Lammas Ritual
Author Unknown
Special Notes:
You will need a loaf of bread on the altar.
Place cauldron decorated with grains by the Eastern candle.
Drawing down the moon is omitted from the opening ritual.
Hold a dish of fruits and breads and say:
Now do I give thanks for an abundant harvest. The seed which was planted in the spring has brought life.
Place dish on or before altar. Dance around the circle in celebration, playing instruments and singing.
Hold a loaf of bread aloft. Draw down the goddess energy, invoking:
O mighty mother of us all, bringer of all fruitfulness, give us fruit and grain, flocks and herds, and children to the tribe, that we may be mighty. By the rose of Thy love, do Thou descend upon the body of Thy servant and Priestess here.
Begin the corn dance, all the while holding the loaf as a sacred object.
Holding the loaf in both hands say:
Thus do I strengthen my Lord, His energy resides in this bread, a record of all life that ever was and all that is yet to come. I eat of this bread, that my Lord my live on,
And the wheel may turn.
Take some of the bread to eat and say:
Light does not die, it merely changes to another form.
Ritual
Place upon the altar sheaves of wheat, barley or oats, fruit and breads, perhaps a loaf fashioned in the figure of the Sun or a man to represent the God. Corn dollies, symbolic of the goddess, can be present there as well.
Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle of Stones.
Recite the Blessing Chant.
Invoke the Goddess and God.
Stand before the altar, holding aloft the sheaves of grain, saying these or similar words:
Now is the time of the First Harvest, when bounties of nature give of themselves so that we may survive.
O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain, grant me the understanding of sacrifice as you prepare to deliver yourself under the sickle of the goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer.
O Goddess of the Dark Moon, teach me the secrets of rebirth as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold.
Rub the heads of the wheat with your fingers so that the grains fall onto the altar. Lift a piece of fruit and bit, savouring it flavour, and say:
I partake of the first harvest, mixing its energies with mine that I may continue my quest for the starry wisdom of perfection. O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun, gracious ones before whom the stars halt their courses; I offer my thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth. May the nodding grain loose its seeds to be buried in the Mothers breast, ensuring rebirth in the warmth of the coming Spring.
Consume the rest of the fruit.
Works of magic, if necessary, may follow.
Celebrate the Simple Feast.
The circle is released.
May the fruit of our lives be bound and sealed to Thee,
O Mother, O Woman Eternal
who holdest the inmost life of each of Thy daughters
between the hands upon Her Heart
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
We swear by Peace and Love to stand,
Heart to Heart and Hand to Hand.
Mark, O Spirit, and hear us now,
confirming this, our Sacred Vow.
~Druidic Prayer of Unity~
Author Unknown
Special Notes:
You will need a loaf of bread on the altar.
Place cauldron decorated with grains by the Eastern candle.
Drawing down the moon is omitted from the opening ritual.
Hold a dish of fruits and breads and say:
Now do I give thanks for an abundant harvest. The seed which was planted in the spring has brought life.
Place dish on or before altar. Dance around the circle in celebration, playing instruments and singing.
Hold a loaf of bread aloft. Draw down the goddess energy, invoking:
O mighty mother of us all, bringer of all fruitfulness, give us fruit and grain, flocks and herds, and children to the tribe, that we may be mighty. By the rose of Thy love, do Thou descend upon the body of Thy servant and Priestess here.
Begin the corn dance, all the while holding the loaf as a sacred object.
Holding the loaf in both hands say:
Thus do I strengthen my Lord, His energy resides in this bread, a record of all life that ever was and all that is yet to come. I eat of this bread, that my Lord my live on,
And the wheel may turn.
Take some of the bread to eat and say:
Light does not die, it merely changes to another form.
Ritual
Place upon the altar sheaves of wheat, barley or oats, fruit and breads, perhaps a loaf fashioned in the figure of the Sun or a man to represent the God. Corn dollies, symbolic of the goddess, can be present there as well.
Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle of Stones.
Recite the Blessing Chant.
Invoke the Goddess and God.
Stand before the altar, holding aloft the sheaves of grain, saying these or similar words:
Now is the time of the First Harvest, when bounties of nature give of themselves so that we may survive.
O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain, grant me the understanding of sacrifice as you prepare to deliver yourself under the sickle of the goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer.
O Goddess of the Dark Moon, teach me the secrets of rebirth as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold.
Rub the heads of the wheat with your fingers so that the grains fall onto the altar. Lift a piece of fruit and bit, savouring it flavour, and say:
I partake of the first harvest, mixing its energies with mine that I may continue my quest for the starry wisdom of perfection. O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun, gracious ones before whom the stars halt their courses; I offer my thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth. May the nodding grain loose its seeds to be buried in the Mothers breast, ensuring rebirth in the warmth of the coming Spring.
Consume the rest of the fruit.
Works of magic, if necessary, may follow.
Celebrate the Simple Feast.
The circle is released.
May the fruit of our lives be bound and sealed to Thee,
O Mother, O Woman Eternal
who holdest the inmost life of each of Thy daughters
between the hands upon Her Heart
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
We swear by Peace and Love to stand,
Heart to Heart and Hand to Hand.
Mark, O Spirit, and hear us now,
confirming this, our Sacred Vow.
~Druidic Prayer of Unity~
