Creating and Performing Ritual
ou have prepared yourself and your temple, defined your purpose, gathered your tools, chosen the date and the moon phase, and considered the correspondences you will use. Now it remains to finalize your ritual plan and work the magick.
The Steps of Magickal Ritual
A ritual outline follows. You will fill in the content according to your own style and beliefs—but know that each step has its purpose, and to omit any one may lead to failure. Here is a list of the steps, followed by explanations of each:
1. Advance preparation
2. Physical set-up
3. Self-preparation
4. Attunement
5. Asperging the area
6. Casting the circle
7. Alerting the quarters
8. Calling the quarters
9. Invoking the god
10. Invoking the goddess
11. Stating the purpose
12. Raising power
13. Channeling power
14. Earthing excess power
15. Cakes and wine
16. Thanks and farewells
17. Opening the circle
18. Acting in accord
1. Advance preparation may include such tasks as obtaining special herbs or candles, making a ritual tool, researching an appropriate deity for the invocation, and planning the details of the ritual.
2. Physical set-up covers the preparation of the temple or outdoor ritual area, laying out tools, putting up special hangings on the walls or symbols on the altar, and so on.
3. Self-preparation immediately before the work might include a ritual purification bath with candles and incense, a period of meditation, an aura-cleansing or energy-channeling exercise, and other activities to cleanse and focus.
4. Group attunement is important if anyone will be working with you, whether or not they are physically present. Chanting or singing together will psychically harmonize a group; but guided meditation, play, or work together on some task of preparation (such as decorating the temple or creating a circle of stones) are alternatives. It’s a good idea to do this even if you are practicing alone; it’s a chance to collect yourself into the moment, ground and center in preparation for your work. Read a poem aloud, sing a song or chant, or breathe consciously for a few minutes.
5. Asperging the area, ritually cleansing it of inappropriate or negative influences, is often done with salt and water. You may begin by tracing a pentagram over the salt: visualize it glowing with white light beneath the athame or wand as you say: “I exorcise thee, O spirit of salt, casting out all impurities that lie within.” Do the same over the bowl of water, visualizing it boiling and bubbling: “I exorcise thee, O spirit of water, casting out all impurities that lie within.” Add three measures of salt to the water, stir deosil (clockwise) three times, then walk deosil around the outside of the circle area, sprinkling the salt water lightly over everything with an asperger or your fingers.
Having asperged with Water and Earth, you may also purify with Air and Fire by taking a censer or smudge stick (such as a bundle of burning sage) around the circle area, stopping to salute the quarters.
6. Casting the circle creates a boundary around the sacred space of your ritual, both to protect those within from outside influences or distractions and to contain and concentrate the power raised until it is channeled to its goal. Walk deosil from the altar, pointing your athame or sword at the ground. Visualize a line of blue flame or light rising from the ground as you say, in a slow and powerful voice:
“I conjure thee, O circle of power, that thou shalt be a boundary between the world of humanity and the realms of the mighty ones, a guardian and protection to preserve and contain the power we (or I) shall raise within; wherefore do we (or I) bless and consecrate thee!”
If you are working with a group, use “we” and have everyone join in on the last line: “wherefore . . . ” Restore the athame or sword to its place.
7. Alerting the quarters is the next step. The term “quarters” is verbal shorthand for the powers of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These correspond in part to:
Earth: body, foundations, the material plane
Air: mind, intellect, imagination
Fire: vitality, will, purpose
Water: emotion, intuition
These qualities or aspects of reality are sometimes represented as guardians or archangels.
By “alerting” these, we are really preparing Younger Self to experience the ritual in all of these modes: physically, mentally, with our energy fields, and emotionally.
Walk deosil (clockwise) around the circle from the altar (or starting in the east), carrying a bell, gong, or chimes. Pause and ring at each of the cardinal points. Add a fifth soft chime when you return to the altar or east.
8. Calling the quarters follows. Face the east and draw an Air-invoking pentagram with your athame. See the symbol glowing in the air, and behind it you may visualize the personified power of that element; for example, a spirit robed in light blue and white, with wind moving its robes and hair.
