Ritual nuts and bolts

[Windsmith]

In the "Organized Pantheism? (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=189469)" thread, RavenStars said,

But it would be interesting to get new ideas and approaches to patheistic ritual, something we really don't talk about here. The nuts and bolts.Let's talk "nuts and bolts" of ritual. How we do it, what we feel is uniquely Pantheistic about it, anything else that comes to mind.

I'm hoping RavenStars will wander in at some point and say more exactly what we're looking for here, but if not...we'll make it up! That's what we usually do, right? :lol:

[Poledra]

In the "Organized Pantheism? (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=189469)" thread, RavenStars said,
Let's talk "nuts and bolts" of ritual. How we do it, what we feel is uniquely Pantheistic about it, anything else that comes to mind.

I'm hoping RavenStars will wander in at some point and say more exactly what we're looking for here, but if not...we'll make it up! That's what we usually do, right? :lol:

Well, as I mentioned in the mythology thread, I'm curious as to how you use your personal mythology in your practice.

More general questions -

Do you perform rituals to celebrate particular phenomena? Much of what is awe-inspiring is more ongoing than ephemeral, meaning that I am unsure how you would. . . time. . . such a ritual, if that makes sense.

Do you perform more general rituals but just incorporate pantheist imagery? If so, what rituals and what imagery?

That's all I can come up with for now. This thread is actually pretty timely for me as I'm just struggling with the idea of ritual pantheism and I haven't quite gotten my ideas straightened out yet.

Poledra

[Heart of All]

Hmmm...I'll try to edit out the polytheism chunk of my rituals and just talk about the pantheist part.

Generally, I first meditate, and then I go outside on a walk and sense the divine all around, concentrate on that divine we tend to ignore in every day life. Then I come back home and I pour some wine into my offering bowl. [insert polytheistic ritual] After that, I drink half the wine out of the bowl and pour the other half to the group and say something about how I am taking part of the divine into myself, and putting part of it in the Earth, and that that's really all the same. From the All to the All.

Physically taking in a part of the outside is to represent the communion (in terms of community or sameness, not Christian commuion) of all in the universe. I can bring part of what seems like outside and make it a part of what seems like inside, and it's really all the same. I can pour wine out into the Earth, but I'm really just showing how the wine is the same as the ground in the forest.

Other than that, I'll have spontaneous rituals. I have a particular chant I sing every day at sunset. Often I'll have little moments of recognition with a bird or a squirrel, or even a deer, to remind me that we're all part of the All. Even once with a house, actually. Also I consider studying to be a ritual because I am learning about the All.

Edit: Oh, and the wine thing I try to do each weekend.

[RavenStars]

Me? Remember I come from a Wiccan path which has a set ritual format. I have two books that come from other paths that have helped me somewhat. I'm celebrating Beltane this weekend and have decided to keep some of what is familiar to me since I don't know what else to do:
Recognize the Directions
Designate Ritual Space
Declaration (I've got a cool quote to read)
<insert fuzzy time>
Magic Working
End Ritual Time
Thank the Directions

Anyway, I'd love to find new formats that include things like myths and fostering sacred awareness. I know each of us relates to the All in different ways, I'd like to hear about them!

I'd also like to hear how you bring the awe into your ritual. I've had it happen before. A moment of stillness after the words fade and the actions are held in suspension... and chills go up my spine. I'm probably asking too much, but what the heck!

How's the Windsmith?

[Poledra]

Me? Remember I come from a Wiccan path which has a set ritual format. I have two books that come from other paths that have helped me somewhat. I'm celebrating Beltane this weekend and have decided to keep some of what is familiar to me since I don't know what else to do:
Recognize the Directions
Designate Ritual Space
Declaration (I've got a cool quote to read)


I understand that you come from a Wiccan background and that has coloured your concept of ritual, but I've always had trouble with the concept of the directions (quarters) and their importance in creating sacred space. Honestly, I think we are always in sacred space, but I understand the importance of setting the proper mood and achieving the proper mindset, and so I see that as the purpose of "creating sacred space", but I must admit that I don't understand the directions.

How do the direction figure into your pantheist world view? Why not welcome. . . the periodic table into your ritual? Or acknowledge the myriad of particles that make up the universe?

Why are the directions important?

Hope I haven't offended, I truly just want to understand your point of view as it's something that has always eluded me!

Poledra

[cheddarsox]

I keep looking at this thread with itchy fingers. I've given classes on the elements of ritual, written rituals for groups for years, and written specifically on pantheist ritual in numerous essays...but how to distill that into something fit for a thread...sigh.

I also haven't had a chunk of time to sit and respond, just a minute here or there, and this is a subject near to my heart, and important, so I don't want to do a slap dash job.

On the other hand, maybe the wisest thing I can do is just watch and learn from others.

I know it's not a pan ritual, but I did wash my face in the morning dew...Happy May Day.

cheddar

[RavenStars]

I too have a deep connection to the directions/elements. To put it simply they are symbols of everything that is, condensed into something I can handle and relate to. While I could memorize Tom Leer singing the periodic chart of elements and use it in ritual, I find that I'm more connected to a simpler symbol set. It's been discussed here that the four directions/elements are by no means the only pattern. Other cultures and systems are different. I did pick-up something interesting and haven't followed through with it, that the non-compass directions could be geographic anchors. But that's me. There are so very many ways to acknowledge the forces. My ritual would feel adrift without them.


