We are delighted to offer up our Spring Equinox 2022 ritual.  If you are local to the Albany area, it is being held in person.  If you are not, the ritual is here so you may take it, adapt it to your needs, and run it on your own.

This ritual is one to commune with the forces of chaos.  Before the shared meal, we suggest you take time to have fun springtime activities such as dying eggs, eating candy, maybe even having a proper meal.

We are also doing a working for Ukraine in this ritual.  Please adapt it as needed.

Spring Equinox Ritual:

Leaving of the Ego

Upon entering this space, we all equals. Please leave your ego behind and outside of this space as you join us as equals.

Opening Meditation

Now, I invite everyone to close your eyes, and open your ears, and open your minds, and open your hearts.

Breathe slowly and deeply. Make yourself comfortable. Stretch if you need to. Allow yourself to relax and feel at ease. Let the cares and worries of the mundane world slip away. Focus on this moment, on the sensation of breathing, the feel of the air being drawn deep into your lungs and then released again.

Now, turn your awareness inward. Focus on that place within you that is the very core of your being—your essence. Cast aside the trappings that others use to define you. Shed the words and attributes that are but a poor attempt to describe the fullness of your being. Leave behind your history. Leave behind your name.

As you continue to draw your attention down into your center, you find yourself floating in dark, warm waters—the well of chaos from which all of existence emerges. You become detached from your physical form and all of its limitations. Here, you nothing more than a mote of awareness, a bright spark of light and thought adrift on the currents of the unknown. You see without eyes, hear without ears, and feel without flesh. Sensation and experience are not limited in this place of imagination and dreams. In this place, all things are possible.

Here there are no restrictions—no calendars, no schedules, no deadlines, no clocks. In this place that is both more and less than a place, time has no meaning. Past, present, future—all are one. 

You drift on the currents of chaos, dancing along on the waves of creativity, pulled into the whirlpools of a glorious madness. Here, in this place, there is no fear, no hesitation, no doubt. Each direction is very like another, yet no two are the same. This is a place that defies explanation. This is a place that resists definition. In this realm of the infinite, nothing is real, and everything is possible.

Feel the power and potential that surrounds you and draw a part of it into yourself. Fill yourself with its radiance. Embrace the creative energies that flow around you and through you. Take a few moments to savor the power that fills and surrounds you.

Now, slowly, gently, accept once again those limitations of physical form that you need to cross back into the world that we call real. Feel your body—your feet planted firmly on the earth, the air filling your lungs as you breathe slowly and deeply. Hear the small sounds all around you. Be aware, once again, of your brothers and sisters joined with you in spirit in our shared sacred and protected space. 

As you drawer nearer to reality, bring with you that little piece of chaos that you pulled into yourself, allowing it to flow through your body, filling you with energy and inspiration. Now, allow the chaotic images of the primordial sea to fade. See the faint shimmer of light through your closed eyelids. When you are comfortable, when you are ready, open your eyes so that we may join together in this celebration of nature on this sacred day when we acknowledge the powerful forces of creativity, renewal and rebirth.

Honoring the Earth Mother

As we gather here in this place, we honor the Earth we stand upon. We call to the Earth Mother who surrounds and supports us. We call to the Earth Mother who feeds and nourishes us. We call to the Earth Mother who shelters us and gives us a home to live in. Without you, we would not be here. Without you we would not survive. Without you, we would not be. We honor you. We love you. We respect you. We all work to make you healthy. We now give to you these offerings in a token of our appreciation. Earth Mother, accept our offerings!

Statement of Purpose

We are here today to celebrate the Spring Equinox. This is one of the balancing points of the year. Half a day of light, half a day of dark. We’re leaving winter and going into spring. The days are getting longer, and we’ve passed the dark of the winter. Today, we celebrate the start of the earth wakening up. The birds are returning. The hibernating animals are waking up, and those that have been here all winter are starting to be more active. The earth is still barren, but there are signs of life. The trees are budding. The early bulbs are poking through the soil, and some have started to flower. We can see signs that the winter is over.

