BELTAINE RITUAL

Saturday May 4th at 11am
940 NW 35th St., Topeka KS

Spring has sprung and summer is at hand.  Let's celebrate and dance a maypole.  As always, feel free to bring any offerings you wish to give to the kindreds as well as food to share for after the ritual.  A blanket or chair to sit on are highly recommended.

Conversation is a two way street. There is nothing more annoying than a person who talks constantly and never lets a reply in.  I tend to think that prayer is a lot like this.  I know that when I pray I will  pause for a moment to see if a reply might be felt. I get the distinct feeling of being this rude individual who not only dominates the conversation, but who tries to put words into the mouth of my conversation partners.  Now, I don't always get this feeling, but it happens often enough that I have come to develop a habit of taking out my cards before starting my prayers.  Divination is one of the very few ways in which prayer can be answered in a direct and concrete way.  Although it could be argued that personal bias is involved in how we interpret the divination results, it could also be argued that personal biased also enters into how we hear a response from someone who is talking no matter what. It is easier to stop personal bias by listening to the words instead of just guessing what a person would say if they were talking.  A divination taken to answer questions, or to allow the kindreds to speak, are expressions of thought uttered out loud instead of guessing for what they might be saying. I don’t tend to think of divination as being a way to predict the future, but more as a way to help foster deeper relationships with those spirits who are part of my life.

This is why I think the omen drawing in ADF ritual is so important.  It is the part of our rite where we hear directly from our Kindreds about their thoughts on what we are doing together in fellowship and as a community.  They reply to us a group.  When I do an omen pull alone, they reply to me as an individual, and can speak to any number of topics. In both instances divination is an intimate act of conversation in which I stop being rude. I become a partner with the powers of this world that we share. 

 I am curious to hear what you, dear reader, feel the purpose of divination to be.

Question #9: Describe the intention and function of the Three Kindreds Invocations, and 
give a short description of each of the Kindreds. (minimum 100 words for each of the Three 
Kindreds)

Our Kindreds are not omnipresent nor omniscient.  They do not constantly wait with bated breath for us to speak to them, so sometimes we have to get their attention.  The reason for the invocation is to first get their attention, and then to provide them with an invitation to join us as participants of our rite, or as guests by our fire.

 
Ancestors:The ancestors provide our personal base for who we are in this world.  They are also a base for our spiritual work. They continue a connection to us in our blood, DNA, and in habits passed down through generations which we conveniently call culture.  As we work with our ancestors, we can develop a closer relationship to who we truly are. That discovery can help an individual to be more authentic in how they relate to the other two worlds.  We can also help to act as memory keepers of the ways of old.  The ancestors have a vested interest in their descendants.  As we act to remember them, we feed them.  We give them a connection to this middle world and just like the trunk of the tree, we give the ancestors a connection to the upper world as well.  As the trunk of a tree dies without connection to the roots, we wither without a connection to those roots that produced who we are.  So by honoring them we also feed ourselves, and we create a connection to the power of knowing.



Nature Spirits: The middle world is where we humans exist, but we are not alone.  We share this space with the nature spirits. In my experience, Nature Spirits are the ultimate idea of a species. Nature Spirits are the combination of all the dead of a single species into a singular spirit form, kind of like an over soul.  The Native Kansa, here in Kansas, often prayed to Elk, Coyote, Rabbit, and others.  These were the local nature spirits that the corresponding animals were in tune with, as well as a small part of, just as I am part of the human spirit, even though I am not the total, but instead a small part of that whole. Nature spirits seem to be not just of the animal variety.  They can also be the spirits of rocks, mountains, boulders, trees, grasses, and any form of creation that might be met with here in the middle world.  This would also include weather such as thunder, clouds, and winds. It is the essence of the thing that we look to as its spirit.  In many ways it is the instinct that is inherent in a species. It is that pure essence that binds and animates an individual to itself, it is simply the divine forces of nature.  Nature spirits are not as powerful Gods, nor as weak as the fleshy things, much like the spirits of our ancestors.  Although there are points where Gods and nature spirits do overlap.  I would point to the spirit of fire as an example. In many pantheons, Fire is indeed considered a God. The thing that seems to divide the Nature Sprits from the Gods is that nature spirits do not move from a singular place or from the animal it is formed of.  One would most likely not come across a polar bear spirit in the desert of Arizona. The human spirit is all over the world, because humans are, but the Spirit of the River is only found there where the river flows.