But I'd sincerely like to know how you start your rituals. Do you designate ritual space? How do you separate the beginning and end of your celebration from normal time?

[Poledra]

Thanks for sharing your view of the elements. I'm still trying to figure out what's important to me when it comes to ritual so was curious how pantheists see the elements. I can understand how they would be representative and anchor you.

Right now, ritual time and space are created only through intent. I used to cast a circle, but I didn't really get it. I didn't "believe" I was casting a circle, I was just doing it because I thought I should. I started my ritual for May Day yesterday by reading a poem, for example.

I would also like to know how other people designate ritual space and start their rituals as I'm always on the lookout for things that speak to me!

Poledra

[Windsmith]

My wife and I both come from more or less Wiccanish backgrounds, which strongly color our rituals. We are slowly moving away from that formality and realizing that, once we step away from how things "should be," anything can be. But old habits die fighting, so it's a long, slow process.

We do most of our rituals together, just us. We stand in front of our altar and hold each other. We each feel the other's arms around our body, and the other's body in our arms. We hear each other's breathing. We are aware of simply being, and of being together. That's the beginning of our rituals. That's our "circle." For us, it - and the invocation of the elements - is acknowledgement of sacred space and time, not creation. All space is sacred, all the time, but we get so caught up in daily living that we need to stop periodically and say, "Yes. This here and this now, this is sacred. We live inside it always."

We honor the elements in a very literal sense. In my personal spell work, I find their traditional symbolic associations very useful, but in ritual, we invoke the Earth, and the winds, and the Sun, and the oceans/rivers/rain/snow. We often do something about the plant cycle - how a seed is planted in the earth, warmed by the Sun and watered by the rains until it pushes up into the air. We talk about photosynthesis and transpiration. Aaaaand then we usually mention eating those plants and becoming part of the cycle (I never said we were "nice" about any of this).

We honor Anscestors and Descendants. Which set depends on the ritual focus. When we did our house-blessing ritual, we honored everyone who'd lived in the house before us and everyone who will live in it after us. When we had our "creativity" ritual, we honored everyone whose art has inspired our own, and everyone who (hopefully) someday will be inspired by our art.

We honor Time. That one's pretty specific to my tradition (Reclaiming). It's an ackowledgement that ritual is one of those activities where we "lose time" - those things you get into and think only a couple minutes have gone by but then discover you've been at it for hours. It's also an ackowledgement of the enormity of Time and of What Is. We are mere blinks, just passing through. We honor That Which Was long before us and will endure long after us.

And then we honor Mystery. That's the high-fallutin' word Reclaiming folk in my area use for the Divine. Some people mean individual deities, but we see it as the numinous in the world, the sense of awe and wonder we feel when we take the time to just be aware of What Is, and that we're alive in it, and holy crap isn't that amazing? For me, it's also the unknowable core at the center of the Cosmos, the five questions raised for every answer science finds about our species, our planet, and the Universe.

None of this is written out beforehand. We don't script our rituals. At best, we might have a rough outline if we wanted to do a lot of things and don't want to forget them.

What comes next depends entirely on our mood. For some rituals, we make magical crafts (we are suckers for talismans and magical jewelry). For others, we might just sit and talk about things of import; at Samhain, for instance, when we tell stories about our loved ones who've died. Sometimes we'll go outside for a walk, or into the living room to dance - an energy-raising ritual celebration of kinesthetics. We've even made and eaten ritual oatmeal on Saturday mornings when it's a New or Full Moon.

And sometimes we kick even that much form to the curb. Every year we go to the Living Green Expo. It's this weekend. Rather than trying to whip together a May Day ritual, we said, "You know, this event means a huge amount to us. Let's make it our ritual." So that's what we're going to do. We'll cast our circle, probably during our hour-long bus ride to the Fair Grounds, and we'll turn the entire weekend into a May Day ritual festival, celebrating our committment to the Earth and to each other (in addition to being very close to our wedding anniversary, this is also a great place to find ways to improve our house. It's an exercise in nesting).

When the ritual is over, we check in with each other to make sure we've accomplished everything we wanted to. We say "Thank you" to the elements we honored at the beginning. I don't know if that's anthropomorphizing; it's not like we expect them to say "You're welcome." But even if they don't understand it, were grateful that the air and the Sun and the water keep us alive, and that the Earth keeps us from hurtling into deep space. Saying "thank you" is just plain polite. Then we kiss, and the ritual is over.

I feel like I've only given a broad overview here. I wanted to get into nuts and bolts, but now I think I'm just skimming the surface. So, please, if folks want me to go deeper, pick some aspect and tell me to start digging!

[Saggitario]

Wow, Wind!
That was.....Amazing.

I really like that you honor Ancestors and Decendents. I've been in traditions where ancestors are revered, but I guess the view point there was that ancestors get reincarnated in one's decendents. I really like your idea, though.

I also like the idea of beginning a ritual by just holding your loved one. That must be a very powerful catalyst for your ritual workings, as love is a very raw emotion.

I hope to learn more from you in the future.

[Lunacie]

Yeah, WOW Wind ! I love the way you begin your rituals together, creating your own circle of sacred space that's filled with love and awareness of your connection to the circle of life. Awesome.


To Poledra - I've been Wiccan for about 19 years and I've never felt that calling the quarters (elements) had anything to do with actually creating sacred space, they are called to guard and protect that space and to simply be a part of our special time and place just as they are always a part of our lives. It's just that we take a moment to connect with them and realize how much a part of our everyday lives they actually are. Much like inviting the God and Goddess to join us and taking the time to connect with them.

