RECEIVING THE
MYSTERIES OF DIANA GIFTS OF THE NEW MOON GODDESS
Thursday, December 25th at 7:30pm
Moon Grove Shrine, Unitarian Universalist Church of
Fort Lauderdale
Sponsored by Moonpath Chapter, Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans & The Sisterhood of Ahel Adom
MoonpathCUUPS.Org
Ritual By
dragnfli
PARTICIPANTS
& EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE RITUAL MUST WEAR THE FOLLOWING:
MEN
must all wear plain black clothes, whether robes, pants &
shirts, whatever, as long as they are plain black. You may also wear majikal jewelry and carry your majikal tools if
you so choose.
WOMEN
must all wear plain white clothes, either dresses, robes,
skirts, shirts, pants, shorts or whatever, however, you may adorn and
accessorize yourself in any other way that pleases you with colorful scarves,
jewelry, makeup, majikal tools, etc.
NOTE: There
will be plain white & black t-shirts available to participants who are not,
for whatever reason, wearing the appropriate color clothing.
PLAYERS IN THE SACRED
DRAMA
The Goddess Diana in her Maiden aspect will be the focus
of this ritual but the Great Mother and the Crone
aspects of the Goddess will also be present as well as Diana's Nine
Attending Maidens, representing the directions, who will see to female
participants, the ritual details and to stand at the elemental
watchtowers. There will be Drumming
& Chanting Mistresses.
There will also be Priests, who will represent the
elements and stand at the cross-quarters, who will assist with directing male
participants.
Priestesses of the Goddess
The Maiden, Diana, dragnfli, will lead the ritual and stand behind
(north) the Main Alter.
The Great Mother, Gadith, will be leading the singing and will assist
Star with directing the chanting. She
will be to the left (west) of the Main Altar.
The Crone, Enodia, will lead the guided meditation. She will be to the right (east) of the Main Altar.
Drumming & Chanting Mistresses
The Drumming Mistress, Sophia Linus, will provide a heartbeat drum rhythms
during the walk out to the Ritual Circle.
She will be seated under the oak tree on the North side of the circle.
The Chanting Mistress, Starwind, will lead the chanting. She will be to the East of the Main Altar.
The Nine Attending Maidens The Directions
Elemental Maidens
North
Kami
South
Elaina
East
Gigi
West Calypso
(The
Elemental Maidens will help direct female participants during the ritual, hold the
elemental position for their direction, and assist with libation
distribution from their direction going deosil; with the assistance of the Directional
Maidens. They will be in the Circle with the Priestesses in the beginning.)
(NOTE: Elemental
Maidens please wear an appropriately colored scarf or other item to
indicate your direction North is green, brown or orange; East is pale yellow,
lavender or silver; South is gold, red or white; West is blue, purple or black)
Directional Maidens will be standing along the trail to and at the
entrance of The Circle:
Below
Lisa smudger, black scarf or
shawl
Above
Heather (?) smudger, white scarf or shawl
Center/Spirit Virginia challenger, black scarf or shawl
Left
Olga anointer, black scarf or
shawl
Right
June (?) anointer, white scarf
or shawl
("Do you enter here in perfect love & perfect trust?" If they answer, "yes," you reply Enter.") (while drawing a pentagram on the forehead of the participant with holy oil you will say, "Welcome, Child of The Universe.")
(The Directional Maidens will then join
the Elemental Maidens in the Ritual Circle and will assist with
directing the female participants, handing out libations, and any other stuff
that needs to be done. Maybe one of
the Maidens can be the Firetender during the Ritual???)
Priests
There will be four Elemental Priests
in attendance, each representing a directional cross quarter, who will
assist with the coordination of the Ritual's male participants and the
distribution of the libations.
Elemental Priests (cross-quarter
direction)
Air
(NE) Shaper
Fire
(SE) Spelcastor
Water
(SW) Nereus
Earth
(NW) Ken
Master Fire Tender - Nereus
CHANTS
Chant #1 - Entering Circle
"Yemaya,
Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna."
Chant #2 - Directly before the Guided Meditation with
women holding hands in The Circle, men
holding hands on the outer rim of The
Circle (9x):
"I am in You,
and You are in Me."