Deities: The Gods do not seem to be limited to physical space, the way nature spirits seem to be.  Different Gods can reach beyond the bounds of the land they originated in, to find new followers.  I personally have experienced this with Athena. They are very powerful primal forces that are not always kind or good, but who do seem to be rather value neutral.  They are happy to help sometimes, and other time content to stay out of it. They do seem to appreciate our offerings and by creating a relationship with them, we can often count on their help, even if that help doesn’t come in a form we like at times.

The outdwellers are the spirits that are not from our tribe, or that chaos is part of their make up. We make a small offering to them as a way to honor them, so as not to cause offense, but to also ask them to leave us alone as we do the work of ritual. I like the way I heard a friend describe it as a, “here take this and go away,” offering. I have often heard the idea of purification being a way to deal with the outdwellers who have traveled in with us. In many ways the outdwellers remind me of the darkness beyond our family fire while camping.  Out in the dark where we have not staked our claim to own the space are things we can not, nor wish to try to control. When our grove is in a space we have done ritual in many times, we tend not to give offerings to the outdwellers, since it is felt that the land and space have already been well and truly claimed by past actions. Our past use of the space has set that boundary of darkness back even further by our fire and presence. Much like if we had brought a flood light in with us, instead of just a small camp fire. Where the light hits is ours, and beyond that is the wild of chaos.

The three major symbols of ADF are the fire, well, and tree. I wanted to provide a quick look at what these symbols are all about (at least to me). 

Fire is truly a gift from the Gods.  It gives the ability to see in the dark, and to cook our food.  It transforms wood to ash, and heats our homes. The acquiring of fire is often considered to be what allowed humans to evolve as far as we have come.  Fire has often been seen as a deity itself and examples can be seen in Agni, Hestia, and Bride. In Loki we have the trickster fire that can shape-shift and cause great havoc, but who also gives great gifts when in the mood. 

Fire seems to be a major component of most ancient religions. In the Greek religion it is said that the fire of sacrifice was a gift of Prometheus, who later negotiated on behalf of the humans for what parts of the sacrifice would be given to the Gods and what would be kept for human consumption.  The fire was what transformed the offerings into something that the Gods could consume and enjoy.  Mircea Eliade wrote in The Forge and the Crucible, “It is through fire that nature is changed, making it the basis of the most ancient magics.” (p. 170)

.  Fire was also used as a way to claim the land and space for either the nation or the family. The family fire was the place to gather for private devotions, while state fires provided the place where public rites would be held.
   
Wells are the by-product of both human labour and of nature’s gifts.  A human digs deep into the Earth to find this substance that makes life possible.  Water is not something humans can make on their own, unlike fire. Wells have long been seen as places where spirits live, and this is not hard to understand when considering a deep echoey shaft that seems to go down into the underworld itself.  In ADF the well is the doorway into the underworld; the land of our ancestors. Wells are also seen as a source of wisdom. I would argue this also comes from an association of the well going deep into the ground where the ancestors dwell.  We can see this in the Norse culture with the well of Mimir when Odin offers his eye to the well in exchange for great wisdom.

To me the evolutionary tree of life is the perfect picture of all of nature’s abundance and diversity. It connects every form of life on the planet into one huge family.  This is why I see the tree as the perfect gateway for the nature spirits in ADF ritual. The roots reach deep into the ground where the ancestors dwell, while the branches reach high into the sky where the deities exist. The tree is also a type of axis mundi.  An axis mundi is a symbolic pole or structure that proclaims a place at the center of the universe or at least the world. The axis mundi connects the heavens and the Earth. The tree is both an axis mundi and perfect picture of life on Earth.

Our very first Grove retreat is over and man howdy am I a wiped girl.  I am not a people person by any stretch of the imagination.  I am a shy introvert who requires a great deal of time to myself to recharge my battery.  Playing host to close to 30 people is not something I consider doing every day, but this event was well worth every ounce of energy put into it. It was so worth it, that I am already planning next year’s event in my head. Bigger, better, longer, and yes, I am talking about the next retreat and not something else.

