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Vampire Ritual Book, © by Michelle Belanger, [2003], at sacred-texts.com. Material can be reproduced for personal use on an individual basis in private spellbooks, books of shadows, and the like. Reproduction for distribution in any media or format is not allowed. To reprint material that appears in this book in a book, magazine, or website, please contact the author at the official House Kheperu website. For more information, consult www.kheperu.org
A ritual does not have to be enacted by a group to be powerful or even legitimate. Many of us are far more comfortable performing our ritual work alone. While group rituals build community, private rites can be very intense and potent. Many rites that are performed to work magick are private rites enacted between only one or two people. The fewer the number of people involved, the easier it is to get everyone focused together on the purpose of the rite. When working solo, you don’t have to content with anyone’s wandering attention. Some resources may be limited if you are working just by yourself, but in certain cases, the one-pointed focus that an individual can achieve makes it worth it.
Solitary rituals, in addition to being more focused are also more intimate and private. There are some ceremonies that have greater meaning for us if no one witnesses them save ourselves and whatever powers we may invoke. The following rites, which read more like prayers (hence the title of this chapter) are solitary rituals that you can perform by yourself wherever and whenever you feel they are appropriate. While many may feel better if they have a specific part of their home set aside for rituals, or if they perform their private rites at a personal altar or shrine, there is no strict need for these things. As we covered at the very beginning of this collection, sacred space, ideally, is carried within, and therefore you can make any place your temple or your altar.
Sanguine Ankh Consecration
Most vampire houses have a specific ankh that symbolizes the House and its ideals. For many vampires, whether they belong to a House or not, their ankh represents their dedication to pursuing their identity as a vampire, with all that this entails. When a new ankh is obtained, it should be consecrated before putting it on, so you reflect upon all that it means to you. If you have an altar, keep the ankh on the altar overnight. Then, after night has fallen the next day, take up the ankh and say these words:
Life sustains me and makes me strong:
Every breath and every sweet drop of blood
Is a celebration of what I am.
Let this ankh be my constant reminder
As I wear it each night above my heart
Of the life that is so very precious
And the darkness that encircles my soul.
Kiss the ankh and place it over your heart. As an alternate Sanguine rite, you can draw a drop of blood from your finger and consecrate the ankh with this blood before saying the prayer. It’s a good idea to reconsecrate your ankh on a yearly basis, to remind yourself of what it means to wear this symbol.
Copy this prayer down and carry it with you. When you encounter a person or situation where you are being judged or treated unfairly because of who and what you are, take out this prayer and recite it to yourself. Whenever you feel weak or uncertain, read this prayer out loud, or reflect upon it silently. If you are hesitant about your own worth and your own power, it should give you confidence and strength.
Give me the strength to overcome their smallness.
Give me the wisdom to rise above.
Fear is the seed of their hatred.
I must accept myself regardless of how others feel.
I will not let their misunderstanding daunt me.
I will not let their prejudice keep me from who I am.
I am stronger than all of their narrow opinions.
Throughout all hardship, my soul will endure.
What god are you invoking here? No one but you. You are praying to the higher part of you that lies beyond such petty things as appearances and prejudices. You are calling upon that immortal part of yourself that has been judged and tortured and even murdered for who you are and what you can do. This part of you has the strength to endure these things. This part is where your true wisdom lies. This prayer helps you connect with that a little better so you don't feel so weak or alone when faced with the harsh realities of the world.
The Kheprian Charge
Although the rites in this book are not intended to be strictly Kheprian rites, many of them are based upon the rituals celebrated within House Kheperu. To this end, most of the rites open with the Charge. While you are encouraged to write a Charge or Opening Prayer that encapsulates the spirit and beliefs of your own group, I have included the Kheprian Charge here as a reference and for use, should you wish to incorporate it into your own rituals:
Endlessly we die and are reborn,
Changed yet unchanging through the years.
We move from lifetime to lifetime,
Taking up bodies as garments.
Ours is a journey toward understanding,
And our charge is knowledge and wisdom.
We are the catalysts, and as we Awaken to ourselves,
We serve to Awaken the very world.
The Family Prayer
In House Kheperu, the Family Prayer has several functions. It can be recited alone as an affirmation of Family, and it can be recited together as a group as a mini-gathering rite. Finally, we often close rituals with the Family Prayer as a reminder of where we have come from, who we are, and how we hope to relate in the future. Several rites within this book have been concluded with a modified version of this prayer. Below is the full version. Feel free to use this to conclude all rituals, just as you use the Charge to open them:
FIN