ritual elements
At the beginning of Part 2, I talked about the basic components that make up a ritual: the welcoming speech (for larger rituals), cleansing and consecrating the space, casting the circle, calling the quarters, invoking the goddess and god, the main body of the ritual, cakes and ale, passing the speaking stick, dismissing the quarters, thanking the goddess and the god, and opening the circle.
Some of these components, like the welcoming speech, change with every ritual. These are all written out in each holiday ritual in this book and can be used as is or rewritten to suit your needs. Some, like the passing of the speaking stick, require no special words (other than the basic “Now we will pass the speaking stick”).
All the rest, however, can be done in various ways. Some Witches always speak spontaneously, and never prepare anything ahead of time. Some Witches—like those of us in Blue Moon Circle—tend to speak from the heart and laugh at ourselves when we mess it up in our own private New Moon and Full Moon gatherings, but write things out ahead of time for rituals to which we invite guests—especially those during which the guests may be inexperienced or unaccustomed to Wicca.
There is no right or wrong way. As I may have mentioned once or twice before, the gods are pretty flexible. But if you feel more comfortable in your early days of practicing as a group when you have the quarter calls written out on slips of paper so you can read them, by all means go ahead and write them. You can use the same calls every time, or you can use different ones for different occasions.
It is always helpful to have a copy of the spell you are doing written out for everyone—unless you are all reading it from this book, or it has already been written into everyone’s Book of Shadows. As with everything else, the amount of preparation you do is up to you.
In this chapter, I will lay out a variety of options for quarter calls, invocations, and the rest. Some of these are already contained in a certain ritual. The holiday rituals included in the book usually have invocations to suit the occasion, but most New Moon and Full Moon descriptions just say—for example—“Call the quarters” and leave it up to you whether or not you want to do something spontaneous and unique to your group or use one of the options that I provide.
As you gain more and more experience with ritual practice, you will probably want your words to reflect the personality of your own group. But for now, here are some variations on the basics to give you a head start and to help you to become more comfortable with the words of ritual.
Casting the circle
- If you are casting the circle hand to hand, all you have to say is “I cast the circle hand to hand” one at a time as you go around the circle and take the hand of the person next to you. (HPS starts.)
- You can also cast the circle “heart to heart” by taking the next person’s hand and holding it up to your heart.
- If the HPS or HP will be walking around the outside of the circle, and casting it with an athame or sword, I like to say the following: “I cast the circle round and round, from earth to sky, from sky to ground. I conjure now this sacred place, outside time and outside space. The circle is cast; we are between the worlds.”
- It is always appropriate to say something like the following, no matter which way you cast the circle: “We are in a sacred space, between the worlds.”
Calling the quarters
There are four quarters: North, East, South, and West. They have some basic correspondences and how we call them usually relates to these essentials. The quarters are also referred to as the elements (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water) or the watchtowers (because we call them to watch over the circle). Always make certain that you are facing in the correct direction when you call that quarter. A compass is a useful Witch tool, too.
Always call the quarters starting with East and proceeding clockwise. Dismiss the quarters starting with North and proceeding counterclockwise.
- East—the element of Air. Candle color is yellow. Tool is athame. Properties are intellect, knowledge, and psychic powers. It is often represented on the altar by incense or a feather.
- South—the element of Fire. Candle color is red. Tool is the wand. Properties are passion, courage, and energy. It is often represented on the altar by a candle.
- West—the element of Water. Candle color is blue. Tool is the chalice. Properties are emotions, intuition, and rebirth. It is often represented on the altar by a bowl of water, but some Witches use a seashell.
- North—the element of Earth. Candle color is green. Tool is the pentacle. Properties are grounding, focus, and the material world. It is often represented on the altar by salt or by a gemstone or everyday rock.
Quarter calls can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. The most basic call is as simple as “We call the power of East to come and guard our circle.” The dismissal for this would then be “We thank the power of East for watching over our circle, and give it leave to go.”
Most people use something a little bit more involved than this, although the dismissals tend to be somewhat simpler (if for no other reason than that people are often tired by the end of the ritual, or eager to get to the feasting). Here are some examples—for ease of use I have included a matching dismissal with each call:
Quarter call and dismissal #1
East
Optional: Light incense and say, “We summon the spirit of Air.”
I call the watchtower of the East, the spirit of Air.
Help us to keep our minds clear and open, and aid us in seeking positive change.
Come now and guard our circle.
Spirit of Air, we thank you for your presence here in our circle.
You are free to go, although your essence is always with us.
Farewell and blessed be.
South
Optional: Throw sage on the bonfire and say, “We summon the spirit of Fire.”
I call the watchtower of the South, the spirit of Fire.
Element of passion and transformation, help us to make the choices
That will lead to greater success in the months ahead.
Come now and guard our circle.
Spirit of Fire, we thank you for your presence here in our circle.
You are free to go, although your essence is always with us.
Farewell and blessed be.
West
Optional: Pour water on the ground and say, “We summon the spirit of Water.”
I call the watchtower of the West, the spirit of Water.
Open our hearts to love, our bodies to healing and our minds to wisdom from within and without.
Come now and guard our circle.
Spirit of Water, we thank you for your presence here in our circle.
You are free to go, although your essence is always with us.
Farewell and blessed be.
North
Optional: Scatter salt on the ground and say, “We summon the spirit of Earth.”
I call the watchtower of the North, the spirit of Earth.
Nourish and ground us; help us connect to all the hidden strengths within ourselves.
Come now and guard our circle.
Spirit of Earth, we thank you for your presence here in our circle.
You are free to go, although your essence is always with us.
Farewell, and blessed be.
