Windy Esbat 2004 CO1

 May 5, 2023 (Flower Moon)

Windy Circle, Esbat 2004

Altar Devotions

Purify the Area

Salute

Calling Quarters

Boreas, Notus, Eurus, Zephyrus - Winds of North, South, East, West, Gather close at my behest. Join with us on this dark night - And lend your energies to our rite.

Winds merge and intertwine - Your essential energies now combine

BOREAS, Spirit of Earth, Midnight and Winter - we call for strength and protection, ground us

NOTUS, Spirit of Fire, Midday and Summer – bring to us the energy to fill our need, empower us

EURUS, Spirit of Air, Sunrise and Spring - we call for spirit and knowledge, guide us

ZEPHYRUS, Spirit of Water, Sunset and Autumn - for the journey that is to come, move us

Casting the Circle

Four winds form our Circle and weave a spell, North, South, East, West, your tale to tell. As above, so it is below, Keep out all that would cause us woe. As within, so it is without, Safe we’ll be, there is no doubt. Three times round this Circle’s cast

Anoint

Unite energies

Invocation

Gracious Goddess of the night, woman of the Moon, and Mother of all that may be, I ask for your assistance and presence for my rite. 

Gracious God of the day, Man of the Sun, and Father of all that may be, I ask for your assistance and presence for my rite.

Name the Working

(To empower stones to be talismans for safe travel)

The stones will be cleansed and emptied by the energy we raise. Once cleansed they will be ready to absorb any negativity that we may come into contact with. In this way they will protect us from harm. As we breath in we are going to bring in energy from the Mother as we breath out we will expel that energy into the sphere of our Circle, filling it with the power for our purpose. The powers to cleanse these stones and prepare them for the task we have described.

Raising Energy

Breathing - Listen to the sound of the breath of your Coven Mates. Become synchronized together, become one together. Breathe in as one, breathe out as one. 

Cakes & Ale

Thanking the Divine

Gracious Goddess of the night, woman of the Moon, and Mother of all that may be, thank you for your assistance and presence during our rite. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and Farewell.

Gracious God of the day, man of the Sun, and Father of all that may be, thank you for your assistance and presence during out rite. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and Farewell.

Release the Circle

Four winds formed our Circle at our behest, North, South, East, West, 

You lent your energy above and below, To keep us safe and free from woe

Your presence assured within and without, Safe travel we’ll have, there is no doubt. Stay if you will, go if you must, Hail and Farewell. This Circle is open, but unbroken, Merry Meet, Merry Part, until we Merry meet again.

Feast

Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives

https://circleofone1.blogspot.com

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)

HandFasting, 2002 CO1

HandFasting, 5/4/2002

 

HPS:

The Lord and Lady have always been there for us, since before time was.                    

They were there in the scents of the Earth

           in the whisper of the Wind

           in the warmth of the Sun

           in the refreshing coolness of a Mountain Stream.

 

They have always been there for us, even before we understood.

They are there in the magick of the Moonlight

           in the wonder of a Sunrise

           in the freedom of an Open Field

           in the comfort of a Sheltering Forest.

 

Today, they will be here with us as we ask them to walk beside this couple who come before us to pledge their Love.  

 

Cast Circle

HP:    We cast this circle in the name of the Golden Lord.  We set its boundaries with elements of his choosing.  May he protect us this night.

            Protection: cast with fire and Air

            Hope: cast with seeds

            Love: cast with Water and Earth

We cast this circle in the name of the Silver Lady.  We seal its boundaries with elements of her choosing.  May she hold us in her embrace.      

We cast this circle in the name of Hope.   Let all who dwell within it’s boundaries find Hope in themselves and in their futures.   We bless this circle with these offerings.  Let them find fertile ground and take root.   As they grow may the love of this couple grow with them.   This Circle is now sealed.  So Mote It Be.

Call Quarters

We call upon Earth. Let your presence provide the foundation for this union.

We call upon Fire. Let your flames ignite the passion of life within this couple.

We call upon Air. Let your wind enrich this joining with the knowledge of communication. 

We call upon Water. Let your essence caress this commitment in it’s loving embrace. 

Anoint

May the presence of the Divine be ever in your heart.

 

Invocation

Groom:  Father Sky, Lord of the beasts, and Protector of the Light, be with us now.

 

HP:    I am already here…

            in your shadow on the ground,

            and the whisper on the wind.

            I am here in the sunlight on your hair,

            and the soft sounds of a gentle rain…

            I have always been here for you.