Face the south, west, and north in turn, draw the appropriate pentagrams and visualize the elemental spirits. If a group is present, this is done in unison. After the pentagram is drawn each time, the group may intone the name of the corresponding spirit or archangel (Air = Raphael, Fire = Michael, Water = Gabriel, Earth = Uriel). As an alternative, one person may step forth, lead the signing of the pentagram, and speak an invocation. For example:
“Spirit of Fire, Guardian of the Watchtower of the South, Red Lion of the Burning Desert, come to our circle this night and grant us the will and energy to achieve our aims. So mote it be!”
9. Invoking the god activates the masculine aspect of divine creative power within the ritualist. He may simply be referred to as God, or a particular aspect (Pan, Cernunnos, Thoth, etc.) may be invoked who is appropriate to the work at hand. In any group working with men present, a male usually invokes the god. (In Wiccan tradition a priestess may invoke the god into the high priest, if the god is to be aspected or channeled, or into herself, if no male is present or able. However, aspecting is an advanced magico-spiritual skill that should be learned firsthand from an experienced priestess or priest; it will not be covered here.)
Stand before the altar, raise your arms, and speak appropriate words of welcome; for example:
“Great Cernunnos, hornéd god of the wilderness and the beasts which dwell within, bring your power, vitality, and blessings to the circle this night. Hornéd one, wild king of the forest, welcome to our circle!”
10. Invoking the goddess follows the same pattern, but is usually done by a woman. Again, a specific and appropriate aspect (Diana, Cerridwen, Ma’at, etc.) may be invoked, or simply Lady or Great Goddess. A sample invocation might begin:
“Great Diana, moon goddess, we invoke and call upon you as the full moon rises. As you fill the night with your silver radiance, fill us too with your power and love, and grant your continued blessings . . .”
11. Stating the purpose is important for clarity and to make sure that all present are in accord. You might say, “We are here to celebrate the new moon, the Maiden and Youth within, and to work magick for growth and healing in the days ahead,” or “We meet to work magick for the purification, blessing, and protection of this house, our sister Thea’s new home,” or whatever is appropriate to the purpose for gathering. If anyone has doubts about the need, strategy, ethics, or timing of the suggested work, this is the last chance to express them before the work begins.
12. Raising power may be done in any of several ways, as mentioned earlier. Chanting a simple couplet is a common method—such as the following, for a man feeling apprehensive about an upcoming confrontation: “Mighty Mars, this boon we crave: help Jack feel both strong and brave!” It can be the veriest doggerel: Younger Self is not a poetry critic. The important things are that it be simple and vivid. A chant can be combined with a simple circle dance, or with drumming or clapping, or these can be done without a chant.
Other ways to raise power include singing, breathing techniques, or even pounding stones in unison. It must be simple to do, repetitive, rhythmic, and continue long enough for intense energy to be felt by everyone in the circle.
13. Channeling power toward the goal occurs the moment the energy peaks. This may be done simply by visualizing the goal as achieved, or the energy may be sent through a “witness” or “object link,” as explained before. This may be an image (such as a photo), something associated with the recipient (a ring belonging to a person requesting prosperity magick, for example), or an actual part of the object (like a flake of paint from a house you wish to buy). Of course, if you are doing work for an individual and they are present, then the beneficiary can simply stand in the center of the circle and receive the power directly.
14. Earthing excess power or “grounding” is a necessary part of ritual hygiene. We have discussed this briefly before, but it is worth expand- ing on. Assuming you have raised any significant amount of power, you will feel a strong physical sensation—a tingling, vibrating, or thrumming throughout your body. Ordinarily not all of this new energy will be perfectly channeled to the goal, so a residual vibration will be felt. Ignoring this can lead to hyperactivity, tension, restlessness, irritability, and/or insomnia until your energy field or aura gradually rebalances. It is best to channel the excess into the earth immediately after you have sent all you can to the goal. Often it is enough to place your palms flat on the ground (or floor) for a minute or two. You can also put a fairly large rock in your lap and place your hands on it. Or you can lie full-length on the ground, on your belly. You must be sensitive to your energy field and to your body to know when this process is completed.