Very much like having a friend or family member that you may call once or twice a day and exchange emails or messages with, but every now and then it's nice to invite them to dinner and actually sit down and talk with them and enjoy their presence.


I'm part of an Eclectic Wiccan Grove and it's been hard weaning the group away from having a written ritual to just being part of the moment and going with the flow, being less formal. Still following the basic format because we understand the reasons for that format, but being more free to call the elements and the God and Goddess as real beings rather than archetypes, which I hope will make it easier to connect with them.

[Eleisawolf]

I used to cast a circle. But that didn't seem right. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it felt hollow.

I still set the directions, with the elements in the correspondences I prefer, because they are very meaningful to me. But I add above and below, Father Sky and Mother Earth, which correspond to acting and grounding, extroversion and introspection, protecting and nurturing. These aren't elements, per se, but I think they take what the elements offer and reflect the yin and yang of all of them. And there's a central direction of "in," which is Spirit, the element wherein they all come together. As I light candles for the four directions, I invoke them. Then I invoke Mother Earth and Father Sky. Then I light the Spirit candle.

Then, I channel the Golden Egg. This concept was introduced to me by a teacher who was a Buddhist monk a long time ago. It used to be a white shield of personal energy I put up around myself for protection, when I was less experienced. But this teacher taught me about how the energy around us can create a shell which is permeable to what we want to let in and solid to what we don't. It also allows or doesn't allow out. It glows with the richness of who we are, which is why I see the shimmer of gold now where once it was simply white.

I stretch the Egg and open it outward to where it meets the elements and the directions and the markers I imagine or set for them, opening myself to the concept of liminal space, the space between what is real outside of me in the full of light I can see every day and what is real within me or in the depth of the dark I don't yet know. This is where ritual centers: liminal space. The circle does that for some. For me, the Egg opens it out more.

From there, ritual unfolds the way it does. I don't usually plan anything except the cakes and ale or bread and wine or food and drink of whatever sort. That is an offering to the energy of the Egg, my Spirit, and my guides. I may meditate, or chant, or divine, or perform in some way. It depends on the moment and where I am then.

Then I just pull the Egg back in, gently releasing the elements, asking the guides to go or stay as they will, thanking Mother Earth and Father Sky, and extinguishing the candles.

That's basically it.

Peace

[Poledra]

Thanks for all the perspectives on the elements, you've given me a lot to think about!

Poledra

[Lunacie]

I used to cast a circle. But that didn't seem right. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it felt hollow.

I still set the directions, with the elements in the correspondences I prefer, because they are very meaningful to me. But I add above and below, Father Sky and Mother Earth, which correspond to acting and grounding, extroversion and introspection, protecting and nurturing. These aren't elements, per se, but I think they take what the elements offer and reflect the yin and yang of all of them. And there's a central direction of "in," which is Spirit, the element wherein they all come together. As I light candles for the four directions, I invoke them. Then I invoke Mother Earth and Father Sky. Then I light the Spirit candle.

Then, I channel the Golden Egg. This concept was introduced to me by a teacher who was a Buddhist monk a long time ago. It used to be a white shield of personal energy I put up around myself for protection, when I was less experienced. But this teacher taught me about how the energy around us can create a shell which is permeable to what we want to let in and solid to what we don't. It also allows or doesn't allow out. It glows with the richness of who we are, which is why I see the shimmer of gold now where once it was simply white.

I stretch the Egg and open it outward to where it meets the elements and the directions and the markers I imagine or set for them, opening myself to the concept of liminal space, the space between what is real outside of me in the full of light I can see every day and what is real within me or in the depth of the dark I don't yet know. This is where ritual centers: liminal space. The circle does that for some. For me, the Egg opens it out more.

From there, ritual unfolds the way it does. I don't usually plan anything except the cakes and ale or bread and wine or food and drink of whatever sort. That is an offering to the energy of the Egg, my Spirit, and my guides. I may meditate, or chant, or divine, or perform in some way. It depends on the moment and where I am then.

Then I just pull the Egg back in, gently releasing the elements, asking the guides to go or stay as they will, thanking Mother Earth and Father Sky, and extinguishing the candles.

That's basically it.

Peace

I love the "egg" concept, it's what I've always seen my personal shield as being. In the early years I saw my egg as being clear bottle green but I think I was giving it that color. I haven't given it a color for a long time now, but I haven't really looked to see what color it is now. Gonna have to check that out... :smile:

[RavenStars]

Wow! This is great! I love what everyone has to say---it's very exciting!


We'll cast our circle, probably during our hour-long bus ride to the Fair Grounds, and we'll turn the entire weekend into a May Day ritual festival

Windsong, I'm finding I have a hard time wrapping my mind around mobile sacred space. I think it's because I feel myself rooted in time and place when I cast. I'm curious how it went. You mention the time distortion thing which I've had happen a few times. So even then maybe I'm not rooted in time. Maybe it's a Wiccan mindset, I just don't know.

About the golden or jade egg. I read about the idea of casting a circle then bringing this energy up to form the top of the egg and down to form the bottom. But I've never heard expanding a circle out from Center. The few times I've seen a circle was something like super fine fairy sparkles or lit neon tubes, but only in my imagination. I actually don't cast looking for or using special effects. I cast circling three times while chanting to make sure I'm present in ritual space. I'm not quite sure what ritual space means right now, but I'm experimenting to see what works and how it feels.

