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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com


 
 
                          BELTANE
 
                 This a Pagan Ritual file, of interest to Neo-Pagans,specifically
           Wiccan based religions.
 
 
 
 
                Equipment- see standard list
 
                Set up  a candle in each of the four cardinal directions. Lay the
           rest of the tools on  the altar cloth or near it. The altar  can be on
           the ground, a  table, a rock  or a stump. The  altar should be  in the
           center or  just north of center  of the Circle. Light  the six candles
           and the incense, start the music and begin the ritual.
                The  Beltane ritual should start before sunrise or in the evening
           of April 30th. This is to welcome the sun in and to make effective use
           of the bonfire. The party or the ritual should finish  some time after
           sunrise.
 
 
                                THE RITUAL
 
           Facing North,  the High Priest  and Priestess  kneel in  front of  the
           altar with him  to her right. She puts the bowl of water on the altar,
           places the point of her athame in it and says:
 
                "I exorcise  thee, O Creature of  Water, that thou cast  out from
           thee all impurities and uncleanliness of the world of phantasm; in the
           names of Cernunnos and Aradia"
 
           She then puts down her athame and  holds up the bowl of water in  both
           hands. The  High Priest puts the bowl  of salt on the  altar, puts his
           athame in the salt and says:
 
                "Blessings be upon this  Creature of Salt; let all  malignity and
           hindrance  be cast  forth hencefrom,  and let  all good  enter herein;
           wherefore so I bless thee,that thou     mayest aid me, in the names of
           Cernunnos and Aradia."
 
           He then puts down his athame and pours the salt into the bowl of water
           the  High Priestess is holding.  The High Priest  then stands with the
           rest of the  Coven outside the Circle.  The High Priestess  then draws
           the Circle  with the sword,  leaving a  gap in the  Northeast section.
           While  drawing the Circle, she should visualize the power flowing into
           the Circle from  off the end of the  sword. She draws the Circle  in a
           East to North or deosil or clockwise direction. She says:
 
                "I conjure thee, O Circle of Power, that thou beest a meeting
                place of love and joy and truth; a shield against all wickedness
                and  evil; a boundary  between men and  the realms  of the Mighty
           Ones; a rampart and protection that shall preserve and contain   t h e
           power     that we shall raise within thee. Wherefore do I bless  thee
           and  consecrate thee, in the names of Cernunnos and Aradia."
 
 
                                                                              464
 
           The High Priestess lays down the sword and admits the High Priest with
           a kiss while spinning him deosil and whispers:
 
                "Blessed Be" 
 
           He then admits a women the  same way. Alternate-male-female-male. Then
           the High Priestess  finishes closing  the Circle with  the sword.  She
           then  names three  witches to  help strengthen  the Circle.  The first
           witch  carries the bowl of  consecrated water from  East to East going
           deosil, sprinkling  the perimeter as  she/he goes. They  then sprinkle
           each  member in  turn. If  the witch  is male,  he sprinkles  the High
           Priestess last who  then sprinkles  him. If female  she sprinkles  the
           High Priest last, who then sprinkles  her. The bowl is replaced on the
           altar.  The second witch takes the incense burner around the perimeter
           and  the third takes one of the  altar candles. While going around the
           perimeter, each person says:
 
                "Black spirits and white,
                Red spirits and grey,
                Harken to the rune I say.
                Four points of the Circle, weave the spell,
                East, South, West, North, your tale tell.
                East is for break of day,
                South is white for the noontide hour,
                In the West is twilight grey,
                And North is black, for the place of power.
                Three times round the Circle's cast.
                Great ones, spirits from the past,
                Witness it and guard it fast."
 
           All the  Coven pickup their  athames and face  the East with  the High
           Priest and Priestess  in front, him on  her right. The  High Priestess
           says:
 
                "Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, ye Lords of Air;  I  do
           summon, stir, and call  you up to witness our  rites and to guard  the
           Circle."
 
           As she speaks  she draws the  Invoking Pentagram of  Earth in the  air
           with her athame:
 
                                    1,6
 
                                 4       3
                      
                                
                                   2 7 5
 
           The High  Priest and  the rest  of the Coven  copy her  movements with
           their  athames. The  High  Priestess turns  and  faces the  South  and
           repeats the summoning:
 
                "Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the South, ye Lords of Fire; I do
                summon,  stir and call you up, to  witness our rites and to guard
           the Circle."
 
