by Llewellyn
What makes a public ritual workable for the experienced witch as well as for the newcomer to Wicca, or even for the merely curious? Having attended numerous open circle rituals for Esbats and Sabbats and having facilitated many in conjunction with spiritual groups, Pagan gatherings, and metaphysical shops including my own, I have gained some important insights from observation and participation. These experiences have taught me to address the comfort level of the attendees and ensure that everyone understands what is going on and what is expected of them during the ritual. As I proceed through a ritual, I provide a basic explanation of what that ritual is about and what I am doing so everyone in the circle grasps the significance of the ritual and how it relates to them personally. Most important, the attendees are able to keep up with the actions taking place and are brought into an active participating role rather than standing silently as observers. I consider open circle rituals of any kind to be a golden opportunity for education tied together with spiritual communion and community bonding.
Comfort and Setting
An open ritual begins with planning and setup, which includes location. If you don’t have a large enough indoor space for your ritual, you may consider outdoor spaces. For large groups, renting park or campsite space is another expense to be considered, but generally the guests are charged an attendance fee in these cases.
The length of the ritual is another factor to consider. If outside in the sun or in the black of night, think about how the weather will affect the group and the ritual. Also remember to account for changing weather if your ritual is particularly long; if your ritual begins at sundown on a fall day, temperatures will drop quickly as the sunlight fades.
With small groups outside, the ritual area can be prepared with a canopy for shade if tree shade is not sufficient. If you are outdoors at night, you have the additional problems of people stumbling or falling in the rough terrain, insect control (or lack thereof), lighting for the ritual so people can see what is happening, and sound amplification to allow people to hear over the crickets and frogs. With so many factors involved, taking on the responsibility for outdoor rituals involving hundreds of people is not for the faint of heart and requires many helpers.
Another matter to consider with public outdoor rituals is the reaction of passersby, which should be kept to a minimum so as not to interrupt the ritual. Unless working in a secluded area, I find that taking a less formal approach allows me to breeze through a ritual without any fuss from neighbors or people walking by. Be considerate of the comfort level of the people at the ritual, especially in regard to public places. Indoor rituals are a good way to avoid that concern, but if the indoor space is too small to accommodate the number of guests, go outside with a confidence that will reassure your guests. For outdoor rituals, I have an altar set up and include customary activities such as jumping the cauldron of burning woods or herbs, but I keep the attire basic and simple. Keep the ritual spiritual, using drumming or music only if it is appropriate and unlikely to be a nuisance to the neighbors. My rituals last no more than half an hour to a maximum of forty-five minutes in order to keep the energy flowing to a strong and satisfying conclusion.
Another variable for public ritual involves standing, sitting, or a combination of both in the circle. Some gatherings attract hundreds of people, so participants are allowed to bring their camp chairs into the circle to accommodate age, health, and fatigue while waiting for everyone to be smudged and enter the space. During this time, it is important to tell people to move deosil/clockwise around the circle and to keep them moving. You can prompt people along, or have helpers (usually stationed at the quarters) to keep the crowd moving until the circle is filled without glaring gaps. Some folks want to be the first in line to enter the circle, but also want to set up their camp chairs early, thus creating a barrier that the other guests have to stumble around. There are always those who do not have a clue about circle courtesy or proper behavior, so a gentle reminder to keep moving or a nudge to step out of the way of traffic may be necessary to keep the crowd in motion and avoid lost tempers. With small groups, standing seems to work well, with a couple of chairs available for those who need them.
Attire
I consider ritual attire to be optional in an open circle, as this allows those who have robes and want to wear them to do so without excluding people who choose to attend in street clothes. The point of having open rituals is to utilize the energy of the lunar phase or Sabbat season in a way that is comfortable for all involved. As the presenter, you should wear something that distinguishes you for that role. It can be ritual wear, a special cloak or decorative duster that feels appropriate, ritual jewelry, or simply your cingulum (knotted belt). It is not the embellishments of jewelry, flowing robes, and crowns of antlers that make a ritual—it is the content and the heart that goes into it that matters.
Getting Started
There are variables in rituals that allow for the facilitator’s personal touches to be added in even the rudimentary stages of circle casting, such as sweeping, smudging, bringing in the attendees, and calling the quarters. Alternative methods can be applied with sweeping the circle space, for example. As a ritual tool rather than a cleaning tool, the besom is used to clear the prospective sacred space by moving aside energies that might be counterproductive to the ritual. From the perspective of moving energy, I usually sweep prior to the guests entering the circle in order to avoid brushing the negative or chaotic energy onto the feet of the guests. The exception to this order of events is when I do a group cleansing. People are then brought into the ritual area and I guide them in drawing together the stressful, negative, or chaotic energies that have upset them or that they sense as barriers to their happiness or fulfillment. These negative energies are gathered starting at the head, pulled together through the body, and pushed down to their feet and cast out as a ball on the floor/ground in front of them. I then take the besom around the circle and carefully gather all the discarded energies and brush these out of the circle for Nature to reclaim, cleanse, and recycle. By explaining my actions throughout the process, everyone knows what is happening, and the magical act is enforced with the power of words.