This time of year though is a time of chaos. The weather swings from hot to cold, rain to snow, often within hours. It is this wakening of the earth and the chaos that comes with these early days of spring that we are here to celebrate.

We are also here to help the Ukrainians. We will do a working after we drink the waters to send strength, courage, and energies to aid the Ukrainians that are fighting against the Russians that are trying to take over their country.

Recreate the Sacred Center

officiant makes offerings during the appropriate sections of the text.

As we stand here in our circle, we see the hallows in the center as our sacred center, each with its role in the cosmos. 

We first have the well, our connection to the underworlds. This is our pathway to the realms of the Ancestors and all that are found in those realms. We offer this silver to the well to connect it to all the other wells in the world. As we offer this silver, our well becomes the well.

Next, we have the fire, our connection to the upper-worlds. This is our pathway to the realms of the Deities, and all that are found in those realms. We offer this incense to the fire to connect it to all the other fires in the world. As we offer this incense, our fire becomes the fire.

Finally, we have the tree, our pathway between all the worlds. This is how we travel to all the realms of the Deities and the Ancestors, and all who are found outside of our realm. We connect this tree to the well with the waters of the well. We connect this tree to the fire with the smoke of the fire. As we make these offerings, our tree becomes our path.

Purification

Officiants will sprinkle the congregation with water and smudge with incense while the following is spoken

As we gather here in this place, let us once again focus on our ritual purity. Wash yourselves with the waters from the well, washing away all your cares and all your worries. Smudge yourself with the incense from the fire, to join us all in ritual. As we do this washing and smudging, see our circle become cleaner and purer until we are all here as one.

Call to the Ancestors

Officiant makes offerings of grains when indicated.

Ancestors! We call on all those who have come before us. We call on our relatives, those that have passed throughout the years. We call on our chosen family, our mentors, and our heroes that have come before. We call on all those in this very earth, those who were in this land long before us. We call to you all and ask that you join us by our fire. Ancestors, accept our offerings

Call to the Land Spirits

Officiant makes offerings of grains when indicated.

Land Spirits! We call to all the spirits of the land around us. We call to all of you animals that surround us each and every day. We call to all of you plants that grow around use each and every day. We call to all of the unseen spirits that live among us each and every day. We call to you all and ask that you join us by our fire. Land Spirits, accept our offerings.

Call to the Deities

Officiant makes offerings of grains when indicated.

Deities! We call to all the gods and goddesses who watch over us and guide us in our daily lives. We call to all our matrons and patrons, the deities we work with on a personal level. We call to all the deities of this place, you who we work with while in this place. We call to all the unknown deities that watch over us who we work to discover. We call to you all and ask that you join us by our fire. Deities, accept our offerings. 

Call to the Honored Beings: Outsiders

Officiant makes offerings of grains when indicated.

All of you who do not stand with us for the purpose of this rite. All of you who only wish to cause harm. All of you who are beyond our light. We call on you, and we recognize you. Today, we recognize you as the embodiment of the chaos of this time of year. We ask you to join us, celebrate with us, and enter our lives for this ritual. 

As we call on you to join us, we call on you to aid the earth in waking up. As the forces of nature, bring in the water we need. Warm us up above freezing. Nourish the ground so we may start planting. Bring about the early fruits so the animals can grow and multiply.

We also call on you as we reflect on the past year. The years 2020 and 2021 were your years. As a planet, we have had our lives upturned by the chaos of Covid. There have been major changes on this though. The vaccines have been widely administered and they have proven effective at preventing a severe disease. We survived the Omicron wave that hit us like nothing we’ve seen before. We’re at the point of opening up fully again, with a weary eye on the next variant of concern, hoping we’ve reached the point of this becoming endemic.

We invite you in as our guests, but we will ask at the end that you remember our embrace of you, and be kind to us the rest of the year. 

