SLG Fall Equinox Ritual 2008

Welcome to

Shining Lakes Grove, ADF

Order of Service - Fall Equinox 2008

Welcome to Our Celebration!

Before we begin...

Greet each other, get an early start on the potluck if you like, 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 (We Approach The Sacred Grove)
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
Unity Chant (One Voice)
Statement of Purpose - We honor Ana, mother goddess of the local rivershed, and celebrate the fruit harvest.

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

Archetypes - acknowledging the three societal functions within us
Ancestors - our beloved dead – Blood of the Ancients
Nature Spirits - the spirits of the land and its creatures – Fur and Feather
Deities: Lugh, Aren, Bel, Danu, and Bríd (feel free to offer a silent welcome to your own gods) – Hail All the Gods
Deity of the Occasion: Ana, goddess of the Huron River

Giving and Receiving

Passing the cornucopia: Direct your praise and energy to the cornucopia 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 cornucopia to the person next to you.
Group Praise: pumpkin painting / Stag Dance – Hoof and Horn
Main Sacrifice: offering the fruits of the harvest back to the wild
Omen of Return: runes – Offering Song
Return Blessing: apples
Cauldron Blessing
Welcoming new members, officers, and guild members, and bestowing other honors

Unwinding and Closing

Recessional (Walk With Wisdom)

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

Song Sheet - Fall Equinox 2008

Processional:

We Approach The Sacred Grove

We approach the sacred grove,
With hearts and minds and flesh and bone.
Join us now in ways of old.
We have come home.

Unity:

One Voice

I join my voice to yours, we are one voice
Our words ring out together to call us home.
I join my heart to yours, we are one heart,
One breath, one mind, one Grove, we are one.

Mannanan:

Mannanan Invocation

We stand at the border and watch the mist close in.
Waves rolling, rolling,
Where shore meets the ocean, where land meets sea and sky,
We call to you, Manannan,
Manannan, Manannan,
We welcome you as you one day will welcome us.

Ancestors:

Blood of the Ancients

(written by Charlie Murphy)

It’s the blood of the ancients that flows through our veins
And the forms pass, but the circle of life remains

Nature Spirits:

Fur and Feather

Fur and feather and scale and skin
Different without but the same within
Many of body but one of soul
Through all creatures are the gods made whole.

Deities:

Hail All the Gods

(trad./Mackelly/Green/Maurice/Miller/Williams)

Hail all the Gods, Hail all the Goddesses,
Hail all the holy ones, we dwell together!
Powers of the sky, Powers of the sacred earth,
Powers of the underworld we dwell together.
Hail all the Gods! Hail all the Goddesses!
Hail all the Gods and Goddesses!

Group Praise:

Hoof And Horn

(Kathy Mar)

Hoof and horn, hoof and horn,
All that dies shall be reborn.
Corn and grain, corn and grain,
All that falls shall rise again

Omen-Taking:

Offering Song

(Anthony Thompson/Ian Corrigan)

Let our voices arise on the Fire
Let our voices resound in the Deep
May the spirits accept what we offer,
As we honor the old ways we keep.

Recessional:

Walk With Wisdom

(traditional ADF)

Walk with wisdom
From this hallowed place
Walk not in sorrow,
Our roots shall e'er embrace.

May truth be your brother
And honor be your friend
And luck be your lover
Until we meet again.

Note to Parents: Children are welcome to stay and attend the ritual with you, but only if they are supervised.