June 9th, 2005 at 7:30pm, the Moonpath
CUUPS Shrine, UUCFL, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
RITUAL
PARTICIPANTS
Dedicant Firetender
WindQuicksilver Ken
Attendant Quartercallers
Dawn – Mother of Dedicant East - Sarasvati
South – Aleph the Seeker
Priestesses West
– Deep Sea Star
Dragonfly North – Fionn Stormwing
dragnfli
Ritual Garb
Everyone is to wear white,
preferably flowing clothing or robes.
Staging & Props
(6) Tiki Torches for
Quarters & Entryway
Fire in Shrine Firepit
Sage
Incense, Shell & Feather
Athame
Anointing
Oil with White Dish
Altar
with White Altar Cloth
Apollo
Statue & Altar Candles
Red
& White 7-Day/50 hr. Candles
(2)
Small Tables with White Clothes for Candles & Offerings
CD player & David Bowie
music
Dedicant to provide all items for Altar – a special white
7-Day candle, offerings, altar items, tools, etc.
SET-UP
Step #1
(Ken will
set-up the tiki torches, for the quarters & entryway, and the fire in the
firepit prior to the CUUPS meeting.)
Step #2
(The tables that will be the
Altar & Offering Tables will be placed in SE with all the stuff that will
go on it near by. Prior to the ritual,
the HPSs will set-up the Altar tables with cloths, the Apollo
statue and the glass red & white candles.
The Dedicant will then put her majikal items on the Altar
and set-up the Offering Table. The HPSs and Dedicant
will then join everyone in the study group room.)
Step
#3
(After
the CUUPS introduction, everyone who will be in the ritual – HPSs,
Dedicant & her Attendant, and the Quarter Callers – will walk out
to the Shrine, through the Bathroom Hall and out through the Memorial Garden,
followed by everyone else, single file.)
(When
we approach the Ritual Circle, the Dedicant will be led by her Attendant
to face the Medusa Tree. The
participants will stop in line so that the ritual space can be cleansed and
created by the HPSs.)
CLEANSING & CREATING
OF RITUAL SPACE
(The HPSs will
cleanse and create the ritual circle.)
Dragonfly: (Will cleanse the ritual space with sage and chanting, going clockwise):
“Ie……Ie……Paian…….”
dragnfli: (Will create the ritual circle with her athame after Big D has gone ¼ of
the way round.)
(The HPSs will
circle once and end up back at the Entryway.)
GROUNDING
MEDITATION & ANOINTING
dragnfli: (The Participant will now be
instructed to enter sacred space and form a circle.) “Please enter this sacred temple.”
Dragonfly:
(Once
everyone is in Circle): “Please close your
eyes and take three deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the
mouth; we will imagine ourselves as being firmly rooted to the earth but with
our spirits soaring freely.”
"Now, everyone please
follow our example for a self-anointing, while dragnfli says the
Rite of Lustration."
dragnfli: ("Rite of Lustration" [or, A
Rite of Self-Blessing], Reif, 1999, 66-67)
1. Put the fingers of your right hand
in the center of your forehead and say:
"Eye
of spirit where wisdom enters."
2. Extend your right arm out toward the
right saying:
"May
her good enter from the right hand,"
3. Extend you left are out toward the
left saying:
"May
her good enter from the left hand,"
4. Bring both hands to your heart
(mid-chest), and say:
"For
she dwells within…"
5. Bring your forearms down, palms up,
and say:
"And
without,"
6. Bring your hands again to your
heart, as before, and say:
"In
beauty…"
7. Bow your head and say:
"And
honor,"
8. Raise your arms up, hands upward,
and say:
"Hail!"
DEDICANT: “You
do the Hockey-Pockey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about!”
(The Dedicant
and her Attendant will now approach the Entryway, the HPSs
will challenge the Dedicant before she enters.)
dragnfli: “Who
approaches this Temple of Apollo?”
Dedicant:
“WindQuicksilver, Seeker of the God of Light.”
Dragonfly: “What is
your purpose here?”
Dedicant: “To dedicate
myself to the God, Apollo.”
dragnfli:
“Please enter.”
(The Dedicant
will now be led to the Altar by the HPSs. The Attendant will remain at
the Entryway.)
OPENING RITUAL - Calling
the Elemental Beings & Diety
QUARTER CALLS
Dragonfly: “We will now invite the Elemental Beings to our Rite.”
East Quarter: “Hail Thalia, the ‘Flourishing,’ muse of comedy and idyllic poetry, our Guardian of the East, whose power is of Air. Elementals of the blowing wind, of the Faes, the Sylphs, and dragons, we call you up. Please be with us now.”
South Quarter: “Hail Calliope, the ‘Fair-Voiced,’ muse of epic poetry, our Guardian of the South, whose power is of Fire. Elementals of the licking flames, of the Salamanders, we call you up. Please be with us now.”
West Quarter: “Hail Terpsichore, the ‘Whirler,’ muse of the dance, our Guardian of the West, whose power is of Water. Elementals of the roaring seas, of the Dryads, of the sea creatures, of those who dwell in the deep blue waters, we call you up. Please be with us now.”
North Quarter: “Hail Polyhymnia, ‘She of Many Hymns,’ muse of sacred poetry, our Guardian of the North, whose power is of Earth. Elementals of the fertile earth, of the nymphs, of the woodland creatures, we call you up. Please be with us now.”
