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please
read “Notes and Background Material” first
WINTER
SOLSTICE CELEBRATION Dedication
Say: “Once
again, the Winter Solstice is upon us. The season when we honour the closing of
the year, the Northern Quadrant of the Medicine Wheel, the White Buffalo, the
White Owl, the Ancient Spirits and the Wisdom which is among us and within us.
The season when we learn, from nature, how to honour the darkness of Life's
Mysteries without losing faith...how to recognize the seeds of growth and
nurture them in our own inner warmth until the Light returns...how to dignify
the elder who lives within us, and to face our own old age with serenity and
faith and power. Once again we learn, that even in the darkest moments, health,
serenity, and healing energy are available when we focus on them with positive
intent.” Sanctification Say: “I
give thanks to the Wise Powers of the Universe that have protected me this day,
this season, this year; may their blessings attend me wherever I go, and I ask
for special blessings to those who have touched my life, who are now in need.
Use
charcoal discs, and throw some of the herbs (see notes) on
them, so they flare up and give off scent. You can also use essential oils, such
as Sage or Lavender, or incense sticks, but make sure they were made with pure
essential oils, and not synthetic scents, which have no plant power at all. Say: "With
these herbs, I purify this space and make it sacred. I banish and dismiss all
evil and discordant spirits, and allow only the good and helpful to stay.”
When
you have finished cleansing and purifying the greater space, you can cleanse and
purify the space around your person. In a group you can do this for each other.
This is a moving experience and helps create strong bonds and a good head of
power for the ritual. Start with a person's head, and circle the herbs in a
spiral from top to bottom.
Say: "I
clear the space around you of negative and harmful energies, and welcome
positive energies to enter." When the cleansing is finished you can say more if you want. Try something like this: "
You are now standing in a sacred space, in a pool of light and energy that will
go with you wherever you go in the coming year. Think of this power and draw on
it when you need it”
When
everything has been purified and sanctified, all join hands and breathe deeply,
visualising the sacred space moving in you and through you, and in and out of
each other in your shared fellowship.
A
MEDITATION for WINTER SOLSTICE
As
you exhale let out all your stress and worries. Do
this a few more times, until you feel the pain and tension ebbing away. When
it has gone, it leaves space for something else to enter. Sense
that you are in a Sacred Space, and remember the things you did to create it. Remember
the person you helped cleanse, and feel warm towards her. Remember
that you all helped cleanse each other Feel
that sense of fellowship you have from all inhabiting the same Sacred Space. As
you breathe in this time, draw in some of the white light of the sacred space
you stand in. Keep
on breathing it in until it fills you up and spills over and starts to enter
those around you Now
there is so much that it fills the space we are in, and starts to spill out into
the world Imagine
the person you most love and who is not here, and see the white light you have
created spreading outward, ever outward, to touch that person Imagine
their face fill with joy and peace as they sense the white light entering them Now
think of a person you know who is ill and send them the white light It
may be harder, but think of a person you really dislike, and send them some
white light so that they can be more like what you would like them to be.
Now
we will go on a spirit journey to do something good just for you.
See
or sense that you are deep in the woods, on the coldest, darkest, night of the
year. You feel perfectly safe, because you have the white light to protect you,
and nothing can hurt you. Look up and see the black sky spangled with stars
overhead. It can never be really dark while the stars are out.
Look
around you and see the dark green pine trees. They are protecting you with their
enveloping green boughs. Walk
through the trees and see that there is a vast, icy lake in front of you. The
ground crackles as you walk. The cold freezes your nose.
Look
into the ice of the lake and you can see visions. You can see answers to your
problems. If you don’t see them straight away, open your heart and ask for the
answer to come. Look up, look over the lake to the far shore. You may see a
shape appearing through the trees. If you see an animal, or a person, mentally
call out to them to help you. This person or animal is your spirit guide, and is
here to help you, but only if you welcome them.
You
can have some time to ask your guide for answers to anything you want to know,
and when you have had enough time, you will quietly and calmly come back here,
or I will call you when I want you to come.
Now
focus inside yourself, in your midriff. A
golden spot is forming there Feel
it warming you with inner heat Feel
it beginning to spread and grow Its
golden rays are reaching up like an inner sun, to touch your heart, and reaching
down, into your navel. Now
it is spreading up into your arms, and down into your legs. Feel
the warmth growing inside you, moving up into head and neck, down into feet. Know
that you have within you the healing powers of both heat and cold. Know
that you are balanced and whole. Know
that you are safely rooted in the ground, but that your spirit is with the
stars. Know
that in both darkness and light you are equally safe, because you have power
over both. Allow
darkness and light in equal measures to flood that part with inner healing. Take
a deep breath and feel both alert and relaxed. Feel
Safe. Take
a deep breath and say thank you to the Great Spirits for this feeling of safety
and well-being. Take
a deep breath and ask for continued protection for you and your safety and
well-being, and for everyone you love and for any about whom you are concerned. Take
a deep breath and ask for peace for the world When
you are ready, open your eyes and address the Great Spirits
TRIBUTE
TO WINTER AND NORTHERN DIRECTION
We
ask you for the wisdom and the courage to age gracefully in our lives and in our
endeavors. Honour
us with your presence as we stand in your Sacred space. Permit
the crystal clarity of winter to bring purity to our lives and thoughts, and
healing to our bodies and to our world. Spirit
of the White Buffalo, help us to turn the lessons we have learned and the
knowledge we have gained into wisdom and abundance, spiritually and physically. Allow
us to understand the dignity of being Help
us to learn the truth and beauty of not doing. Spirit
of the Great White Owl, teach us to fly with quiet grace and seeing eyes through
the dark times of our lives. Give
us the patience to share ourselves and our knowledge with those who can use
them. Give
us the faith and the courage to continue our journeys to the end, in dignity, so
that our energy may once again arrive in the Dawn of the East. Show
us how to find joy in darkness and endings, as well as in light and beginnings CANDLE
LIGHTING
GROUP
TALK
CIRCLE
OF
POWER
In
the right frame of mind and spirit of giving, each person releases positive
energy into the circle, which travels right round and increases in power every
time it completes a circuit. The
Leader turns to the person on her right, looks in her eyes, and takes her hand.
This person then turns to the person on her right, and does the same. One by one
the hands are linked, the chain extended, and energy begins to flow round the
circle as each person releases the positive energy they have accumulated,
letting it flow into the body of the person next to her. Once the chain is
complete, all thoughts should be put out of mind, allowing the energy to flow
unhampered round and round the circle, increasing in strength and speed as it
completes each circuit. The
energy is healing and energising for the group and will empower them to release
it afterwards to help cure, heal and strengthen those they meet in their daily
lives. If
the group has agreed that the energy be used for a definite purpose, the Leader
will voice the Intent when she judges the time is right and the energy has
peaked. After this the feasting begins |
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