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At the site where the people gather before the ritual there is a bowl with a piece of silver, plus a dime from each guest. The dimes are a token payment for what will be offered, allowing for the offerings to belong to everyone present.
At the processional site is the solar wheel, a grape vine wreath wrapped in yellow yarn, with strands of the yarn stretched across its middle. There is a small cauldron, filled with sand and holding some briquettes (the hearth fire). There is also a small pitcher of lighter fluid, a lighter, a small bowl of melted clarified butter, a spoon for the butter, a bowl of water, a goblet of mead, a short sledge hammer, a bowl of mixed grain (barley, spelt flour, and cornmeal), a pitcher of mead, a pitcher of mixed mead and goat’s milk, and a horn. The sacrifice is there, consisting of a silver metal plate with a piece of white pita bread on it, then another silver metal plate, on which is a red velvet cake in the shape of a horse, with white frosting. On it are two gold chains; the whole is covered with a white cloth.
The ritual site is marked out with poles, with a gateway marked with more. A video of its consecration is found here. In its center is a low square barbecue grill, with fire material prepared; to its east is a taller round grill, also with fire material in it. Under the round grill is another solar wheel. There are also tongs, a piece of fatwood, a bowl of melted clarified butter, a butter spoon, a bowl of powdered incense, a spoon for the incense, a cow bell, a striker for the bell, an asperser, a bowl of mead, a wet towel, a pitcher of water, a pitcher of honey water (the Waters of Life), a silver bowl for the Waters, a ladle, enough cups for everyone plus at least two more, a bucket of water, and the lid of the cauldron. In the west is a vase, the mundus, which serves as a ritual shaft. In the east, placed so there is enough room to enter the space, is the tree. Just on the center side of it is a slit cut in the ground, ready to receive the Eostre and Xáryomēn images, which are on the ground by it. Just in front of them is a pole with a high-up nail. In the west, halfway between the mundus and the square altar, is a table made up of a cutting board supported by two small stools. On the right side of the board is a knife, with its blade facing to the right; on its left side is a bowl of ground barley and, on the side closer to the Priest, a bowl of water.
The Priest blows the horn, and the other go to meet him, a guest carrying the dish with the dimes and silver. When they have arrived, he says:
Wesað stille.
Wesað stille.
Wesað stille.
May we all maintain a holy silence.
The Fire Tender drinks from a goblet of mead, and then passes it around. As it is passed, she says:
Woden the One-Eyed/ Rune-lord of Wisdom
Hear as we hail you/ Honor our working.
Waken our word-skill/ Quicken our speaking
Scop-speech be in us/ By your blessing, Woden. [1]
When it returns to her, she pours it out. She tries to time her words so that she can pour it when she says “By your blessing, Woden.”
She asperses herself and others, saying:
May we be pure that we might cross through the sacred,
May we cross through the sacred that we might attain the holy
,
May we attain the holy that we might be blessed in all ways.
The solar priestess uncovers the solar wheel and picks it up, saying:
Welcome to all who keep the Old Ways,
who come here today to give due honor
to Sunne who stands in her highest stead
on Midsummer, day of the longest light
Midsummer, day of the shortest night,
Midsummer, day of Sunne’s most might.
And though we do not forget that summer and light
must at last give way to winter and dark,
today we praise Sunne and the life she brings
to our Middle Earth.
At the words “to Sunne” she lifts the wheel high. After the end of her prayer she lowers it to a comfortable height.
The Champion holds up the hammer and says:
Thunor, whose striking removes all foes,
Redbeard, who raises the flashing hammer,
Earth’s Warder, who slays the world-girding serpent:
Guard us today in all of our worship.
He sings:
Thunor wéoh,
Thunor wéoh,
Thunor wéoh þisne ealh.
He and the others sing:
Thunor hallow,
Thunor hallow,
Thunor hallow this holy stead.
They then repeat this, the Champion singing the Old English version, and the others the Modern English version.
(The chorus of Anglo-Saxon Hallowing Charm)
The Fire Tender pours a small amount of lighter fluid over the briquettes of the hearth fire, and lights them saying:
Shining Lady, unite us all
For by worshiping at a common hearth
We are made one family, one people.
Queen of the hearth, your household is here.