I did realize something while I was sitting after ritual. I carefully prep with a script, and a list of things for the altar, not that I follow either absolutely. When I set-up I make sure there are no distractions and I focus on what I'm doing. No big deal? Well, I realized that this is a kind of prayer for me. It brings me into ritual. I am unable to meditate due to mental health issues. At times in the past I would wash my hands and face which was suggested in a book. But I never though of the set-up process as part of the ritual.

Oh, I did want to mention the use of a bell. Does anyone else use them during ritual? When I remember, I like to use them as an audible way to start and end ritual, as well as when certain magic rites are ended. I'd love to get a tuned bell someday.

[cheddarsox]

Oh, I did want to mention the use of a bell. Does anyone else use them during ritual? When I remember, I like to use them as an audible way to start and end ritual, as well as when certain magic rites are ended. I'd love to get a tuned bell someday.

I often use a singing bowl (quartz) during the preparation stage of a ritual, and again at the end, to open and close the mind.

[teishabee]

Im finding this all very interesting.

Im just starting my path and when I started out all the books I read drew from a wiccan perpective but I dont really feel drawn to that religion.

However I want to honour nature in ritual , Im just not sure how I should go about that.

What are peoples thoughts on sacred space.

Could you preform a spontanious ritual, as such in a public place?

[cheddarsox]

Absolutely! A friend and I had an idea, have you heard of "glamour bombing"?

It is when, using the web, a group of people plan to meet at a certain place and do something. We thought it would be awesome to have "mobile ritual". Have people set the date and time, then, the morning of the event, tell them where to meet, and do ritual.

Ritual is where it happens. I find that aspect of it very much in keeping with the basics of pantheism...What Is.

for me, one of the great truths pantheism has taught me is that it (the Universe) is not about me, not about humanity. I've learned a holy humility. So, ritual, awareness, acknowledgement occur where and when they occur, not neccessarily according to what humans have deemed appropriate.

Some of my strongest pantheist "moments" don't occur when I am communing with nature in some 'ideal' place, but in the nitty gritty of life, sometimes in the most artificial seeming situations.

This is one reason I get frustrated with people saying 'Oh, you worship nature. " or "your god is nature", because that is not what pantheism is to me. It is not taking a piece of the whole and deciding it represents the ideal, but rather pantheism is a constant challenge to me to connect with the whole of it, and acknowledge it all as astounding. Even the hard parts, even the man made parts, even the parts I don't enjoy.

So, sometimes having ritual in an unlikely place is perfect.

It is easy to get sentimental, and attached to a certain place, and it's fine to do that, but I think it is important to look beyond the boundaries we often set. To realize that there is a whole Universe out there.

It is ALL sacred space.

[teishabee]

wow thank you for reminding me about glamour bombing.

I was part of a live journal group but it kind of died.

I experienced a kind of bomb today. I bought a tarot book from ebay and I was just flicking through it again and out fell some hand made cue cards for each of the cards.

It was really magical at the moment.

Dont know if it was purposeful but Ive never noticed the cards in the book before this time.

[RavenStars]

All sorts of random thoughts...

Sacred space... at the moment I'm thinking it's a mind set. Not that I understand what that means. It's an intellectual statement. I guess I'm waiting for some emotional investment.

But I do know that sacred space is like magic. I know it when I feel it. Maybe I talk myself into it, I don't know. But it's been said in lots of places that the best magic-users have doubts.

I used to think that the rug, walls, bookshelf, etc. faded away when I was between worlds. Now I feel better knowing they are right there, right where they're supposed to be. I don't have to keep telling myself that things beyond the edge of the circle are somewhere else.

That's cool about on-line ritual! Tell me more!

Yeah, a singing bowl would be really great. Storage problem, not to mention a cost issue. Sigh. I'm sure yours is a prized possession.

[Solya]

You know... one of the most powerful forms of ritual I have come to experience is the global one. It is truly a mark of the fact that everything is connected to another thing and that there is always something we can gift this Earth with and be gifted with in return. I had the pleasure of leading some of these rituals for another online group and they were wonderfully energizing experiences for all of the participating members.

Basically, we set a specific date beforehand. We would work out a timeframe that was okay for everyone (something that was quite hard, seeing as we had participants from three different continents!) and find a focus for the entire group to work from. Usually we picked places with high energies, such as the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge in England, but we also sometimes focused on a picture one of us had taken instead. We usually picked an intention beforehand too... and it was always something we gave to Earth and the community as a whole, such as healing or understanding or love...

Every member of the group had his/her own specific methods of doing this global ritual. Some drew circles, called the quarters and followed a set course in a ritual they had written themselves. Others focused and meditated on it before they went to sleep and joined us during their travels through the dreamworld. Others, again, simply went outside and did some yoga or used relaxation techniques while focusing on the intention and the place. I usually began to write or draw/paint something while focusing clearly on the group, place and intention. Everyone would finish at their own time and speed... some lingering in the place longer, others leaving after they felt they had done what they came to contribute... and no one was bound to do something they did not feel comfortable doing.

You could feel a slight shift occurring as the members of the group connected with one another at the meeting place. To me, it felt like we were halfway between this world and another world. Colours became more vivid, sounds became more beautiful... and it was like we were creating some kind of dialogue with the Earth herself. She answered us, in whatever way came most natural, and left us reeling in shock and awe no matter how often we participated in such rituals. I always went away with a sense of having been healed and strengthened, no matter how bad I had felt beforehand, and it helped me pull through some pretty rough patches.

