Saturday, September 26
Gather at 7:00 PM
Start at 7:30 PM
Almanac
moonrise at 3:03 PM
moon phase: waxing gibbous with 55% of the Moon’s visible disk illuminated
sunset at 7:19 PM
end civil twilight at 7:44 PM
quarter altars with:
altar cloths
candles
lighters
incense, red candle, bowl of water, bowl of salt
main altar with:
altar cloth
God and Goddess statues
God and Goddess candles
bell
sage
staff
cauldron for offerings
sliced apples for simple feast
apples for decoration and offering
knife to cut offering apples
starter candle
basket for donations
lay 5-6 long vines from the altar through the middle of the circle and into the seating area
welcome
recognize volunteer groups
turn off phones and pagers; take off watches
repeat “blessed be” “hail and welcome” “hail and farewell”
teach chant
John: “Let us now begin”
Purification
Cynthia: “Let us now clear our hearts and minds, and begin our rite with an act of purification.”
John: lights sage and makes one pass around the circle with it.
Cynthia: <wait till John completes the circle> “Now, by fire and by air, let this circle be clean and pure. May the sacred smoke cleanse this place and open our hearts and minds to the realm of spirit.
So mote it be!”
All: “So mote it be!”
John: “Now let us attune our hearts and minds to each other and to the world around us.”
Cynthia and John sit
Dolores: “Relax. <pause>
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. <pause>
Take another deep breath. <pause>
Take a third. <pause>
Relax. <pause>
Find that spot deep inside yourself, where the essence of you resides.
For most people, that’s the area right behind your solar plexus. For some, it may be in the heart, for others it may be between your eyes.
Where ever it is, gather the essence of you into your center. <pause>
Now, from that center, visualize and feel, roots, growing through you and coming out of the bottoms of your feet.
Like a tree, send your roots down, into the good earth.
Feel them spreading, and taking hold. <pause>
Now begin to draw up energy from the earth.
Feel it rising through your roots, filling you with the sacred power of the earth.
Take a moment to feel yourself growing stronger and stronger as this energy flows into you. <pause>
Now from your center, visualize and feel, branches, sprouting out of you in all directions.
Like a tree, send your branches up, into the sky.
Feel them spreading as they reach towards the sun and the moon and the stars. <pause>
Now begin to draw down energy from the sky.
Feel it flowing through your branches, filling you with the sacred power of the sun and the moon and the stars and the sky.
Take a moment to feel yourself growing stronger and stronger as this energy flows into you. <pause>
Now, extend your roots and branches until they meet and intermingle with those of the others here in this circle.
Realize that you are all rooted in the same earth, beneath the same sky. The same power that flows through your roots and branches and center flows through everyone else’s roots and branches and center. <pause>
Many trees have become one forest. We have become one circle.
Blessed be!”
Declared Opening and Stated Purpose
John and Cynthia move to stand behind altar
John: “As our ancestors did in times of old, and our children may do in times to come, we are here to celebrate Mabon, the Autumn Equinox. We come together at this time of balance to renew, remake and restore our connections with the Goddess and God, with the Earth and all its creatures, and with our neighbors near and far. We welcome all who come in love and friendship to join our celebration and learn with us.”
Cynthia: “Let us now cast the circle, to create sacred space in which to work.”
John: Beginning in the East, walk the circle one time with staff, drawing the circle.
Cynthia: “Please stand as you are able as we invite the Spirits of the Elements and the Directions to join us here tonight.”
Jamie lights quarter candle and says:
Hail, Spirits of the East,
Powers of Air! We invoke you and call you,
Golden Eagle of the Dawn,
Star-seeker, Whirlwind, Rising Sun, Come!
By the air that is Her breath,
Send forth your light, we ask.
Hail and welcome!”
All: “Hail and welcome!”
David lights quarter candle and says:
“Hail, Spirits of the South,
Powers of Fire! We invoke you and call you,
Red Lion of the noon heat,
Flaming One! Summer’s warmth, Spark of life, Come!
By the fire that is Her spirit,
Send forth your flame, we ask.
Hail and welcome!”
All: “Hail and welcome!”
Dawn lights quarter candle and says:
“Hail, Spirits of the West,
Powers of Water! We invoke you and call you,
Serpent of the watery abyss,
Rainmaker, Gray-robed Twilight, Evening Star, Come!
By the waters of Her living womb,
Send forth your flow, we ask.
Hail and welcome!”
All: “Hail and welcome!”
Tim lights quarter candle and says:
“Hail, Spirits of the North,
Powers of Earth! Cornerstone of all Power. We invoke you and call you.
Lady of the Outer Darkness, Black bull of midnight,
North Star, Center of the whirling sky.
Stone, Mountain, Fertile Field, Come!
By the earth that is Her body,
Send forth your strength, we ask.
Hail and welcome!”
All: “Hail and welcome!”
Cynthia: “The circle is cast,
We are between the worlds,
Beyond the bounds of time,
Where night and day,
Birth and death,
Joy and sorrow,
Meet as one.
Blessed be!”
All: “Blessed be!”
Invoking the Goddess and God
John: “By our words and by our offerings, let us now invite the Lady and Lord of this celebration to join us and bless our circle, our working, and our lives.”
Cynthia: lights silver candle
Cynthia: “Danu, Goddess, Mother of the Earth and Mother of us all, hear us as we call to you. In this season of harvest we thank you for your bounty, for the fruits and grains and vegetables that will feed us through the coming winter. Lady of the Rivers, we thank you for the waters that support our lives, and all life.”
John: holds up apple
Cynthia: “Great Mother, we offer this apple as a token of our hospitality and of our love.”
John: cuts apple in half through the middle, turns it outward and shows the pentagram to the assembly, then places the apple in the cauldron.
Cynthia: “Welcome. Blessed be!”
All: “Blessed be!”
John: lights gold candle
John: “Cernunnos, Horned God, Lord of the Animals and Father of us all, hear us as we call to you. We thank you for the animals: those that nourish our bodies, those that bring signs and omens, those that inspire us with their beauty and power, and those that accompany us through life. Hunter and Hunted, let us run with you through the forest; teach us again to be wild and free.”
Cynthia: holds up apple
John: “Great Father, we offer this apple as a token of our hospitality and of our love.”
Cynthia: cuts apple in half through the middle, turns it outward and shows the pentagram to the assembly, then places the apple in the cauldron.
John: “Welcome. Blessed be!”
All: “Blessed be!”
Cynthia: “Please be seated.”
Interlude 1
Livvy:
On the downs, in the weald, on the marshes, I heard the Old Gods say:
Here come very many people. We must go away.
They take our land to delight in, but their delight destroys.
They flay the turf from the sheep-walk, they load the downs with noise.
They burn coal in the woodland. They seize the oast and the mill.
They camp beside our dew-ponds. They mar the clean-flanked hill.
They string a clamorous magic to fence their souls from thought,
Til our deep-breathed oaks are silent, and our muttering downs tell naught.
They comfort themselves with neighbors, they cannot abide alone.
It shall be best for their doings When We Old Gods are gone.
Farewell to the downs and the marshes, and the weald and the forest known,
before there were very many people, before the Old Gods had gone!
(Very Many People by Rudyard Kipling)
Main Working
Angie and Ken take the ends of the vines and give them to random people to hold. When someone is holding every end, they grab the vines in the middle and hold them tightly at chest height, standing 4-6 feet apart.
Callers should pause 4-5 seconds after each segment before beginning the next segment. Remain seated while speaking
Jamie: “We were not placed on the Earth – we grew out of the Earth.”
David: “We do not hold dominion over Creation – we live in a network of mutual interdependence.”
Dawn: “The magic of technology does wonders and has made our lives easier and more secure, but it has also caused us to grow isolated.”
Tim: “We are isolated from our fellow humans, from our brothers and sisters the animals, from our father the Sun and our mother the Earth.”
Jamie: “Where once we saw beauty and life, now we see only resources to be exploited.”
David: “Farms and fields, forests and meadows have been cut down and paved over. What was once a land full of vibrant greens and brilliant browns has become a desert of concrete and rooftops.”
Dawn: “The people are cut off from the land, and the land is cut off from the people.”
Aaron raises the sword high above his head and brings it down quickly and dramatically, cutting the vines in two.
As soon as the vines are severed (make sure a second cut won’t be needed), Angie and Ken drop the vines and move quickly back to their seats.
John: “Meditate now on the ways in which your life is separated from the Source of all life.”
<pause for meditation – about one minute>
Cynthia: “This we know. The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which units one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons and daughters of the Earth. We did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”
John: “Ourselves, our nation, and our world have become separated from the Earth, and from the Source of all life. But we need not remain separated. We can forge new connections with the natural world, and with all our sisters and brothers.”
