Children Esbat, 5/23/97
Entering the Circle
Purify Before Circle
Welcome and Bright Blessings.
Anointing
Those who walk in Love and Truth, shall grow in Honor and Strength. Blessed Be.
Statement of Intent
Long have we been Adults.
We have spent a lifetime becoming Adults. We grow boundaries, of responsibility, and need. We assume the aura of power, ordained by our Parents and their Parents before them.
Long have we felt lost.
Long have we felt need.
Long have we dreamed.
Tonight we relinquish the mantle. Tonight we are one, Tonight we are free.
Too soon, we leave the child behind us.
Long have we felt the child within us. The child we were, the child we wanted to be
The scared and happy being. The adventure. The openness. The wonder.
Tonight we relinquish the mantle, Tonight we are one, Tonight we are free.
For too long we have carried our burdens.
Too long we have lived alone, the child within suppressed and silenced. For too long we have carried the weight of the world upon our shoulders. Too long we have been what others expected us to be. Now we awaken!
For tonight we relinquish the mantle
For tonight we are one
For tonight we are free.
In this circle we are safe.
In this circle we are children.
In this circle we are free.
Grounding the Participants
Casting the Circle
Maiden, Wand I cast this circle in the name of the Maiden. Holy Maiden Huntress, Artemis, Artemis, Maiden come to us
Mother, Incense I cast this circle in the name of the Mother. Silver shining wheel of Radiance, Radiance. Mother, come to us
Crone, Athame I cast this circle in the name of the Crone. Ancient Queen of wisdom, Hecate, Cerrwiden. Old One come to us
All: We are a Circle within a Circle, With no beginning, and no ending.
We are the fire that keeps returning, The eternal flame, forever burning.
The Circle has been cast 3 times. In the name of the Maiden, Mother and Crone
So Mote it be
Calling the Quarters
East, Air: Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Creatures of Air. Keepers of all Knowledge, We call upon you, Open our Minds, Lift our Thoughts. Be with us now!
South, Fire: Guardians of the Watchtowers of the South, Creatures of fire. Keepers of the Flames of Life, We call upon you, Open our Eyes, Focus our Energies. Be with us now!
West, Water: Guardians of the Watchtowers of the West, Creatures of Water. Keepers of the Spirits of Life, We call upon you, Open our Hearts, Enrich our Feelings. Be with us now!
North, Earth: Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, Creatures of Earth
Keepers of the Bodies of Life. We call upon you, Open our Selves, Inspire our Lives. Be with us now!
Invoking the God\Goddess
Welcome and Hail, Our Golden Lord and Silver Lady.
By You, this universe is born, By You. this universe is created,
By You, this universe is protected. You are eternal.
You are the energies of Nature. So mote it be.
Mediation: Inner Child
Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes or look at the moon. Begin by taking three deep breaths.... slowly... inhale exhale....Let your mind become blank...
Envision the Golden light of Healing, floating above your head, about the size of a round grapefruit. Slowly, pull the golden light down...(pause)...With each breath you inhale draw the light down...(pause)...Feel it’s warm glow fill your body until it reaches the base of your spine. Relax, if a few stray thoughts seem to enter your mind, gently push them aside for now. You begin to see trees, many trees, as if it was a huge forest. You walk into the forest for a few minutes, following a random path. Up ahead of you a large gate begins to materialize, a golden light glows softly behind it. Slowly walk over to open the gate. Reach out to pull on the large handles. As it opens, you gradually become aware of noises, people talking, swing chains clanging, and the smell of fresh cut grass and wildflowers. You notice that you are now a child, the child you were, the child you always wished to be. With light, carefree steps you walk over to a sandbox. Inside you see a few toys, sifters, funnels, pales, shovels and such. You then notice a small pile of toys over to the side. You reach for a toy. Know that you have just picked up your favorite toy of this childhood. You play with it, handle it carefully, rock it, love it, and tell it all the things you remember, all the things you would have liked to hear as a child. You look up, above you can hear someone telling you something. A short message, perhaps from a family member, or a friend or someone you've never seen before... pause)...Take this message and remember it. Now you put your toy down and slowly walk back to the large open gates. You turn and wave good-by to everything and everyone. They return a wave back to you. As you walk through the gates, they close softly behind you. Slowly walk back through the trees, filled with a sense of contentment...(pause)...Once again you become aware of your current surroundings. Inhale...feel yourself returning to the now. When you are ready...(pause) open your eyes and rejoin our circle.