 
                                                                              465
 
           She does the same pentagram and then faces West and says:
 
                "Ye  Lords of the Watchtowers of the  West, ye Lords of Water, ye
           Lords of Death and Initiation; I do summon, stir, and call you   u p ,
           to witness our rites and to guard the Circle."
 
           She faces North with rest of the Coven and says:
 
                "Ye Lords  of the Watchtowers  of the North,  ye Lords of  Earth;
           Boreas, thou gentle guardian of the Northern Portals; thou  powerful
           God and gentle Goddess; we do summon, stir and call you     up,     to
           witness our rites and to guard the Circle."
 
           The Circle is completed and  sealed. If anyone needs to leave,  a gate
           must be  made. Using  the sword, draw  out part  of the Circle  with a
           widdershins or  counter-clockwise  stroke. Immediately  reseal it  and
           then repeat the opening and closing when the person returns.
 
           In this part  of the ritual the Goddess becomes  incarnate in the High
           Priestess.  The High Priestess stands  in front of  the altar with her
           back to it. She holds  the wand in her right hand and  the scrounge in
           her left.  She crosses her  wrists and  crosses the wand  and scrounge
           above them  while holding them close  to her breast.   The High Priest
           stands in front of her and says:
 
                "Diana, queen of night
                In all your beauty bright,
                Shine on us here,
                And with your silver beam
                Unlock the gates of dream;
                Rise bright and clear.
 
                On Earth and sky and sea,
                Your magic mystery
                Its spell shall cast,
                Wherever leaf may grow,
                Wherever tide may flow,
                Till all be past.
                O secret queen of power,
                At this enchanted hour
                We ask your boon.
 
                May fortune's favor fall
                Upon true witches all,
                O Lady Moon!
 
           The  High Priest kneels  before the High  Priestess and gives  her the
           Five Fold Kiss; that is, he kisses her on both feet, both knees, womb,
           both breasts, and  the lips, starting with the right  of each pair. He
           says, as he does this:
 
                Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
                Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
                Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be.
                Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty.
                Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names."
 
 
                                                                              466
 
           For the kiss  on the lips, they embrace, length  to length, with their
           feet  touching each others. When he  reaches the womb, she spreads her
           arms wide, and the  same after the kiss  on the lips. The High  Priest
           kneels again and invokes:
 
                           "I invokethee andcall uponthee, MightyMother ofus all,
           bringer of  all fruitfulness; by  seed and root,  by bud and  stem, by
           leaf  and flower  and fruit,  by life  and love  do  I invoke  thee to
           descend upon the body of this thy  servant and priestess."
 
           During this invocation he touches her with his right forefinger on her
           right breast, left breast,  and womb, repeats the set and  finally the
           right  breast. Still kneeling, he spreads  his arms out and down, with
           the palms forward and says:
 
 
                   "Hail Aradia! From the Amalthean Horn
                    Pour forth thy store of love;
                    I lowly bend Before thee, I adore thee to the end,
                    With loving sacrifice thy shrine adore.
                    Thy foot is to my lip (he kisses her right foot)
                    my prayer up borne Upon the rising incense smoke;
                    then spend  Thine ancient love, O Mighty One, descend
                    To aid me, who without thee
                    am forlorn."
 
           The  High Priest  stands up  and steps  backwards. The  High Priestess
           draws the  Invoking Pentagram of  Earth in the  air with the  wand and
           says:
 
                   "Of the Mother darksome and divine
                    Mine the scrounge, and mine the kiss;
                    The five point star of love and bliss
                    Here I charge you in this sign."
 
           The High Priest says:
 
                "Listen to the words of the Great Mother; she who of old was also
                           calledamong manArtemis,Astarte, Athene,Dione,Melusine,
           Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Dana, Arianhod, Isis and by many other names."
 
           The High Priestess, who should be in a trance, says as the Goddess:
 
                "Whenever you have need of anything,  once in a month, and better
           it be  when the Moon  is full, then shall  ye assemble in  some secret
           place  and adore the spirit of me, who  am Queen of all witches. There
           shall ye assemble,  ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not
           won its deepest  secrets; to these  will I teach  things that are  yet
           unknown.  And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that  ye be
           really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; dance, sing, feast, make
           music and  love, all in  my praise.  For mine  is the  ecstasy of  the
           spirit,  and mine also is  joy on earth;  for my law is  love unto all
           beings.  Keep pure  your highest  ideal; strive  ever towards  it; let
           naught stop you or turn you aside. For mine  is the cup of the wine of
           life,  and the  Cauldron  of Cerridwen,  which is  the  Holy Grail  of
           Immortality. I am the gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto
           the  heart of man.   Upon  Earth, I give  the knowledge  of the spirit
           eternal; and beyond death, I give peace and freedom, and reunion  with
           those who have gone before. Nor do I demand sacrifice; for behold I am
           the Mother of  all living things, and  my love is poured out  upon the
 
 
                                                                              467
 
           earth. I who am the white Moon among the stars, and the mystery of the
           waters, and the desire of the heart of man, call unto thy soul. Arise,
           and come unto me. For  I am the soul of nature, who gives  life to the
           universe. From  me all  things proceed,  and unto me  all things  must
           return;  and  before  my face,  beloved  of  Gods and  men,  let thine
           innermost divine self be enfolded in  the rapture of the infinite. Let
           my  worship  be within the heart that rejoiceth;  for behold, all acts
           of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty
           and  strength, power  and compassion,  honor and  humility,  mirth and
           reverence within you.
                           And thouwho seekest to seekfor me, know thyseeking and
           yearning shall avail thee not unless thou  knowest the mystery; and if
           that which thou seekest thou  findest not within thee,thou will  never
           find  it without  thee. For  behold, I  have been  with thee  from the
           beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire."
 
           This declamation can be said by the High Priestess, the High Priest or
           the Coven as a whole.
 
                   "Hear now the words of the witches,
                    The secrets we hid in the night,
                    When dark was our destiny's pathway,
                    That now we bring forth into the light.
                    Mysterious Water and Fire,
                    The Earth and the wide ranging Air,
                    By hidden quintessence we know them,
                    And will keep silent and dare.
                    The birth and rebirth of all nature,
                    The passing of winter and spring,
                    We share with the life universal,
                    Rejoice in the magical ring.
                    Four times in the year the Great Sabbat Returns,
                    and the witches are seen
                    At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
                    On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.
                    When day time and night time are equal,
                    When sun is at greatest and least,
                    The four lesser Sabbats are summoned,
                    Again witches gather in feast.
                    Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
                    Thirteen is the Coven's array.
                    Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
                    For each golden year and a day.
                    The power was passed down the ages,
                    Each time between woman and man,
                    Each century unto the other,
                    Ere time and ages began.
                    When drawn is the magical circle,
                    By sword or athame of power,
                    It's compass between the two worlds lies,
                    In the land of shades that hour.
                    This world has no right to know it,
                    And the world beyond will tell naught.
                    The oldest of gods are invoked there,
                    The Great Work of Magic is wrought.
                    For two are the mystical pillars,
                   That stand at the gate of the shrine,
                   And two are the powers of nature,
                   The forms and the forces of the divine.
                   The dark and the light in succession,
 
 
                                                                              468
 
                   The opposites each unto each,
                   Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:
                   This did our ancestors teach.
                   By night he's the wild wind's rider,
                   The Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades.
                   By day he's the King of the Woodland,
                   The dweller in green forest glades.
                   She is youthful or old as she pleases,
                   She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
                   The bright silver lady of midnight,
                   The crone who weaves spells in the dark.
                   The master and mistress of magic,
                   They dwell in the deeps of the main,
                   Immortal and ever renewing,
                   With power to free or to bind.
                   So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,
                   And dance and make love in their praise,
                   Till Elphames's fair land shall receive us
                   In peace at the end of our days.
                   And Do What Thou Wilt
                   shall be the challenge,
                   So be it in love that harms none,
                   For this is the only commandment,
                   By magic of old, be it done!
                   Eight words the Witches Creed fulfill:
                   If It Harms None, Do What Thou Will!
 
 
 
 
           The High Priest faces the Coven, raises his arms wide and says:
                   "Bagabi lacha bachabe Lamac cahi achababe
                    Karellyos
                    Lamac lamac
                    bachalyas
                    Cabahag sabalyos
                    Baryolos
                    Lagaz atha cabyolas
                    Samahac atha
                    famolas
                 Hurrahya!"
 
           The High Priestess and the Coven repeat:
 
                "Hurrahya!" 
 
 
                                                                              469
 
           The High Priest  and High Priestess  face the  altar. The High  Priest
           continues:
 
                   "Great God Cernunnos, return to Earth again!
                    Come to my call and show thy self to men.
 
                   Shepherd of Goats, upon the wild hill's way,
                   Lead thy lost flocks from darkness unto day.
 
                   Forgotten are the ways of sleep and night 
                   Men seek for them, whose eyes have lost the light.
 
                   Open the door of dreams, whereby man come to thee.
                   Shepherd of Goats, O answer unto me!"
 
 
 
           The High Priest and the rest of the Coven then say:
 
                   "Akhera goittiakhera beitti!"
 
           And lower their hands on the second phrase.
 
           This is a ring dance as usual. This can be replaced or others added as
           desired.   Everyone  should  take  part.  Use   what  music  you  feel
           comfortable with.
 
                   Walpurgis Night, the time is right,
                The ancient powers awake.
 
                So dance and sing, around the ring,
                And Beltane magic make.
 
                Walpurgis Night, Walpurgis Night,
                Upon the eve of May,
 
                We'll merry meet, and summer greet,
                Forever and a day.
 
                New life we see, in flower and in tree,
                And summer comes again.
 
                Be free and fair, like earth and air,
                The sunshine and the rain.
 
                Walpurgis Night, Walpurgis Night,
                Upon the eve of May,
           
                We'll merry meet, and summer greet,
                Forever and a day.
 
                As magic fire be our desire
                To tread the pagan way,
 
                And our true will find and fulfill,
                As dawns a brighter day.
 
 
                Walpurgis Night, Walpurgis Night,
                Upon the eve of May,
 
 
                                                                              470
 
                We'll merry meet, and summer greet,
                Forever and a day.
 
                The pagan powers this night be ours,
                Let all the world be free,
            
                And sorrow cast into the past,
                And future blessed be!
 
                Walpurgis Night, Walpurgis Night,
                Upon the eve of May,
 
                We'll merry meet, and summer greet,
                Forever and a day.
 
           The  Coven spread themselves out around the  Circle. They start a soft
           rhythmic clapping. The High Priestess says:
 
                "Now  it is  time for  the Oak  King to  impregnate Our  Lady. No
           longer will  she be the Virgin Huntress  and Maiden. She is  now to be
           Hecate, the Queen of Elphame. But first she must catch him."
 
           This song is from Robert Graves "White Goddess". It is an old Scottish
           Craft song. In it, the High Priest turns into a variety of animals and
           the  High  Priestess chases  him. Starting  with  the High  Priest and
           Priestess, then  followed by the other  couples in the  Coven, the men
           are  chased by  the women.   The  ladies use  a scarf  to signify  the
           capture at the end of the song. The dancers should try to  imitate the
           animals they are playing. The dance and the tune should be slow. After
           all the couples have done so, the High Priestess and Priest repeat it.
 
           High Priest:    
 
                    "O, I shall go into a hare
                 With sorrow and sighing and mickle care,
                 And I shall go in the Devil's name
                 Aye, till I be fetched hame."
 
 
           High Priestess: 
 
                    "Hare, take heed of a bitch greyhound
                 Will harry thee all these fells around,
                 For here come I in Our Lady's name
                 All but to fetch thee hame."
 
           Coven:
 
                    "Cunning and art he did not lack
                 But aye her whistle would fetch him back."
 
 
                                                                              471
 
           High Priest:
 
                    "Yet I shall go into a trout
                 With sorrow and sighing and mickle doubt,
                 And show thee many a merry game
                 Ere that I be fetched hame."
 
           High Priestess: 
 
                   "Trout take heed of an otter lank
                 Will harry thee close from bank to bank,
                 For here come I in Our Lady's name
                 All but for to fetch thee hame."
 
           Coven:
 
                   "Cunning and art he did not lack
                 But aye her whistle would fetch him back."
 
           High Priest:   
 
                   "Yet I shall go into a bee
                 With mickle horror and dread of thee,
                 And flit to hive in the Devil's name
                 Ere that I be fetched hame."
 
           High Priestess: 
 
                   "Bee, take heed of a swallow hen
                 Will harry thee close, both butt and ben,
                 For here come I in Our Lady's name
                 All but to fetch thee hame."
 
           Coven:          
 
                   "Cunning and art he did not lack
                 But aye her whistle would fetch him back."
 
           High Priest:    
            
                   "Yet I shall go into a mouse
                 And haste me unto the miller's house,
                 There in his corn to have good game
                 Ere that I be fetched hame."
 
           High Priestess: 
 
                   "Mouse take heed of a white tib-cat
                 That never was balked of a mouse or a rat,
                 For I'll crack thy bones in Our Lady's name:
                 Thus shall thee be fetched hame."
 
           Coven:          
 
                   "Cunning and art he did not lack
                 But aye her whistle would fetch him back."
 
 
                                                                              472
 
           The  High  Priestess  finally catches  the  High  Priest  at the  last
           refrain. She drapes a scarf over his neck to signify her catching him.
           The Maiden and the Coven say:
 
                           "TheQueen of Elphame has caught herSon who is also her
           Consort. They must  mate so that  the Earth may  bear it's fruits  and
           that man and animal may live. "
 
           The High Priest and High Priestess, and the rest of the couples in the
           Coven, kiss with vigour. The men should wilt and fade back to the edge
           of  the Circle.   The  women gather  around the  unlit bonfire  or the
           cauldron with the candle in it. The High Priestess says:
 
 
                "The Oak King is dead. He has died of his love for the      Lady
           that the  Earth may live. So  has it been  for year after  year, since
           time began.   But the Oak King, the God of  the Waxing year, must live
           so the crops in the Earth can come forth. "
 
           The Coven shouts:
 
                           "Kindlethe Beltanefire.Maythe OakKingliveagain. Maythe
           Earth bring forth her fruits, may the animals bear their young and the
           land be fruitful again."
 
           The High Priestess lights the bonfire using a taper lit from the altar
           candle.  She then says:
 
                   "Come back to us, Oak King, that the land may be fruitful."
 
           The men gather around the fire, next to their partners, and the say in
           unison:
 
                "I am the stag of seven tines;
                I am a wide flood on the plain;
                I am a wind on the deep waters;
                I am a shining tear of the sun;
                I am a hawk on a cliff;
                I am fair among flowers;
                I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke."
 
           The  High Priestess  and  High Priest  lead  a ring  dance  around the
           bonfire. Start out with "A Tree Song" from Rudyard Kipling's "Weland's
           Sword" story in "Puck of Pook's Hill". The dance should be joyful.
 
           "Oh, do not tell the Priest of our Art,
                 Or he would call it sin;
                 But we shall be out in the woods all night,
                 Aconjuring summer in!
           
                 And we bring you news by word of mouth
                 For women, cattle and corn
                 Now is the sun come up from the South
            
                 With Oak, and Ash and Thorn!"
 
 
 
           Continue  the  dance  with this  song  and/or  any  others that  sound
           appropriate. 
 
 
                                                                              473
 
           This chant  goes to the tune  of the old folksong,   "The Lincolnshire
           Poacher":
 
                Come join the dance, that doth entrance,
                And tread the circle round.
                Be of good cheer, that gather here,
                Upon this merry ground.
 
                Good luck to we that faithful be,
                And hold our craft so dear,
                For 'tis our delight of a shiny night,
                In the season of the year.
 
                Oh, 'tis our delight of a shiny night,
                In the season of the year.
 
                While stars do shine, we pledge the wine
                Unto the Gods of old,
                Nor shall there fail the witch wassail,
                Nor shall their fire grow cold.
                Good luck to we that faithful be,
                And hold our craft so dear,
 
                For 'tis our delight of a shiny night,
                In the season of the year.
 
                Oh, 'tis our delight of a shiny night,
                In the season of the year.
 
                Throughout, about and round about,
                By flame that burneth bright,
                We'll dance and sing, around the ring,
                At witching hour of night.
                Good luck to we that faithful be,
                And hold our craft so dear,
 
                For 'tis our delight of a shiny night,
                In the season of the year.
 
                Oh, 'tis our delight of a shiny night,
                In the season of the year. 
 
 
 
           Near the end of the dance, the High Priestess should call out the name
           of either  a person or a couple.  They should then jump  over the fire
           while making  a wish.  They should then  rejoin the  ring and  another
           couple or person do it.  When ready, stop the dance and sit down about
           the fire. After a break, perform the Great Rite.
 
 
                                                                              474
 
                The Coven, except for the  High Priestess and High Priest,arrange
           themselves around the perimeter of the circle, man and woman
           alternately as far as possible, facing the center.  The High Priestess
           and High Priest  stand facing each other in the  center of the circle,
           she with her back to the altar, he with his  back to the South.
             The High Priest  kneels before the High Priestess and  gives her the
           Five Fold Kiss; that is, he kisses her on both feet, both knees, womb,
           both breasts, and the lips,  starting with the right of each  pair. he
           says, as he does this:
 
                "Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
                Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
                Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be.
                Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty.
                Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names.
 
           For the kiss on the  lips, they embrace, length to length,  with their
           feet touching each others. When  he reaches the womb, she spreads  her
           arms wide, and the same after the kiss on the lips. The High Priestess
           then  lays  herself  down,  face  upwards,  with  her  arms  and  legs
           outstretched to form the Pentagram.
 
           The  High  Priest  fetches the  veil  and  spreads  it  over the  High
           Priestess's body, covering her  from breasts to knees. He  then kneels
           facing her, with his knees between her feet.
 
                The High Priest calls a woman witch by name, to  bring his athame
           from the altar. The woman does so and stands with the athame in her
           hands,  about a  yard to  the West  of the  High Priestess's  hips and
           facing her.
 
           The High Priest  calls a male witch  by name, to bring  the chalice of
           wine from the  altar. He does  so and stands  with the chalice in  his
           hands,  about a  yard to  the East  of the  High Priestess's  hips and
           facing her.  The High Priest  delivers the invocation:
 
                "Assist me to erect the ancient altar, at which in days past all
                   worshipped;  The altar of all things.
            For in old time, Woman was the altar.  Thus  was  the altar  made and
           placed,  And the  sacred place was the point within  the center of the
           Circle.   As we  have of old  been taught  that the  point within  the
           center is the origin of all things,
 
                Therefore should we adore it;
                Therefore whom we adore we also invoke.
 
                O Circle of Stars, Whereof our father is but the younger
                brother, Marvel beyond imagination, soul of infinite space, 
                     Before  whom time isashamed, the mind bewildered, and the   
           understanding dark,
 
                Not unto thee may we attain unless thine image be love.
                Therefore by seed and stem, root and bud, And leaf and flower and
               fruit do we invoke thee, O Queen of Space, O Jewel of Light,
                Continuous on of the heavens;  Let it be ever thus
 
 
                                                                              475
 
             That men speak not  of thee as One, but  as None;  And let  them not
           speak of thee at all, since thou art continuous.
             For thou art the point within the Circle, which we adore;  The point
           of life, without which we would not be.
 
             And in this way truly are erected  the holy twin pillars;  In beauty
           and strength were they erected  To the wonder and glory of all men."
 
 
 
           The High Priest  removes the veil from the High  Priestess's body, and
           hands it to the woman witch, from  whom he takes his athame.  The High
           Priestess  rises  and kneels  facing the  High  Priest, and  takes the
           chalice from the man witch. (Note that both of these handings over are
           done  without the customary ritual kiss. The High Priest continues the
           invocation:
 
                   "Altar of mysteries manifold,
                   The sacred Circle's secret point
                   Thus do I sign thee as of old,
                   With kisses of my lips anoint."
 
