Remembering Those Who Have Gone

Items needed:

1 natural candle and 1 blue candle

1 stone/pebble amethyst or quartz for every person you would like to remember on this night

1 goblet red wine (or more if you have a lot of people to remember!!)

 

Cast your circle or sacred space, ensuring you have a comfortable area to sit within your circle as you could be there some time. Light the two candles in the west of your circle forming a doorway by which spirit can enter should they choose to do so. Now, take one crystal in your hand, close your eyes and remember the good things about that person – those things that made you smile, laugh or cry. Then, when you have remembered the things you wanted to, simply state something like “If you are able, please come and sit with me…name….” then lay down the stone with the candles. Lift your glass and toast them and take a drink. Continue until all the people you wanted to think about had been remembered.

You may get the feeling that one is present, a few or all if you are lucky, in which case it will be a crowded circle. However, it is lovely to sit and remember and let them come should they want to. This is what Samhain is for and why the children dress as ghosts and ghouls. When you have sat for enough time and all is done (you can also do your divination within the circle as it would definitely be a powerful reading), then simply pick up each crystal individually, stating something like “…name…, thank you for your time, and I bid you hale and farewell.” and when all have been thanked, then close down your circle and keep those special crystals on your altar.

 

Source

The Green Witch

Samhain Ritual: 31 October

 

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Materials: one cauldron, filled with water

CRONE This should be an older female.

OLD KING This should be a person chosen by lottery, or by whoever is acting as Crone. It can be enacted by the HP if needed.

BARD/GREEN MAN If the coven has no Bard available, then a Green Man should be chosen by lottery, or by whoever is acting as Maiden. It can be enacted by the HP, if needed.

The place of ritual should be set up, away from the gathered participants. This is not something that people should miss, so make sure that potty break is taken care of before the circle is cast.

HPS

Go we now to the sacred place
And stand within the sacred space
Turn your minds to sacred things
And dance with me unto the ring!

HP and HPS lead the coven to the place of ritual by a spiral dance, ending in a circle around the altar. The cauldron should be at the south. The Old King dances at the end of the line.

HPS

Come we forth, with the Spiral Dance
Within the Lady’s radiance
To mark the turning of the year
The door to Winter now is here.

Earth and Water, Fire and Air
I invoke the Goddess there!
This night we are Between the Worlds
To celebrate the year unfurled!

HP

Earth and Water, Fire and Sky
I invoke the God on high
This night we are Between the Worlds
To celebrate the year unfurled!

The corners shall be called thusly, that all may hear, but shall not be called until the HPS reaches that corner on her circumnabulation.

EAST

O Guardians of the Eastern Tower,
Airy ones of healing power
I do summon, stir and call you
See these rites and guard this circle!

Come to us and heed our call!
By the Power that made us all;
By the Power that blesses Thee
Come to us; and Blessed Be!

SOUTH

Oh fiery ones of Southern Power
Thus I invite you to this tower
I do summon, stir and call you
See these rites and guard this circle!

Come to us and heed our call!
By the Power that made us all;
By the Power that blesses Thee:
Come to us; and Blessed Be!

WEST

Western ones of water’s flow
Help to guard us here below
I do summon, stir and call you
See these rites and guard this circle!

Come to us and heed our call!
By the Power that made us all;
By the Power that blesses Thee:
Come to us; and Blessed Be!

NORTH

Earthen ones of Northern fame
Bless and guard our Power’s fane
I do summon, stir and call you

See these rites and guard this circle!
Come to us and heed our call!
By the Power that made us all;
By the Power that blesses Thee:
Come to us; and Blessed Be!

The HPS shall move to each corner, and say, following each corner’s crying as she moves to the next:

HPS

So I cast and consecrate
This Circle of the small and great:
By Fin and Feather, Leaf and Tree,
By Rock and Earth, by Land and Sea,
By Fire and Water, Earth and Air,
By the Lord, and Lady Fair!
By Love and Joy and Work and Play,
All things harmful cast away!
By lightning’s flash, and rain’s soft fall,
By the Power that made us all;
By the Power that blesses Thee:
(Cast the Circle: Blessed be!)

On her return to the first corner she shall change the last line above, and say:

The Circle’s cast; and Blessed Be!

The callers of the corners shall return their tools to the altar, and then shall join the circle at their corners.

Here begins the Samhain Mystery:

OLD KING

Thus I invoke the Lady White
To come to us this sacred night.
By Fin and Feather, Leaf and Tree,
I shall show you a Mystery!

Bard/Green Man and Maiden join hands, facing each other. The Maiden speaks to the Bard/Green Man:

MAIDEN

Lord of Life, hail Land-Master!
God of grain that grows and dies
Rising reborn, full of richness;
Fallow fields shall yet be fertile –
Spring sap runs as stirs your manhood
Bless barren earth, bear fruit again!

