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

72 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
5. T he Working
T he Heart of the Ritual
By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
Now we have reached the heart of the
ritual: working the magick! As I said in the
introduction to our ritual outline, magick is the art of coincidence control or probability
enhancement. We work our magick by focusing our individual or group energies in the same
direction, like a laser beam, to shift the patterns of possibilities and probabilities so that the
things we want to happen are more likely to come about. The power of magick comes from
our will. When we do magick, we never say, “I hope such-and-so will happen,” or “I wish
such-and-so would happen.” We say, “It will be so!” The ritual words for this are “so be it!”
or “so mote it be!” or “make it so!”—which everyone else in the Circle repeats.
There are several steps in doing a magick working in the Circle. Like any good short story
or play, a well-designed ritual has an exposition, characterization, plot development and buildup,
climax, and denouement, or resolution. First is the declaration of intent (exposition), in which
the purpose of the working is explained and agreed upon by everyone. Then comes the working
itself (plot development and buildup)—actually the main part and point of the ritual. This is
followed in most rituals by what is usually called “raising the cone of power,” in which everyone’s
energy is combined and built into a powerful force. Next, power is released and sent out to do its
work (climax). Finally, centering and meditation (denouement or resolution) enable the participants
to recover some of the energy they have just put out.
Declaration of Intent
The purpose of using magick is to change things for the better. Most of our workings are
for healing—healing ourselves, healing each other, and healing the planet. Other purposes might
be protection, peace, or justice. Finding love, a good job, a home, or an answer to some problem
may also be a goal of a magick working. At the beginning of the ritual it is important to decide
exactly what the energy you are raising will be used for, and to state this plainly. This is your
declaration of intent. Often, the declaration of intent is determined and written down before the
ritual even starts. This declaration may be subtle or blatant, but should be made clear and unequivocal.
In a traditional wedding, for example, this would correspond to, “Dearly beloved, we
are gathered here today to witness the joining of Bob and Connie in the sacred bonds of holy
matrimony.” Stating the purpose allows everyone to turn their attention from the preliminaries
to the main focus of the ritual, and paves the way for the work that is to follow. (A previous
partner, Liza, was really good at stating precise and concise declarations of intent. And she
would always conclude with the line, “This or something better will manifest now in complete
harmony, with good for all concerned, and harm to none.”)
Sometimes the declaration of intent may be stated by one person (especially if you are doing
a solitary ritual). If you have a priestess and/or priest conducting the rite, this would be their call.
A good way to do this is to write down the intent in the form of a brief spell—especially in the
form of a little rhyming couplet that will be easy to hold in mind during the power raising. (A
simple example could be something like: “Bring the one I love to me; as I will so mote it be!”)
At other times everyone in the Circle may be given a turn to state what it is they want to
accomplish, or just shout out one- or two-word affirmations, such as “Peace!” “Love!” “Healing!”
“Justice!” We call this “popcorning.” In order to keep the group’s energy together, however,
it works best if everyone focuses on the same basic goal. If some folks really want to work