Re: Druidic Ritual Searles Sun Aug 8 12:33:05 1999 *br*Here's a post that I made after attending an ADF ritual:*p*Perhaps we should call it the "meeting place on the mountain" or "the old*br*spot by the river" or any of a number of other images that I can recall*br*from poem, song, and story. Clearly, a Celtic ritual is held at a place*br*which represents boundaries between realms. The nemetons of Gaul are*br*constructs that represent such separated "in between" places. The*br*gathering places in Ireland seem to be mounds, trees, stones, and unusual*br*spots on rivers (bends, fords and forks mostly).*p*All of the Celtic sacred sites I've every seen or heard about, have a*br*sacred center and then they have other ritual objects about them. In Gaul,*br*the surrounding objects and the center were many times pits for votive*br*offerings. The entire structure would then be surrounded by a trench or a*br*fence which were associated with the remains of sacrifice and also served*br*as a boundary between the mundane and the sacred. Most of these enclosures*br*were oriented to the East or North.*p*"What I'd like to see in Celtic ritual would be these things:"*p*"The Prelude:*p*The call to ritual, the gathering, the processional.*br*...*br*1. The establishment of the center (Bi/le, pole, stone, pit, fire, well,*br*altar)*br* Where are we?*br*2. The harmony of the elements (I am a wind, a wave, a flame, an*br*animal...etc.) or perhaps even the challenge of the gatekeepers and the*br*response, "I am a soldier, a carpenter, a poet, an artificer, a*br*healer....etc. or even the poetic response: I am a ray of the sun, etc.)*br* Who are we and why are we here?*br*3. The circumnavigation of the Three Worlds (Land, Sea, Sky...in that*br*order. Honoring the folk of each with song, praise and remembrance as we*br*circle. Also building power.)*br* Where do we go?*br*4. Calling out to the gods (Chants to the deities in general and*br*particularly to the specific deity being invoked)*br* Who do we seek?*br*5. The Statement of Purpose (This is more a statement of what we are doing,*br*asking from the gods, and what we are prepared to offer in return, even*br*ourselves if necessary. This should be the center of ritual. It can also*br*involve a story that gives examples of this from the ancient traditions)*br* What do we ask?*br*6. The Purification (sprinkling with water, walking between fires or*br*jumping them, jumping a pit, being challenged by a blade, climbing stairs*br*and ladders or whatever, chanting, dancing, ritual acts of power)*br* How are we worthy?*br*7. The Sacrifice (Votive offerings, communions, libations, incenses, oaths,*br*promises, songs, dances, sexual acts)*br* What do we offer?*br*8. The Blessing or Working (reading the signs, the omens, the words of the*br*priests, the seers and the poets)*br* What do we receive?*br*9. The Thanksgiving and the Praise (Dancing, Singing, Reflection, General*br*Celebration appropriate to the rite or the spirit of the moment)*br* How do we respond?*p*Postlude:*p*The dismissal, the recessional, the meal, the drinking, the songs, the*br*dance, and the frolic.*p*I may have left out a few things and probably have not completely thought*br*about each aspect of the above rituals. They represent my experience with*br*ritual and what I know about the ordering of things in a Celtic tradition. *br*I'm sure the form and the items of the above ritual outline will evolve as*br*I consider them and as I receive critiques, but many of these ritual*br*aspects are, none-the-less, valid IMO. "*p*"The ritual that I attended at Wellspring contained many of these same*br*aspects and I am glad to say, I enjoyed it more than any previous Pagan*br*public ritual that I have attended. There's room for improvement in every*br*ritual and there's certainly room for more involvement of each of us and*br*the participants in any ritual. Let's iron out ritual forms (if not*br*liturgy). Let's do it in fine Celtic fashion using knowledge of ancient*br*ritual, modern ritual formats that work and any new ritual forms that the*br*gods give to us."*p**br*Searles*p*TopazOwl wrote,*br*: Searles wrote,*br*: : I'd like to begin a discussion of the elements of ritual as *br*: : performed by Druids. I know there are several forms done by *br*: : various neo-Druidic groups, but I was hoping to identify the *br*: : essentials before we got into the ways and means.*br*:*br*: Well, I can certainly give you our ritual outline from *br*: Keltria, as perhaps a starting point. These are the public *br*: rituals. I cannot give you, however, the rites we use for *br*: magic, but I'm sure you understand. :-)*br*:*br*: I will say that the Keltrian ritual speaks to my soul *br*: and my heart better than any other ritual I have been *br*: involved in, and I have performed several different types of *br*: ritual prior to joining Keltria. What I like about them is *br*: that they are structured, so you know everyone is basically *br*: following the same format and so giving and taking similar *br*: energies to and from the universe, but they are extremely *br*: flexible as well, so that one can individualize a rite as *br*: appropriate. *br*:*br*: They are also based in sound scholarship, another thing *br*: I find appealing. :-)*br*:*br*: That said, here's the basic outline:*br*:*br*: 1. Designating Parts*br*:*br*: 2. Individual Preparation*br*:*br*: 3. Site Preparation*br*:*br*: 4. Processional*br*:*br*: 5. Marking Sacred Space*br*:*br*: 6. Announcement of Purpose*br*:*br*: 7. Tree Meditation*br*:*br*: 8. Parting the Veil*br*:*br*: 9. Triad Invocations*br*:*br*: a. Ancestors*br*: b. Nature Spirits*br*: c. Gods*br*:*br*: 10. Explanation of Rite*br*:*br*: 11. Calling the Principles*br*:*br*: 12. Lighting the Sacred Fire*br*:*br*: 13. Devotionals*br*:*br*: 14. Offerings*br*:*br*: 15. Divination (performed by the Seer)*br*:*br*: 16. Grove's Choice (open or elective portion)*br*:*br*: 17. Remembrances*br*:*br*: 18. Consecration of the Blessing*br*:*br*: 19. Passing the Blessing*br*:*br*: 20. Closing Announcement and Thanks*br*:*br*: 21. Returning the Principles*br*:*br*: 22. Thanking the Triads*br*:*br*: 23. Closing the Veil*br*:*br*: 24. Reversal of the Tree Meditation*br*:*br*: 25. Parting Message*br*:*br*: 26. Recessional*br*:*br*: *br*: In our healing rites (called the Mistletoe Rite),we do *br*: not call Principles, so that step is eliminated. And as I *br*: said before, the other work we do is only for initiates.*br*:*br*: This is a formal ritual outline. My private practices *br*: vary considerably.*br*:*br*: Leigh*br* Re: Druidic Ritual TopazOwl 507 Sat Aug 7 20:27:41 1999