Outsiders! Accept our offerings!

At this point, anyone that has a desire to make offerings to any of the beings we have called to today. Please come forward and make them as you feel called to do. We will also spend some time being social in their presence.

Shared Meal

Behold this loaf of bread. With this loaf, we share a meal with the Land Spirits. As we tear this loaf in half, one half goes to them and the other will be shared between us.

Bread is passed around for all to eat

Blessing of the Waters

We have made our offerings to all of the spirits. We have honored the Outsiders and called to them to bring back life to the earth and bring stability from the pandemic. We call to all we have honored today to bless these waters. Fill them with the powers of their blessings in return for our offerings. Spirits, give us the waters! Behold the blessed waters!

Waters are passed around for all to drink

Working for Ukraine

The war in Ukraine is horrible. Thousands of innocents are being killed, cities are being reduced to rubble, and there is no logical reason why this should be happening. The western world is doing what it can to support the people and make it difficult for Russia to continue. The situation is just horrible for the Ukrainian people. So, today, I ask we focus on this candle. Fill it with hope to send to Ukraine. Fill it with courage and resolve for the Ukrainians. Fill it with the energies that the the people fighting for Ukraine need. When we are done with this, we’ll do three Om’s, and the candle will be lit and left burning until it burns out.

Thanking the Beings

Thanking the Honored Beings

Outsiders! We have called on you to bring chaos into our ritual and our lives for this brief period of time. We honor you and recognize you, but now we ask that you return, and leave us in peace, and be gentle with us the rest of the year. Outsiders, we thank you.

Thanking the Deities

Deities! We have made offerings to you and you have returned the favor. For all you have done for us, Deities, we thank you.

Thanking the Land Spirits

Land Spirits! We have made offerings to you and you have returned the favor. For all you have done for us, Land Spirits, we thank you.

Thanking the Ancestors

Ancestors! We have made offerings to you and you have returned the favor. For all you have done for us, Ancestors, we thank you.

Thanking the Earth Mother

Earth Mother! We have given to you, and we have honored you. You are the reason we are able to survive in this world. For all that you have done for us both today and throughout our days, Earth Mother, we thank you.

Closing Meditation

Now, I invite you once again to close your eyes, and open your ears, and open your minds, and open your hearts.

Breathe slowly and deeply. Relax your body, calm your thoughts and journey inward once again to the endless sea of possibility—the great void of chaos. Since you carry within you a piece of this source of all being, the transition is made smooth, and you soon find yourself floating on the ceaseless, directionless currents.

Now, as your thoughts mingle with the forces around you, release back into the void the excess energies that you have drawn into your being. Keep only that which you can comfortably carry with you in the world of everyday reality—just enough to spark the fires of creativity and open your mind to inspiration. Allow the rest to flow away from you, back into the ever-churning sea.

Now, it is time to prepare once again for the mundane world. Once again, accept the limitations of flesh—be aware of your body—the feel of your breath flowing slowly, in and out, the rhythm of your heart beating within your chest. Feel the ground beneath your feet, the air against your cheek, the scent of the incense, the small sounds around you. Feel the presence of your brothers and sisters gathered together in this sacred space. 

Accept once again the boundaries and restrictions with which we define the real world. Take back the trappings of that which we call reality—the passage of time, the burden of commitments and duty. Reclaim the words and attributes with which you define yourself. Take back your history. Take back your name.

But in the midst of all these things that rein you in and weigh you down, do not forget that you are still a child of chaos. You still carry within you the seed the infinite—the spark of potential that is your blessing—one that you have received, and one that you are called upon to bestow upon others.

As our rite draws to a close, and we end what we began, remember the lessons of chaos—of imagination and spontaneity, and carry them forth into your life, bringing balance to order and magic to a world in great need of it. When you are comfortable, when you are ready…open your eyes.

And so the rite is finished, go now in wisdom and peace.