Let us pray with a good fire. [2]
She starts to sing, with the others joining in on the chorus:
This flame is small
That's how it seems
yet even so
it bears our dreams
For flame's a goddess
to whom we pray
To be one family
here today
This flame now grows
from coal to coal
and every one
is each a soul
For flame's a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family
here today
This flame has spread
from heart to heart
it binds us still
when we're apart
For flame's a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family
here today
She burns within
through all our days
let all as one
sing out her praise
For flame's a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family
here today
For flame's a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family
here today.
(A recording of this is here: Hearth Goddess Song.)
The Fire Tender sings the last chorus by herself, with “family, here today” sung more slowly.
She pours butter on the fire, saying:
Eat with us
Share our food
Share our home.
(Everyone repeats each line.)
The Fire Tender:
Swa biþ hit.
All: Swa biþ hit.
The Champion says:
Set forth upon the shining path
the ancestral way laid out before us
Place your feet with measured stride
in ancient rhythm.
All process to the ritual site, led by the Champion, who carries the hammer. The Solar Priestess follows, carrying the sun wheel, lifted high. The Priest follows her, carrying the sacrifice, then the Fire Tender, carrying the hearth fire, then the Chthonic Priestess, carrying the bowl of mixed grain. Someone carries the pitcher of mead, and another person the pitcher of mead and goat’s milk. (If there aren’t enough people, these pitchers came be put in the ritual space before the ritual.) When he arrives at the gate, the Champion says:
We are here to worship the gods!
He enters the space and begins to sing:
Earth Mother, we honor your body
Earth Mother, we honor your bones
Earth Mother, we sing to your spirit,
Earth Mother, we sing to your stones. [3]
(An audio clip of this song is found here.)
As each person enters the space, they say:
We are here to worship the gods! [4]
and then pick up the chant. The Champion puts the hammer down next to the right pole (from the inside) gate, head facing outward. The Priest goes to the table and puts the sacrifice down. He stands behind the table, facing east. The Solar Priestess hangs the sun wheel on the pole with the nail, and goes to stand on the edge of the space. The Chthonic Priestess goes to the space where the hearth fire will be. While the others continue to sing, she offers the mixed grain there, saying:
Erce, Erce, Erce, Eorþan Modor, [5]
you, filled with food for the needs of the people,
you, with fields sprouting and life springing forth,
you, from whose womb all life is born,
be fruitful in the gods’ embrace: [5]
your children praise you and gift you with grain.
She waits for a break in the song and says:
Mother of all, receive this gift! [6]
All: Mother of all, receive this gift!
The Fire Tender puts the hearth fire down. She offers butter to the hearth fire, while the Priest says:
With the burning of the fire we take possession
Of the land it lights, of the world it warms.
From here to there we take possession of it.
With the last sentence he gestures from side to side.
The Fire Tender transfers a briquette from the hearth fire to the square altar, saying:
In the world’s very center we light our fire,
here where the sacred and the mundane meet.
The Priest says:
Here we light a living flame
through which our offerings will be transformed
that they might be received by the Kindreds
and secure for us their blessings.
The Fire Tender blows on the fire, while the Priest says:
With our prayers we feed you, with the breath of our mouths.
Once the fire is going well, the Fire Tender offers butter to it and the Priest says:
Receive our offerings
All: and bless our rites.
The Priest then says:
Listen to my words; see the cosmos about you.
He sings:
The waters support and surround us
He makes a semi-circle with both his hands, extending upwards from a point. He sings:
The land extends about us
He puts his hands in the middle of the top of the semi-circle, palms downward, and brings them out to the ends of the semi-circle. He sings:
The sky stretches out above us.
He makes another semi-circle upwards from the edge of the other one, with his hands meeting at its top. He sings:
At the center burns a living flame.
He holds both of his hands, joined together, out towards the fire, and then brings them in to touch his heart. He sings:
May all the Kindreds bless us.
May our worship be true.
Others: May our worship be true.
The Priest: May our actions be just.
Others: May our actions be just.
The Priest: May our love be pure.
Others: May our love be pure.
All: Blessings, and honor, and worship to the Holy Ones.
(A video of this is found at here.)
The Solar Priestess says:
Come we together on this holy day
across the distances that lay between us
to this time, to this place,
For one strong purpose:
To worship the Holy Ones in the proper manner.
To honor Sunne, and celebrate summer.
The Champion throws mixed grain out through the gates and says:
Give we honor to the world’s wild dwellers:
kindreds of stone, of sky and water,
tribes of wing, of claw and burrow,
clans of frond, of bark and flower:
you we remember well with honor.
and welcome the wights who come in peace
to share our gifts as they have shared their blessings.