The Bard/Green Man speaks to Maiden:

BARD/GREEN MAN

Snow-shoes striding, hail swift Huntress!
Wild one, free and willful Goddess
Bow and blade you bear beside you,
Finding food to fend off hunger –
Winter will not leave us wanting;
Give good hunting, grant us skill.

The Old King moves to the West. The Crone moves to the North.

HP

Cunning and art he did not lack
But aye her whistle would fetch him back!

OLD KING

Yet I shall go into a trout.
With sorrow and sighing and mickle doubt
And show thee many a merry game
Ere that I be fetch-ed hame!

CRONE

Trout, take heed of an otter lank
Will harry thee close from bank to bank
For here come I in the Lady’s Name
All but for to fetch thee hame!

The Old King moves to the South. The Crone moves to the West.

HP

Cunning and art he did not lack
But aye her whistle would fetch him back!

OLD KING

Yet I shall go into a bee
With mickle fear and dread of thee
And flit to hive in the Lady’s Name
Ere that I be fetch-ed hame!

CRONE

Bee, take heed of a red, red cock
Will harry thee close through door and lock
For here come I in the Lady’s Name
All but for to fetch thee hame!

The Old King moves to the East. The Crone moves to the South.

HP

Cunning and art he did not lack
But aye her whistle would fetch him back!

OLD KING

Oh, I shall go into a hare
with sorrow, sighing and mickle care
And I shall go in the Lady’s Name
Aye, until I be fetch-ed hame!

CRONE

Hare, take heed of a swift greyhound
Will harry thee all these fields around
For here come I in the Lady’s Name
All but for to fetch thee hame!

The Old King moves to the North. The Crone moves to the East.

HP

Cunning and art he did not lack
But aye her whistle would fetch him back!

OLD KING

Yet I shall go into a mouse
And haste me unto the Miller’s House
There in his corn to have good game
Ere that I be fetch-ed hame!

CRONE

Mouse, take heed of a white she-cat
That never was balked of mouse nor rat
For here come I in the Lady’s Name
And -thus- it is I fetch thee hame!

Crone walks to Old King and takes his hand. He falls as if dead.

HPS

Cunning and art he did not lack
But aye Her Song has fetched Him back!

Summer’s gone, the Lady reigns
And Winter has returned again!

Maiden wets her hands with water from the Cauldron, and sprinkles it on the Old King, who comes to life again.

OLD KING

Cunning and art I do not lack
But aye Her Cauldron will bring me back!

The Crone and Old King shall join hands, facing each other, and say:

Note: These Norse style verses were taken from a file I got (I think) from Paul Seymour. Don’t know who author is.

CRONE

One-eye, Wanderer, God of wisdom,
Hunt-lord, hail, who leads the hosting!
Nine nights hanging, knowledge gaining,
Cloaked at crossroads, council hidden.
Now the night, your time, is near us –
Right roads send us on, Rune-winner.

OLD KING

Every age your eyes have witnessed;
Cauldron-Keeper, hail wise Crone!
Rede in riddles is your ration –
Wyrd-weaver at the World-tree’s root.
Eldest ancient, all-knowing one,
Speak unto us, send us vision!

Here the HPS should say:

HPS

We remember our dead; our loved ones gone to the Summerland before us. Give them peace and joy.

ALL

Blessed be!

READER

Never again the Burning Times! Let us remember our dead, good and bad, innocent and guilty:

HPS

Let them have peace.

ALL

Blessed be!

Here ends the Samhain Mystery.

A normal cone-of-power may be raised, for growth and healing:

HPS

In a ring we all shall stand
Pass the Power, hand to hand.

HP

As the season turns again
Power flows from friend to friend

HPS

Pass the Power, hand to hand
Bless the Lady, bless the Land

HP

Bless the Lord, and bless the Skies
Bless the Power that never dies!

The above four verses should be repeated three times, or as many times as needed, and the HPS shall then say:

HPS

By Fin and Feather, Leaf and Tree:
Let the Power flow out and free!

All should release, at this point.

Any needed coven business may be transacted here.

The Circle is opened:

HPS

Thus I release the East and West
Thanks to them from Host to Guest
Thus I release the South and North
With “Blessed Be’ I send them forth!
The Circle’s open, dance we so
Out and homeward we shall go.
Earth and Water, Air and Fire
Celebrated our desire.
We think of those in Summerland
Who dance together, hand in hand.
By Fin and Feather, Leaf and Tree,
Our circle’s done; and Blessed Be!

COVEN

Blessed Be!

All spiral dance out from the Circle, led by HP and HPS.

 

 

The White Bard, Author

Published on Pagan Library

Samhain Ritual

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This ritual was written at a time when I did not have a qualified Priest in my group. However, it may easily be adapted for those groups in which the Priestess and Priest work together. It may be just as easily adapted to solitary work.

Place an apple and pomegranate upon the altar. There should also be a “planted” pot of earth for each participant – these may be arranged on the altar as well, if there is ample space. Instruments of divination may be placed within the Circle perimeter for use during the ritual if you wish. Arrange the altar as usual and decorate with Autumn leaves, pumpkins, etc.

