Shining Lakes Grove, ADF

Water Sharing Ritual

MAP Picnic, June 30th, 2001

Processional and purification - Come We Now As a People(by 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.
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
Unity chant - We Are One With the Mother
We are one with the Mother, we are one with the earth,
We are one with each other, by our lives, by our birth.
Statement of purpose: We come together from far and wide, bringing the waters of our local regions and personal spaces, to share them in the spirit of community.

Tree, Fire, and Well - Standing at the Crossroads (by 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.
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

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

Pouring the water: We take turns, each pouring the water from our own location.
Group praise - The Way to the Well
We will never, never lose our way to the well of her memory.
And the power of her living flame, it will rise, it will rise again.
Main Sacrifice: Giving offerings to the river.
Omen of return: Reading the runes.
Return blessing: Sharing the waters with each other.
Cauldron blessing: The newest mother holds the cauldron so we may receive its healing energy.

Recessional - Now the Rite is At an End (by Paul Kershaw and Marae Price)
And now the rite is at an end, again we're parting ways
May truth and honor be your friend and lucky be your days
I'll hold you dearly in my heart, I'll hold you in my mind
And though our branches grow apart, our roots shall be entwined.