By explaining my actions throughout the process, everyone knows what is happening, and the magical act is enforced with the power of words.
Smudging the circle after this allows for the attendees to feel the total sensation of cleansing and revitalization. Imbolc is an especially good time for smudging, as the ritual includes purifying and blessing the besom, but I include this group cleansing whenever I feel the collective energy of the guests needs more than smudging with sage.
I usually bring the guests into the sacred space area prior to casting the circle so they can feel the energy of inclusion and can participate in calling the quarters. I have attended rituals where everyone stands around while a group completely sets up the circle, then creates a doorway for the guests to enter, being smudged as they cross the threshold, and I sometimes use this method for Esbats. The threshold can be envisioned or symbolized with a crossed besom and sword, but if using tools, be sure to remind people to step over these objects, as someone inevitably will stumble on them otherwise.
Participation
At the start of an open ritual, I have a volunteer hold the text and turn pages on my signal. In a coven or family setting, this role may be given to a young member of the group, who is called the maiden or the lad. As the presenter, you can do all the parts as though in a Solitary ritual, which provides people with an idea of how they can conduct their own private rituals. If you have others who are able to help out with the ritual, they can take on some of the lines and actions such as smudging, calling the quarters, alternating the spoken portions, helping with blessing the Simple Feast, or distributing food and drink.
Throughout the ritual, giving people clues on what to do helps them feel involved. Let them know when to face the directions
and raise their arms to greet or bid farewell to the elementals. Pause a moment for people to repeat aloud certain phrases from the ritual such as “Hail and Welcome,” “Hail and Farewell,” “Blessed Be,” “So Mote It Be,” and be ready to prompt with a gesture so they all chime in with “Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again” at the conclusion of the ritual.
Since Esbats are also a time for magical workings, any kind of activity that draws in the power of the lunar phase can be used in an open circle, but be considerate of the guests. While I have let people select a rune and provided handouts with the meanings, I have also used meditations and opened gateways with a black mirror. Not everyone will participate, and that is fine. The presenter at an Esbat needs to keep an eye on the people in the circle to gauge their comfort level and help them stay at ease. Sometimes the simplest activities are the best, such as sprinkling the guests with blessed lunar water, but this is also a good time for making projects that can be taken home, such as charm bags, talismans, herbal blends, bath salts, and so forth. I have made dozens of small charm bags with herbs and little stones to honor the Faeries at Midsummer, handed out stalks of wheat at Lughnassadh, blessed tea lights for jack o’lanterns at Samhain, and blessed blue chime candles at Imbolc for people to light in their homes. All of these tokens have been well received.
The in-circle activities of meditation, journeying, and divination require a watchful eye to ensure everyone has a positive experience. Most important of all, remember to release any entities called, bid farewell to the deity invoked, and close any doors that have been opened.
A variety of traditions, solitary practices, and newcomers to the Craft can be accommodated in ritual with a generic script. The deities can be named or simply called the Goddess and the God or the Lady and the Lord. I vary the deity names to correspond to the season, such as with Maia and the Greenman at Beltane and the Crone and the Hunter at Samhain. With covens and family or solitary practice, the deities addressed may always be the same ones, but by using different names and representations in open circles, the attendees are able to see a variety of aspects of the Divine.
The script for Sabbats and Esbats should vary sufficiently for regular guests to distinguish what it is that makes one ritual different from another. Be flexible and work with the season or lunar phase, thinking about the significance of each ritual and how best to bring that across to a group that may include newcomers with rudimentary knowledge. I try to incorporate the meanings of my actions as much as possible, and even take into the account the impact of the lunar phase during a Sabbat.
Cakes and Ale
During the Simple Feast (Cakes and Ale/Wine) part of the ritual, I include a blessing of a basket of food and pitcher of beverage to be passed around to the participants. If outdoors, the libation goes directly onto the ground in front of the altar table; if indoors, a libation bowl serves this purpose, and it is later emptied onto the ground outside. It only makes sense to exclude alcoholic beverages when working with a diverse group. There is no way of knowing who is a recovering alcoholic or who has allergies, and alcohol is not suitable for children or pregnant women, so I feel that even having wine as an option is not in the best interests of all the attendees. I stick with antioxidant beverages such as blueberry or cranberry juice, and there are so many cranberry blends that one can be selected to fit the ritual—apple for Mabon, blackberry for Lughnassadh, white cranberry grape for Imbolc, and so on.
The other part of the feast is the food, and again there are allergies and food restrictions to consider. I always tell people the ingredients of food items—such as nuts, seeds, wheat, egg, raisins, gluten, and so on. Still, I will tell participants that if they cannot eat the food, they can take it home for a personal altar or shrine, use it as an offering, or add it to a protective, seasonal charm bag.
