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THE GREAT RITE The third degree of initiation empowers a witch to set up his or her own coven and initiate others in the Art. The rite involves the joining of two souls and is symbolic of the coming together of Osiris and Isis in Ancient Egypt.
The great rite is also the sexual act which is performed as part of the ritual when the participants are already bound to each other, or wish to be in future. If you are a celibate witch, your task in the future is to find that one special person to whom you wish to be joined, to initiate him if he is not already practising the Art, and then to join with him by repeating the Great Rite complete with sexual union. For the time being, the intention and vows are sufficient. The Sacred Marriage was the core of the third degree initiation into the Mysteries of Isis. The Sacred Marriage, when performed, is more than the joining of man and woman, which is intended to produce a child, it is the joining of two celebrants to produce spiritual twins, the souls of the participants reborn into the Light. In Wicca, the Third Degree is the gateway to individuation, since it is the splitting off of the priestess from the mother coven. It is the beginning of a Journey, which may take months or years, depending on the speed of development. The journey to the Self involves meetings with the archetypes, or guardian angels. The archetypes activated are the shadow, the anima/animus, and the Wise Old Woman or Man. When the Shadow is activated, we meet our own Dark side and learn to accept its usefulness; with the animus, we meet our counter-sexual counterpart - the male within the female, and learn to accept that. The Wise Old Man or Woman represents that part of us which has lived through successive ages, to whom all things are known, and when this figure starts to communicate in dreams we know that the final process of completeness has begun. You should write down your dreams and learn to recognise the archetypes. Your Third Degree initiation will take place at the appointed time. Your High Priestess will know when you are ready, and will tell you privately. The ritual takes the form of an exchange of vows between you and the God and Goddess, as personified by me and Wolf. What follows is a form of words that may be used, but what actually happens on the night is a mystery, because it will be whatever seems right at the time, and we cannot know that in advance. Only the first part of the ceremony is given here, since it is part of the Mystery that you cannot know what is to follow after you make the first vows. You are free to withdraw at any point, and will be required to give your consent to the various stages. THE VOWS Will
you pass through the veil and the Gates of Night and Day to penetrate the final
Mysteries? Will you be at One with the Goddess who is both Life and Death? Will
you accept her as your Goddess and worship her? Answer Then
I take you by the hand and bless you in the presence of the Goddess who is your
Lady and your Light, and the God who is your Lord and Guide. Are
you willing to become One with the Lady of Glorious Light? Will you love the
Darkness that is within you and open your arms to it
without fear? Will you accept the Lady as your Goddess, love and serve her in
all things? Answer You
must know that what you seek is perilous to you, for you must journey to the
hidden temple. No man can tell you the Path, for though we have all trodden a
path of our own, you are the first one to tread the path that will be yours.
Through danger and difficulty you must make your way, without faltering, for the
Goddess cannot reveal to herself to any with Fear in her heart. Is it truly your
will to seek the inner sanctuary? Draw back now if there is any hesitation in
you. Answer . . . . . . . . . . . . . then follow the Mysteries |
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