Chant
We all come from the Goddess, And to Her we shall return. Like a drop of rain, Flowing to the Ocean. Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana
We all come from the SunGod, And to Him we shall return. Like a spark of flame, Rising to the Heavens. Odin, Osirius, Coatl, Cernunnos, Mithras, Loki, Apollo
****************************************************************
Spiraling into the center, The center of the Shield.
Spiraling into the center, The center of the Shield.
We are the Weavers, We are the Woven Ones.
We are the Dreamers, We are the Dream.
Spiral Dance
Blessing
BEFORE TIME WAS
Before time was, there was The One; The One was all, and all was The One. And the vast expanse known as the universe was The One, all-wise, all-pervading, all-powerful, eternally changing.
And space moved. The One molded energy into twin forms, equal but opposite, fashioning the Goddess and the God from The One and of The One. The Goddess and the God stretched and gave thanks to The One, but darkness surrounded them. They were alone, solitary save for The One. So They formed energy into gasses and gasses into suns and planets and moons; they sprinkled the universe with whirling globes and so all was given shape by the hands of the Goddess and the God. Light arose and the sky was illuminated by a billion suns. And the Goddess and the God, satisfied by their works, rejoiced and loved, and were one. From their union sprang the seeds of all life, and of the human race, so that we might achieve incarnation upon the Earth.
The Goddess chose the Moon as Her symbol, and the God the Sun as His symbol, to remind the inhabitants of Earth of their fashioners. All are born, live, die and are reborn beneath the Sun and Moon; all things come to pass thereunder, and all occurs with the blessings of The One, as has been the way of existence before time was.
Cake Blessing
All life is your own, All fruits of the earth, Are fruits of your womb, Your union, your dance. Blessed be!
Chant
She changes everything She touches
and
Everything She touches changes.
She changes everything She touches
and
Everything She touches changes.
We are the Flow
and we are the Ebb
We are the Weaver
and we are the Web.
On Children
(Passing out bottles of bubbles)
Our children are not our children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through us but not from us, And though they are with us yet they belong not to us. We may give them our love but not our thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. We may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which we can not visit, not even in our dreams, We may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like us. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. We are the bows from which our children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends with us His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves the bow that is stable.
When you are ready...Create an image of your Child Self, the Child you were, the Child you wished to be. As you blow the bubbles, project that image into the bubbles and set the Child Within free. Send your Child Self up into the Loving arms of Mother Moon.
Releasing the Quarters
North, Earth: I thank you Guardians of the North, For your presence here tonight. Stay if you will, Go if you must, Hale and farewell!
West, Water: I thank you Guardians of the West, For your presence here tonight. Stay if you will, Go if you must, Hale and farewell!
South, Fire: I thank you Guardians of the South, For your presence here tonight. Stay if you will, Go if you must, Hale and farewell!
East, Air: I thank you Guardians of the East, For your presence here tonight. Stay if you will, Go if you must, Hale and farewell!
Closing
I declare this Circle to be open, but unbroken, So Mote It Be!
Song
May the circle - be open but unbroken,
May the Love of the Goddess be ever in your heart.
Merry meet and Merry part and Merry meet again.
Feast
Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives
Go Mbeannaigh (Gaelic, Ireland - Blessed Be)
Beannaichte Be (Gaelic, Scotland - Blessed Be)
Sonqongi Apukuna Wak'aychasunkiku
(Quechua, Peru - May the Heart of the Mountain bless you)
Xut Kala Xetl (Tlingit, Alaska - Blessed Be)
Seja Abençoado (Portuguese, Portugal - Blessed Be)
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