15. Cakes and wine—that is, sharing food and drink following the work—is an enjoyable and valuable part of many traditions. Of course, it need not literally be cakes and wine; fruit juice or chips and dip would do as well, but a ritual tradition of serving little crescent-shaped cakes and homemade herbal wine or the like adds an extra measure of magick to the proceedings. In any case, refreshments remind us to be grateful for Earth’s bounty, help ground us further, and provide an opportunity to socialize and share one another’s company. It is a congenial transition from a magickal state of consciousness to ordinary “reality.”
16. Thanks and farewells follow. Face the altar and first thank Goddess for her presence. In some traditions, she is bid “farewell” on the theory that she will recede to a deeper layer of being, away from our waking consciousness or Talking Self. I prefer not to say goodbye, since she is always with us and within us, and I want to keep her close to conscious awareness.
A similar process is followed for God, by whatever name he was invoked.
Next, thank the guardians (or spirits) of the quarters, and say “farewell.” Some books speak of “dismissing” or “banishing” them, but I prefer to work in terms of cooperation rather than domination. Starting in the east, draw an Air-banishing (or “Farewell to Air”) pentagram with your athame, and say:
“Mighty ones of the east, we thank thee for attending . . . and if go ye must, we say hail (kiss athame and salute with it) and farewell.”
Do likewise for south, west, and north. Feel free to adapt the wording. Instead of “Mighty ones of the south,” you might say “Spirit of Fire” or “Red Lion of the Desert” or “Lady Brigit, Keeper of the Flame,” and so on.
17. Opening the circle: walk widdershins (counterclockwise) with your athame pointed at the line you traced earlier, and visualize the flames or light fading or being drawn back into your athame. You have returned to ordinary space and time and may confirm this by saying: “The circle is open but unbroken—blesséd be!”
18. Acting in accord means taking action on the material plane, or in “mundane reality,” to support the magick done within the circle and on other planes. Do not just sit back and wait for results to drop into your lap. Magick is an adjunct to the rest of your life, not a replacement for it. If you did magick to physically heal yourself, support it with herbal medicines, proper nutrition, rest, sunlight, and so on. If you did magick to express yourself more clearly and assertively, then place yourself in situations where such abilities will be demanded, and practice what you will say beforehand. If the magick was to strengthen your relationship with the natural world, then go camping, learn to identify birds, or photograph animals in the wild. Younger Self and Higher Self will help in any worthy endeavor, but they can’t be expected to do all the work. You are still the channel through which the magick manifests.
A Sample Ritual
Let us suppose that you are wrestling with a problem such as addiction to alcohol (though the following material could easily be adapted to any addiction or excess—food, candy, tobacco, caffeine, etc.). You ask for counsel through the tarot, and both the Magician and Temperance cards come up. It seems clear that magick can help you, so you design a ritual for abstention.
During a waning moon, prepare a Saturnian talisman. Saturn is the god (and planet) of discipline, limitation, and learning. In a small square of black cloth, place a piece of black jade, black onyx, or obsidian. Add any combination of Saturnian herbs, such as cypress, balm of Gilead, comfrey, fern, henbane, High John the Conquerer, ivy, mullein, pansy, slippery elm, Solomon’s seal, or even asafoetida (if you can stand the odor). Stitch the planetary sigil or astrological symbol of Saturn (L) in violet thread on the bag; gather and tie with the same kind of thread.
Obtain an amethyst in a silver mounting as a pendant that can be worn on a cord or silver chain. It need not be an expensive cabochon or faceted jewel; a rough amethyst or a baroque polished one will do as well, though it should have a deep purple color.
If you will be working indoors, decorate your altar and temple in black, with purple or violet candles. Outdoors, use a black altar cloth or a flat stone on the ground. In addition to your usual tools, place your talisman, the pendant, and an inverted wine glass or shot glass on the altar.