For opening ritual I wanted to give people a chance to turn their intentions for the day into some form of physical action.  I personally feel that more can be gotten if clear goals are stated up front.  In this case, the folk lit candles and whispered their intentions to the flame. We asked as a community for Hephaestus to take our thoughts and ideas, and make them into reality.  I am unsure how well this ritual was received, and will freely admit it was not my strongest work. I am not normally nervous about standing up in front of people, but this opening made my belly do flips flops, and then add a jump rope trick or two just to be sure.  I didn’t get any complaints, so it must have been somewhat decent.

The first workshop was fantastic.  Michael covered all the different types of prayer, including: Adoratory prayers, Thanksgiving, Petitionary/ Supplication, Expiatory prayers (prayers that ask for forgiveness), Loving, and Meditative prayers. Michael made sure to expand upon Expiatory prayers, and when and why they might be needed, even though we do not really have a concept of sin in Paganism.  The part that stood out most to me was the idea of writing prayers down.  Good prayers are best when they are able to be used again.  Drum then took over and gave us ideas on how to take the different types of prayer and use them in a single hearth culture. He gave wonderful examples of how he uses them with his own Irish hearth. The hands on activity of writing our own prayers was very helpful, and I hope others enjoyed doing this as much as I did.

The second workshop was the one I was looking forward to the most.  I have a very hard time connecting with my ancestors, mostly because my relationship with my living family is nearly nonexistent.  Drum did such a brilliant job of explaining who the different types of ancestors are, and how they play into his personal druidry. He talked about the ancestors of the bone, those who had lived on this land before we came, and I truly think I have a better relationship with them than I do with ancestors of the blood. One thing I am going to work on is asking my blood ancestors for help in how to deal with living relatives. Maybe, with their help, I can improve both relationships with them and those living.

The last workshop was ritual basics.  This is where Amanda screwed the pooch.  I lost track of time hanging out with folk, and didn’t get the workshop started till way late.  Poor Michael probably had a huge amount more to say, but I cut him off so that ritual wouldn’t start way late as well.  This was a very important workshop, full of great ideas for how to do good ritual.  Too bad I promptly ignored it all when we did the full ritual right afterwards.  Just kidding! Well, mostly, but in my defense the ritual was written well before hand, and wasn’t gonna change it minutes before we used the script.

 Michael spoke about how to arrange the altar and people so that everyone could hear and see what was going on. He also talked about intentional movement, something I tend to be bad at.  If you read this, I should add that I am so very sorry Michael.  I wish I hadn’t started so late, so that we could have heard more.

Last came the full ADF COoR rite in honor of Athena, Metis, Prometheus, and Epimetheus.  I truly feel that they felt honored and pleased with the ritual.  I led a real quick path working so that people might have a chance to meet these wonderful deities that don’t get the love they deserve (not that I am biased or anything).  Afterwords, Michael and Drum talked about how we do some things differently in our Grove, and that there might even be stuff that they might steal. I really wished I had asked what was different and what they were taking (this way I’d know what bits we were doing well enough to consider taking).  I don’t get a lot of feedback generally, so I am hoping that anyone who was there will leave some thoughts in comments. I really would like to know what we do well, and what could use some work. In general if you went and would like to leave a quick note for what you’d like to see for next year, I’d greatly appreciate it. I would also like to add that I am grateful for those brewers willing to share their wonderful yummies.  Next year can only be better.  To the stars we go! Ad Astra!

This is the ritual we did for the first ever Ad Astra Druid retreat in honor of Metis, Athena, Epimetheus, and Prometheus.  In the end we had some very good omens. The ancestors gave us, "let two become one." The Nature Spirits gave us, "wash away your burdens." The Theoi gave us,  "time to reflect."  I feel ritual went extremely well and that the beings of the occasion were very pleased.

Initiating the Rite 

Establishing the Group Mind

Purification - This must take place prior to Opening the Gates

Honoring the Earth Mother: Gaia, great mother of us all.  You allow us to walk across your back, to dig into your skin, and benefit from your great wealth of gifts.  We wish to  offer back to you.  We wish to show how much we appreciate everything you do for us.  Mother Gaia accept our sacrifice.

Statement of Purpose: We come as a community to put into practice what we have learned today.  We wish to honor our dead, to connect to the spirits of this land and place, and to create relationship with the Theoi, those worthy of worship.  We bring the bonds of our community in this act of piety and worship act as a first offering to our mighty Kindreds.


Well: Water running deep into the soil and rock, doorway to the land of Ploutōn who is the ruler of all the is under the ground.  Here is where our dead rest and are protected by him, till they might deep from the river and be reborn into this world. You act as a gate into this land where our might ancestor dwell. Accept this offering of silver as our way to honor you as you open the way for our dead to join us for this rite.