Sacred space does not need to be created, but it needs to be attuned to your own specific set of needs and desires. That is what a ritualistic structure and approach is usually for, in my opinion, because these will help you work more in tune to the space you are using. And when you can connect with others within their space and tune into a huge space together... expanding that sense of sacred space and togetherness until it encompasses the Earth altogether... you get a sense of the power that lies within intent and love. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life, even though at the moment the need for the global rituals seems to have lessened in my own life and the lives of the people I did them with, and something I hope everyone will have the joy of experiencing one day.

[cheddarsox]

Lovely,

When I do ritual for a "holy day" I often visualize myself connecting with all the others who are doing likewise, that day, and throughout history, and that is powerful for me. But the idea of actually setting it up with others globally is so wonderful!

How enriching and invigorating!

cheddar

[cheddarsox]

Yeah, a singing bowl would be really great. Storage problem, not to mention a cost issue. Sigh. I'm sure yours is a prized possession.

I fell in love with them when I was 20...but I didn't get one until my 40th birthday, and yes, a very prized possesion, for the whole family and our friends. People are just drawn to it.

good news is, price has gone down over the years. I paid half of what they cost twenty years earlier!

[cheddarsox]

wow thank you for reminding me about glamour bombing.

I was part of a live journal group but it kind of died.

I experienced a kind of bomb today. I bought a tarot book from ebay and I was just flicking through it again and out fell some hand made cue cards for each of the cards.

It was really magical at the moment.

Dont know if it was purposeful but Ive never noticed the cards in the book before this time.

Yesterday a good friend and I were poking around an antique store. We picked up a book from the early 1900's, for women on "maidenhood, matrimony and motherhood", and while leafing through she came across someone's collection of dried four leaf clovers.

We were very touched, and suddenly connected to a woman, probably dead or very aged now. And it really struck me, because I keep my four (and up) leaf clover collection in the pages of my cookbooks. I felt we had met a kindred spirit.

cheddar

[teishabee]

wow both experience seem very powerful in there own way.

I would say my scared space is through mediation. I love the feeling of silence.

I like to embrass it and feel connected to the world around me.

[Saggitario]

Global ritual sounds very interesting.

I know of an international Vodou house that does rituals in this manner. Members from all over the world do a focused ritual at the same time.

Perhaps we in the MW Pantheism community can adopt something similar.

[RavenStars]

the idea of actually setting it up with others globally is so wonderful!

We do have people here on this list from all over. Not sure about internationally. I agree, that would be great! Solya, you make it sound so wonderful. Want to organize something?

[Solya]

I'm always willing to help out with the organisation of these things, yeah. :smile: All you really need is date, time, place, intent and focus. We actually used to do these once every two weeks on Saturday/Sunday, so perhaps we would be able to organise something similar? It'd be lovely to be able to do this with the members of MW who feel up to it.

[Windsmith]

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around mobile sacred space. I think it's because I feel myself rooted in time and place when I cast. I'm curious how it went.I've been doing mobile sacred space for years. The very first Reclaiming ritual I was ever part of, we cast our circle in the priestess's house and then carried it next door into the park where the bulk of the ritual was taking place.

I find it works incredibly well. With a lot of traditions, you physically mark the boundaries of your circle, and that's it. Nothing and no one in or out once it's done. And you say, "This is now sacred space." But that's a little silly, isn't it? Because all space is sacred. When you take your circle with you, you may start in your bedroom (as we usually do) and say, "This space is sacred." Then you move downstairs into the living room, and now "This space is sacred." Then you're on the other side of the river, in a different town, and "This space is sacred." It allows more fluidity, more welcoming of the place itself into your circle. Like Eleisawolf talked about with the Egg, the circle doesn't just separate you from the rest of the world - it connects you to it in a controlled way. It's a semi-permeable membrane that lets in and out what you want in and out, and dulls the rest to white noise.

Eventually, you might even get to the point where you no longer need the circle, because, of course, by carrying it around all this time, you've realized that every space is sacred, and don't want to leave out any of it, so you find other ways to block out unwanted energies and just revel in being connected to What Is.


Oh, I did want to mention the use of a bell. Does anyone else use them during ritual? When I remember, I like to use them as an audible way to start and end ritual, as well as when certain magic rites are ended. I'd love to get a tuned bell someday.One of my fellow priestesses has a Tibetan singing bowl, and we sometimes use it to cast the circle. Instead of having everyone visualize the circle, or creating it with something material, we create a sphere of sound. It's gorgeous.


What are peoples thoughts on sacred space.

Could you preform a spontanious ritual, as such in a public place?Well, like I mentioned, every space is sacred space. What I do in ritual is not "creating" sacred space that is separate from everything else (which is thereby understood as "mundane" or "profane" space) but rather acknowledging the Immanent Sacredness of wherever I am. Thus, you could easily perform a spontaneous ritual, and I know people who have - at protests, at shopping malls...pretty much anywhere they suddenly felt the need for some spiritual action.

[cheddarsox]

Something we did at a ritual once that I liked, that is in keeping with what Windsmith wrote about mobile sacred space is this. During the ritual, we had a chant, "remove your shoes, the ground you walk on is holy ground", and the ritual moved from one area to another, and we would pick up the chant "the ground you walk on is holy ground" as we "worked" in a new area. To remind us that no matter where we stepped, we stepped on holy ground.

