I'm sharing with you the last Western Winds Ritual I'll be sharing for a while — the ritual for Samhain. As you may know, I've been working to finalize these rituals and other literature into a Western Winds grimoire.
This is a “tried and true” Samhain ritual, and relatively simple to perform. Enjoy!
CIRCLE PREPARATION
Prepare ritual space by setting up altars, placing lighters, etc. When ritual space is ready and all materials are where they need to be, exit the room to cleanse yourself. Take a bath or shower, ground, and center yourself. When you are ready, return to the ritual space and begin.
Take up your water-bowl and hold it to the sky.
“O body of water, I, ____, cast all impurities out from you and bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.
Set the water-bowl down, and pick up your salt-bowl, raising it to the sky.
“O body of earth, I, ____, cast all impurities out from you and bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.”
Take a pinch of salt with your athame and add it to the water bowl, stirring three times deosil if the moon is waxing, and widdershins if the moon is waning.
Traverse the circle in the appropriate direction with the salted-water, sprinkling around and within the circle to cleanse the area. At the end, sprinkle some of the water on yourself, too.
Take up and light the incense.
“O, body of air and fire, I, ___, cast all impurities out from you and bless you in the name of the Lord and Lady.”
Traverse the circle in the appropriate direction with the incense, wafting the smoke around and within the circle to cleanse the area. When you have returned to center, waft some of the smoke over yourself, too.
Place the incense down and pick up your athame.
CIRCLE CASTING
Return to the eastern gate, and traverse the circle clockwise, drawing the circle with your athame.
“I, ____, cast this circle to be a boundary between the realms of god and the worlds of men, a container and witness to the magic I create inside, blessed and protected.”
When you have returned to the east, draw the pentagram from the eastern point (start at middle right point, go clockwise), saying,
“Hail, guardians of the watchtowers of the East, powers of air, I, ____, call you to witness and guard my rites.”
Light the candle.
Turn to the south, drawing the southern point pentagram (start at lower right point, go clockwise), saying:
“Hail, guardians of the watchtowers of the South, powers of fire, I, _____, call you to witness and guard my rites.”
Light the candle.
Turn to the west, drawing the western point pentagram (start at lower left point, go clockwise), saying,
“Hail, guardians of the watchtowers of the West, powers of water, I, _____, call you to witness and guard my rites.”
Light the candle.
Turn to the north, drawing the northern point pentagram (start at center left point, go clockwise), saying,
“Hail, guardians of the watchtowers of the North, powers of earth, I, _____, call you to witness and guard my rites.”
Light the candle.
Return to your altar, facing north. Draw the invoking spirit pentagram (start at top point, go clockwise), saying,
“Hail, above and below, powers of Lord, Lady and ancestors. I call you to witness and guard my rites. Be with me now.”
Light your center (spirit) candle.
“The circle is cast.”
GOD INVOCATIONS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Cross your arms over your breasts.
”Hail, Lord Hunter! You who are known as Dagda, and Pan, and Hermes, and Cernunnos — be with me now to witness my rite and lend your strength, love, and power. Blessed be!”
If you have a god candle, light it now.
Raise your arms into the air.
”Hail, Great Lady! You who are known as Brigid, and Cerridwen, and Athena, and Artemis — be with me now to witness my rite and lend your creativity, inspiration and healing. Blessed be!”
If you have a goddess candle, light it now.
“This circle has been cast to celebrate Samhain, the third harvest and the coming of the new year. I stand before you in a time when the veil is at its thinnest and I have an opportunity to visit with loved ones and commune with the gods. Blessed be, and welcome.”
MAGIC WORKING
Speak aloud:
“The sun has past to shadow day
To be reborn they say
For the sun has set,
I shall not mourn
For this time he is reborn.”
Sing aloud.
Speak aloud:
“I honor those who died and passed
I ask them now to come at last
For I are here to honor thee
For the veil is thin, so mote it be”
Light a candle for those loved ones that are gone. You can light several candles if you want. Place a food offering, like apple slices, on an empty plate on the altar. Meditate on your loved ones and how they’ve influenced your life. If you desire, this is the time to speak aloud to them. Say the things that you never got to say, or didn’t say enough, while they were alive. Thank them for helping you on your path.
“Spirits now I honor thee
Merry meets and blessed be‘s
Now I honor all your days
And the passing of sun’s blazeSpirit now has come of age
Where they are both crone and sage
Hecate, oh, wise crone
Pass me your wisdom, make it known”
Anoint your third eye with your consecrated water, speaking,
“With this water, I shall see, all the truth that hides in me.”
If you have divination tools, now is a good time to use them. Use tarot to help you conduct a guided meditation, or use scrying to see what insights you can gather. When you are done with divination work, take the time to write a reflection of the previous year in your Book of Shadows or goal notebook. What did you accomplish that was expected? Unexpected? What new challenges and blessings came into your life? When you’re done reflecting, take some time to predict the future. What will happen? What will you make happen? What energies do you want to bring into your life? Write down at least three goals for the upcoming year.
When you are ready, you may move on to cakes and wine and closing the circle.
CAKES AND WINE
Return to your altar and raise your offering plate of cakes.
“The first and best to you, Lord and Lady. May you never hunger.”
Place an offering onto a different plate, then take a cake for yourself and take a small bite, repeating,
“May you never hunger.”
Raise your chalice.
”The first and best to you, Lord and Lady. May you never thirst.”
Pour your libation into a waiting bowl, then sip from the chalice and repeat,
“May you never thirst.”
CIRCLE CLOSING
Go to the center altar.
“Thank you, Lady, for joining me on this day. Go if you must, but stay if you will.”
Extinguish the goddess candle.
“Thank you, Lord, for joining me on this day. Go if you must, but stay if you will.”
Extinguish the god candle.
Draw the spirit banishing pentagram with your athame (start at top point, go counter clockwise).
“Thank you ancestors, lord, lady, and spirits, for joining me on this day. Go if you must, but stay if you will.”
Extinguish the center candle.
Move to the east. Draw the eastern banishing pentagram (start at center right point, go counter clockwise).
“Guardians of the watchtowers of the east, thank you for guarding my rites and lending your power. Hail, and farewell!”
Extinguish the eastern candle.
Move to the south. Draw the southern banishing pentagram (start at lower right point, go counter clockwise).
“Guardians of the watchtowers of the south, thank you for guarding my rites and lending your power. Hail, and farewell!”
Extinguish the southern candle.
Move to the west. Draw the western banishing pentagram (start at lower left point, go counter clockwise).
“Guardians of the watchtowers of the west, thank you for guarding my rites and lending your power. Hail, and farewell!”
Extinguish the western candle.
Move to the north. Draw the northern banishing pentagram (start at center left point, go counter clockwise).
“Guardians of the watchtowers of the north, thank you for guarding my rites and lending your power. Hail, and farewell!”
Extinguish the northern candle.
Return to the east, and slice the circle with your athame.
“The circle is open but never broken. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again.”
