Imbolc 2007 Order of Service

Welcome to Our Celebration!

Before we begin...

Take off your coats, greet each other, and check out the Raffle items before the briefing. Words to the songs we will be singing are on the back of this sheet.

Preparing ourselves for our time with the Gods and Spirits

• Processional and purification - Come We Now As a People
• Bardic Invocation for our eloquence and inspiration
• Welcoming the Allies, the spirits of the people and their gods who lived in this land before us
• Honoring our Mother Ana
• Unity chant - Single Threads
• Statement of purpose - We gather as a community and honor our hearth goddess, Bríd, who gives us light and inspiration during this dark time of the year.

Declaring Center and opening the Portals

• Opening the Three Portals: Tree, Fire, and Well
• Acknowledging the Outsiders - the forces of chaos and change
• Invocation of Manannan mac Lir, our Lord of the Dead, to guide and protect us in the Otherworld

Acknowledging and honoring our guests

• Archetypes - acknowledging the three societal functions within us
• Ancestors - our beloved dead
• Nature Spirits - the spirits of the land and its creatures
• Deities: Lugh, Aren, Danu, and Bel (feel free to offer a silent welcome to your own gods)
• Deity of the Occasion: Bríd, goddess of the hearth, community, poetry, healing, and smithing
• Welcoming the corn dolly
  Note: After we welcome Bríd to be with us we will all kneel and say:
  "Bríd, Bríd, come to our house, come to our house tonight!"
  

Giving and Receiving

• Passing the Bríd Cross: Direct your praise and energy to the cross to build a group offering. While you hold it, you may give praise or thanks to the gods silently or in the form of a vocal or physical offering. When you finish, pass the cross to the person next to you.
  
• Group praise - candle lighting - Spirit of Fire
• Main Sacrifice: offering of the Bríd Cross to the Fire
• Omen of return: runes
• Return blessing - Brat Bríd / candles
• Cauldron blessing
• Welcoming new members, officers, and guild members, and bestowing other honors

Unwinding and closing

• Recessional - Walk With Wisdom

And afterwards... Join us for a potluck and socializing, and don't forget to get your Raffle Tickets!

Imbolc Songs 2007

Processional:

Come We Now As a People

© Ian Corrigan

Come we now as a people
Together, to gather at the sacred well.
Come we now as a people
To gather in the warmth and the light of the flame.

Unity:

Single Threads

©1996 Marae Price

Single threads entwined in weaving
Are our hearts and minds and souls
As the branches weave the forest
So our joining makes us whole.

Mannanan:

Mannanan Invocation

©1996 Marae Price

We stand at the border and watch the mist close in.
Waves rolling, rolling,
Where shore meets the ocean, where land meets sea and sky,
We call to you, Manannan,
Manannan, Manannan,
We welcome you as you one day will welcome us.

Group Praise:

Spirit of Fire

(trad., slight adaptation by Rob Henderson)

Spirit of fire come to us, we will kindle a fire
Lady Bríd come to us, we will kindle a fire
We will kindle a fire, fan the flames inside our hearts
We will kindle a fire, we will kindle a fire

Closing:

Walk With Wisdom

(trad.)

Walk with wisdom, from the hallowed place
Walk not in sorrow, our roots shall ere embrace
May truth be your brother,
And honor be your friend,
And luck be your lover until we meet again.

Note to Parents: Children are welcome to stay and attend the ritual with you, but only if they are supervised.

Web Hosting · Blog · Guestbooks · Message Forums · Mailing Lists
Allwebco Web Templates · Build your own toolbar · Free Talking Character · Audio, Fonts, Clipart
powered by bravenet.com