 

Bride:  Mother Earth, Lady of the Grain, and Source of the Light, be with us now

 

HPS:    I am already here…

                in the beating of your heart,

                and the innocence of a child’s smile,

                I am here in the light of your Lover’s eyes,

                and the understanding of a true friend…

                I have always been here for you

Drawing Down the Moon

Maiden:    Hear now the thoughts of the God and Goddess.  You, who have been with us since before time was, share with us now your message  this night.

 

HP:    In an earlier age I was called Herne, Osiris, Zeus, Cernunos and by many other names.  I am the strength of the rock at thy back, the roots of the tree that anchor the Earth and deepest of tides in the black depths of the ocean.  I am the Hunter and the Sacred Prey, the warmth of the sun in the swelling grapes and the call of the road that leads over the hill. 

HPS:        In the mists of time I was called Brigid, Demeter, Hera, Cerridwen, and by many other names.   I am the quickening of the seed in Springtime, the glory of ripe fields in Summer, and the peace of the quiet woods as the snow calms the Earth in Winter.  I am the lilt of the maidens' melody in the morning, the patient hand of the Mother and the deep river of the mysteries taught by moonlight. 

HP:    I give you, my children, the fire of love, the power of the wind on your face, shelter from the darkest storm.  You are dear to me, and I instill in you my power...the power of peace hard earned, the power of vision and magical sight, and the spark of elemental fire, which is the primal light in the darkness.

HPS:    I give you, my children, the gifts of song rising from the heart, the joy of autumn sunset, the cool touch of the renewing waters, and the compelling call of the drum in the dance.  To you I give the joy of creation and the companion of beauty to light your days. 

HP:    By the powers of  the running stag and the glorious sun, I charge thee; by the darkest depths of night and the lingering tendrils of dreams, I charge thee; and by the beauty of your own creation, I charge thee; Follow your heart and your instinct, wherever they lead you.  The wealth of the heart will guide you where the cold edge of logic cannot take you.  Take joy in the powers of your bodies.  The form your body takes is unique in the universe and is chief among your tools. 

HPS:    By the powers of the steadfast Earth and the wheeling stars I charge thee; by the darkness of death and the white light of birth I charge thee; and by the terrible strength of your human spirits, I charge thee:  Strive always for the growth of your eternal soul, never intentionally diminish your strength, your compassion, your ties to the earth or your knowledge. Challenge your mind, never accept complacently that which has been the standard merely for the reason that it is the standard by which the majority judges. Act always for the betterment of your brothers and sisters.  To strengthen them is to forge the true chain of humanity, and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. 

HP:    Lastly, always remember the path you have left behind you.  Learn to take your power from the foolish things you have wrought as well as the good you have done for others and for your self.  You can never usurp another's power, and yours is the well upon which you must rely.

HPS:    You are my children, my brothers and sisters and my companions.  You are known in great part by the company you keep, and you are strong and wise and full of the powers of life.  It is yours to use them in my service, and I also, am known by the company I keep. 

HP:    I am with you always, just over your shoulder, running with you through the tall grasses and forests that surround you.  I possess you and I am your Sacred Prey.  I am the Lord of Death, and when you have come to the end of your life on this world, I will be there; to take you between the worlds, to offer you peace and rest.  Look upon my face; know me.  I am the spirit of the wild things, but you too, are wild in your souls and we are forever intertwined."

HPS:    Go forth in joy and the light of my love, turning to me without fear when the darkness threatens to overcome you, and turning also to me to share your triumphs and your achievements, and know in your heart of hearts that we are together in blood and spirit ‘til the last star darkens in the sky and winter comes to the universe.

 

Introducing the Couple

(Bring the couple to the center of the Circle)

Tonight, ... and ... renew their vows of devotion to each other. They come as two people, separate, different.   They accept and love each other as they are, both the dark and the light, the good and the bad. Two halves of a perfect whole. Complete.

 

Trials will come, and tests, for there is much in this world that would long to pull you apart.   Come with us now on a journey which will bring strength and vision to your relationship, courage and understanding.

North:    Oftentimes family and friends can create a wedge between

those who are bonded.  Are you prepared to look to each other for comfort?

South:    Do your understand that you will not always agree and that

there will be times of heated disagreement?

East:    Do you realize that there will be times when

communicating your thoughts and desires to your partner will be difficult?

West:    Do you acknowledge the fact that your bonding will bring

both tears of joy and tears of pain?

 

Joys will come, graces and blessings will warm your souls and give you wonder. The path you have chosen will bring thanksgiving and rejoicing to this relationship, laughter and abandon.

 

Do you, ..., take ... to be your beloved

partner, to love, honor and cherish?

Response:    I do.

 

Do you, ..., take ... to be your beloved

partner, to love, honor and cherish?

Response:     do.

 

Rings

(Take the rings and recite the Blessing of the Rings)

These rings represents a journey with out beginning or end, they are a symbol of the Circle of Life.   In the presence of the Lord and Lady, we ask that they bless these rings so that your Journey of Love never ends. 

