SLG Fall Equinox Ritual, 2000

Welcome to

Shining Lakes Grove, ADF

Fall Equinox 2000 Order of Service

Welcome to Our Celebration!

Before we begin...

Enjoy the antics of the Fool and other entertainments, greet each other, and check out the Raffle items before the Briefing. Words to the songs we will be singing are on the back of this sheet.

Preparing ourselves for our time with the Gods and Spirits

Processional and Purification (Come Through the Arbor)
Bardic Invocation for our eloquence and inspiration
Welcoming the Allies, the spirits of the people and their gods who lived in this land before us
Honoring our Mother Ana
Meditation, grounding and centering
Unity Chant (We Are One with the Mother)
Statement of Purpose - We celebrate the wild spirit of the life of the land.

Declaring Center and Opening the Portals

Tree, Fire, and Well
Acknowledging the Outsiders - the forces of chaos and change
Invocation of Manannan mac Lir, our Lord of the Dead, to guide and protect us in the Otherworld

Acknowledging and Honoring our guests

Ancestors - our beloved dead
Nature Spirits - the spirits of the land and its creatures
Deities: Lugh, Aren, Bríd, Danu, and Bel (feel free to offer a silent welcome to your own gods)
Archetypes - Acknowledging the three societal functions within us
Deity of the Occasion: The Stag God, the spirit of the life of the land whom we seek in our spring and fall hunts. In this ritual, we dance for the Stag to call him to us.

Giving and Receiving

Passing the Basket of Corn. Direct your praise and energy to the basket to build a group offering. While you hold it, you may give praise or thanks to the gods silently or in the form of a vocal or physical offering. When you finish, pass the basket to the person next to you.
Group Praise: chant (Gratitude) / Stag Dance
Main Sacrifice: Offering the corn to the spirits of the wood
Omen of Return: runes
Return Blessing: cider and bread
Cauldron Blessing
Welcoming new members, officers, and guild members, and bestowing other honors

Unwinding and Closing

Recessional (Now the Rite is At an End)

And afterwards... Join us for a potluck and socializing, and don't forget to get your Raffle Tickets!

Fall Equinox 2000 - Songs

Processional:

Come Through the Arbor

Come through the arbor to the grove
To start the celebration (2x)

Young and old we come together
To the grove to honor the old ones (2x)

Unity:

We Are One with the Mother

We are one with the Mother,
We are one with the earth,
We are one with each other,
By our lives, by our birth.

Opening the Portals:

Standing at the Crossroads

Come together, gather at the Center
Open we these Portals three.
Start the journey, standing at the Crossroads
The Well, the Fire, and the sacred Tree.
(repeat)

Group Praise:

Gratitude

I thank the earth for feeding my body
I thank the sun for warming my bones
I thank the trees for the air I breath and
I thank the water for nourishing my soul.
(repeat)

Recessional:

Now the Rite is At an End

And now the rite is at an end, again we're parting ways
May truth and honor be your friend and lucky be your days
I'll hold you dearly in my heart, I'll hold you in my mind,
And though our branches grow apart, our roots shall be entwined.