Midsummer

Create Sacred Space

Prepare Salt and Water

 “Behold, I exorcise you, O creature of Earth, casting out from you any impurities which may lie within.”

“And I do Bless and Charge you to this work!”

“Behold, I exorcise you, O creature of Water, casting out from you any impurities which may lie within.”

"And I do Bless and Charge you to this work!”

“Behold, the Salt is pure!”

“Behold, the Water is pure!”

“Purity into purity then, and purity be blessed!”

“Behold I cleanse and purify this space.”

Prepare Fire and Incense

 “Behold, I cleanse you, O spirit of Fire, casting out from you any impurities which may lie within.”

“And I do Bless and Charge you to this work!”
 
“Behold, I cleanse you, O spirit of Air, casting out from you any impurities which may lie within.”

“And I do Bless and Charge you to this work!”

“Behold, the Fire is pure!”

“Behold, the Air is pure!”

“Purity into purity and purity be blessed!”

“Behold I charge this space.”

Have the people assemble at the East and wait until the ritual space is cleansed.  Then lead them in, single file: process deosil in a circle around the edges of the ritual space, marking out the Circle.  Chant:

“The spiral is a Circle that continues past its start
Ever rising: Weaving: Unfurling! With the magic of the heart!

“We spiral round our Temple: make it holy: make it ours!
And our dancing forms a Circle as mighty as the stars!

“The spiral is a Circle that continues past its start
Ever rising: Weaving: Unfurling! With the magic of the heart!

“We are One within our Circle with the God and the Goddess
Who move through us in the Circle as our Circle we now Bless!”

“The spiral is a Circle that continues past its start
Ever rising: Weaving: Unfurling! With the magic of the heart!

After the third time around, stop and lead the people in a visualization to formalize the Circle.  You might do it like this:

“Behold –with our steps we have cast a Circle: created a place between the world of humankind and of the Mighty Ones.  Imagine it around us.  See it as a wall of light surrounding us.  Bright, shining white light.  Imagine it clearly, strongly: a Circle of Art to focus and to contain the powers we shall raise herein.  Around, around, around about! All good stay in –all ill keep out!”

Invoke the Quarters.

EAST
“I invoke You O God in Your form as Golden Lord of the East: Hero -Champion of the Goddess, Lord of the Dawn and of Spring! Your breath is in the Air and the greening buds of leaves and flowers.  May Your wind bring fresh ideas and inspiration to our Circle!”

SOUTH
”I invoke You O God in Your form as Red Lord of the South: Lover –Consort of the Goddess, Lord of Noonday and of Summer! Your spirit is in the Fire and the growing crops of the fields.  May Your flames bring passion and vitality to our Circle!”

WEST
”I invoke You O God in Your form as Blue Lord of the East: King –Right hand of the Goddess, Lord of Sunset and of Autumn! Your blood is in the Water, in the harvest which is reaped and in the falling leaves.  May Your waves bring empathy and compassion to our Circle!”

NORTH
”I invoke You O God in Your form as Green Lord of the North: Sorcerer –Guardian for the Goddess of the Gates of Life and Death, Lord of Midnight and of Winter! Your flesh is in the Earth, the frosted trees and seeds which wait for rebirth.  May Your soil bring wisdom and understanding to our Circle!”

PRIEST
“O mighty God, we invoke You in Your name of Lover! Loving and beloved Consort of the Goddess, Lord of Life and Growth -Your fiery passion and shining heart radiate love throughout the universe.  Inspire us with Your spirit of service and devotion! Share with us Your joy in life and living! Be with us O God, and guide us we pray in this our sacred ritual! We bid You Hail and Welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

PRIESTESS
“O holy Goddess, we invoke You in Your name as Mother! Creator and sustainer of life, source of all fertility and abundance, You nourish and succor us, Your children.  From You all things proceed and from Your loving heart are provided for! Share with us Your all-reaching compassion and providence! Inspire us to embrace love for all life! Be with us O Goddess we pray in this our holy rite! We bid You Hail and Welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

Invoke Ancestors

“O Mighty Ancestors, Beloved Ones Who have gone before, We invoke You and ask You to join us and to Bless us! Ancestors of the Correllian Tradition, Priestesses and Priests, Mothers and Uncles of the lineage, Spiritual family which aids and supports us –lend us Your inspiration and Your love, Your guidance and Your aid this night, we pray.  Beloved Ones, we bid You Hail and Welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

"We come together at this time to honor the Sun at the height of His reign: the longest day of the year.  Now the powers of life are at their strongest -for many months they have grown and now they prosper.  BUT -from this time forward the days will grow shorter and the powers of life will begin to wane as the harvest comes and the world slips inexorably toward Winter.  It is always so in life: that when a thing reaches the moment of its greatest perceived perfection, it then begins to change.  The only constant in existence is change: life is growth and transformation.  For we see in the handiwork of Goddess and of God, which is the world around us, that if perfection can be said to exist it must reside in motion, rather than permanence.  Let us therefore reflect upon this and not become bound to a particular moment of imagined perfection, but embrace and enjoy the journey which is life."

ACT OF POWER
INCENSE CIRCLE

Start the charcoal in the censor before the ritual begins so that it is good and hot by the time you are ready to use it.  Have everyone form a circle around the censor and explain the process.  You might say something like:

"At Midsummer the Sun is at the height of His power.  The Sun is the Lord of the physical world, and of manifestation: that is the creation of a desired effect through magic.  For this ritual we are going to work with manifestation through Fire and Air, the diurnal Elements associated with the God: as we go forward be thinking of something in your life which you wish to create or change -something you wish to manifest.

"Perhaps you wish to manifest prosperity into your life? Abundance: a better job or job situation: the success of some physical goal.  We have Cinnamon here for that.  For prosperity you will use that incense."