The Circle is cast and purified the Circle in the usual manner. Dancing around the Circle in a shuffle step (deosil), all chant three times:

The Moon is bright, the Crone is old
The body lifeless – the bones so cold
We all live and pay our dues
To die in ones and threes and twos.

Death, dance and play the harp
Piercing silence in the dark
The Woman’s old with withered limbs
Death beckons Her to dance with Him

As She accepts the Dance of Death
The Earth is cooled by ghostly breath
To lie in dormancy once more
To have Her strength and life restored

Go to the Western Quarter and draw an invoking pentagram with the athame to open the gate. Then evoke the dead by saying:

All ye spirits who walk this night –
Hearken! Hearken to my call!
I bid you in our Circle join!
Enter! Enter – one and all!

Come ye, spirits of the dead:
Be ye spirit of plant or pet
Or human being who still roams!
Into this Circle you are let!

Speak to us of things unknown!
Lend your energies to this rite!
To speed your journey, we have joined
On this sacred Samhain night!

All ye spirits who walk this night –
Hearken! Hearken to my call!
I bid you in our Circle join!
Enter! Enter – one and all!

Bestow blessings upon the dead, saying:

Oh Mighty Pan of the Summerlands:
Guardian of the beloved dead
We pour forth love on those you keep
Safely, in your peaceful stead
We bless those who have walked the path
That someday, we as well, shall rove
We offer peace unto their souls
While resting in your arms, below

Now is the time for divination (Ouija Board, pendulum, cards, etc.) and communication with those who have gone on before us. Allow plenty of time for this. [Note: I have found that it is helpful to have a tape recorder handy within the Circle for recording any communications that may be “channeled” during this time. Some people disagree with this suggestion, saying that the metal of this electronic device causes scattered energies in the Circle; however, if the recorder has been cleansed and purified as the rest of the ritual tools, the problem seems to be resolved.]

When the divinatory processes are completed, the Priestess goes to the Western Quarter and draw the banishing pentagram, saying:

Blessings be upon thee, oh wondrous Spirits of the
Summerlands. We humbly thank thee for your presence in our
Circle and honor you in celebration this sacred night. We
beseech thee, oh Pan, keeper of the sacred dead, embrace
once again those souls within your keep and hold tightly
to your breast those which have been lost and wandering.
Grant them safe passage to the Summerland, where they may
rest peacefully in your strength until they are refreshed
and reborn again in perfect love. We bid thee all a fond
farewell. So mote it be!

The gate is now closed.

The Priestess goes to the altar and hold up the pomegranate, saying:

Behold the pomegranate, fruit of Life…

The athame is plunged into the pomegranate, splitting it open to display the seeds. She says:

Whose seeds lie in the dormancy of Death!

The Priestess eats one of the seeds, saying:

I Taste the seeds of Death.

The pomegranate is then passed hand to hand through the participants of the ritual, each eating a seed and saying to the next person:

“Taste the seeds of Death.”

The Priestess then holds up the apple, saying:

Behold the apple: fruit of wisdom, fruit of Death…

She then cuts the apple crosswise, saying:

Whose symbolism rewards us with life eternal!

She holds up the apple, displaying the inner pentagram, and says:

Behold the five-fold star – the promise of rebirth!

Consecrate the fruit and wine. Each person then tastes of the apple and sips the wine, saying to the next person:

Taste the fruit of rebirth and sip from the cup of wine of Life.

After libation, the Priestess presents each member of the group with a small pot of earth, planted with three seeds [preferably rue or lavender]. She briefly explains to the group that this is the season of the seed – it is a time of dormancy, but also a time of re-generation for growth. Further, as the seed rests in the earth, they should also take time to rest and re-evaluate their lives, metaphorically planting only those values which will enrich and enhance the growth within the Divine Self. She then instructs them to name the seeds within their pots with three values they wish to incorporate into their lives, knowing that as the seeds sprout with new life, their lives will be new, as well.

After the presentation, all join hands and hold them skyward.

PRIESTESS:

Thus is the Circle of Rebirth.
All pass from this life through the great god, Pan
But through My love you are all reborn
In the cycles of nature – through the Cosmic Plan.

In living we die – in dying we live
The fruit is first seed, yet seed comes from the fruit
In the mystery of life and death and rebirth
The Circle turns ever, and I am its root.

ALL RESPOND:

The Sun conceived in Darkness, cold
In the Shadow of Death, a Life unfolds
A shred of Light begins to burn
From Death comes Life – the Circle turns.

Dismiss Quarters and Dissolve Circle.

PRIESTESS:

The rite is ended.

ALL:

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!

Outdoor libation to the Lord and Lady, and the spirits of the dead.

 

Dorothy Morrison, Author

Published on Pagan Library

Jack-O-Lantern Warding Spell

 

 

 

About The Author

Sage has been a witch for 25 years. She enjoys writing informative articles to teach others the craft of the wise.

Published on Exemplore