~*Samhain*~

October 31st

A Grand Sabbat

 

 

 

Preparation:

A white sleeveless tunic should be prepared for the High Priestess.  A wand made of a plain stick topped with a jester's head should also be made and placed near the altar.  Food for the feast after the ritual should include some type of nut as well as apples.  For this ritual, the cauldron should be in the center of the Circle, with an incense burner prepared inside it.

 

The Ritual:

 

The High Priestess should wear the white tunic for the opening ritual.  After the Witches' Rune, the High Priest and Priestess should take up their athames.  The Priest should be standing with his back to the altar, with the Priestess facing him across the cauldron.  At the same time, they draw the Invoking Pentagram of Earth in the air, and he lays his athame on the altar;  she puts hers near the cauldron.

The High Priestess burns incense in the cauldron.  She invokes:

"Dread Lord of Shadows, God of Life, and the Giver of Life -

Yet is the knowledge of thee, the knowledge of Death.

Open wide, I pray thee, the Gates through which all must pass.

Let our dear ones who have gone before

Return this night to make merry with us.

And when our time comes, as it must,

O thou the Comforter, the Consoler, the Giver of Peace and Rest,

We will enter thy realms gladly and unafraid,

For we know that when rested and refreshed among our dear ones,

We will be reborn again by thy grace, and the grace of the Great Mother.

Let it be in the same place and the same time as our beloved ones,

And may we meet, and know, and remember,

And love them again.

Descend, we pray thee, in thy servant and priest."

The High Priestess walks once around the cauldron deosil and gives the High Priest the Fivefold Kiss.  She returns to her place and calls on each woman to give the Priest the Fivefold Kiss.

When this is completed, the Coven stands around the edge of the Circle (alternating male and female), with the Maden standing at the West candle.  The High Priestess says:

"Behold, the West is Amenti, the Land of the Dead, to which many of our loved ones have gone for rest and renewal.  On this night, we hold communion with them, and I call upon all of you, my brothers and sisters of the Craft of the Wise, to hold the image of these loved ones in your heart and minds, that our welcome may reach out to them.

"There is mystery within mystery, for the resting-place between life and life is also Caer Arianrhod, the Castle of the Silver Wheel, at the hub of the turning stars beyond the North Wind.  Here reigns Arianrhod, the White Lady, whose name means Silver Wheel.  To this, in spirit, we call our loved ones.  And let this maiden lead them, moving widdershins to the center.  For the spiral path inwards to Caer Arianrhod leads to night, and rest, and is against the way of the Sun."

The Maiden now walks slowly in a widdershins direction around the Circle, spiraling inwards slowly.  The coven should at this time be meditating on their dead loved ones.  When she reaches the center, she faces the High Priestess across the cauldron.  The High Priestess holds our her right hand, at shoulder level, over the cauldron, with her palm open and facing to the left.  The Maiden places her right palm flat against the palm of the Priestess.  The High Priestess says:

"Those you bring with you are truly welcome to our Festival.  May they remain with us in peace.  And you, O Maiden, return by the spiral path to stand with our brothers and sisters, but deosil - for the way of rebirth, outwards from Caer Arianrhod, is the way of the Sun."

The Maiden returns to her place as the Priestess instructed her.  When she is in place, the High Priestess says, "Let all approach the walls of the Castle."

The High Priestess and Coven move in and all sit in a ring around the cauldron.  All should concentrate on the incense and meditate on the spirits of their dead.

When the High Priestess feels it is time, she carries the cauldron beside the East candle.

The High Priestess and Priest enact the Great Rite, but with some differences.  The chalice and athame should not be carried, but instead should be placed on the floor.  The coven should walk slowly deosil around the Circle while it is taking place.  The High Priest will give the wine to each woman, and then the High Priestess will give the wine to each man.

After this, the High Priestess gathers the Jester's Wand from the altar and gives it to a chosen male witch.  He is told that he is now the Lord of Misrule, and for the rest of the ceremony, he is free to disrupt the proceedings however he wishes. 

The feast now begins.

All information contained on this page are from my personal Book of Shadows ©2003NyWitch