Rituals

Sweeping the Circle
Sweep (or smudge) clockwise, beginning and ending in the East, starting in the center of the circle and spiraling to the outer edge...

Repeat the following until the circle has been swept:
Negative vibrations be gone from here,
This is no place for harm or fear.

With the index finger from your power hand, draw a banishing pentegram (you are banishing all negativity from sacred space)
By My Will,
So Mote It Be!

Balancing And Grounding Ritual
Face East and center yourself. "I am grounded in the center of my being."
Visualize energy of below. "I am supported by the powers of below."
Visualize the God/Goddess of above. "I am guided by the powers of above."
Visualize the unity of self with center above and below. "I am balanced in my being."
Extend your hand to the East. Visualize and make contact with the powers of the elemental forces. Visualize clarity. "I am inspired by the powers of Air."
Visualize purifying/transforming. "I am enlightened by the powers of Fire."
Visualize healing/cleansing. "I am renewed by the powers of Water."
Visualize nurturing/stability. "I am nurtured by the powers of Earth."
Establish the balance of the elements. "The forces are in balance within me and about me."
Feel the Sphere of the Circle. "The Sphere is placed."
Feel the Temple within yourself. "I am the Temple."

An Easy Ritual to aid in depression
by Silventar
Go outside during the evening (daytime if it is winter...due to temperature changes) and find yourself a large tree. Oak is the best choice, but any large tree will do. (deciduous trees are better than evergreens for some reason...go figure!) Place the palm of your projective hand (right if right handed, left if left handed) upon the trunk of the tree and say something like this to the tree:

"Blessed tree, my brother (or sister) of wood, I am in great need of your healing. I feel________________...I ask that you aid me, assist me in healing myself of this...please assist me to feel________________, assist me in being happy again"

Now sit down facing the sun and lean your back against the trunk of the tree. As you become more relaxed, feel yourself melt into the trunk, becoming one with the tree. Feel that you have become a branch, full of leafy foliage. Feel the Sun beat down upon you...drink in the Light of the Sun God...feel His Love fill you, pushing your sadness into the tree...fill yourself with the energy of the sun, and allow this to pass through you into the tree as well.

You are now part of the tree...you are the tree. Feel the overwhelming Wisdom locked into your wood, your leaves. Feel all that it is to be a tree... Now slowly, feel yourself separate from the tree...becoming human again. Lean forward, and stand. Face the tree, and thank it...If you feel like it, give it a hug!

You and the tree are now one...you are the tree, and the tree is now you. Love the tree, and care for it...the better the tree is cared for, the happier you will be in the long run! And become one with the tree as often as you need to...(the above ritual) and enjoy! If you ever need to move far from the tree, explain this to it, and give it back the woody feeling inside, and it will give you back the human feeling it has. When you move, find a new tree... Also, if you can, whoever moves into the place you were in, if at all possible, ask them to take special care of this tree...that it has meaning to you.

Salt water purification
Starhawk; "The Spiral Dance: Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess"; HarperRow 1979

Fill the cup or if you have one, your ritual chalice, with water. Using your athame, stir in three mounds of salt and stir counterclockwise. While doing so, say:
"Salt and water,
Inner and outer,
Soul and body,
Be cleansed!
Cast out all that is harmful!
Take in all that is good and healing!
By the power of the Mother of all life,
And her lover the Horned God,
So must it be!"

Hold the chalice close to your heart and feed power into the water. When you can feel it glow, it is ready. If you are working with a group, pass it around and have everybody feed energy into the chalice.

The Chocolate Ritual
copyright August 1993, John L. Shepard. Permission is given to post anywhere as long as the content is not altered and this notice is attached.
Materials:
brown candles on the alter;
a Tootsie Roll (the great big one -as the athame;)
a large glass with milk in it, (the chalice;)
A small dish of Nestle's Quik and a spoon;
a small dish of chocolate sprinkles;
a plate of cupcakes and some Yoo-Hoo along with a goblet

CLEANSE THE SACRED SPACE:
(Take the small bowl of chocolate sprinkles)
Chocolate sprinkles where thou art cast
No calories in thy presence last.
Let no fat adhere to me,
And as I will So Mote It BE!

Nestle's Quik where thou art cast
Turn this milk to chocolate, fast.
Let all good things come to me,
And make my milk all chocolatey!

CAST THE CIRCLE (using a tootsie roll):

CALL THE QUARTERS:
Mousse of the East, Fluffy one!
Great prince of the palace of dessert.
Be present, we pray thee,
And guard this circle from all moochers
Approaching from the East.

Fondue of the South, Molten One!
Great prince of the palace of decadence.
Be present we pray thee,
And guard this circle from all diets
Approaching from the south.

Cocoa of the west, Satisfying One!
Great prince of the palace of thirst.
Be present we pray thee,
And guard this circle from all carob
Approaching from the West.

Rocky Road of the North, Cold one!
Great prince of the palace of crunchy.
Be present we pray thee,
And guard this circle from all cheap imitations
Approaching from the North.

MAIN RITUAL:
HANDMAIDEN (Henceforth known as the Swiss Miss):
Listen to the words of the Mother of Chocolate; who was of old called: Godiva,Ethel M, Sara Lee, Nestle, Mrs. See, and by many other names.

