Spring Equinox 1999 Order of Service

Welcome to Our Celebration!

Before we begin...

Enjoy the antics of the Fool and other entertainments, 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 - We Approach the Sacred Grove
• 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
• Meditation, grounding and centering
• Unity chant - We Are the Walking Breath of Spring
• Statement of purpose - We honor our Mother Ana, and welcome her awakening as spring begins.

Declaring Center and opening the Portals

• Tree, Fire, and Well - Standing at the Crossroads
• 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

• Ancestors - our beloved dead
• Nature Spirits - the spirits of the land and its creatures
• Deities: Lugh, Bríd, Aren, Danu, and Bel (feel free to offer a silent welcome to your own gods)
• Archetypes - acknowledging the three societal functions within us
• Deity of the Occasion: Ana, the spirit of the Huron River, the goddess of this land.

Giving and Receiving

• Passing the bouquet of flowers: Direct your praise and energy to the bouquet 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 bouquet to the person next to you.
• Group praise - We Are the River Flowing
• Main sacrifice - Dancing the Summer In
• Omen of return
• Return blessing - Blessing the seeds (Seed Blessing Song)
• Cauldron Blessing
• Welcoming new members, officers, and guild members, and bestowing other honors

Unwinding and closing

• Recessional - In the Company of Friends

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

Spring Equinox Songs 1999

Processional:
We Approach the Sacred Grove (trad.)

We approach the sacred grove,
With hearts and minds and flesh and bone.
Join us now in ways of old,
We have come home.

Unity:
We Are the Walking Breath of Spring
© Jana Runnells; adapted by Marae Price

We are the walking breath of spring
We are the spirits of Ana's Land
We are alive and dancing, dancing
Where we are is beautiful

Declaring Center and opening the Portals:
Standing at the Crossroads
© Pandora

Come together, gather at the Center
Open we these Portals three.
Start the journey, standing at the Crossroads
The Well, the Fire, and the sacred Tree. (repeat)

Group praise:
We Are the River Flowing
©1996 Marae Price

Chorus:
We are the River flowing
Ever being born, never dying.
(repeat)

Main sacrifice:
Dancing the Summer In
©1996 Marae Price

Winter is cold, winter is cold

Green warm green

Dancing the summer in, we go dancing,
Dancing the summer in, we go singing,
Dancing the winter away, we go dancing,
Dancing the summer in.

Return:
Seed Blessing Song
©1996 Marae Price

Seeds hold my dreams,
Carry them to earth
That they may root and grow and blossom,
Blessed by the Sun,
Watered by our Mother,
That our harvest be great and full.

Recessional:
In the Company of Friends
©1996 Marae Price

Join your heart once more with your comrades
Ere you turn your face to the wind
And walk the road from this holy place
In the company of friends.

Note to Parents: Children are welcome to stay and attend the ritual with you, but only if they are supervised. If they decide to leave and go back to Child Care, they may not return to the rite.

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