Chant #3 - Upon Opening Circle (9-12x)
"We are a
circle, within a circle; with no beginning, and never ending."
MEDITATIONS
*New Beginnings - "as the dark moon holds the potential of the
full moon"
*Potential & Possibility
*The Mysteries of The Maiden Moon Goddesses,
especially Diana & Women's Mysteries
*This ritual is designed to enhance a person's
spiritual self and provides an opportunity by which one or more of the
Mysteries can be discovered by the participants.
SYMBOLISM & MYTHOLOGY
*Diana's Bow New Moon happens three days after the New Moon. At this time, the moon
looks like an archers bow and is equated with Diana's
hunting bow, given her by her father Jupiter.
* A New Moon is representative of the Maiden
aspect of the Triple-Goddess and symbolizes new beginnings and freshness.
*December's
moon is the Oak Moon, and the goddess Minerva is honored during
this month.
STAGING/PROPS
Church Patio Gathering Area
Tiki
torches (x2) on either side of the center steps, in the plant beds
Walk through Memorial Garden to Moon Grove Shrine
Tiki
torches (x4) on the pathway toward the Ritual Circle
The Ritual Circle in the Moon Grove Shrine
Tiki
torches (x8), at each quarter & cross-quarter
Fire,
just south of center
The Altar, just north of center make sure there is
a bell on the table, Gentle Gwendolyn
The Offerings Table, just west of center
The Libation Bowl, just east of center
(***NOTE: 14 tiki torches total)
PRELUDE
Information will be given to the CUUPS Gatekeeper
and/or Meeting Leader about the Diana's Bow New Moon so that the participants
will understand what is going on in this ritual. Information about the Goddess, Diana, the New Moon Esbat, and the
ideas of a balance of energies will be addressed also.
THE RITUAL
Introduction
(The Ritual proper will begin on the Patio outside
the Sanctuary with an Introduction, followed by a Meditative Walk through the
Memorial Garden to the Moon Grove Shrine.)
The Great Mother: (standing at the bottom of the center steps of the
church patio, with a torch near-by)
"The New Moon is a time of renewal and a remembering of older
wisdom and ancient ways. The wisdom of
the ages and your own experiences can guide you on your journey if you are open
to What Is, to the flow of the Universe, and the lessons that come into your
life. Remember that you are sacred and
a part of the Whole. Allow yourself to
become one with All. For this is one of
the Mysteries."
"This evening, our women will be directly
participating in this ritual through meditation, chanting, singing and
touching. All women are to be wearing
white, and as they enter The Inner Circle, before the men, they will do so
facing into the center of The Circle, ready to accept Their Own Personal
Mystery from the Goddess."
"For this ritual, our men will indirectly
participate, by acting as the Guardians of the Mysteries. All men are to be wearing black; and, as
they enter The Circle, following the ladies, they will do so with their backs
to the women, forming a second circle with held hands around the women,
protecting them from the intrusion of any unwanted energies. Our men are asked to please respect The
Mysteries of Womanhood by not peeking at the Ritual, though they are welcome to
hear all that is taking place.
"Ladies, please follow the directions of the
Attending Maidens. Gentlemen, please
follow the directions of the attending Priests. Blessing to you all."
(The Great Mother is then to go to the
Ritual Circle ahead of the participants and The Chanting Mistress. She will be smudged, challenged &
anointed, and then take her position to the left of the altar.)
Meditative Walk out to the Ritual Site The Chanting Mistress & ALL
(The Chanting Mistress will be standing
at the first torch on the path to the Shrine.
The women will go first, led by The Chanting Mistress and
the Nine Maidens who will assist the women participants,
and then go to their direction or quarter.
They will be followed by the NE Priest, who will stand in
his cross-quarter after making a full pass around The Circle, and the other Priests,
who will coordinate the male participants chanting walk to the Moon Grove
Shrine. They will then go to their
cross-quarters, and assist the male participants form their circle. The Priestesses of Diane (Maiden,
Mother & Crone) will already be in The Circle, at the Altar, as
will the Drumming Mistress.
Her heartbeat drum rhythm will start as soon as The Great Mother
starts her walk to the Ritual Circle, and will be heard louder and louder as
the participants approach the ritual circle.)