 

(Hand the rings to bride and Groom and ask them to repeat the vow as they place their rings on each others fingers)

 

North, South, East, West

To the Lord and Lady we do attest

West, East, South, North

To love each other from this day forth

Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives

https://circleofone1.blogspot.com

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)

Altar Tools 1995 CO1

Altar Tools 1995

Bell, Book & Candle

Athame:  Represents the element of air or the masculine.  It is a ritual knife with a double-edged blade that can be sharpened, or kept dull, and may be engraved.  The Athame is only used on the non-physical plane and should never be used on the physical.

Bell:  Is used to summon spirits or deities or to signal the beginning or ending of a ritual.  Bells are rung at funeral rites to bless the soul of the person who has crossed over.

Bolin: Is a working blade for the physical plane.  The Bolin is a white-handled, single edged knife which is used for practical purposes such as harvesting herbs, cutting a branch for a wand, inscribing a candle, etc.

Book of Shadows:  This is a personal book of information on spells, rituals, recipes, invocations, dreams, etc. kept for a reference.  It’s also known as a BOS or Grimoire.

Candlesnuffer:  You always snuff or pinch out a flame; one element should never be more than the next.  Blowing out a candle symbolizes air being more powerful than fire.

Candle:  They represent the Goddess and God.  They also have different meanings according to their colors and represent the four quarters; Earth, Air, Fire & Water.  

Cauldron:  Symbolizes the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, & Water and represents the divine womb of the Goddess.  The cauldron is often a black, cast-iron pot, which is used for brewing potions, or burning incense.  Some fill their cauldrons with water on Samhain night and use them to gaze into the future or past.

Chalice:  Represents the element of air or the feminine, and is used to hold wine or water during rituals.  Traditionally, the chalice was made of silver, however many use pewter, ceramic, brass, or even crystal chalices.

Libation bowl:  Come in all shapes and sizes, and various materials.  They’re used to collect food/drink offerings that are later tossed into the garden with a blessing.

Pentacle:  Represents the element earth.  The pentacle is a flat disc made of any material, and is used during rituals to hold consecrated objects.

Staff:  Generally made of wood, these can be no more than a large stick, or an incredible hand carved staff. 

Sword:  Represents the element of fire and is a symbol of strength.  It is sometimes used in place of the Athame to cast and un-cast the circle.  It may also be used to store and direct energy during Magickal rituals, and to control and banish elemental spirits.

Wand:  Represents the element of fire.  The wand is fashioned from the branch of a tree, and is traditionally 21 inches in length.  It is used for directing energy, drawing Magickal symbols into the air or ground, and for various other purposes.

Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives

https://circleofone1.blogspot.com

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)

May Day Nichols 2003

Beltane

May Day, by Mike Nichols 2003

There are four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year and the modern Witches’ calendar, as well. The two greatest of these are Halloween (the beginning of winter) and May Day (the beginning of summer). Being opposite each other on the wheel of the year, they separate the year into halves. Halloween (also called Samhain) is the Celtic New Year and is generally considered the more important of the two, though May Day runs a close second. Indeed, in some areas—notably Wales—it is considered “the great holiday”. 

May Day ushers in the fifth month of the modern calendar year, the month of May. This month is named in honor of the Goddess Maia, originally a Greek mountain nymph, later identified as the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades. By Zeus, she is also the mother of Hermes, God of magic. Maia’s parents were Atlas and Pleione, a sea nymph. 

The old Celtic name for May Day is Beltane (in its most popular Anglicized form), which is derived from the Irish Gaelic Bealtaine or the Scottish Gaelic Bealtuinn, meaning “Bel-fire”, the fire of the Celtic God of Light (Bel, Beli, or Belinus). He, in turn, may be traced to the Middle Eastern God Baal. 

Other names for May Day include: Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain), Walpurgisnacht (in Germany), and Roodmas (the medieval church’s name). This last came from church fathers who were hoping to shift the common people’s allegiance from the Maypole (Pagan lingam—symbol of life) to the Holy Rood (the cross—Roman instrument of death). 

Incidentally, there is no historical justification for calling May 1 ‘Lady Day’. For hundreds of years, that title has been proper to the vernal equinox (approximately March 21), another holiday sacred to the Great Goddess. The nontraditional use of ‘Lady Day’ for May 1 is quite recent (since the early 1970s), and seems to be confined to America, where it has gained widespread acceptance among certain segments of the Craft population. This rather startling departure from tradition would seem to indicate an unfamiliarity with European calendar customs, as well as a lax attitude toward scholarship among too many Pagans. A simple glance at a dictionary (Webster’s 3rd or O.E.D.), encyclopedia (Benet’s), or standard mythology reference (Jobe’s Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore & Symbols) would confirm the correct date for Lady Day as the vernal equinox. 