You might wish to indicate or hold up the Cinnamon at this time, so everyone knows exactly which it is.

"Or maybe you wish to manifest something regarding healing? An illness or blockage that needs cleared: releasing of things outgrown.  For healing we have Rosemary Use that incense if you wish to heal something."

Indicate the Rosemary.

"Or maybe you wish to manifest something spiritually? Spiritual growth: psychic development: deeper understanding of something.  For that we have Anise"

Indicate the Anise.

"We will go around the circle several times, so we will each have the chance to manifest several things.  Think about those things you wish to manifest and have them clear in your mind.  When it is your turn take some of the incense which most closely fits your goal, focus on what you wish to manifest, throw the incense on the coals, and say: 'Mine!' Then we will go on to the next person. 

Demonstrate by focusing on your goal and tossing the appropriate incense onto the charcoal.  As you do so cry "Mine!" Of course if you could just as easily use any other positive affirmation here that you might wish.

The person deosil to you will go next, and thence around the circle.  Go around the circle as many times as you wish -in practice this will depend a lot on how many people arre present.  If there are many people in the circle you may only go around twice or three times, whereas if there are only a couple you may wish to do more.  If there are too many people present, once may be enough.  You want to give each person a chance to do it, but not to go so long that you begin to lose their interest.

When everyone has had a chance to throw some incense on the fire, preferably several times, begin a chant.  You might also want to join hands and dance around the barbecue/censor.  A good chant for this might be:

"Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

"By my will and by my hand!
I call you to me where I stand!

"Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

As I will it you will be
I call you to me -Come To Me!

"Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

"By all the power of Three Times Three
As I do will, So Mote It Be!"

When you feel that this has gone on long enough, stop the chant and focus the energy.  You might lead people in this way:

"Now let us focus the energy into the censor -imagine the energy rushing into the censor.  See the censor glowing and shining with light! Imagine it like a Sun in the center of our circle, filled with energy and power.  As you imagine the censor filled with light, think again about the things you have manifested.  There is One Power in the Universe, and we are perfect manifestations of that Power -and as such let us in this moment manifest our will, with harm toward none, and release it into being -NOW! See the light grow brighter but smaller, brighter and smaller, smaller, until it is gone, released to bring our will to pass.  So Mote It Be!"

ALL
"So Mote It Be!"

Blessing the Chalice

Have the four people who called the Quarters come forward and form a circle around the Chalice.  Hold the Chalice between them and have each one put one hand on the Chalice.  Have them Bless the Chalice along these lines:

East
“In the name of the East and the Element of Air may this Chalice be Blessed.  May this Chalice and all who share in it be Blessed with insight and inspiration from the East!

South
“In the name of the South and the Element of Fire may this Chalice be Blessed.  May this Chalice and all who share in it be Blessed with courage and passion from the South!”

West
“In the name of the West and the Element of Water may this Chalice be Blessed.  May this Chalice and all who share in it be Blessed with empathy and compassion from the West!”

North
“In the name of the North and the Element of Earth may this Chalice be Blessed.  May this Chalice and all who share in it be Blessed with wisdom and understanding from the North!”

Now pronounce a final Blessing upon the Chalice.

“In the name of the Center and of Spirit, which is the origin and culmination of the Elements, may this Chalice be Blessed.  Divine Mother Goddess, Divine Father God, join us in Blessing this Chalice: may it be a token of the bond of love between us, and of the bond of love between the Elements, the world of manifestation which the form, and ourselves.  May the Blessing Be!”

Let the Quarter callers now return to their positions.  Give the Chalice first to the person who called the East: let the East drink, then let the Chalice be passed from person to person deosil around the Circle, each drinking in their turn. 

You should go last, leaving some in the Chalice to be offered to Spirit.

Thank Ancestors

“Beloved Ancestors, You Who have gone before, Your wisdom and Your example guide us.  We pray that You will be with us and aid us as we go forward, that we may call upon the strength and knowledge of the past, even as we build the future.  We thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times.  May You Blessed be in all things.  We offer You our love and our respect! We bid You Hail and Farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

PRIEST
“Divine Lover! Holy Consort of our Holy Goddess! Lord of ever-lasting love, strength, and vitality, we thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times.  We offer You our love, and our respect! We bid You Hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

PRIESTESS
“Most Beloved Mother Goddess, holy and ever-abundant Womb of Creation! You Who created and Who sustains all! We thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times.  We offer You our love and our respect! We bid You Hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

NORTH
”We thank You O God in Your form as Green Lord of the North: Sorcerer –Lord of Midnight and of Winter! We are grateful for Your guidance and Your aid in this our holy ritual! From our hearts -With love and with respect- we bid You hail and farewell!”
ALL
“Hail and Farewell!”

WEST
”We thank You O God in Your form as Blue Lord of the East: King –Lord of Sunset and of Autumn! We are grateful for Your guidance and Your aid in this our holy ritual! From our hearts -With love and with respect- we bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and Farewell!”

SOUTH
”We thank You O God in Your form as Red Lord of the South: Lover –Lord of Noonday and of Summer! We are grateful for Your guidance and Your aid in this our holy ritual! From our hearts -With love and with respect- we bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and Farewell!”

EAST
“We thank You O God in Your form as Golden Lord of the East: Hero - Lord of the Dawn and of Spring! We are grateful for Your guidance and Your aid in this our holy ritual! From our hearts -With love and with respect- we bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and Farewell!”

“Behold: As Above, So Below! As the Universe, So the Soul! As Within, So Without! May the Circle be Open, but never Broken! Merry Meet –Merry Part –and Merry Meet again!”

Now have everyone cleanse and release all excess energy. 

(Correllian tradition, reprinted with permission of Rev. Don Lewis)