At the dark of the moon, asperge the area and cast the circle. Alert and call the quarters. Invoke the goddess Hecate, “Wise Crone, Mistress of Magick, Lady of the Dark Moon, Guardian of the Crossroads, that she may be present and lend her power at this crossroads in my life.” Then invoke Saturn, “God of Boundaries, Limits, and Discipline, Lord of Higher Learning, that he may teach me wisdom and restraint.”
Tell them why you have invoked them. Sit. Ground, center, and clear. Meditate on the ways you have permitted alcohol (or whatever) to change your life and on what your life could be like without the addiction.
Raise power by drumming and chanting. In low but intense tones, say:
“By fallen leaf and powers fey,
I call the name of Hecate:
Make strong my will, make true my aim,
As I from [alcohol] abstain!”
You may wear the pendant and hold the talisman in your lap as you chant and drum. When the power peaks, pick up the talisman and channel the energy into it, by visualizing or with hands or wand.
Earth the excess energy. Then meditate on a time when you were able to abstain, hold back, and resist temptation to drink, and when something else seemed so important to you that you successfully focused your attention on that rather than on drinking. Relive the experience vividly; reexperience the feelings strongly. When they are clear and powerful, grip the amethyst pendant in a strong, firm grasp. Repeat this sequence nine times, and each time work for greater vividness and depth.
Rest a while and imagine your new future free of your addiction. Plan the ways in which you will enlist the help of family, friends, and organizations—that is, the ways you will “act in accord” with the magick you have performed.
Thank Saturn and Hecate, and the powers of the quarters, and release the circle. Place the talisman under your pillow. Wear the amethyst all day each day; if you are tempted, reach up and grasp it in exactly the same way you did at the ritual. Say in your mind, “In Hecate’s name, NO!” Then instantly turn your mind to something else, preferably something absorbing, demanding, or challenging. Later you may take a moment to reflect on how well the magick worked and to congratulate yourself on passing temptation by.
It should be noted that I selected deities to invoke who will be effective for modern Pagans, that is, adherents of nature-oriented religions. Readers of other faiths could perform this magick by substituting their own names and images of Deity, preferably those aspects that focus on wisdom and self-control.
Remember that the ritual alone is not sufficient: you should also consider changing your diet to low-sugar forms of nutrition (an “anti-yeast” diet), changing your recreation and social patterns, and probably joining a support group. Hypnotic suggestion by a trained professional may also be helpful. Remember, the magick must not end with the ritual: you must act in accord and provide a vehicle for it to manifest in the everyday world.
Analysis
So what has really happened here in successful ritual magick, beyond the outer events and trappings, the candles, robes, and chanting?
First, your conscious mind has chosen a goal, hopefully in consultation with Younger Self and Higher Self, through divination, meditation, trancework, dreamcraft, or other communications techniques. You have clearly communicated the desired outcome to Younger Self through the language of ritual: chants, colors, incense, symbolic objects or actions, and so on. But nothing can be accomplished without energy, so you have raised power—that is, Talking Self initiated the process and Younger Self raised the power from outside sources in nature. Younger Self then channeled the energy to the goal through Higher Self, which had the wisdom and knowledge to use it to manifest changes inside you or on the material plane. (In the case of magick for someone else—say, a healing—the energy is channeled to the Higher Self of the recipient.) Then your Talking Self returned from the altered state necessary for participation in magick to ordinary consciousness.
Thus ritual is a theater for the Younger Self, whereby you communicate concepts that words alone cannot convey. Magick is also a team effort among various aspects of your Self to direct energy into transforming reality.
The important thing to understand is the process, but the precise forms of ritual vary from group to group and tradition to tradition. Here, for example, we have assembled the group (if not working solitary) and cast the circle around them. But in many Wiccan traditions, the high priestess (assisted by the high priest) casts the circle, then invites the coven members to enter through a created gateway or portal. The important thing is that the circle was cast to contain and focus the power and keep out distractions. Precisely how it was done is not as important as the intent. Should you research other traditions of magick from various cultures around the world, look for the common elements in all of them. These are the foundations of magick.