He scatters grain around the base of the Tree, saying:
Let all of the earth and sea and sky receive with us the blessing of Midsummer!
Wights of the land, receive our offering!
All repeat:
Wights of the land, receive our offering!
Someone takes the dish with the silver to the mundus, while the Solar Priestess says:
Alfs we honor/ Great men and Fathers,
Who in their high day/ Heroes were reckoned,
Likewise the Idises/ Great and good women,
Mothers and grandmothers,/ peace-weavers, wise ones:
Ancestors aid us:/hear as we hail you
Hail to the Alfs, all ringed round us, the fathers of the folk.
Hail to the Idises, all ringed round us, the mothers of our might.
Hail to our kin, in the hidden lands,
Hail to the dead on this holy Midsummer! [8]
Ancestors, receive our offering!
She pours a libation of mixed goat’s milk and mead.
All repeat:
Ancestors, receive our offering!
The Chthonic Priestess sings:
Rise, rise, up from the deep,
Ancient Powers, come to we.
Wake, wake, no more to sleep,
Come among the living.
(By Ian Corrigain, here.)
All repeat, and then repeat again, this time more loudly.
The person who poured the silver goes to the board and purifies themselves with the water in the bowl on the way back to their place.
The Champion picks up the Eostre image and throughout the following he raises it higher.
The Solar Priestess offers mead, while The Fire Tender says:
Hail Eostre, birth of light,
dawn’s welcome morning,
You who open the way for Sunne,
Sweet One whose coming blesses each day:
Beaming maiden, come to us now,
Show us the way to the Shining Ones,
Show us the way to Osgeard.
Open the Gates to the welcome Kindreds!
The Fire Tender makes a gesture of opening with her hands.
Eostre, Maiden, let the gates be open!
All: Let the gates be open!
The Fire Tender: Eostre, Lovely, let the gates be open!
All: Let the gates be open!
The Fire Tender: Eostre, Shining, let the gates be open!
All: Let the gates be open!
The Fire Tender: From the land of the gods
to the land of men
The Champion lowers the image of Eostre and puts it in the ground.
All: May sacred power flow;
may Eostre be our guide to the gods!
The Champion then picks the image of Xáryomēn. During the following song, he slowly lifts it, so it’s at its at its height at the point of the last Proto-Indo-European line. The Fire Tender offers butter, and the Priest sings:
Xáryomēn Dhétipotei,
Others: Xáryomēn, Lord of the Law of the People.
The Priest: Sumēnesṇs priʔons dṓtor
Others: Giver of well-disposed friends.
The Priest: Suwéstēr zdhi.
Others: Be our good Herdsman.
The Priest: Wédhe nōs som
Others: Bring us together.
The Priest: Xṛneu nōs sḗm.
Others: Make us one.
The Priest: Tebhyo zṃgénse spendəmes!
Others: May we worship you as one people!
(A video of this is here.)
The Priest: Unite us, Xáryomēn, make us one,
All: May we come before the gods, speaking with one voice.
The Champion puts the image in the ground.
The Fire Tender offers incense and says:
May all the Holy Ones come to us as we worship them here.
May they come to us on the shining path as we call to them with proper words.
Holy Ones, we worship you with sweet offering.
All: Holy Ones, we worship you with sweet offering.
The Fire Tender:
Hail all the Gods!
All: Hail all the Gods!
The Fire Tender: Hail all the Goddesses!
All: Hail all the Goddesses!
All sing “Hail All the Gods”:
Hail all the gods
Hail all the goddesses
Hail all the Holy Ones
we dwell together
Lords of the sky
Ladies of the sacred earth
Ancient and Undying Ones
we dwell together.
Hail all the gods
Hail all the goddesses
Hail all the gods
and goddesses
Hail all the gods
Hail all the goddesses
Hail all the Holy Ones
we dwell together.
(Words, music, and credits may be found here. “Ancient and Undying Ones” are by me.)
The Solar Priestess stands between the round grill and the pole with the solar wheel, facing the wheel. She picks up a bowl of mead and the asperser, one in each hand. She says:
Sunne now stands in her highest stead,
Life fares forth into the wide world.
Ruling is warmth, scattered is cold.
The Solar Priestess shakes mead toward the sun wheel and says:
Glory, Sunne, glory!
The Priest blows horn, others sound percussion and say:
Glory, Sunne, glory!
The Solar Priestess:
Under your shining we are free from darkness
and live our lives without its danger.