[Lunacie]

I've been doing mobile sacred space for years. The very first Reclaiming ritual I was ever part of, we cast our circle in the priestess's house and then carried it next door into the park where the bulk of the ritual was taking place.

I find it works incredibly well. With a lot of traditions, you physically mark the boundaries of your circle, and that's it. Nothing and no one in or out once it's done. And you say, "This is now sacred space." But that's a little silly, isn't it? Because all space is sacred. When you take your circle with you, you may start in your bedroom (as we usually do) and say, "This space is sacred." Then you move downstairs into the living room, and now "This space is sacred." Then you're on the other side of the river, in a different town, and "This space is sacred." It allows more fluidity, more welcoming of the place itself into your circle. Like Eleisawolf talked about with the Egg, the circle doesn't just separate you from the rest of the world - it connects you to it in a controlled way. It's a semi-permeable membrane that lets in and out what you want in and out, and dulls the rest to white noise.

Eventually, you might even get to the point where you no longer need the circle, because, of course, by carrying it around all this time, you've realized that every space is sacred, and don't want to leave out any of it, so you find other ways to block out unwanted energies and just revel in being connected to What Is.

One of my fellow priestesses has a Tibetan singing bowl, and we sometimes use it to cast the circle. Instead of having everyone visualize the circle, or creating it with something material, we create a sphere of sound. It's gorgeous.

Well, like I mentioned, every space is sacred space. What I do in ritual is not "creating" sacred space that is separate from everything else (which is thereby understood as "mundane" or "profane" space) but rather acknowledging the Immanent Sacredness of wherever I am. Thus, you could easily perform a spontaneous ritual, and I know people who have - at protests, at shopping malls...pretty much anywhere they suddenly felt the need for some spiritual action.

I explained this before, but it bears repeating I think. For me, "sacred space" and "the circle" are two different things. I use them at the same time in the same place, but they are not the same thing. Sacred Space is cleansed the way you would pick up your house and vacumn the carpet if you knew company was coming over.

The Circle is like the house itself, the walls and floor and ceilings keep in the heat or AC. The Circle is cast to help contain the energies that are raised until they are released to fulfill their purpose, also to block unwanted energies. Which doesn't necessarily mean all will be peaceful and calm and quiet inside the Circle.

We had such a great circle for Beltaine, but we could still hear a fire truck going by a couple of blocks away and the dogs all around barking at the siren. I laughed because it was just as we finished inviting the Goddess, and I said "The Goddess of Chaos is here! Welcome and blessed be!" and we all laughed.

[RavenStars]

Cheddersox, I love your chant! Very powerful.

It occured to me Windsmith, that your description of mobile sacred space is actually personal space whether it is at arm's length or just your physical body. Linking with others would be some sort of a communal skill. Am I right? Sorry if I'm repeating you, just trying to understand.

Lunacie, I see your point. I'll have to think about it. One thing, though, cleansing does assume that there is some sort of negative energy or disorder that can be "dispelled."

Solya, I think we should post a ritual thread, or create one of those group thingies.

[cheddarsox]

cleansing does assume that there is some sort of negative energy or disorder that can be "dispelled."



That is one of my issues when people speak of "creating" sacred space as well. I'm not sure if it is just that we understand the terms differently, or something deeper.

One of the challenges of pantheism for me is to put aside dualism, at least in my spiritual work. It is how human society functions, and I see the purpose of labeling things positive or negative in daily life, but spiritually, I try to get past that.

I ask myself "can you just look, without labeling. Can you just experience without compartmentalizing. Can you accept without judging."

Doing that 24/7, at least for now, would be too exhausting. It is easier for me to fall into what culture is doing. But when I am doing my spiritual stuff, I aim for not falling for the idea that there is something "negative" that I need to banish, fix, bind, or sheild from. The purpose of my rituals are to experience my connection to everything. I am working on having a trust in the Universe, no matter what. Not a personal trust, that it will somehow protect me from things I don't like or understand, but a trust that since it's not about me, whether I like a thing or not, whether I understand it or not...isn't the point.

So I don't start ritual with "how can I make this better" sort of attitude, but how can I get attuned to What Is.

I know that "cleaning" an area, for many, is NOT about fixing things, but just a ritual for them to symbolize and prepare themselves for spiritual work. Like some people don't feel ready to meet the day until they shower and fix their hair...it puts them into a certain mindset.

So, I am not poo pooing the casting of circles or sheilding etc, just explaining why I currently use a different approach.

One thing I've learned is that in spiritual matters, the 3 dimensional spiral is often the path. Something we "grow" out of at one point, later, we come to understand on a new level and pick up the practice of again...only to grow out of that level of it and give it up again...and maybe years later discover a new level of it...and pick it up again.

So while I am not cleansing and sheilding now...who knows, maybe 3 years from now it will seem like the perfect thing to do, because I will understand it in a new way.

cheddar

[Eleisawolf]

Something we did at a ritual once that I liked, that is in keeping with what Windsmith wrote about mobile sacred space is this. During the ritual, we had a chant, "remove your shoes, the ground you walk on is holy ground", and the ritual moved from one area to another, and we would pick up the chant "the ground you walk on is holy ground" as we "worked" in a new area. To remind us that no matter where we stepped, we stepped on holy ground.

I know that quote! It's actually, believe it or not, from the Bible. Moses reaches the top of Mount Sinai and is speaking to the burning bush, and the bush tells him "Remove your sandals, for the place where you are walking is holy ground."