Exercises Toward Mastery
1: Self-Preparation—Purification Bath
Take a bath, but design it so that it prepares you for important magickal work. Include candles, music, perhaps incense, and whatever bath oils seem appropriate. Afterward, if you have no other magickal work planned, do a simple self-blessing ritual.
2: Attunement
Name six techniques you could use to get a small group attuned and in harmony prior to working magick together. If you are part of such a group, choose the most unusual method and ask to lead it at your next ritual.
3: Asperging Alternatives
Try three different ways of cleansing a ritual space: sprinkling salt and water, smudging with a smoldering sage bundle, and sweeping with a ritual broom (you can make a simple one just by binding a bundle of twigs to a stick). Which do you like better? Why? Then make up three more ways, and analyze them.
4: Casting the Circle
Try casting a circle, as explained in this book or in the way taught by your tradition. Now stop and just look at the circle with your othersight. What do you see? If you see nothing, dim the lights and look again; imagine it is visible, if necessary: visualize a ring of glowing blue flame. Once you have an image, check the circle for weak and strong places. Uncast or open the circle, drawing the energy back into your blade. Cast it again, putting more energy into it, and again check the intensity and consistency, until you are satisfied with its strength.
5: Calling the Quarters
From within a cast circle, invite each of the elements to your circle in three different ways. First, invite them very quietly and politely. Pay attention to the result; what do you feel or sense? Second, command them very loudly to appear; again, check the result. (Apologize afterward, explaining that this was just a training exercise.) Lastly, call them in a way that is strong and firm, yet very respectful. How does that feel?
6: Invoking Deity
Think of a reason why you might like to talk with Deity: to give thanks, request help for yourself or another, or ask an important question. Within a magick circle, stand and invite a deity aspect to join you in the circle. If you are not experienced with this, just use simple language; if you want to be more creative, write something as poetic and beautiful as you can. Once you have finished speaking, become utterly silent and still, and scan the circle with your psychic antennae. Do you sense a presence that you did not feel before? If so, welcome the deity and say what is on your mind. When you are done, thank the deity for being present. Write your impressions of this experience in your magickal journal.
7: Raising and Channeling Power
See the exercises in chapter 8, “The Energies of Magick.”
8: Earthing Excess Power
See the exercises in chapter 8.
9: Cakes and Wine
Obtain a nice goblet or chalice, and fill it with pure water, wine, or natural fruit juice. Also get a piece of really good bread. Sit in a quiet place, and bless the beverage and bread. Now eat and drink very slowly and mindfully; notice every detail of texture and flavor. Also consider where the ingredients came from, and how many people put energy into growing, harvesting, and preparing them. Remind yourself that Deity provided the original plants as a gift of nourishment and abundance to us, and thank whatever aspects of deity seem appropriate (such as Demeter and Dionysus, for example). Sit a while and meditate on the experience and how it differs from your usual meals.
10: Releasing Deity and the Quarters
Do the opposite of whatever you did to invoke them, and let them go with thanks and a benediction.
11: Design Rituals
Design rituals for the following purposes, taking into account the purpose (not too broad, not too narrow), the phase of the moon and day of the week, and basic elemental correspondences:
a. Finding the right pet
b. Excelling in a class or course
c. Learning to be at peace when you are alone
d. Increasing your business income
e. Communicating with your deceased grandmother
f. Protecting your home from negative influences
12: Act in Accord
Do the practical things that will bring your desire to fruition, and “fake it till you make it”—act as if the result has already happened.
Blesséd be.
To follow this path further, read:
The Art of Ritual: A Guide to Creating and Performing Your Own Ceremonies for Growth and Change by Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick (Celestial Arts, 1990)
The Spell of Making by Blacksun (Eschaton Productions, 1995)
Castings: The Creation of Sacred Space by Ivo Domínguez, Jr. (Sapfire Productions, 1996)
RitualCraft by Amber K and Azrael Arynn K (Llewellyn, 2006)