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

36 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
that everyone take a Ritual Bath before the rite begins in order to cleanse and purify the
body, mind, and spirit. This should be a solitary experience. If done in a home, a tub can be
prepared that everyone will use in turn, but it is important that all bathers be healthy and
carrying no communicable disease!
First, clean your tub thoroughly; then fill it with hot water at a comfortable temperature
(101-102ºF, or 38ºC, is about right). Add ¼ cup of sea salt (or bath salts), saying something
like this (you might even write this out in pretty calligraphy on a little laminated card that
each bather can see and read aloud as they enter the bath):
Let salt and water purify
My body where I resting lie.
Let all mundane impurities
Be washed away with gentle ease.
Let pure creative forces fill
My soul, my spirit, and my will.
So mote it be!
A few drops of lavender or rosemary oil may also be added to the water, or (our favorite!)
a handful of fresh mint leaves or rose petals from your herb garden. Then turn out all the electric
lights, and light a few white candles and some cedar or sandalwood incense. Lower yourself into
the water and let the scent and warmth permeate your body. With every breath you take, feel all
tension flow out of you and be replaced with a glow of golden light that flows into every
extremity and washes away all aches and pains, as well as any negative thoughts and feelings of
the day. You might want to put on a nice meditation tape or CD to help you relax, create
atmosphere, and get you in the right mood for the ritual. Or you might prefer just the quiet
solitude of the bath for meditation and a moment of reflection before you begin the rite.
For group rituals, it will be important to monitor the amount of time allowed for each
person in the Ritual Bath, so that everyone gets a turn. Five or ten minutes should be adequate,
at which point an attendant should appear with a warm towel to dry the participants when they emerge.
Smudging, Asperging, and Grounding
By Oberon
As people enter the ritual area, or after everyone has
assembled into a Circle, we will often have a “Smudging”
in which smoking incense (usually sage or cedar) is carried
around the Circle in an abalone shell or pottery bowl
and fanned over each person with a feather fan or bird’s wing. This
may be done at the entrance to the Circle, if it is a large event and
people are processing in a long line into the ritual area. In such case, it
is common to have two people greet each participant as they enter: one
with smudging, and the other with asperging (sprinkling water from a
bowl using an herbal branch). As this is done, the person entering will
hold out their arms and turn slowly in a circle, while the smudger will waft
the smoke from feet to head. This helps to cleanse our personal auras of any
energies we do not want to bring into the Circle.
“Grounding” is done to harmonize the energies of everyone in
the Circle and tune us all into the vibrational field of the Earth. In the
HOME Tradition, we use a grounding we call “The Tree of Life.”
We stand in a circle, all holding hands, close our eyes, and
visualize that we are trees in the forest. The person who
is leading the Grounding will say something like this: