We are delighted to offer up our Spring Equinox 2024 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.

Spring Equinox Ritual:

Leaving of the Ego

Take a moment, and see your own personal ego. Take it, set it aside, outside our ritual space. Join us all in this space 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

We gather here today for the celebration of Imbolc. First though, we honor the Earth that we stand upon. Earth Mother, we call to you. You who surrounds and supports us. You who feeds and nourishes us. You who shelters and provides a home to live in. You are why we are here. Without you, we could not survive. Without you, we would not be. Today, we honor you, love you, and respect you. We all will work to make you healthy. Now, as a token of our appreciation, we give you these offerings. 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 Mother 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. Those of us with gardens have started to plant our fruits, vegetables, and flowers, or started to plan what we will plant when the threat of frost is over. 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. Snow, ice and freezing temperatures and highs in the 60s only a short while ago. We are here to celebrate this change of seasons, and the chaos it brings.

Recreate the Sacred Center

officiant makes offerings during the appropriate sections of the text.

As we gather here, in the center are our hallows, our sacred center, each with its role in the cosmos.

We start with focusing on the well, our connection to the underworlds This is our way to the Ancestors and all who are found in those realms. To the well, we offer silver. With this offering, we connect our well to all the wells in the world, making our well `the` well.

We now focus on the fire, our connection the the upper-worlds. This is our way to the Deities and all who are found in those realms. To the fire, we offer incense. With this offering, we connect our fire to all the fires in the world, making our fire `the` fire.

Finally, we focus on the tree, our pathway between all the worlds. This is our road to travel to the realms of the Deities and the Ancestors, and all beings found outside our realm. We join this tree with the well through the waters of the well. We join this tree with the fire through the smoke of the incense. As we join this tree to the well and fire, our tree becomes `the` tree and our path.

Purification

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

Let us focus on our ritual purity. First, wash away all your cares and worries with the waters from the well. Then perfume yourself with the incense from the fire, tying us all together. As we wash and smudge, see our space become centered and focused. See us all here, gathered as one.

Call to the Ancestors

Officiant makes offerings of grains or alcohol when indicated.

Ancestors! We call on all those who have come before us. We call to our relatives, those that have passed throughout the years. We call to our chosen family, the mentors and heroes who walked the path before us. We call to you and we offer to you. Come, join us at our fire! Ancestors, accept our offerings!

Call to the Land Spirits

Officiant makes offerings of grains when indicated.

Land Spirits! To all the spirits of the lands around us. To all the animals we see each and every day, domesticated or wild. To all the plants that grow around us, cultivated or not. To all the unseen spirits who live amongst us. We call to you and we offer to you. Come, join us at our fire! Land Spirits, accept our offerings!

Call to the Deities

Officiant makes offerings of grains or alcohol when indicated.

Deities! To all the gods and goddesses who we work with on a daily basis and who guide us in our lives. Matron and Patrons, those we work with directly. Those of this place, we we honor as we stand in your lands. Those that are unknown to us, yet watch over us all. We call to you and we offer to you. Come, join us at our fire! Deities, accept our offerings!

Call to the Honored Beings: Outsiders

Officiant opens a beer as offering and places in the center of the altar 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. All you who are the forces of nature and forces of change. 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 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 Outsiders. 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. 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

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.