cerridwen the goddess,
And be ye blessed by the touch of this consecrated water,
Even as the sun, the Lord of Life, arises in
His strength, in the sign of the waters of life.
The priest/ess fills his/her chalice with water from the cauldron, and also takes the bundle of rue. The coven members then follow the priest/ess as they walk thrice around the circle. The priest/ess asperges the circle and anything beyond it with the cauldron water.
The coven celebrates with cakes and wine, then the circle is closed.
Today, journal about the following questions:
• Which phases of the ritual were aligned with the mythic phases of the ordinary world, the departure, crossing the threshold, the ordeal, and the return?
• Were any of the stages missing for you? Which ones?
Summer Solstice Revised
Magical Purpose: Reimagining this sabbat.
Based on the previous day’s workings, reimagine the Summer Solstice ceremony, keeping in mind all of the mythic stages.
• What does the ordinary world look like?
• How do we know there is a departure?
• What will the crossing of the threshold look like?
• What is the ordeal at Summer Solstice?
• What is the boon, treasure, or healing that can take place as a result of the rite (representing the return)?
While you are thinking about these questions and planning the mystery play, consider adding the following short list of themes and magical elements that Witches typically incorporate into their Summer Solstice celebrations:
Themes/Symbols: Fire, the sun, greening fields, promise of bounty, height of power, men’s mysteries, the phallus, strength, energy, growth of crops, growth of wishes, longest day of the year, ashes from Beltane planted in the garden, stone circles, tossing stones or coins into the cauldron for luck, sunwheels made of wood and ribbons are set afire, the making of invisibility charms with ferns, communing with elves, faeries, and other nature spirits
Colors: Gold, red, yellow, orange
Colors: All shades of green, deep red, woad blue, deep yellow, natural soil colors
Herbs: Ash, angelica, chamomile, elder, fennel, fern, hemp, juniper, lavender, mistletoe, rosemary, St. John’s wort, sunflower, tormentil, verbena
Lughnasadh
Magical Purpose: Reimagining this sabbat.
Our purpose over the next days is to look at the traditional Lughnasadh (also called Lammas) mystery play and rewrite it based on the mythic stages. Here then is the Lughnasadh play.
Lughnasadh Mystery Play
After the circle is cast, all coven members draw hoods over their heads. The leading priest/ess stands in the east, facing the inner circle. He/she holds a sickle high and then folds his/her arms in the Osiris position. Turning to the east, the priest/ess says:
Great Mother, all-bounteous and divine,
Whose joy is peace; to nourish corn is thine:
Goddess of seed, of fruits abundant and fair,
Harvest and threshing, are thy constant care.
The priest/ess draws an invoking air pentagram with the sickle, then goes to the south of the circle with arms crossed in the Osiris position. Once in the south, the priest/ess says:
Who dwellest in Eleusina’s seats retired,
Lovely, abundant Queen, by all desired.
Ye give to men, what nature’s wants require,
With plenteous means of bliss which awaken desire.
The priest/ess draws an invoking fire pentagram with the sickle, then goes to the west of the circle with arms crossed in the Osiris position. Once in the west, the priest/ess says:
In flora flourishing honor bright,
Queen of great Helios, bearing light:
Rejoicing in the reaper’s sickles, kind,
Whose nature is earthy, pure, refined.
The priest/ess draws an invoking water pentagram with the sickle, then goes to the north of the circle with arms crossed in the Osiris position. Once in the north, the priest/ess says:
Only-begotten, ever-producing Queen,
All flowers are thine and fields of green.
Come, bright Demeter, with summer’s rich reward,
Swelling, pregnant, from consort with the Lord.
The priest/ess draws an invoking earth pentagram with the sickle, then goes to the east of the circle with arms crossed in the Osiris position. Once in the east, the priest/ess turns to face the inner circle again.
Another coven member picks up the corn or wheat stalks and stands opposite the leading priest/ess in the west, saying:
Come, O Queen, ’tis the appointed time
And the appointed place.
I stand before thee, ripe, ready,
Engorged by summer’s plenty.
Take what is mine and eat,
For what lives must surely die.
And what dies is eaten.
And what is eaten gives life anew.
Birth, growth, death is mine,
Never-ending and divine.
The priest/ess and the coven member dance around the circle, always remaining opposite each another in the circle. As they dance, they (and others present) chant:
Dominae, Demeter!
Dominae, Demeter!
They dance faster and faster, raising the cone of power. The coven members likewise raise power through the chant.