Chant #1
"Yemaya, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna."[1]
(Once all the participants are in their circles, there
will be a moments pause, a bell will sound, and then The
Great Mother will sing "Be Still" followed by a guided
new beginnings meditation by The Crone.)
SONG "Be
Still" by Shawna Carol (3:56) [2] The Great Mother (and
ALL to join in.)
The Maiden, Diana: (standing behind the altar) "In this time of New Beginnings, think
of the new things happening in your life and all around you, or of what you
would like to see manifest into your life.
What are your hopes and dreams?
Either focus on one, or allow yourself to just be aware of all the
possibilities and potentials for growth and renewal, for these are the things I
can assist you with. I can help you
focus on what it will take to achieve your goals the bow is raised and the
arrow aimed, all you need to do is let go
"
(SOUND BELL X1)
The Great Mother:
(stepping into the center of the Circle from the left of the altar)
"A Story of Beginnings"
a poem by Starhawk, from Truth or Dare
[3]
"Out of the point, the swelling
Out of the swelling, the egg
Out of the egg, the fire
Out of the fire, the stars
Out of the rain of stars
the
congealing, molten world
The fire remains, see it burn in the center of the
circle
Watch the flames, filled with points of light that
spark and
dance
Watch the fire, as in and out of your lungs flows
breath
the most
ancient river
The air you breathe passed through the lungs of
dinosaurs
and
chittering, big-eyed lemurs, ancestors
Feel yourself rocking
cradled
in the night sky womb arching around you
alive
with a billion billion dancing points of light
Breathe
Watch the flame
Listen to the voice of the story, the first story
whispered
in the secret heart of your encoded
memories
Hear the story woman
She says
the labor
is hard, the night is long
we are
midwives, and men who tend the birth
and
bond with the child
we are
birthing, and being born
we are
trying to perform an act of magic-
to pull a
living child out of a near-corpse
of
the mother we are simultaneously poisoning,
who
is also ourselves
She is alive in you as you in her
Warm your human hands at the watchfire
See the stains on the cloak
Feel the wounds too deep for healing
There are times, sisters and brothers
when we are
afraid that we will die
and take
the whole great humming dance of life
with us
Something must change, we know that
But are we strong enough?
And will we be given time?
This is the story we like to tell ourselves
in the
night
when the
fire seems nothing but dying embers winking
out
and the labor is too hard and goes on too
long
when we can't believe that we can make it
We
like to tell ourselves
that we remember the First Mother
She
is alive in you as you in her
A
power keener than the weapon's edge, a healing deeper
than the wound
Feel
her in your belly, at the bottom of breath
Her
power is life; it is stronger
She is a being who is spinning, fire covered with a
sweet
crust shell
Feel her pulse, remember in your nerves winks
the spark
of the first fire
You are alive in her as she in you
You are her
Your misty breath great clouds of gasses set in
motion
by your
spinning dance
swirl and
cool and rain
for
thousands and thousands of years
while you
build up, tear down, and rearrange
the
ridges and valleys of your skin
carve and
smooth your wrinkles
And the water
softens
every sharp edge into soil
fills the
basin of your oceans
In your veins flows ocean water
Remember the lightning, sparks striking into being
something
new
Life, teeming, greedy life
That grows, cell by swelling cell, divides, devours,
unites
and
changes, filling your ocean belly, flinging a green
cloak
over the land, learning to swim, crawl, run,
stalk,
fly, caress, and stand erect, made of
earth air
water fire
and what
goes beyond these and unites these
the
mystery
She is alive in us:
we are alive in her as in each other
as all
that is alive is alive in us
and all
is alive
When we are afraid, when it hurts too much
We like to tell ourselves
stories
of power
how we
lost it
how we
can reclaim it
We tell ourselves
the cries
we hear may be those of labor
the pain
we feel may yet be that of birth"
(A pause and then SOUND BELL X1. The Great Mother to move back
to her position to the left of the Altar.)