HPS: Whenever you have one of those cravings, once in a while and better it be when your checkbook is full, then shall you assemble in a great public place and bring offerings of money to the spirit of Me, who is Queen of all Goodies.

In the Mall shall you assemble, you who have eaten all your chocolate and are hungry for more. To you I shall bring Good Things for your tongue.

And you shall be free from depression, and as a sign that you are truly free, you shall have chocolate smears on your cheeks, and you shall munch, nosh, snack, feast, and make yummy noises, all in my presence. For mine is the ecstasy of phenylalanine (FEEN-EL-AL-A-NEEN), and mine also is Joy on Earth, yea, even into High Orbit, for my law is "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand."

Keep clean your fingers, carry Wet Ones always, let none stop you or turn you aside. For mine is the secret that opens your mouth, and mine is the taste that puts a smile on your lips and comfy, padding pounds on your hips.

I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of joy unto the tummies of men and women. Upon earth, I give knowledge of all things delicious, and beyond death........well, I can't do much there. Sorry about that.

I demand only your money in sacrifice; for behold, chocolate is a business, and you have to pay for those truffles before you eat them. SWISS MISS: Hear now the words of the Goodie Goddess, she in the dust of whose feet are the cheap imitations, whose body graces candy racks and finer stores everywhere:

I, who am the beauty of chocolate chips, and the satisfying softness of big bars, the mystery of how they get the filling inside of truffles, and fill the hearts of all but Philistines with desire, call unto thy soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the soul of candy; from me do all confections spring, and unto me all of you shall return, again.....and again..........and again..................and again

Before my smeared face, beloved of Women and Men, thine innermost divine self shall be enfolded in the rapture of overdose.

Let my taste be within thy mouth that rejoices. For behold, all acts of yumminess and pleasure are my rituals. Therefore let there be gooeyness and mess, crispness and crackling, big slabs and bite size pieces, peanut butter and chocolate covered cherries all within you.

And you who think to seek me, know that your seeking and yearning shall avail you not unless you know the Mystery; "We will sell no chocolate until you pay for it."

For behold; I have been with you since you were just a baby, and I am that which is attained at nearly any shop in the land.

Messed Be.

SWISS MISS: Hear now the words of the Chocolate God, who was of old called Ghirardelli, Milton Snavely Hershey, Bosco, Fudgesicle, and by many other names.

HP: I am the strength of the candy rack, and the piece that fell on the floor, but looks like it might not have gotten too dirty, and the deepest bitterness of dark chocolate. No matter how you try to resist the call of chocolate, I will hunt you out and I will become your sacred prey. I am the warmth of hot cocoa in the dead of winter, and the call of the road that leads you to that really expensive Godiva store downtown.

I give you, my creatures, the fire of love of chocolate, the power of jaw strength to bite off a piece of that frozen Milky Way bar, and the shelter of Haagen Daz when that big date didn't work out. You are dear to me, and I instill in you my power; the power of a piece of chocolate that you had forgotten you had hidden, and the power of vision and magickal sight with which you can spot a candy counter a mile away.

By the powers of the half melted bar in the glorious sun, I charge you; by the darkest depths of the bottom of the cocoa pot and the lingering smell of bittersweet chocolate, I charge you; and by the beauty of a perfectly swirled vanilla butter cream, I charge you:

Follow your heart and your instinct, wherever they lead you. The wealth in your pocket can buy you treats that a Mayan king would envy. Take joy in that first bite of lecithin emulsified cocoa, and in the last satisfying slurp of Yoo-Hoo. Yet you must be wary of deceit. Eat not of that which is called "Baking Chocolate," for it is vile and bitter.

Lastly, always remember to leave some chocolate behind you. Be not greedy, but let yourself be known as a connoisseur. Leave a little for someone else.

I am with you always, just over your shoulder, or around the next corner. I am the Lord of Chocolate, and when you have reached the end of your hoard, I will never be farther away from you than that 7-Eleven on the corner. I am the spirit of the Wild Child; the Inner Child who can never get quite enough. If you are a true chocolate lover, then your soul and mine are intertwined.

CUPCAKES & YOO-HOO: (The blessing of the Yoo-Hoo)

HP: Be it known that milk chocolate is not better than dark chocolate.

HPS: Nor is dark chocolate better than milk chocolate.

HP: For both are better than the falsely named 'white chocolate,'

HPS: And neither one is carob.

HP: As the frosting is to the cupcake,

HPS: So the creamy nougat is to the Milky Way Bar.

BOTH: And when they are eaten, they are yummy in truth, for there is no greater snack in all the world than one made of chocolate.

(The blessing of the cupcakes)

HP: Frosting is keen,

HPS: And the filling is neat.

BOTH: Great Goddess! Let's eat!

Feasting and drinking (chocolate liquer, if possible,) music and dance.

Dismiss Quarters.

HPS: Oh, ye mighty goodies of the ______,
We thank you for attending our rites and guarding our circle
And ere you depart for your sweet and sticky realms,
We say unto you, "N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestles makes the very best."

ALL: "Chooooc-laaate."

(After all quarters have been dismissed, give a final, satisfying belch at the East.)

Close circle.