Callers should pause 2-3 seconds after each segment before beginning the next segment
David: “Greet the Sun in the morning.”
Dawn: “Take a walk outside.”
after this line, Angie and Ken get up and start tying the vines together. The litany continues as they repair the vines.
Tim: “Follow the Moon through her phases.”
Jamie: “Stand beneath the night sky and gaze up the stars.”
David: “Give thanks.”
Dawn: “Give to environmental causes”.
Tim: “Give to those who work for peace and justice.”
Jamie: “Work for peace and justice.”
David: “Pray – speak the yearnings of your heart.”
Dawn: “Listen – let the Goddess and God speak to you.”
Tim: “Meditate.”
Jamie: “Work magic.”
David: “Every day.”
Dawn: “Every day.”
Tim: “Every day.”
Cynthia begins the chant:
“She changes everything she touches and
Everything She touches changes”
John begins moving deosil around the inside of the circle, “stirring” the energy as it builds. After a few rounds, Cynthia starts clapping along with the chanting.
as energy begins to build, Cynthia changes the chant to:
“Change is, touch is, change is.
Change us, touch us, change us.”
as energy begins to peak, Cynthia changes the chant to:
“We are the changers
and everything we touch can change.”
The Simple Feast
John and Cynthia move to stand behind altar
John: “Let us now receive the blessings of Danu and Cernunnos.”
Servers move to stand in front of altar
John: holds up apple
Cynthia: “Cut an apple in half along its middle and you will see a natural pentagram, representing the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and the fifth element of spirit. In Celtic lore, the apple comes to us from Avalon, the Isle of Apples and the seat of the Otherworld. For some faiths, the apple represents loss and separation, but for us it is a reminder of the healing powers of the Earth, and the restorative powers of the Otherworld.”
John: uncovers plates of sliced apples and hands them to servers
Cynthia: “As the fruit of the Earth nourishes your body, let the fruit of Avalon nourish your soul.”
Singers begin Simple Feast music
Servers: As the apples are distributed, say “may you never hunger.”
Servers sit after serving
Interlude 2
Livvy:
Advice from a Tree
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter.
(LLan Shamir, Advice from a Tree)
John: “Now let us again find our center, as we prepare to open the circle and return to the ordinary world.”
Dolores: “Feel the branches you projected into the sky when we first started.
Pull them back into you, as you feel the energy flow decreasing.
Return any excess energy to the good Earth.
Now pull your roots up out of the earth; feel them shrinking, withdrawing into your body.
Collect your energy, now only your energy, into that spot deep inside where the essence of you resides.
Once again find your center, as we return to the everyday world.”
Cynthia: “Let us now give thanks to those who have blessed us with their presence and aided us with our working.”
John: “Cernunnos, Horned God, Hunter and Hunted, we thank you for your presence and your blessings. May we always honor you in freedom and power. Hail and farewell!”
All: “Hail and farewell!”
Cynthia: “Danu, Mother Goddess, Mother of the Earth, we thank you for your presence and your blessings. May we always honor you in abundance and love. Hail and farewell!
All: “Hail and farewell!”
All: “Blessed be!”
Uncasting the Circle
John: Walks the circle once with staff slowly, pulling up the energy as he goes.
Cynthia: “What has here been made is now unmade. What has here been conjured may now fade. We who were between the worlds are now in the world again.”
Benediction / Formal Closing
John: “We have come together at this time of harvest as a community of the Old Ways. We have honored Danu and Cernunnos, two of the oldest gods known to the Celtic peoples, and we have been blessed by their presence and gifts. And we have worked our magic to restore and strengthen our connections to the natural world, of which we are a part.
Now as we return to the mundane world, let us always remember the connections that were made and remade here tonight, and let us work tirelessly until all people of all faiths live in harmony with the Earth, its creatures, and with each other.”
Cynthia: “The circle is open, but unbroken,
May the peace of the Goddess and God
Go in our hearts.
Merry meet, and merry part.
And merry meet again. Blessed be.”
John: Rings bell three times “The rite is ended. Go in peace, walk in wisdom.”
Informal Closing (John)
thanks for coming
plug for next CUUPS event
Adopt-a-Spot cleanup Sunday, October 18
Samhain Saturday, October 31
plug for DUUF
Diana’s service tomorrow
fall pledge canvass
Vocal Magic on November 15
request for donations
plug for CUUPS membership