My husband was commissioned to write a piece of music based on that text, for organ, trumpet, and choir. When he wrote it he put a repeating rhythm in the organ that is meant to be the sound of animals or people walking. For him--and for the person who commissioned the piece--the text indeed symbolizes that anywhere we walk is holy ground, just as you said.

That's why the Egg works so well for me, too. It contains whatever space I am in at any point in time. Everything can move in and out of it, and everything inside and outside it is holy. It's just what contains the space of my working.

ETA: Oh, and about cleansing or banishing... well, I can see both Lunacie's point and Cheddar's, but neither is complete for me. I don't wish to cleanse out anything, really, but I do like to feel that I'm in control of what approaches me when I'm in that space. I don't always like to judge what's positive and negative for me. I know that such things don't exist in the universe unconsciously, but they do exist within me and as a part of the reality of sentient existence. It's hard to explain, because there's nothing I really need to banish at this point in my life, but there were times that I did need to banish what was negative intent by others and, in some cases, by my own self. That's why my Egg was a shield for so long. Now I feel I can release some of that, but there's always a guard, for me, to keep the things that I perceive as harming the balance of my ritual or my mental state at Egg's length away from me--and that's true whether or not I'm in ritual. In ritual, Egg's length is just a little longer, opening out for more. :)

Anyway, I don't know if that made sense... I'm processing it as I write it, but at this point that's what makes sense to me.

Peace

[Lunacie]

Hmm, interesting thoughts you're processing there. I don't always "cleanse" the space before casting a circle. It depends on what's been going on in my (our) lives. For Beltaine I swept the circle thrice - once just above the ground, once with the besom in front of me, and once with the besom overhead - I was banishing the negative feelings and influences that were lingering over the recent breakup of the group. It really did feel like I was cleaning away some icky cobwebby stuff. And I enjoyed the ritual much more than usual, and really felt like I was connected with the energies that were present.

[Windsmith]

I explained this before, but it bears repeating I think. For me, "sacred space" and "the circle" are two different things. I use them at the same time in the same place, but they are not the same thing. Sacred Space is cleansed the way you would pick up your house and vacumn the carpet if you knew company was coming over.

The Circle is like the house itself, the walls and floor and ceilings keep in the heat or AC. The Circle is cast to help contain the energies that are raised until they are released to fulfill their purpose, also to block unwanted energies. Which doesn't necessarily mean all will be peaceful and calm and quiet inside the Circle.OK, I understand that distinction. Maybe it would help, to expand on your analogy, for me to say that I think of the circle like a tent, rather than like a house. A tent can go anywhere; it can be set up anywhere; and, for as long as the ritual (or camping trip ;) ) lasts, it serves the same essential function as a house. Very similar to your concept, just slightly more portable.


It occured to me Windsmith, that your description of mobile sacred space is actually personal space whether it is at arm's length or just your physical body. Linking with others would be some sort of a communal skill. Am I right? Sorry if I'm repeating you, just trying to understand.You know, I think it would. I'd never thought of it that way before, but there is a definite sense, when working in group, of being comfortable enough with each other to link our spaces together to form a larger whole. Of course, the mobile sacred space works perfectly well with one person, but then, like you say, that might be little more than acknowledging the personal space boundaries that we all have all the time. My worry there would be that I might start thinking that "my" space was sacred because only I was in it and because it separated me from everything else, not because it's the conduit I can use to reconsider What Is and more fully connect to it.


I ask myself "can you just look, without labeling. Can you just experience without compartmentalizing. Can you accept without judging."

Doing that 24/7, at least for now, would be too exhausting. It is easier for me to fall into what culture is doing. But when I am doing my spiritual stuff, I aim for not falling for the idea that there is something "negative" that I need to banish, fix, bind, or sheild from. The purpose of my rituals are to experience my connection to everything. I am working on having a trust in the Universe, no matter what. Not a personal trust, that it will somehow protect me from things I don't like or understand, but a trust that since it's not about me, whether I like a thing or not, whether I understand it or not...isn't the point.

So I don't start ritual with "how can I make this better" sort of attitude, but how can I get attuned to What Is.

I know that "cleaning" an area, for many, is NOT about fixing things, but just a ritual for them to symbolize and prepare themselves for spiritual work. Like some people don't feel ready to meet the day until they shower and fix their hair...it puts them into a certain mindset.

So, I am not poo pooing the casting of circles or sheilding etc, just explaining why I currently use a different approach.I love this outlook, cheddar, but I'm too easily distracted for it to work for me right now. For me, the question is not "good" energy vs. "bad" energy but energy that supports what I'm doing vs. energy that distracts me. That's why I cast and shield - not because particular energies are "bad," but because they're not useful for me right now. Who knows; tomorrow they might be exactly what I need, but today they're going to get me off-track in ways that I don't want to. And, frankly, I like having that control. I can't relate to all of What Is at the same time. I have to put up boundaries or my puny human mind goes KA-BLOOIE. So I trust that I have agency and authority, as a part of What Is, to decide for myself what I need at a given time and what I don't, and I use my circle to filter accordingly.

[Lunacie]

OK, I understand that distinction. Maybe it would help, to expand on your analogy, for me to say that I think of the circle like a tent, rather than like a house. A tent can go anywhere; it can be set up anywhere; and, for as long as the ritual (or camping trip ;) ) lasts, it serves the same essential function as a house. Very similar to your concept, just slightly more portable.

Great analogy - like a tent!