Quarter call and dismissal #2
East
I summon the spirit of East, the element of Air, and bid you guard us with the power of the sudden storm and hold us safe with the gentleness of the evening breeze.
Air, element of the East, we thank you for your protection and grant you leave to go.
South
I summon the spirit of the South, the element of Fire, and bid you guard us with the power of the roaring flame and with the softly fading ember.
Fire, element of the South, we thank you for your protection and grant you leave to go.
West
I summon the spirit of the West, the element of Water, and bid you guard us with the power of the ocean waves and hold us safe like the waters of the Mother we all come from.
Water, element of the West, we thank you for your protection and grant you leave to go.
North
I summon the spirit of the North, the element of Earth, and bid you guard us with the strength of the land beneath our feet, and hold us like soil that nurtures the smallest seed.
Earth, element of the North, we thank you for your protection and grant you leave to go.
Invoking the god and goddess/Thanking the god and goddess
Like the quarter calls and dismissals, the god/goddess invocations are usually paired with a matching thanks. Also like the quarter calls, this farewell is often briefer and simpler than the invocation. Remember that although you summon the quarters to do your bidding, you always ask respectfully for the gods to attend you in your circle. After all, who are we to command the gods?
I have included the god and goddess invocations suitable to each holiday ritual in Part 2 in order to show you how they work. Sometimes a holiday has a specific deity (or deities) associated with it, in which case they are usually mentioned by name. Most Wiccans invoke both the god and goddess during holiday rituals.
In contrast, at the New Moon and Full Moon rituals, usually only the goddess is invoked. This is because the lunar celebrations are primarily her domain. You can also call the god if you want—there is no rule against it—but most Wiccans don’t.
When you invoke the god and goddess, light a candle for each. Use white or silver for the goddess and yellow or gold for the god—or you can use white for both.
Some of the New Moons and Full Moons already have specific invocations included that mention the issues you will be working on during that ritual. For the rest, here are two examples:
New Moon goddess invocation #1
- Great Goddess, Lady of the Dark Moon, hear us! We your children gather here in sacred space and call your name: Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna! Hear our words. Know our hearts. Be with us in our circle. So mote it be.
- Great Goddess, Lady of the Dark Moon, we thank you for your presence in our circle and in our lives. May you continue to guide and strengthen us in the days to come. So mote it be.
New Moon goddess invocation #2
- Beloved Lady, we call to you to join us tonight as we meet in sacred space. We gather in your name and ask you to help us in our Craft. Guide us to work with wisdom and with love. Welcome, and blessed be.
- Beloved Lady, you have shared with us your wisdom and your love. We thank you for these, and all the gifts that you have given us. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be.
Full Moon goddess invocation #1
- Great Goddess, Lady of the Shining Moon and the Shifting Tides, we your children gather here and invoke your name. On this night of power and beauty, we come together in this sacred space to practice our Craft. Shine your light upon our circle, and lend us your strength and grace. Welcome, and blessed be. (You can say “daughters” instead of “children” if your group is all women.)
- Great Goddess, we thank you for being with us in this circle tonight. May your light and love shine down on us always. Farewell, and blessed be.
Full Moon goddess invocation #2
- Great Lady, we have come together on this, the night of the Full Moon, to work our magick in your name. In perfect love and perfect trust, we gather. In perfect love and perfect trust, we call you to join us. So mote it be.
- Great Lady, we thank you for your presence in our circle and in our lives. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be.
Cakes and ale
We pass cakes and ale around the circle after we have completed the main body of the ritual. The food and drink remind us of our bond with the earth and help to ground us back into the material world. And the act of “breaking bread” together as a symbol of togetherness is as old as society itself.
If you want to keep things simple, you can just say, “We thank the gods for this______” (whatever you are eating or drinking that night), and pass it around the circle. Most Wiccans do a bit more than that, of course. It is customary for the HPS to bless the cakes and the HP to bless the ale (or the other way around), if a group has both. Or one person can say both blessings if, for example, your group only has a HPS.
Cakes and ale blessing #1
- Cakes: I bless these cakes, gift of the earth. May our blessings multiply like the grains in the fields.
- Ale: I bless this [wine/juice], fruit from the vines. May our lives always be as sweet.
Cakes and ale blessing #2
- Cakes: Bless these cakes, the gift of grain. Sustain us ‘til we meet again. So mote it be.
- Ale: Bless this ale, which tastes so sweet. Nourish us ‘til again we meet. So mote it be.
Cakes and ale blessing #3
- Cakes: Bless these cakes, the gift of grain, from Earth our bodies to sustain. With gratitude we share this treat. May we always have enough to eat.
- Ale: (The blessing below is a traditional blessing done by the HPS and the HP together. I have seen a number of versions of it, of which this is only one example. It can also be done by the HPS and another group member, or just by the HPS alone. The HPS holds the chalice and the HP holds the athame.)
HP:
Let it be known that no man is greater than a woman.
HPS:
Nor woman greater than a man.
HP:
For what one lacks the other can give.
HPS:
As the chalice is to the female.
HP:
So the athame is to the male.
BOTH TOGETHER:
(HP lowers athame into chalice.) And when they are joined, that is magick in truth—for there is no greater magick in the world than love.
A note about chants
I mentioned a few of the most common chants during some of the rituals. The truth is, I can write out the words, but they aren’t much good without the “song” part of the chant. There are a few Wicca websites that go over chants in more detail, but your best bet is to try to find a Witch somewhere who knows them. Or you could make up your own. In the meantime, here are a couple to start with—you can always chant them with no particular music:
- “Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna.” (Repeat)
- “She changes everything She touches and everything She touches changes.” (There are a lot more words to this, but many people just use these, repeated over and over.)
- “Fire am I, Water am I, Earth and Air and Spirit am I.”