So unto you honor, whose presence is welcome.
The Solar Priestess shakes mead toward the sun wheel and says:
Glory, Sunne, glory!
The Priest blows horn, others sound percussion and say:
Glory, Sunne, glory!
The Solar Priestess:
At your height we praise you, sun of the earth,
spreading its rays over its expanse
that we might see all that is.
The Solar Priestess shakes mead toward the sun wheel and says:
Glory, Sunne, glory!
The Priest blows horn, others sound percussion and say:
Glory, Sunne, glory!
The Solar Priestess goes to in front of the sun wheel, raises her hands to it, and says:
Sunne in the sky!
All: Sunne in the sky!
The Fire Tender picks up the piece of fatwood with the tongs and sets it on fire from the square altar. The Solar Priestess takes the sun wheel from the pole, turns clockwise, holds it over the grill and says:
Sunne on the earth!
All: Sunne on the earth!
The Solar Priestess lifts the sun wheel and says:
Sunne in the sky!
All: Sunne in the sky!
The Solar Priestess lowers the sun wheel over the grill and says:
Sunne on the earth!
All: Sunne on the earth!
The Fire Tender puts the piece of burning fatwood in the grill.
The Solar Priestess puts the sun wheel on top of the grill and says:
Sunne on the earth!
All: Sunne on the earth!
The Solar Priestess says:
Sunne is here, she burns with her brightness;
with fire we praise her blazing presence.
Burn in our midst, sun for the earth
to you we will offer, O golden-haired lady.
The Priest removes the cloth from the sacrifice and puts it over the knife. He lifts the sacrifice and says:
This horse has come willingly, eagerly,
to the place of sacrifice
bedecked with gold
in celebration and beauty.
He puts it down, removes the gold chains, and sprinkles water on it, using his right hand, three times, saying:
A pure offering is this,
without blemish or stain,
fit for Sunne.
He puts down the bowl of water, and picks up the bowl of barley in his left hand. He scatters grain from it three times with his right hand onto the sacrifice, saying:
Be blessed and fed with the fruits of the earth.
He then picks up the main sacrifice (that is, the top plate) and brings it clockwise about the space, carrying the bowl of barley as well. Each person takes some barley and throws it on the sacrifice with their right hand, saying:
Be blessed and fed with the fruits of the earth.
When he returns to his place, he puts the sacrifice and bowl down. He then stands, lifting up the sacrifice, and says:
A proper offering is this,
as it is right to give.
This horse to Sunne.
He picks up the knife, covered by the cloth, in his left hand and, carrying the animal in his right, he goes to the Tree, where he puts the plate down on the ground, touching it. He squats and puts the knife down, still covered by the cloth. While he is doing this, the Champion picks up the hammer. The Fire Tender motions to him, and comes and faces her. When the Champion has arrived, the Fire Tender says:
Strike!
The Champion goes clockwise around the space, all the while holding the hammer upright. As he walks, the Fire Tender begins to strike the cow bell. The others also make percussive sounds. The Fire Tender increases the tempo and volume as he walks, and the others follow. When the Champion returns to the sacrifice, he stands and faces the Fire Tender. She says:
Strike!
The Champion brings the hammer down hard onto the sacrifice. He returns to his place. When he hits the sacrifice, everyone stops their sounds. The Priest quickly cuts off the head of the sacrifice, using his right hand. He puts this in the square altar, saying:
Sunne, shining, here is your share.
Sit down at our table,
and see the meal we have spread out for you.
Sunne, we feed you: be strong and be hale.
He lets it burn for a few moments, and then cuts off the front leg. He holds it over the Sunne fire a moment, then breaks it in two. He eats the top half and gives the bottom half to the Fire Tender. He holds the plate with rest over the square altar a moment. He picks up the wet towel and then brings the sacrifice around to the others for each to take a piece. (He gives the towel to the first person to wipe their hands off with; it then gets passed around the space.) The Priest puts any left over sacrifice in the Sunne fire.
The Priest then pours mead with his right hand at the base of the square altar, saying:
All of you Kindreds, be honored in our midst.
We our out our offering to you,
like living water,
like grain from a bag.
Drink deeply of the gifts we give.
He returns to his place and says:
Have the folk brought praise?
The Fire Tender says:
They have!
Praise offerings are then made by those who wish.