I love this outlook, cheddar, but I'm too easily distracted for it to work for me right now. For me, the question is not "good" energy vs. "bad" energy but energy that supports what I'm doing vs. energy that distracts me. That's why I cast and shield - not because particular energies are "bad," but because they're not useful for me right now. Who knows; tomorrow they might be exactly what I need, but today they're going to get me off-track in ways that I don't want to. And, frankly, I like having that control. I can't relate to all of What Is at the same time. I have to put up boundaries or my puny human mind goes KA-BLOOIE. So I trust that I have agency and authority, as a part of What Is, to decide for myself what I need at a given time and what I don't, and I use my circle to filter accordingly.

Um hum, that's what I was trying to get across, not a question of "bad versus good" but of what I'm working with at the time versus what would be too much of a distraction. When I'm not inside Circle, then it's good to be aware of how all Space is Sacred. That's one lesson I really liked from learning Reiki, that kind of awareness. It's not something I remember to do all the time though.

[RavenStars]

My head is spinning. Much, much of great interest being said here.

On a side note, my sister learned at some point when presented with something strange or disturbing, to say "isn't that interesting." And not pass judgement.

[Windsmith]

Great analogy - like a tent!Wow! You mean that tent thing actually worked?!? Go, me!


On a side note, my sister learned at some point when presented with something strange or disturbing, to say "isn't that interesting." And not pass judgement.We do something similar in our Reclaiming community. Whenever things happen not according to plan, we throw up our hands and say, "How fascinating!" It's a great reminder that things we might want to think of as mistakes might, if we can just look at them nonjudgmentally, prove to be opportunities we never would've had otherwise.

[Eleisawolf]

When it comes to being non-judgmental...

When I first started doing ritual, I was working with people who were very serious about it. Similarly, I worked with a yoga instruction book that said one should concentrate very hard on the asanas, and not laugh or break concentration if one falls. It all brought on such a high level of self-judgment. I'm enough of a perfectionist, and when something went wrong, it felt like everything was wrong.

Then a teacher--the same one who taught me about the Egg--gave me permission to laugh at myself. To throw up my hands and say, "Oh well" or "Whatever."

I started to capture the gift in the mistakes. The further stretch that I got when I smiled and just accepted what happened.

So if something goes wrong in ritual, or in yoga, or in anything that I might otherwise get too serious about, I now give me permission to laugh.

Life isn't perfect, and that's a treasure. What on earth would be the point if it was?

;)

Peace

[Lunacie]

When it comes to being non-judgmental...

When I first started doing ritual, I was working with people who were very serious about it. Similarly, I worked with a yoga instruction book that said one should concentrate very hard on the asanas, and not laugh or break concentration if one falls. It all brought on such a high level of self-judgment. I'm enough of a perfectionist, and when something went wrong, it felt like everything was wrong.

Then a teacher--the same one who taught me about the Egg--gave me permission to laugh at myself. To throw up my hands and say, "Oh well" or "Whatever."

I started to capture the gift in the mistakes. The further stretch that I got when I smiled and just accepted what happened.

So if something goes wrong in ritual, or in yoga, or in anything that I might otherwise get too serious about, I now give me permission to laugh.

Life isn't perfect, and that's a treasure. What on earth would be the point if it was?

;)

Peace

You are so lucky that someone gave you permission to be real, and to fail. My family didn't give me that, and I beat myself up for years trying to be something that I cannot possibly be. And now I know that I learn as much, or more, from my mistakes as I do when I get it right the first time I try. Hell, I used to be afraid to even try because I just knew I would fail. It really wasn't any fun.

[RavenStars]

How can that be part of a ritual? Opening self to the tides of All, a cleansing perhaps? Something to wash away doubt and fear? Water is fairly easy... but how about sand running through fingers? I had a friend who was instructed by his teacher to drink a boiling cup of camomile tea whenever he started obsessing on something... which is not only herbalism but also represents all the elements. Any ideas, anyone?

On another tact, I belong to an art group that gets a topic each week. This week is doors. It made me think of passage into and out of ritual space. Many societies have initiation rites where the initiate is challenged at the door before they join the others. Are you pure of intention? Do you really want to be here? Are you willing to set aside your fear and enter with an open heart? I'm babbling, sorry.

[Eleisawolf]

How can that be part of a ritual? Opening self to the tides of All, a cleansing perhaps? Something to wash away doubt and fear? Water is fairly easy... but how about sand running through fingers? I had a friend who was instructed by his teacher to drink a boiling cup of camomile tea whenever he started obsessing on something... which is not only herbalism but also represents all the elements. Any ideas, anyone?

For my part, open, honest laughter is the perfect element of ritual for that. I honestly start to look for places in ritual where I can laugh, incorporate humor. When Basha and Tika were still a part of my circle, they always contributed to ritual, and it made me smile. Embracing and welcoming chaos is cleansing in its own way.


On another tact, I belong to an art group that gets a topic each week. This week is doors. It made me think of passage into and out of ritual space. Many societies have initiation rites where the initiate is challenged at the door before they join the others. Are you pure of intention? Do you really want to be here? Are you willing to set aside your fear and enter with an open heart? I'm babbling, sorry.

Not at all. This is a good topic, too. I like to leave the doors open--wide. My Egg was always open for Tika and Basha, and because it follows me wherever I go, it's always open to whatever comes near, unless I know it's something that would harm me or pull me away from my intention for ritual. Leaving the door open is the best way for the universe to sometimes say, "Hey, I know this is what you want, but what if you got this instead? How would that change you?"

What happens if we replace doors with windows?

Peace