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If you’ve looked at the other rituals my grove has done, you’ll have noticed that I like to use a lot of props. At a gathering, David Go-well told me of a ritual his grove had performed with none at all; they just walked into the woods and went from there. I decided I would do a minimalist ritual as well. Not to go overboard, I decided I would use some props – two grocery bags per person, and a bottle of soda water.
We performed the ritual on June 4, 2005, at Great Blue Hill in Massachusetts. The name of the sate comes from that of an Indian tribe. The name means “Under the Big Hill,” and Great Blue Hill is that big hill. This makes Great Blue Hill the eponymous location of Massachusetts. It seemed like a good place for a ritual.
The point of the ritual was to honor the hill. I decided that this would be done by climbing it, while picking up trash along the way, and then building a cairn on its top. Climbing wasn’t too strenuous, though, since the hill is only 635 feet high. It’s a nice climb, with a trail that hugs the bottom for a while, then goes up, and returns by a different path. This allowed us to make a clockwise circle against the hill.
Besides the soda water and plastic bags, we had bottles of water for hydration on a hot day, and bug repellent, but those don’t really count as props. The words I give are ones that were loosely memorized, with the words spoken at the site being based on them, but not identical to them.
At the base of the hill we purified ourselves, using some of the soda water. An opening prayer was spoken setting forth the reason for the ritual. We then declared that the offering to the Land Spirits usually given at our rituals would be picking up trash along the trail:
Our gift is not something good given, but something bad taken away.
Or perhaps something good is given: the uncovering of your beauty.
We opened the gates at the beginning of the trail, with a prayer to Janus. We made an actual gateway, with small cairns on either side of the path. We used our standard prayer:
Janus Inceptio,
God of beginnings.
stand at the opening of our rite.
Janus Patulcius,
Opener of doors,
open the gate between our world and that of the gods
that our prayers might go through to them.
Open the gates for us, Janus
Reclude portas!
All: Open the way.
God of beginnings, of all that is new
Reclude portas!
All: Open the way.
You who guard the sacred door
Reclude portas!
All: Open the way.
From the land of the gods,
To the land of men,
All: May sacred power flow.
May Janus be our guide to the gods.
Stones were added with each “Open the way!”
Then:
Through the gates the gods come to us,
and through the gates we go to the gods.
We went through the gates and along the path. Along it we picked up any trash we saw (the use of one of the bags), and also picked up small stones for later in the ritual (the other bag).
At the top of the hill, we purified ourselves again, after the hot walk. We then prayed to Xáryomēn with our usual prayer:
Xáryomēn Dhétipotei,
All: Xáryomēn, Lord of the Law of the People.
Sumēneznz priʔonz dōtor
All: Giver of well-disposed friends.
Sus Wester zdhi.
All: Be our good Herdsman.
Wedhe nōs som
All: Bring us together.
Xṛneu nōs sém.
All: Make us one.
Tebhyo smgénze spendəmes!
All: May we worship you as one people!
Unite us Xáryomen, make us one,
All: May we come before the gods, speaking with one voice.
We each then put stones down, touching each other, but none on top of another. We prayed to the spirit of the hill:
Spirit of this hill, we have come to honor you.
We have offered you our walking with reverence:
We have offered you water with our sweat,
and fire with the burning of our stored energy.
And now, gathered at your height, we offer words, and thoughts, and honor;
we offer beauty,
first by our removal of trash,
and now by our building of a cairn.
Each person put a number of stones onto the others to form a pile.
With this we add to your height,
feeding you by adding to your glory through this small addition of ours.
As long as this cairn exists, people may ask, “Why is that cairn there?”
and those who know will answer,
“Not hard. It was put there by those who wanted to honor the great spirit of Great Blue Hill”’
It’s all too easy to forget something that’s always there.
May what we have done here today help us remember,
and each time we see this hill honor the height which gives our state its name.
We made praise offerings, not using any objects (remember, minimal props). We followed this up with divination using stones found there at the top.
The Waters of Life were consecrated by holding the bottle of soda water up so the sun shone through it, saying:
We consecrate these Waters through the fire of the sun towards which this hill reaches
and towards which we, through our climbing, reach as well,
in this way honoring Great Blue Hill by giving words to its deeds.
Behold the Waters of Life! (Said three times)
Some was poured onto the ground:
Blessed with the fire of the sun toward which you reach, Great Blue Hill,
this water has been consecrated for you.
Receive the first drink, which you deserve.
We shared the Waters around, using our hands as cups. Some was kept for later.
We said more words of praise to the hill spirit and the Land Spirits who live on it:
We leave this hill, after leaving our offerings,
after blessing this place, and being blessed by it,
we bless it once more with words.
A prayer of praise was said while each person added another stone to the cairn. We then went back down the hill, again picking up whatever trash we came across. Once at the bottom, we thanked the Land Spirits.
We found the gates we had made, thanks Janus, and offered the rest of the Waters to him. While we dismantled the cairns we closed the gates in our usual way:
Janus Patulcius, we thank you for opening the way.
Janus Clusivus, close the way;
Janus Pater, claude portas.
May we be blessed in your closing
even as we were blessed in your opening.
Although the door may be closed
May the holy ones be never far away
to answer us in our need.
All: Tibi gratia agimus.
There was a closing prayer, and our usual benediction:
On all who have worshiped here:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
On all who revere the Kindreds:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
On all who walk the ancient path:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
With the gate closed
With the gods worshiped
We will walk in wisdom.
So see, David, I can write a low-props ritual. I just happen to like using lots of stuff.
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