Midsummer 1998 Order of Service

Welcome to Our Celebration!

Before we begin...

Enjoy the antices 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 - Single Threads
• Statement of purpose

Declaring Center and opening the Portals

• Tree, Fire, and Well
• The opening of the ways
• 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: Bríd, Aren, Danu, and Bel (feel free to offer a silent welcome to your own gods)
• Archetypes - acknowledging the three societal functions within us
• Decorate the bilé
• Deities of the Occasion:
  • Lugh - Strengthen our bond with Lugh in a time of crisis (Ash staves and ring toss)
  • Ana - Woo her with songs and skill - Ana Come Be With Us

Handfasting of Ana and Lugh if Ana accepts Lugh

Giving and Receiving

• Passing the Bull (no kidding): Direct your praise and energy to the bull 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 bull to the person next to you.
• Group praise - Wedding Dance
• Omen of return
• Return blessing
• 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!

Midsummer Songs 1998

Processional:
We Approach the Sacred Grove

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

Ana Wooing:
Ana, Come Be With Us ****

Ana, come be with us,
Let your blessings ever flow,
Ana, strong and loving,
Bless our crops and make them grow.
River Mother, ever young and flowing
River Mother, let your beauty show.

Ana Celebratory:
Blessed is She

Blessed is She who brings the life to the land
Blessed is She
Flow out from your sources, sacred river
Blessed is She.

Unity:
Single Threads

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

Nature Spirits Invocation*

Brothers and sisters,
Honor we bring you,
Humbly we ask you,
Welcome us here.
We sing your praises,
Soul of the Forest,
Bringers of beauty
Throughout the year.

Wedding Dance:
Wedding of Ana and Lugh *

Lovely Ana, Shining Lugh
Bring your people together.

Bring us blessings, joy and peace,
Let your praise ring forever.

And we will dance with joy and sing,
Our lady is joined with her lover. (2x)

Closing:
In the Company of Friends *

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

* ©1996 Marae Price
** by Ian Corrigan
*** ©1996 Paul Kershaw and Marae Price
**** by the Shining Lakes Grove Bardic Guild, adapted by the Liturgists
***** ©1996 Marae Price and Kami Landy

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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