Fire and Water Ritual

Welcome to

Shining Lakes Grove, ADF

Fire and Water Ritual, by Kami Landy

Purpose

This ritual teaches about the Celtic balance between the principles, the poles, of fire (active, summer, expansive "yang") and water (introspective, winter, contractive "yin") and also explores their uses for healing and divination. It can be tied to any point in the year's cycle with slight adjustments if desired, to emphasize where we are in that shifting balance.

Begin by processing in, singing:
Come we now as a people,
Together, to gather at the sacred well.
Come we now as a people,
To gather in the light and the warmth of the sacred flame.
(by Ian Corrigan)

Enter tuathal (counterclockwise) moving around the edge of the space until people have found comfortable places, to "spin ourselves out of ordinary reality".

Bardic invocation: (optional)

Blessings be on us
In this sacred place.
To all who hear these words,
Beauty and truth
Wisdom and honor
Silver on the tongue
Fire in the head:
the gifts of the bards of old
Bring glory to the gods and all.

Crossing the boundary and centering

Circle deosil (clockwise), pass between fire and well and then complete the circle, continue deosil, while saying:
Pass through the gate
The secret gate
Be sure now, be still and pure,
The deepest pool and the steady flame,
That you be not turned aside.

Defining sacred space

(spoken by three people, one for each realm, and the first and last parts all in unison):
Between three realms we stand
Around us they turn ever changing
The sea surrounds us, bounds us,
Marks the wild from the tame.
The land beneath us upholds,
Enfolds, feeds and defines us.
The sky up above, ordered stars,
Cloud-cattle drifting, untouched.
Here we stand at sacred center,
The boundary and ways-meet,
The border and entry and eye.

All sing: Unity in the Three Realms by Marae Price
Beside you I stand, hand in hand,
On this sacred land.
With one breath we cry, you and I,
To the holy sky.
And together we one day will be
Across the endless sea.

Invocation

Light candles for the named deities as you say:
Danu and Bile', Ana and Lugh, be with us and teach us of your mysteries this day. We welcome you, first mother and father, mother of our land, father of our tribe, with love and honor and praise.

Introduction to the well

Bless the well with oil and say:

Waters of the world
Waters of the earth
Waters of the mother
Waters of rebirth

Waters below us
Waters around us
Waters of wildness
Waters that ground us

Waters flow in common
Waters still in stone
Waters carry knowledge
Waters knitting bone

Waters seeping downwards
Waters joining streams
Waters swirl and eddy
Waters forming dreams

Waters cool the sun's fire
Waters still the rushing tide
Waters turn us inwards
And then in time subside.

All sing:

Ana come be with us
May your blessings ever flow,
Ana still and quiet
Take our love beneath the snow.

Introduction to the fire

Bless the fire with incense and say:

Fire on the hill,
Hearth fire and sunfire
Healing fire within the earth
Forge fire and kiln.

Sacred fire, offering pyre,
Beacon and message bearer,
Warning and need-fire,
Fiery blood as well.

Fire blossom, warmth grow,
Sun bless the ground,
In time, increase no more,
Earth life's fire will smoor.

All sing:

Spirits of fire, come to us,
We will kindle a fire.
Spirits of fire, come to us,
We will kindle a fire.

We will kindle a fire,
Dance the magic in our hearts.
We will kindle a fire,
We will kindle a fire.

Divination

People choose to go to either "pole" to seek vision. The keepers simultaneously murmur quiet invitations:

Water:
Come to the well of wisdom;
Here are the endless depths
The hidden source,
The ageless wellspring,
The place of all beginnings.
Call to the ancient myst'ries
And let the echoes rise...

Fire:
Look deep within the flame,
The beacon and the fire-seed.
With Gods and dead exchange
Messages through the fire.
Seek vision, inspiring, growing within,
Look deep...

People are encouraged to go to both sources.

Joining

Pour cup of water. Light taper. Bring taper up beneath up to illuminate it and say:

Water wells up from the earth, fills the earth and surrounds it,
Fire in all realms, from the sky, from our hands,
In balance they meet in places of wonder,
Water gives dreams, it soothes and renews,
Fire inspires, enlivens and tempers,
Winter and Summer, containing, expanding, healing, creating, transforming,
The spark and the glimmer,
The shaft and the hollow,
They join within and around us, what greater mystery and power?

As the chalice is passed, explain:

The ancients knew that the greatest power of healing came from the joining, the balance of the qualities of fire and water. As you drink, feel them spark and flow in you, stretching to your farthest reaches and sinking into your deepest recesses, helping you to find your own perfect point of balance.

This is the time that people may ask for what they need; healing or blessing, and make announcements of personal or community import.

The next part can be left out, but it is a very effective way for people to gain personal insights and solutions to the problems for which they have asked for help.

Unwinding

Memory is strong, your visions keep with you.
We give thanks to those whose gifts we have received,
Spirits of fire and well, ancestors, first bengs, gods,
And return to thismoment, this purpose, this place.
See now - the water within this bowl, no longer the well of the world,
The fire within the cauldron, no longer the flame in all worlds,
And yet these things are eternal, within us, around us,
Mixing and flowing, touching, entwining, find them and know them and grow.

(begin to "unwind" the initial movement)

The gate now is closed, forms are firm, each place is but itself. And yet all realms ajoin; pass through the mists or the archway or cave, the twilight and shoreline, the boundary and wasteland, the doorframe can be the gate. All worlds are here.

Recessional: Walk with Wisdom by Ian Corrigan