Fire: Bright flame, shining up to the heavens where the Theoi dwell. You are a beacon that can guide those worthy of worship to our side. You take our sacrifices and transform them into what is acceptable, and wish to honor you for the service you give us both mystical and mundane.  

Tree: Might tree, you whose branches reach into the heavens, and whose roots dig deep into the Earth.  You stand between all worlds and are the structure of order for all. Our own evolution is a refection of your shape. You act as a connection to all life that walks on Gaia’s back. Act today as a doorway for those spirits that share this land and space to join with us.  Accept this offering as our way to honor you.

Opening the Gates- Hermes


Ancestors: Mighty dead, whose shoulders we stand upon.  Your sacrifices and lives are what make our lives possible. You watch over us, your children, and give wisdom and guidance when needed, linking us to you, and to each other. You are blood of our blood, bone of our bone, spirit of our spirit.  We offer you bread from our table to honor, feed, bless, and please you.  Come through the gate of the well and join us for this rite. Ancestors accept our sacrifice.

Nature Spirits: Sprits of this land and of this place, you who share space with us, we wish to live in harmony with you in the bonds of Ghosti. Please came to us through the gate of the tree, and join us here as we share community with the Kindreds. Nature spirits accept this offering of seeds and may it honor, feed, bless and please you.  Nature spirits, accept our sacrifice. 

Theoi: Shining Theoi, worthy of worship and praise.  Your gifts feed our souls and our bodies. You are the beings we long for as our days progress.  Let the fire call to you, and lead you here.  Come share this space and create community with us. With wors and gifts we offer to the Gods, calling them here. Accept this gift of honey wine.  May it honor, feed, bless, and please you.  Theoi, accept our sacrifice. 

Key Offerings

Invitation of Beings of the Occasion:
Metis: Metis, Titaness of wisdom and deep thought, whose craft and wit
excelled among the mighty ones, Goddess of magical cunning married to deep wisdom, mother of Athena and Porus, God of creative ingenuity. We do know you as well as we wish.  Please make yourself known to us during this time.  May all your mysteries surround us and be made known.  May we open ourselves up to your many gifts. With this sacrifice, we establish hospitality with you.  We act as host today, that you may be host for us another day. Metis, accept this sacrifice.

Athena: Athena, illustrious goddess with sharp grey eyes, daughter of Zeus and Metis. Crafty one, mother of art in all your abundance, catalyst of progress! Patron of war and wisdom, mother of democracy and protector of the people, please come to the fire and and join us in this space.  Your blessings fall on those whose work is of the mind--friend of the philosopher, the scientist, the student. Advisor of kings, patron of clever heroes and bold-hearted adventurers, defender of the thinker, mistress of reason and understanding We wish to honor you, to know you, and to be known by you. With this sacrifice, we establish hospitality with you.  We act as host today, that you may be host for us another day. Athena, accept this sacrifice.

Prometheus: Prometheus, whose name means fore thought, you worked with your brother Epimetheus to create the human race from clay. You are anticipation that brings awakening.  You gave us the gift of fire that we might have technology to survive, but also that we might have a means to give sacrifices and be in relationship with the Theoi. You are the one who negotiated how the sacrifices would be offered, and have always stood as an advocate of the human race. Champion of humanity, intelligent trickster, please join us here in this space.  We wish to honor you and your gifts. With this sacrifice, we establish hospitality with you.  We act as host today, that you may be host for us another day. Prometheus, accept this sacrifice.

Epimethus: Epimetheus, your name means after thought, and you are the co-creator of the human race. You are Awe, forever lingering in the moment, giver of wakefulness and understanding of the gifts that have been given. You teach us what is of most value. You are the gift of reflection, of learning form our past, and you are experience that continues to create who we are today. You are what makes community possible, and what makes it grow strong and healthy. You teach us what it means to be human. We wish to honor you and your gifts. With this sacrifice, we establish hospitality with you.  We act as host today, that you may be host for us another day. Epimetheus, accept this sacrifice. 

Praise Offerings

Prayer of Sacrifice

Omen

Calling (asking) for the Blessings

Working: Pathwork

Thanking the Beings

Closing the Gate(s)

Thanking the Earth Mother

Closing the Rite