After the last offering has been made, The Priest takes the piece of pita bread from its silver plate, holds it up, and says:
Gods and Goddesses,
Holy Ancestors,
Spirits of this place:
If anything that we have done here has offended you,
If anything we have done here has been incomplete,
If anything we have done here has not been done in the proper manner,
accept this final offering in recompense.
He breaks the bread into pieces, and puts once piece on the hearth fire, one in the round grill, one on the square altar, one in front of the images of Xáryomēn and Eostre, and one in the mundus. He breaks the rest up and scatters it about the space.
The Fire Tender then says:
Diviner, would you take the omens?
The Chthonic Priestess says:
Wisdom rising / From Well's deep roots
Runes of might / roar in our minds
Up from the bairn-stock's / eldest roots
Woden give answer / reveal the Gods' wills. [9]
and then takes the omen.
After the divination has been announced, the Fire Tender says:
We hear what the Kindreds have said,
and are made wise by it.
The Priest pours the Waters of Life into the large bowl and takes it to the round grill. He holds the bowl over the fire for a moment and then raises it. The Fire Tender says:
Hwætþa wæteru þæs feores.
Behold the Waters of Life! [10]
All reply:
Behold the waters of life!
This is done two more times. Then the Priest holds the Waters high and shouts:
Fire!
All:
Fire!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid on the grill with a pastry brush. The Priest shouts:
Water!
All:
Water!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid on the grill with a pastry brush. This is done two more times. Then the Priest shouts:
Fire, Water!
All: Fire, Water!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid on the grill with a pastry brush.
This is done two more times, and then the Priest joins in with the others, and the others join in with him, so that they are chanting "Fire, Water!" continually. They may also join in with percussion instruments. After a bit of this, while the others continue, the Priest sings loudly:
Bring us inspiration,
Bring us power,
Bring us unending life,
Fire in water, water in fire.
He sings this more softly as he lowers himself to hold the Waters as low over the fire as he can bear. After a while, he stands suddenly and yells:
Hwæt! Behold the Waters of Life!
There is general rejoicing.
When this dies down, the Fire Tender says:
What the Kindreds have given to us, we distribute freely.
The Fire Tender ladles some of the Waters into a cup, which the Priest takes to the foot of the Tree, while the Fire Tender says:
May all the Kindreds always receive their due.
The Waters are then are distributed. They are ladled into cups by the Fire Tender, and are then passed out by either one or two people, depending on how many are attending. After she has ladled out all the cups, she ladles one for those who have been distributing the Waters. She fills one for herself, and then she and the person who began the ladling exchange their cups (so that everyone is given one). All go to their places and the Priest says:
Through the offerings we have made
we have established the bonds of hospitality with the Kindreds,
and in return they have given us this blazing water to drink.
This sacred water.
This holy water.
All: These Waters of Life!
The Champion says:
Wassail!
All say:
Wassail!
All drink. Then the Champion says:
Filled with the Mystery of Fire in Water
we rest in the presence of the Kindreds.
There is a pause while all meditate on the divine presence which fills them.
Then the Fire Tender offers incense, saying:
With wondering souls we have welcomed this mystery,
with grateful hearts may we accept its manifestation in our midst.
The Priest says:
We have offered to Sunne,
we have prayed to all the Great Ones,
and what they have given us is only a token of what they will bestow.
We have asked, we have given, we shall receive.
Swa biþ hit!
All: Swa biþ hit!
Then the Fire Tender says:
Never would we take without returning,
never receive without appreciation.
We must end our rites, but we will do it with gratitude.
Then the Fire Tender offers incense into the square altar, while the Priest says:
Blessed ones, may you always be with us.
We give thanks to you, Kindreds.
We thank all you, Kindreds, for your many gifts.
We þonciaþ eow.
All: We þonciaþ eow.
The Fire Tender offers mead and the Solar Priestess lifts the new Sunne wheel and says:
Sunne whose warmth burns strong in our midst,
burn in the sky, and burn in our hearts.
Keep warm the people; brighten our days.
Be always our guide though darkness surround us.
Sunne, we þonciaþ þe!
All say: Sunne, we þonciaþ þe!
The Solar Priestess says:
Sunne on the earth!
All: Sunne on the earth!
Solar Priestess: Sunne in the sky!
All: Sunne in the sky!
Solar Priestess: Sunne on the earth!
All: Sunne on the earth!
Solar Priestess: Sunne in the sky!
All: Sunne in the sky!
Solar Priestess:
Sunne in the sky!
All raise their arms and say:
Sunne in the sky!
