Waning Moon Ritual

This is part of an assignment for a class in Ritual and Liturgy at OSC…

For this ritual, we are outdoors by the fire circle. There are four guardians established for each of the four directions—each one has a symbol with it, a dancing Pele incense burner for fire, a smooth stone egg for earth, a chalice for water, and a spiral goddess for air. Other than the fire in the center of the ring, there is no central altar.

Participants circle up and place hands on each other’s backs and do a group hum of, “Om” and then toning with a bell.

Using the bell, each person names themselves and is called into the ritual circle (name repeated three times and then bell chimes). They are smudged with sage by the guardian of air as they enter. A heartbeat rhythm with the community drum is begun at this time.

For this ritual, we will use Quarter Calls for Transformation or Initiation from SageWoman Magazine. Each guardian reads one section aloud:

From the East, the wind comes
Air twirls around the circle,
Crisp and cool…
Knowledge and mystery
Blow from beyond the veil.
Welcome, East, Air, Mystery!
Blessed Be!

Southern energy guides our way,
With Fire’s entrancing light
Burning, beckoning…
Flame’s focused intensity
Brings spirit-filled rapture.
Welcome, South, Fire, Intensity!
Blessed be!

From the West, the old ones call
Water transcends the journey.
Shimmering, transforming…
Memories carried in the flow
Pour forth into the night.
Welcome, West, Water, Flow!
Blessed be!

The North holds the land at midnight
Into the Earth, we descend
Dark and quiet
The land of initiation
Holds us deep in her embrace.
Welcome, North, Earth, Initiation!
Blessed be!

Group sings: Air My Breath, Fire My Spirit, Earth My Body, Water My Blood at least three times.

 Opening words:

Priestess reads aloud a passage from the 2012 We’Moon datebook:

Song of the End (by Christine Fortuin, 2011)

Mother of twilight
lead us away
from the
destiny of time.
Initiate us
into the ever,
the all,
the breath
of the infinite.
Baptize us with starlight.
wrap our souls
in the shroud
of rapture
and sound.
Create in us
everything which
has been lost
and all
which is unknowable.
Let us speak
in the tongue
of grace,
in which all
vibrations are
one
eternal
song.

Priestess briefly acknowledges that this is a time for letting go. She asks each participant to write down some things they’d like to release…

After a pause for reflection, each person casts the old into the flames, calling out the release if they feel so moved.

Then, the group joins hands and do a reading from Leonie Dawson:

We breathe and give thanks for all that has passed…
We let go and breathe releasing all that is old and no longer serves us…
We open up to the beautiful possibilities blossoming before us…
We radiate in light and joy…all is beautiful and all is well.

Group sings Let All Go As I Will

Let the path be clear before me, let all go as I will
And the past be clean behind me, let all go as I will
And the ones I love beside me, let all go as I will
And the Goddess light above me, let all go as I will
And the Mother Earth beneath me, let all go as I will
And my own true self within me, let all go as I will
let all go as I will
let all go as I will

 Open circle:

Open up the circle of healing and trust.
To the South, innocence and joy,
To the East, new beginnings,
To the North, cool winds of reason,
To the West, nighttime for dreaming,
Up above, the source of light, the Sky,
Beneath our feet, the womb of life, Mother Earth,
Open up the circle of healing and trust.

Family drum circle time!