At the height of power, the leading priest/ess holds the sickle high and makes a harvesting gesture. At that time, the coven member with the corn or wheat stalks drops to the ground. The lead priest/ess covers the “fallen” coven member with the veil, invoking:
Almighty Mother of us all
Bring the bounty of the fall,
Give us fruit and bring us grain,
Flocks and herds across the plain,
Bring us children to thy feet
Who sing aloud with Merry Meet!
By thy rosy love come forth,
From east, from south, from west, from north.
Do thou bring the grain again,
Arise, arise, thou who’s been slain.
The coven member who held the stalks arises and takes from the altar two bowls of grain (any grain of your choosing). The coven member takes these to the cauldron that sits in the west of the circle and pours in the grains.
Coven members celebrate with cakes and wine, then the circle is closed.
Today, journal about the following questions:
• Which phases of the ritual were aligned with the mythic phases of the ordinary world, the departure, crossing the threshold, the ordeal, and the return?
• Were any of the stages missing for you? Which ones?
Lughnasadh Revised
Magical Purpose: Reimagining this sabbat.
Based on the previous day’s workings, reimagine the Lughnasadh ceremony, keeping in mind all of the mythic stages.
• What does the ordinary world look like?
• How do we know there is a departure?
• What will the crossing of the threshold look like?
• What is the ordeal at Lughnasadh?
• What is the boon, treasure, or healing that can take place as a result of the rite (representing the return)?
While you are thinking about these questions and planning the mystery play, consider adding the following short list of themes and magical elements that Witches typically incorporate into their Lughnasadh celebrations:
Themes/Symbols: Death and rebirth, bounty, sacrifice, life feeding on life, corn, wheat, harvest fruits, first harvest of the season, preparations for the coming winter, halfway through the summer season, feasting, ritual dances, the gods Lugh and Puck, the goddess Demeter, funeral feast (for the passing of Lugh/the grain), cutting of the first corn and burying it, pilgrimages to mountaintops, rain, John Barleycorn, loaves of bread
Colors: Green, yellow, gold, amber
Herbs: Barley, fenugreek, frankincense, heather, hollyhock, meadowsweet, mints, oats, rye, wheat
Practice Days 27–28
Autumn Equinox
Magical Purpose: Reimagining this sabbat.
Our purpose over the next days is to look at the traditional Autumn Equinox (also called Mabon) mystery play and rewrite it based on the mythic stages. Here then is the Autumn Equinox play.
Autumn Equinox Mystery Play
After the circle is cast, all coven members draw hoods over their heads. The leading priest/ess stands facing the west with the athame and wand in the Osiris position. A coven member brings the thurible and sprinkles storax on the coals. The coven member keeps the fumes going while he/she follows the priest/ess, who is invoking Semele, mother of Dionysus. The priest/ess opens his/her arms to the western quarter and holds both the wand and athame out in double evocation. The priest/ess walks the perimeter of the magic circle, saying:
Bounteous Goddess, universal queen,
Semele, I call, of beauteous mien;
Deep-bosomed, lovely magnificence is thine,
Mother of Dionysus, joyful and divine,
From deathless counsels, secret, high,
Of Jove Saturnian, regent of sky,
Whom Persephone calls to glimpse the light,
And visit mortals from realms of night:
Be with us, attending our sacred rites,
And feast with us, thy soul delights;
Now I invoke thee, great propitious queen,
To bless our rites with countenance serene.
The officiating priest/ess lights black candles and passes one to each coven member. They hold the candles as they recite the following together:
Farewell, O sun, ever-burning light,
O Hidden God, who descends this night,
Go ye through gates of death,
To dwell enthroned, till our final breath.
O Horned Hunter of the hosts of air,
To will, to know, to be silent, to dare,
Be among us, attend thy feast,
Of sacred grain and sacred beast.
The coven members extinguish the candles, starting with the member standing in the west, who extinguishes the next member’s candle. This member then extinguishes the next candle around the circle, and so on, until all candles are darkened.
Attendees then place objects that represent the goodness of what they “reaped” during the year on the central altar. The presiding priest/ess then stands before the altar from the south and plunges the tip of his/her athame into a loaf of bread. He/she then says:
Let us give thanks to the Gods for these signs of a joyful and bounteous harvest.
The priest/ess then passes the loaf. All members take a piece of the bread, and before they eat it together, they all say:
To the Gods!
The coven members celebrate with cakes and wine, then the circle is closed.
Today, journal about the following questions:
• Which phases of the ritual were aligned with the mythic phases of the ordinary world, the departure, crossing the threshold, the ordeal, and the return?
• Were any of the stages missing for you? Which ones?