By Celtic reckoning, the actual Beltane celebration begins on sundown of the preceding day, April 30, because the Celts always figured their days from sundown to sundown. And sundown was the proper time for Druids to kindle the great Belfires on the tops of the nearest beacon hill (such as Tara Hill, Co. Meath, in Ireland). These “need-fires” had healing properties, and skyclad Witches would jump through the flames to ensure protection. 

Frequently, cattle would be driven between two such bonfires (oak wood was the favorite fuel for them) and, on the morrow, they would be taken to their summer pastures. 

Other May Day customs include: walking the circuit of one’s property (“beating the bounds”), repairing fences and boundary markers, processions of chimney sweeps and milkmaids, archery tournaments, morris dances, sword dances, feasting, music, drinking, and maidens bathing their faces in the dew of May morning to retain their youthful beauty. 

In the words of Witchcraft writers Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Beltane celebration was principally a time of “unashamed human sexuality and fertility”. Such associations include the obvious phallic symbolism of the Maypole and riding the hobbyhorse. Even a seemingly innocent children’s nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banburry Cross …” retains such memories. And the next line, “to see a fine Lady on a white horse”, is a reference to the annual ride of Lady Godiva through Coventry. Every year for nearly three centuries, a skyclad village maiden (elected “Queen of the May”) enacted this Pagan rite, until the Puritans put an end to the custom. 

The Puritans, in fact, reacted with pious horror to most of the May Day rites, even making Maypoles illegal in 1644. They especially attempted to suppress the “greenwood marriages” of young men and women who spent the entire night in the forest, staying out to greet the May sunrise, and bringing back boughs of flowers and garlands to decorate the village the next morning. One angry Puritan wrote that men “doe use commonly to runne into woodes in the night time, amongst maidens, to set bowes, in so muche, as I have hearde of tenne maidens whiche went to set May, and nine of them came home with childe.” And another Puritan complained that, “Of forty, threescore or a hundred maids going to the wood over night, there have scarcely the third part of them returned home again undefiled.” 

Long after the Christian form of marriage (with its insistence on sexual monogamy) had replaced the older Pagan handfasting, the rules of strict fidelity were always relaxed for the May Eve rites. Names such as Robin Hood, Maid Marion, and Little John played an important part in May Day folklore, often used as titles for the dramatis personae of the celebrations. And modern surnames such as Robinson, Hodson, Johnson, and Godkin may attest to some distant May Eve spent in the woods. 

It is certainly no accident that Queen Guinevere’s ‘abduction’ by Meliagrance occurs on May 1 when she and the court have gone a-Maying, or that the usually efficient Queen’s guard, on this occasion, rode unarmed. 

Some of these customs seem virtually identical to the old Roman feast of flowers, the Floralia, three days of unrestrained sexuality that began at sundown April 28 and reached a crescendo on May 1. 

There are other, even older, associations with May 1 in Celtic mythology. According to the ancient Irish Book of Invasions, the first settler of Ireland, Partholan, arrived on May 1, and it was on May 1 that the plague came that destroyed his people. Years later, the Milesians conquered the Tuatha De Danann on May Day. In Welsh myth, the perennial battle between Gwythur and Gwyn for the love of Creiddyled took place each May Day, and it was on May Eve that Teirnyon lost his colts and found Pryderi. May Eve was also the occasion of a fearful scream that was heard each year throughout Wales, one of the three curses of the Coranians lifted by the skill of Lludd and Llevelys. 

By the way, due to various calendrical changes down through the centuries, the traditional date of Beltane is not the same as its astrological date. This date, like all astronomically determined dates, may vary by a day or two depending on the year. However, it may be calculated easily enough by determining the date on which the sun is at fifteen degrees Taurus (usually around May 5). British Witches often refer to this date as Old Beltane, and folklorists call it Beltane O.S. (Old Style). Some covens prefer to celebrate on the old date and, at the very least, it gives one options. If a coven is operating on ‘Pagan Standard Time’ and misses May 1 altogether, it can still throw a viable Beltane bash as long as it’s before May 5. This may also be a consideration for covens that need to organize activities around the weekend. 

This date has long been considered a “power point” of the zodiac, and is symbolized by the Bull, one of the tetramorph figures featured on the tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune. (The other three symbols are the Lion, the Eagle, and the Spirit.) Astrologers know these four figures as the symbols of the four “fixed” signs of the zodiac (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius), and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of Witchcraft. Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent the four Gospel writers.

Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives

https://circleofone1.blogspot.com

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)