Wicca (16 page)

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Most Wiccans have favorite stories of circle mishaps. One of mine occurred when leading a ritual. I mispronounced the name of the elemental ruler of earth (“Goob” rather than “Ghob”); the double-headed axe fell to the floor from the altar, and I smacked my hands into the chandelier that hung over the altar during power raising. It was a funny ritual.

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As long as it is positive.

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Besides, they never leave. They exist within ourselves and inside all of nature.

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Those south of the equator would perform this and all circle dispersions in exactly the opposite direction. Some Wiccans believe that any counterclockwise (widdershins) movement is negative, but it is used here for a sound reason and, indeed, this is the way the circle is broken in at least one Wiccan tradition that I know of. If you feel uncomfortable when treading widdershins, simply walk clockwise and take the energy back inside you.

Section III
The Standing Stones
Book of Shadows

Introduction to
The Standing Stones
Book of Shadows

THIS IS A COMPLETE
Book of Shadows, ready for use. I wrote much of it several years ago for students who desired to practice Wicca but couldn’t gain entrance to a coven. There is certainly nothing secret here, nor am I borrowing from other traditions except in the most general ways.

I’m limiting my remarks, notes, and comments on this Book of Shadows. If you have questions while reading these rituals, or while working them, settle them as best you can. Unfamiliar words and terms can be checked in the glossary.

Please remember that this is simply
one
Book of Shadows. There are countless others, each with both strong and weak points. Some of these have been printed, in part or in their entirety (see bibliography).

This is not, I repeat,
not
sacred writ, nor does it consist of revealed writings. I’ve written it in a somewhat romantic, baroque style, hoping that this will spark your imagination. Remember, the Book of Shadows isn’t changeless. Feel free to alter anything for any reason, or use this Book of Shadows as a pattern to construct your own. It isn’t my intention to begin a new tradition of Wicca.

The rites are constructed for individuals.Group workings will require some alterations.

Why the “standing stones?” I’ve long been fascinated by the megalithic sites of Britain and Europe. Stone circles and menhirs capture my imagination, and I wonder what rites their ancient creators performed there.
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I centered this system’s circle casting around the erection of a psychic circle of stones, as well as a physical one. If you feel uncomfortable with this idea, simply change the ritual.Never be afraid to do this—you won’t disappear into a poof of dust. No angry deities will descend unless you use rites calling for blood or death or living sacrifices, or perform magic that harms or twists others to your will.

While working these or any other rituals, remember to visualize, sense, and move power. Feel the presence of the Goddess and God. If you don’t, all rituals are only form.

It is my hope that this Book of Shadows captures your imagination and guides you on the Wiccan path.

For those who are interested, the way is open.

Blessed Be!

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These weren’t the Druids; Druids arrived over a thousand years later and had nothing to do with the construction of such sites as Stonehenge. Sorry!

Words to the Wise

O DAUGHTERS AND
sons of the earth, adore the Goddess and God and be blessed with the fullness of life.

Know that they have brought you to these writings, for herein lie our ways of Wicca, to serve and fulfill the keepers of wisdom, the tenders of the sacred flame of knowledge. Run the rites with love and joy, and the Goddess and God will bless you with all that you need. But those who practice dark magics shall know their greatest wrath.

Remember that you are of the Wicca. No more do you trod the ways of doubt. You walk the path of light, ever climbing from shadow to shadow to the highest realm of existence. But though we’re the bearers of truths, others do not wish to share our knowledge, so we run our rites beneath moon-filled skies enwrapped in shadows. But we are happy.

Live fully, for that is the purpose of life. Refrain not from earthly existence. From it we grow to learn and understand, until such time that we are reborn to learn more, repeating this cycle ’till we have spiraled up the path of perfection and can finally call the Goddess and God our kin.

Walk the fields and forests; be refreshed by the cool winds and the touch of a nodding flower. The moon and sun sing in the ancient wild places: the deserted seashore, the stark desert, the roaring waterfall. We are of the earth and should revere her, so do her honor.

Celebrate the rites on the appropriate days and seasons, and call upon the Goddess and God when the time is meet, but use the Power only when necessary, never for frivolous ends. Know that using the Power for harm is a perversion of life itself.

But for those who love and magnify love, the richness of life shall be your reward. Nature will celebrate.

So love the Goddess and God, and harm none!

The Nature of Our Way

As often as possible, hold the rites in forests, by the seashore, on deserted mountaintops, or near tranquil lakes. If this is impossible, a garden or some chamber shall suffice, if it is readied with fumes or flowers.

Seek out wisdom in books, rare manuscripts, and cryptic poems if you will, but seek it out also in simple stones, and fragile herbs, and in the cries of wild birds. Listen to the whisperings of the wind and the roar of water if you would discover magic, for it is here that the old secrets are preserved.

Books contain words; trees contain energies and wisdom books ne’er dreamt of.

Ever remember that the Old Ways are constantly revealing themselves. Therefore be as the river willow that bends and sways with the wind. That which remains changeless shall outlive its spirit, but that which evolves and grows will shine for centuries.