The easiest way to handle distribution of the feast is to give a stack of little paper cups to people at different points in the circle and let them take their own and pass the rest. Take back the remaining clean cups and collect the used ones after the feast by restacking and setting aside. Passing a basket with cookies or cut up bread or cake will go quickly. You can let people pass the basket or take it around the circle yourself. I like to take the beverage around in a pitcher and pour a small amount in each cup—the point of the feast is ritual, not a meal. If there is leftover food or drink, I let people have seconds or take any extra bread home. Most people will start to pass along the stacked used cups, but you can also ask them to do so if you are ready to move on in the ritual. It is easy to discretely set the used cups on the floor/ground by the altar until the ritual is ended and cleanup begins.
Announcements can be made during the ritual meal, letting people know when and where the next ritual will take place, or what activities and events are coming up that relate to the community. This is also a good time to indicate where a container for donations is located so they can help defray the expense of the ritual. Some of the costs involved may include beverages, bread, cups, flowers, altar decorations, candles, incense, handouts such as song sheets, and a token of the ritual for people to take with them for their homes.
If a buffet follows the ritual, people should be notified ahead of time by way of flyers, website postings, etc., that they need to bring something to share. The presenter still needs to ensure there is some food and beverage available, along with plates, cups, and utensils, lest the shared buffet consist of a dozen boxes of chocolate chip cookies and one veggie tray.
Open circles offer an excellent opportunity to educate those who are new to the Craft while reminding the experienced of the special meaning of the ritual. Remember that these rituals may be the only Sabbats or Esbats some people ever attend, so strive to keep it enjoyable, educational, meaningful, succinct, and engaging.
Ann Moura was raised in a family oral tradition of Green Witchcraft and has subsequently presented public rituals and taught about her Craft in workshops and seminars.
Illustrator: Tim Foley
Necklace Numerology
Donald Tyson
Sometimes you may want a charm that does not look like a charm, so that you can wear it in plain sight all the time without having to sidestep questions about it. As you probably know, you cannot talk about the purpose for which a charm is made, or you will destroy the working of the charm. Hiding a charm in plain sight can be accomplished through something I call necklace numerology.
The charm, which is designed to achieve a specific purpose in life for the person who wears it, takes the form of a necklace of colored beads. This can be crafted as simply or as elaborately as desired, depending on the materials chosen. You will need a length of thread suitable for stringing the beads upon and a set of beads of the same size or similar sizes colored white, red, blue, green, and black.
Numerology involves the assigning of number values to letters of the alphabet. There are many ways of doing this, but the simplest assignment to the English alphabet is to write the letters in three rows, left to right, one row above the other, and associate a number from one to nine to each column in the rows. The result is that each number from 1 to 8 is linked with three letters, and the number 9 with two letters (there are 27 places in the three rows, but only 26 letters, so one of the places is left blank). This method is described in the 1912 numerological text Numbers: Their Meaning and Magic by Isidore Kozminsky, who describes it as a “new system of numeration.”
The system divides the alphabet into three divisions or degrees. The first nine letters constitute the first degree, the next nine the second degree, and the last eight the third degree. Each letter is represented by a digit number, as follows:
The nine numbers will correspond with the nine segments of the necklace, and the degree will correspond with the position within that segment. (Don’t worry, this will make sense soon!)
For our purposes of charm making, each row of letters may be linked
with one of three colors. A to I is assigned the color red, J to R the color blue, and S to Z the color green. The very last place, which has no letter, receives the color black, to signify the end. In this way the combination of a number and a color clearly indicate a letter of the alphabet. For example 5-red would be the letter E, and 7-green would be the letter Y.
The construction of our necklace charm is quite simple. Beads are arranged in nine sets of three from left to right. Each set of three beads is divided from the set next to it by a knot. Ten knots are enough to define and contain nine sets of three beads each. The white beads are merely placeholders, while colored beads indicate letters. A single black bead is placed at the end of the ninth segment on the far right to indicate the end of the necklace, so that it is not put on backwards by mistake.
Before we can make our necklace, we need to decide on our letters. To determine what letters are to be incorporated into our necklace charm, we must begin with our purpose. Each magic charm is made for one purpose, which may be specific or general, and may involve a single event in time or a continuing progression of events. Whatever the purpose, it must be clear enough in your mind to express in a single short sentence or phrase. Ideally the phrase should consist of from five to nine significant words—that is to say, meaningful words, not words such as the and a and and, which may be disregarded in making the charm.
The sentence or phrase must be expressed in the present tense, and must be positive. Avoid the use of negative words. Let us take as an example the purpose for the charm expressed by this sentence: “Love surrounds me and increases daily.” This would be a charm to attract love of a general kind, not necessarily just romantic love. It would result in a sustained loving environment. The key words of the sentence are five in number: love, surrounds, me, increases, daily. From these words, the first letters are selected: L, S, M, I, D.