With this last line, the Solar Priestess puts the Sunne wheel on the pole, and the Fire Tender pours a bucket of water on the grill.
The Fire Tender offers incense, while saying:
Beautiful gods, whose continued presence is our constant joy,
we thank you for your attendance at today’s rituals.
Know this: we are always your friends.
May we always have reason to feel gratitude towards you.
We þonciaþ eow!
All: We þonciaþ eow!
The Fire Tender makes an offering of butter on the fire, and the Priest says:
Xáryomēn, who guards society’s peace,
you have joined us together in our ritual today:
though the rites may end, and the people scatter,
may our fellowship remain strong.
Xáryomēn, we thank you for your presence and blessings.
May we grow and flourish under your benevolent gaze.
Tebhyo gʷṛtins dedəmes.
All: Tebhyo gʷṛtins dedəmes.
The Fire Tender offers mead to Eostre, saying:
Bright Eostre,
Morning maiden,
We thank you for opening the gate of the mysteries,
and ask that you close it again,
until the next time we call to you.
We þonciaþ þe!
All: We þonciaþ þe!
The Fire Tender makes a sign of closing and says:
Eostre, we bid you,
Let the gates be closed!
All: Let the gates be closed! [X 3]
The Chthonic Priestess says:
Our elder family,
you who have celebrated with us in honor of those
whom you in your own time looked to in worship,
we bid you return to your proper place,
leaving the land of the living to those who live.
We send you on your way with our thanks.
Ancestors, we thank you!
All: Ancestors, we thank you!
The person who opened the mundus now closes it, purifying themselves afterward.
The Champion says:
Wights of the Land who have come among us
we honor your departure with this prayer
with these words of thanks for all you do,
Guardians of the world around us.
Land Wights, we thank you!
All: Land Wights, we thank you!
The Chthonic Priestess pours butter on the ground, saying:
Having given you your due
we bid you farewell, Mother Earth.
But how can we do that, with you all around us?
How can we do that with you always in our hearts?
Not a farewell, then, but a giving of thanks
and a promise to remember you throughout our days.
Mother of All, we thank you!
All: Mother of All, we thank you!
The Fire Tender offers incense to the square altar. When it is burned, she takes a coal from the fire and puts it into the hearth fire, saying:
The true altar of the people is the hearth.
She then pours water on the square altar from the pitcher. The Priest says:
Extinguished without, but burning within.
All: The living fire flames within us.
The Fire Tender offers butter to the hearth fire, saying:
Lady of Fire, Queen of the hearth,
who by rights receives the last,
bless and guard all those who worship you
whether in their home or without,
whether alone or with others
whether thinking of you or engaged in business.
Shining One, receive this offering.
All: Shining one, receive this offering.
When the butter is burned, she extinguishes the fire by pouring water from the pitcher on it and then putting the top of the cauldron on hard. When it has finished smoking, the Priest says:
With the hearth fire extinguished, the center of our sacred world is gone.
With the flow of fiery water ceased, our sacred site dissolves about us.
[The corner poles are taken down.]
We will carry it in our hearts, though, nestled deep with the love of the gods.
The Champion says:
We have offered to the Holy Ones and they are well-pleased.
The Fire Tender says:
We have worshiped the Old Ones as it is right to do.
The Chthonic Priestess says:
We have done what the people before us have done.
The Priest says:
We have honored Sunne on her holy day.
The Fire Tender says:
May we always be mindful of those we have worshiped.
May we always be mindful of them, worthy of worship.
May this grove grow strong, under their watchful eyes.
The Priest raises his hands in blessing, and says:
On all who have worshiped here:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
The Priest: On all who revere the Kindreds:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
The Priest: On all who walk the ancient path:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
The Champion says:
With the gates closed
With the gods worshiped
With Sunne well-honored
We will walk in wisdom. [11]
The Champion picks up the hammer, and the people recess.
Unless otherwise noted, words and songs are by David Fickett-Wilbar, with modifications by the members of Nemos Ognios.
1. Stone Creed Grove.
2. Wendy Doniger Flaherty’s translation of Rig Veda 1.26.8. O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger (ed. and tr.). The Rig Veda. New York: Penguin Books, 1981, 100.
3. Author unknown
4. ADF Traditional
5. From two Anglo-Saxon charms. West, M. L. Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, 177.
6. ADF traditional.
7. Nevin Flanagan
8. Stone Creed Grove.
9. Stone Creed Grove.
10. ADF Traditional.
11. Last line by Sable.
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