Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for All ... - reading...

Book II: Rites & Rituals 101
for rituals of consecration and blessing. If it’s a new place to be occupied, the space may first
need to be cleared and cleaned—physically and ritually (as with a banishing). Then it will be
consecrated for its new use, and new people, with a ritual of blessing.
New tools (such as artist’s tools, musical instruments, magickal implements, etc.) should
be ritually consecrated as well, and blessed for their new use.
And of course, blessings may be bestowed upon people, places, creatures, and things of all
nature. As Rabbi Tuckman says in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights: “Bless ‘em all!”
Shielding & Protection
Shielding and protection may be done for an individual, a group, or a place. Such rites
involve throwing up a protective field around the target which will repel unwanted energies.
The perfect metaphor is the energy fields/shields used to protect Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise
from phaser fire and photon torpedoes. Shielding is done by taking the basic barrier of
the Circle itself, and strengthening it into an impenetrable shell, reflectively mirrored on the
outside. Use visualization as well as actual hand-held round mirrors as you circle around the
person or place to be protected, holding your hands up as if against an invisible wall.
Healing & Transformation
Healing may be done for someone actually present in the Circle, or for someone far
away who is known to one or more of the participants, who can link with them and relay the
energy. A common method is for the person(s) to be healed (or their surrogates) to sit or lie
in the center of the Circle while everyone else directs healing energy into them through their
hands, which may be laid on the person’s body, particularly over any specific areas that may
need healing. Then everyone breathes together, deeper and faster, making sounds with each
breath, until finally reaching a crescendo, simultaneously pumping out the combined Chi of
the group into the center person(s) with the release of the last total exhalation.
Another method involves the person to be healed remaining linked in the Circle, with
everyone holding hands and facing to their right. A current is created and built by each
person in a wave snapping their head around to catch the eyes of the person on their left and
blowing out with a “whoosh!” while simultaneously squeezing the hand of that person. At
the same time, that person inhales the breath, then repeats these actions towards their left.
After a few times around the Circle, this wave can gather tremendous power. When the one
to be healed feels it is strong enough, all they have to do is break their link with the next
person on their left, thereby collecting the full force of the energy wave without passing it on.
Healings may also be done for animals, a community, an ecosystem, and the planet.
Except for animals, which can be brought into or passed around the Circle, these greater
healings require symbolic “object links,” such as photos, models, or a globe.
Transformation rituals can use these same techniques imbedded in a more complex psychodrama,
which may be physically enacted, or played out through a guided meditation.
Elemental Rituals
Elemental rituals involve attunement with the four Elemental Principles of Nature: Earth,
Water, Fire, and Air. These usually entail some actual physical involvement with that particular
Element. Here are some examples:
Earth—Rituals may be conducted around gardening, tree-planting, hiking, rock- and
mountain-climbing, spelunking (cave exploring), and pilgrimages to natural wonders. These
invariably include “grounding” exercises and meditations, visualizing “putting your roots
down deep into the Earth.”
Water—Rituals are commonly performed around sacred wells, waterfalls, pools, hot springs,
at the beach, and any place where the Element of Water appears naturally. Often shrines
may be set up at such places, adorned with shells and other representations of Water.