INVOCATION OF THE
MOTHER & FATHER
(Together the HPSs will
say the “Prayer to the Great Mother” as dragnfli lights the
Goddess Candle and then say the Prayer to the “Lord of the Dance” as dragnfli
lights the God Candle.)
Prayer to the Great Mother
"Lady, from you all
things emerge,
and unto you all things
return.
Please
bless this work we do now,
That we may feel it flowing
from your pleasure and bounty
And boundless intelligence.
Lady, from you all things
emerge,
And unto you all things
return.
So now we give this work to
you.
For though all is yours,
It is possible to run from
your love.
Instead we raise our faces,
like the child's to the mother,
That we may live in your
pleasure, bounty,
And boundless intelligence.
So mote it be."
(dragnfli to
light left altar candle)
Prayer to the Lord of the Dance
"Most holy sacrament of
Selfhood,
Who forever lifts His divine
head
To be blessed and to bless,
Please be with us now.
You are Her chosen one, Her
anointed one.
Bring us these mysteries.
It is all pleasures to love
you.
Make us smile with these
pleasures.
You see the futures our
Mother breathes life into.
Bring us your vision.
You reside in us,
So that we shine with our
own unique divinity,
And are in ourself and of
ourselves God.
Bless this work.
So mote it be."
(dragnfli to
light right altar candle) (Prayers
from DeGrandis, 1998, 28-30)
INVOCATION OF APOLLO
& ARTEMIS
dragnfli: “On this
night of Diana’s Bow New Moon, we invite the eternal twins, the Sun and the
Moon, the guardians of young men and women, Apollo and Artemis, to join us this
eve’n tide to witness and protect this rite and those participating. Guide us and guard us as we honor you in
this dedication to Apollo.”
STATEMENT OF RITUAL
PURPOSE & DEDICATION
Dragonfly:
“We gather here tonight, on this evening of Diana’s Bow New Moon of June
2005, to support WindQuicksilver as she dedicates herself to the God, Apollo.”
dragnfli:
“WindQuicksilver, in your own words, please
tell us what you are dedicating yourself to.”
WindQuicksilver:
(The Dedicant
reads her hymn/dedication speech, make her offering and light her
special white 7-day candle. Dedicant
may walk around the temple at will, and be DRAMATIC so everyone
can hear you!)
Dragonfly:
“What name have you chosen for yourself?”
Dedicant: “(???????)”
dragnfli:
“Are there any questions for (???????)?”
(PAUSE to
wait for Questions.)
Dedicant:
“(REPLY)”
Dragonfly:
“Welcome (???????).”
Present
Dedicant to Apollo
Attendant:
(As the Dedicant approaches the Medusa Tree, the Attendant
will anoint her head with oil.)
HPSs: (The HPSs will present
(???????) to Apollo by walking her to the Medusa Tree, turning to face the
Ritual Circle, and saying the following):
dragnfli: “I, dragnfli DECORIUS ilfngard, Faerie Shaman and
Priestess of Apollo & Artemis, do hereby present (???????) to her chosen
God, Apollo. May he give her love,
inner knowing, outer strength, guidance, and many blessings on her new
journey. Gnothi sauton [gno-tee
sow-ton] {Know thyself.} So mote it
be.”
Dragonfly: “I, Dragonfly, a Faerie Shaman and Priestess
of the Goddess, do hereby present (???????) to her chosen God, Apollo. May he give her a quick wit, a fleet foot,
inspiration, courage, beauty and light on her new journey. So mote it be.”
Releasing Diety &
Elemental Energies:
(The HPSs and Dedicant
will now return to the Main Altar.)
dragnfli: “Apollo
& Artemis, thank you for attending this dedication rite in honor of
Apollo. Please be with (???????) as she
begins her passage to a new life. Stay
if you will, or go in peace. Blessed
be.”
Dragonfly: "Holy Mother, thank you for your gifts
and blessings. Blessed be."
dragnfli: (put out the
left altar candle)
Dragonfly: "Lord, thank you for your presence and
love. Blessed be."
dragnfli: (put out the right altar candle)
Dragonfly: “Mother keep us mindful, stay with us in the
union of all things. So mote it
be.”
dragnfli: "Polyhymnia, Terpischore, Calliope, and Thalia, our Elemental Muses
of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air–– we thank you for attending this rite. Stay if you will, or go in Peace. So be
it."
CLOSE RITUAL SPACE
Dance!!! – Music by David Bowie, “Dance Magic Dance” from The
Labyrinth
*******EVERYONE TO HUG!!!*******
SOURCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowie, David.
(19??) “Dance Magic Dance.” from The Labyrinth: Movie Sound Track.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer.
(19??) Firebrand.
De Grandis, Francesca. (1998) Be a
Goddess!: A Guide to Celtic Spells and
Wisdom for Self-Healing, Prosperity and Great Sex. Harper & Row Publishers: San Francisco, CA.
Reif, Jennifer.
(1999) The Mysteries of
Demeter.
Rose, ???.
(19??) The Handbook of
Greek Mythology.
REFERENCES
Internet Research on Apollo
conducted in February 2005, included the following sites:
http://oldweb.uwp.edu/academic/english/canary/greekgods.html
http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/info/attributes.html
http://paganwiccan.about.com/library/gg/blgg_apollo.htm
http://omphalos.org
(especially regarding Greek ritual content)
Telephone
conversation with Antaia, June 1, 2005 at 9:30pm (Thank you!)