           The High Priest kisses the High Priestess on the lips, and continues:
 
                "Open for me the secret way,
                 The pathway of intelligence,
                 Beyond the gates of night and day,
                Beyond the bounds of time and sense.
                Behold the mystery aright The five true points of fellowship...."
 
           The  High Priestess holds up  the chalice, and  the High Priest lowers
           the point of  his athame into the  wine. Both use both  of their hands
           for this. The High Priest continues:
 
                "All life is your own,
                All fruits of the Earth
                Are fruits of your womb,
                Your union, your dance.
                Lady and Lord, We thank you for
                blessings and abundance.
                Join with us, Feast with us, Enjoy with us!
                Blessed Be.
 
           Then, draw the Invoking Pentacle  of Earth in the air above  the plate
           with the athame.
 
                "Here where Lance and Grail unite,
                And feet, and knees, and breast, and lip." 
 
           The High  Priest hands his athame  to the woman witch  and then places
           both  his hands  round those of  the High  Priestess as  she holds the
           chalice. He  kisses her, and she sips the wine; she kisses him, and he
           sips the wine. Both of  them keep their hands round the  chalice while
           they do this.
 
 
                                                                              476
 
                The High Priest then  takes the chalice from the  High Priestess,
           and they both rise to their feet.
 
                The High Priest  hands the chalice to a woman  witch with a kiss,
           and she sips. She gives it to a man with a kiss. The chalice is passed
           around  the Coven,  man to  woman, with  a kiss  each time,  until the
           entire Coven has sipped the wine.  The chalice can be refilled and any
           one can drink  from it without  repeating the ritual once  the chalice
           has gone around once.
 
           The woman lays  down her athame and passes the cakes to the man with a
           kiss,he passes  them back with a  kiss and they are  passed around the
           Coven the same way the wine was. Be sure to save some of the  wine and
           some cake for an offering to the  Earth and the Little Folk. After the
           meeting,leave the offering outside of the house if working indoors, or
           behind  in the  woods or  field,  when you  leave if  you are  working
           outdoors.
 
 
                The  High Priestess faces East,with  her athame in  her hand. The
           High  Priest stands  to her right  with the  rest of  the Coven behind
           them. If any  tools have been consecrated, they should  be held by the
           person furthest  to the back. The  Maiden stands near to  the front to
           blow out each candle in turn. The Priestess says
 
                "Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, ye Lords of Air;  we do
           thank you for attending our rites; and ere ye depart   t o     y o u r
           pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and   farewell....Hail and
           farewell."
 
           As she speaks,  she draws the Banishing Pentagram of  Earth in the air
           in front of her thus, each time:
 
                      
                                     2 7
 
                      
                                  4        5
 
                       
                                  6 1    3               
 
           The rest of the Coven copy  the Pentagram and chorus in on  the second
           hail and farewell. The Maiden blows out the candle and the Coven faces
           the south and the High Priestess says:
 
                   "Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the South, ye Lords of   Fire;
           we do thank  you for attending  our rites; and ere  ye depart to  your
           pleasant  and lovely  realms, we bid you hail and farewell....Hail and
           farewell."
 
           She turns to the West and says:
 
                           "Ye Lordsof theWatchtowers ofthe West,yeLords ofWater;
           ye Lords  of Death and Initiation;  we do thank you  for attending our
           rites; and  ere ye depart to  your pleasant and lovely  realms, we bid
           you hail and farewell ....Hail and farewell."
 
 
                                                                              477
 
           She turns to the North and says:   
 
                "Ye  Lords of the  Watchtowers of the  North, ye Lords  of Earth;
           Boreas, thou  gentle guardian of  the Northern Portals;  thou powerful
           God, Thou gentle Goddess; we do thank you for attending our rites; and
           ere ye depart for your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and
           farewell ....Hail and farewell." 
 
 
 
           This ends the Circle. The party following this should be a loving one.
           If there is a May Pole available, circle the May Pole. Beltane is also
           a time  for forfeits.   The  High Priestess picks  out the  people and
           their forfeit, except the High  Priest picks out the last one  to play
           on  the  High  Priestess.  Beltane is  also  a  time  for "green  wood
           marriages" and other unbridled sexuality and such.
 
                     (Distributed in the public domain via Seastrider)
 
 
                                                                              478
 


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