There can be no monopoly on wisdom. Therefore share what you will of our ways with others who seek them, but hide mystic lore from the eyes of those who would destroy, for to do otherwise increases their destruction.

Mock not the rituals or spells of another, for who can say yours are greater in power or wisdom?

Ensure that your actions are honorable, for all that you do shall return to you three-fold, good or bane.

Be wary of one who would dominate you, who would control and manipulate your workings and reverences. True reverence for the Goddess and God occurs within. Look with suspicion on any who would twist worship from you for their own gain and glory, but welcome those priestesses and priests who are suffused with love.

Honor all living things, for we are of the bird, the fish, the bee. Destroy not life save it be to preserve your own.

And this is the nature of our way.

Before Time Was

Before time was, there was The One; The One was all, and all was The One.

And the vast expanse known as the universe was The One, all wise, all-pervading, all-powerful, eternally changing.

And space moved. The One molded energy into twin forms, equal but opposite, fashioning the Goddess and God from The One and of The One.

The Goddess and God stretched and gave thanks to The One, but darkness surrounded them. They were alone, solitary save for The One.

So they formed energy into gasses and gasses into suns and planets and moons; they sprinkled the universe with whirling globes and so all was given shape by the hands of the Goddess and God.

Light arose and the sky was illuminated by a billion suns. And the Goddess and God, satisfied by their works, rejoiced and loved, and were one.

From their union sprang the seeds of all life, and of the human race, so that we might achieve incarnation upon the earth.

The Goddess chose the moon as her symbol, and the God the sun as his symbol, to remind the inhabitants of earth of their fashioners.

All are born, live, die, and are reborn beneath the sun and moon; all things come to pass there under, and all occurs with the blessings of The One, as has been the way of existence before time was.

Song of the Goddess

(based on an invocation by Morgan
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)

I am the Great Mother,

worshipped by all creation and existent prior to their consciousness.

I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.

I am the chaste Goddess of the moon, the lady of all magic.

The winds and moving leaves sing my name.

I wear the crescent moon upon my brow

and my feet rest among the starry heavens.

I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set upon.

I am a field untouched by the plow.

Rejoice in me and know the fullness of youth.

I am the blessed Mother, the gracious lady of the harvest.

I am clothed with the deep, cool wonder of the earth

and the gold of the fields heavy with grain.

By me the tides of the earth are ruled;

all things come to fruition according to my season.

I am refuge and healing.

I am the life-giving Mother, wondrously fertile.

Worship me as the crone,

tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth.

I am the wheel, the shadow of the moon.

I rule the tides of women and men and

give release and renewal to weary souls.

Though the darkness of death is my domain,

the joy of birth is my gift.

I am the Goddess of the moon, the earth, the seas.

My names and strengths are manifold.

I pour forth magic and power, peace and wisdom.

I am the eternal maiden,Mother of all, and crone of darkness,

and I send you blessings of limitless love.

Call of the God

I am the radiant king of the heavens,

flooding the earth with warmth and

encouraging the hidden seed of creation

to burst forth into manifestation.

I lift my shining spear to light the lives of all beings and

daily pour forth my gold upon the earth,

putting to flight the powers of darkness.

I am the master of the beasts wild and free.

I run with the swift stag and

soar as a sacred falcon against the shimmering sky.

The ancient woods and wild places emanate my powers,

and the birds of the air sing of my sanctity.

I am also the last harvest,

offering up grain and fruits beneath the sickle of time

so that all may be nourished.

For without planting there can be no harvest;

without winter, no spring.

Worship me as the thousand-named sun of creation,

the spirit of the horned stag in the wild, the endless harvest.

See in the yearly cycle of festivals my birth, death, and rebirth—

and know that such is the destiny of all creation.

I am the spark of life, the radiant sun,

the giver of peace and rest,

and I send my rays of blessings to warm the hearts

and strengthen the minds of all.

The Circle of Stones

The circle of stones is used during indoor rituals, for energy raising, meditation, and so on.

First, cleanse the area with the ritual broom.

For this circle you will need four large, flat stones. If you have none, candles can be used to mark the four cardinal points of the circle. White or purple candles can be used, as can colors related to each direction—green for the north, yellow for east, red for south, and blue for west.

Place the first stone (or candle) to the north, to represent the spirit of the north stone. In ritual when you invoke the spirits of the stones you’re actually invoking all that resides in that particular direction, including the elemental energies.

After setting the north stone (or candle), place the east, south and west stones. They should mark out a rough square, nearly encompassing the working area. This square represents the physical plane on which we exist—the earth.

Now take a long purple or white cord
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and lay it out in a circle, using the four stones or candles to guide you. It takes a bit of practice to smoothly do this. The cord should be placed so that the stones remain inside the circle. Now you have a square and a circle, the circle representing the spiritual reality. As such, this is a squared circle; the place of interpenetration of the physical and spiritual realms.

The size of the circle can be anything from five to twenty feet depending on the room and your desires.

Next, set up the altar. The following tools are recommended: