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

Book II: Rites & Rituals 145
love out. Fill yourself, the room, the town…
Lastly, breathe in all the peace you can. Breathe out all the peace you can. Peace in
and peace out. Fill your heart, fill the room, fill the town, the state, the world, the universe.
Peace in and peace out…
Surrounded by the peaceful, pass into bliss. OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTI.
Orphic Hymns to the W inds
166. To the South Wind (#82)
Wide coursing gales, whose lightly leaping feet
With rapid wings the air’s wet bosom beat,
Approach benevolent, swift-whirling powers,
With humid clouds the principles of showers:
For showery clouds are portioned to your care,
To send on earth from all surrounding air.
Hear, blessed powers, these holy rites attend,
And fruitful rains on earth all-parent send.
IV. Fire
What Is To Give Light Must Endure Burning
By Farida
167. To the West W ind (#81)
Sea-born, Aerial, blowing from the west,
Sweet gales, who give to wearyed labour rest:
Vernal and grassy, and of gentle sound,
To ships delightful, thro’ the sea profound;
For these, impelled by you with gentle force,
Pursue with prosp’rous Fate their destined
course.
With blameless gales regard my suppliant prayer,
Zephyrs unseen, light-wing’d, and formed
from air.
If you have access to a fireplace or open fire pit, make an
appointment with the spirit of Fire. Lay in your tinder and wood
for burning with care. This fuel is the nourishment you provide
for feeding the Fire. You would do the same for any
other creature committed to your care.
When you are ready to ignite the materials, think for a moment of the miracle that is
about to happen. With the strike of a match, the flame will spring into being. You may want to
greet the flame with a blessing, such as “Blessed Be, thou creature of Fire.”
Watch, as the little Salamanders eagerly lick the meal you have prepared for them.
Observe the nature of Fire as it gains strength and crackles merrily—or snaps angrily. Imagine
that the popping and snapping is a form of communication. What might Fire be saying to
you? Tell the Fire your deepest secrets, your hidden desires, and passionate longings. Watch
the directions of the dancing flames. As time passes and the Fire matures, gaze into the
glowing coal caverns. What shapes do you see there in that fantastic Fire world?
Allow yourself to view your own passions: Do they consume you with rage and fury or
do they radiate warmth and light that sustains you and others around you? Does this trait tell
the truth about who you really are at the center of your being? Does it reflect the divine light
within you? Or is it a lie and a pretense, reflecting what you or someone else might think you
are? Would you be willing to sacrifice that which holds you back? Would you be willing to
throw your fear into the Fire? Or your jealousy, distrust, or self-hatred?
Write on a slip of paper a quality that you believe you would be better off without and ask
the Fire to take it and burn away the pain and unhappiness it has caused you. Or, even more
powerful, choose an item from among your personal possessions that symbolizes the quality you
wish to transform, and give it to the Fire. But be sure to visualize what will come in its place. As
the old jealousies, angers, and hidden shame are consumed, the true self, compassionate and
forgiving and radiant, is able to shine brightly, a beacon light for all to see.