Chant #2 The
Chanting Mistress & ALL :
(move into the center of the circle to direct chanting) "Ladies and gentlemen, please join
hands and chant with me. First, close
your eyes and take three deep breaths - in through the nose and out through the
mouth. Breathe in clean, new, energizing
air; and breathe out the negative, old, stale breath that holds you
back." (Breathe x3, pause, and
begin chant. Build up the chant and
then bring it back down again.)
Chant
#2 "I am in You, and You
are in Me." (x9 or 12) [4]
(SOUND BELL X1)
GUIDED MEDITATION
The Crone: (move into the center of the Circle from your position to the right of
the altar) "Keeping your eyes closed
" ******(Enodia, you take it from here as far as what you
want to say. Please make sure that the
meditation moves smoothly into the meditative song that comes next.) (The Crone to move back to her
position to the right of the altar.)
SONG "Spirit
Song" by Shawna Carol (5:02)
[5] - (Everyone to just listen and meditate to this song.)
GROUNDING & RELEASING THE ENERGY
The Maiden Diana: "Now
that you have touched the Mysteries, now that you have let loose your arrow,
reach your hands up to our Father, the Sky, and then place them upon our
Mother, the Earth, grounding yourself and your energies, keeping what you need
and letting go of the rest. Keeping open
to the flow of the Universe and its possibilities."
(SOUND BELL X1)
OFFERINGS/LIBATIONS
(Plates
with honey cakes and trays with small cups of grape juice will be passed around
by the Maidens.)
The Maiden, Diana: "We shall now partake of an offering of
cakes and wine. We will be sharing with
each other, woman to man, and man to woman, each in their turn. As we share with each other, so too do we
share our Godliness with each other."
The Great Mother: "Ladies
please turn around to face the men. As
it is, and as it ever shall be, we must care for and share with our men. Passing the blessings of the Gods on to our
daughters and sons both. So be
it."
The Crone:
"Gentlemen please turn around to face the ladies. As it is, and as it ever shall be, we must
protect and be open to our women. Passing
the blessings of the Goddesses on to our sons and daughters both. So be it."
The Maiden, Diana:"As I pull back my bowstring,
More power will be
available to you...
This is the blessing of prosperity --
Threefold, sevenfold, ninefold, more:
All that you give to the cauldron,
Seed-time to harvest, so shall you receive.
SO BE IT!!!" [6]
(As the men and women are facing each other, they are
to serve each other moving deosil -clockwise - starting in the east, the first
woman feeds the man next to her, and the man feeds the woman next to him, and
so on until all have partaken. The
Priests & the Nine Maidens will assist in passing around the
libations.)
OFFERING & LIBATIONS SONG "Blessed Be" by Shawna Carol
(5:48) [7]
The Great Mother & ALL: (this will be played/sung while the
offering/libation is being done.)
(There will be a Libation Bowl east of the Circle's
center- for offerings to the Fire & Medusa. Priestesses, Priests and Maidens to
start and direct this activity.)
OPENING OF THE RITUAL CIRCLE The Blessing
The Maiden, Diana: "Thank you all for gathering here on
this night to celebrate the Diana's Bow New Moon. May all your hopes and dreams become possibilities available for manifestation
in ways that fulfill your highest purpose, and guide you to
happiness, peace and love. So Be
It!!!"
Chant #3
Opening the Circle The Chanting Mistress & ALL
REFERENCES-
[1] Chant orally passed on by the Lady Demeter,
and altered by dragnfli. (The original
is "Isis, Astarte, Diane, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna." This is a fairly well known pagan chant.)
[2], [5], [7] Carol, Shawna. (1998) "Be Still",
"Spirit Song", & "Blessed Be." Musical tracks from the album: Goddess Chants-Sacred Pleasure. Ladyslipper Music, Inc.: Durham, NC.
[3] Starhawk. (1987) "A Story of Beginnings." A poem in Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, &
Mystery. Harper &
Row, Publishers: San Francisco,
CA. Pp. 1-3.
[4] Chant created by the Sisterhood of Ahel Adom
(2003).
[6] Blessing from the Aquarian Tabernacle Church
(Sept. 2003) "Diana's Bow New Moon
Ritual." http://www.aquatabch.org/calendar/dianasbow.shtml.
[8] Chant suggested by Starwind Evensong, of
unknown origin.