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As
well as giving honor to the Kindreds, we honor the primary deities
Angus Mac Óg and Bláithíne (pronounced Bla-heane,
which means “flower face”). Angus Mac Óg, a fertility
God, is the son of the Dagda, and is one of the Celtic Gods that
help young lovers. As such, he is very appropriate for this holiday.
Bláithíne was the wife of Cú Roi (pronounced
Coo Roy), a Fennian warrior, and one of the lovers of Cú
Chulainn (pronounced Coo Hoolan), an great Irish hero. In addition
to her reputation as a wonderful lover, Bláithíne
is known as a Goddess of the fields.
Opening
Prayer
A short declaration is made about the reason for the ritual:
As
I stand here under the stars, I can see all of creation around me.
I come here to give honor and love to the Shining Ones,
the Spirits of Nature and the Ancestors.
(forcefully) I am here to honor the Gods!
Honoring an Earth Mother
Honoring
an Earth Mother can be done by giving an offering (flowers, cornmeal
or some other natural object) to the Earth while singing a chant:
Chant
– As One (author unknown)
As
One we join with Her, our Mother.
As One we sing to Her our song.
As One we touch Her
As One we heal Her
Her heart beats with our own as One.
(forcefully) Earth Mother, I honor you!
Bestow a kiss upon the
Earth.
Honoring
the Bardic Deities
The
following is a prayer to honor one of the bardic deities, in this
case, Brigit:
As
the flame, you enter my being with your spirit. Your presence is
with me at all times. You have taught me to know my voice and the
power it has over others. You have shown me the powers within myself.
Brigit, you are the voice of the bards. You are the words of the
poet. I call to you now to be with me. To show me the words, the
phrases that are the best, to let me send my thoughts sweetly to
the Kindreds. Brigit, I call upon you now to give me the powers
of inspiration. Brigit, I call upon you now!
Two-Power Meditation
– Earth and Sky
Instructions
for the meditation can be recorded on tape and played back during
the ritual:
Close
your eyes and find that quiet, still place. Breathe deeply. Listen
to the sounds of Spring around you. Listen as the Earth comes alive
again. Feel your toes wiggle down into the soil. Reach deep down
into the Earth Mother. Let your toes become roots, seeking the quiet,
warm waters beneath the Earth and then drawing it up, up like the
sap in Spring. Up, into your roots, up further still into your legs.
Let it pool in your groin. Draw it up your spine, and let it pool
in your heart. Up further, to pool in your mind. And still it comes
until it flows down and out and back into the Earth
And
with that energy of the Earth, flowing in you, look now with your
inner vision. Look up to the Sky. Look above. Look all the way to
the stars above. You can see the cool energy of the stars. You can
see it flowing down from the stars. Down, down to you. And as that
energy of the stars flows into you, you can feel it fill you. Fill
you to overflowing. And as that energy of the stars mingles with
the energies of the Earth moving through you, feel those energies
combining, filling you to overflowing. And as that energy moves
out, feel it mixing and moving around and around the sacred space.
Be at peace.
 This
is the time when sweet desire weds wild delight. Beltane celebrates
the beginning of a bold and virile season, when the God of Nature
lustily impregnates the Earth Mother. Life spring eternal, with
joy and beauty. Now is the time for the celebration of the powers
of life, sensuousness and newness. For richness and plenty now bless
the land. This is the time for all things to grow, a time to build,
a time to explore. I exult in the glory of the Earth, and celebrate
my own strengths.
Establishing the Vertical
Axis
One
way to establish the vertical axis is by reconnecting the Well,
Fire and Tree with their roots to all the other sacred wells, fires
and trees in the cosmos. At this time, offerings can be given to
each of the three in the sacred center as the words are sung about
each. Usual offerings include: silver to the well, oil to the fire,
and incense or water to the tree.
Calling Upon the Gatekeeper
This
calling is usually done while placing an offering of olive oil to
the fire or into the offering bowl:
Manannán
mac Lír, once again I call upon you. I ask you to be my Gatekeeper.
I ask you to come across the waves in your magical coracle, the
Wavesweeper. Come across the waves and open the ways for me. Manannán,
I ask you to be my magician, my Druid, and I ask you to hold the
ways open for me tonight. Manannán, I give you this offering
of fine oil in praise of your wonders and in love of you.
Manannán,
once again I ask, let the well open as a gate [pointing to the Well
and visualizing a gate, or ring of fire, opening over it], and let
the tree open as the connection between all the planes [pointing
to the Bile (Irish for “tree”) and visualizing it growing
through the gates over the Fire and Well, both up and dow, to all
the planes of existence]. (forcefully) O Manannán mac Lír,
let the gates be opened!
Acknowledgement of Outsiders
A
cup of ale is taken to a location South of the sacred space or room
that you are working in, and given to the outsiders after saying:
Once
again I call to you, Outsiders. You who stood against my Gods. You
from the primordial time. I know that you are still out there. I
also know that I harbor, within myself, things that are not needed
during this time of ritual. I want to set these things aside. Outsiders,
I ask that you help me take these things that I don’t need
and set them aside. Those things that are not appropriate for this
time of ritual. Outsiders, to you I give this offering of ale to
aid me in setting aside all that is not needed at this time.
Kindred Callings
An
offering to the Ancestors of cornmeal is sprinkled around the inside
of the sacred space or into the offering bowl. A calling is spoken
while the offering is sprinkled:
Ancestors,
I ask that you be with me tonight. Mothers and Fathers of all, not
just of me, but of the earlier inhabitants of this land as well.
I call to you tonight and ask you to join with me and lend me your
wisdom. (forcefully) Ancestors, be with me tonight!
An
offering to the Spirits of Nature of a sweet-smelling herbal mix
is sprinkled around the inside of the sacred space or into the offering
bowl. A calling is spoken while the offering is sprinkled:
Spirits
of Nature, I ask that you accept this sacrifice of sweet-smelling
herbs and join in this ritual. Spirits of this land and all the
lands around it, Spirits of the Waters and of the Air and Skies
above it, I call you to now. I ask that you join with me and lend
me your strength. (forcefully) Spirits of Nature, be with me tonight!
An
offering of olive oil to the Gods and Goddesses is sprinkled on
the fire or into the offering bowl. A calling is spoken while the
offering is sprinkled:
I
call now to all the Gods and Goddesses that have not been named,
I give you this offering of fine oil and ask that you join with
me for this ritual tonight. I ask that you join with me and lend
me your power. (forcefully) Shining Ones, be with me tonight!
Calling of the Primary
Deities: Angus Mac Óg and Bláithíne
An
offering of olive oil is poured on the fire or into the offering
bowl, as each calling is spoken:
Now
I call upon Angus Mac Óg, son of the Dagda, you who resided
at Brú na Bóinne, the modern Newgrange. Agnus the
young, I ask you to come and join with me. I ask you to ring your
fertility of youth to join with me here in this ritual. And to bring
that fertility of youth to my fields to make my crops grow string
through the Summer. Angus, to you I give this offering of fine oil
and ask you to join with me tonight. (forcefully) Angus Mac Óg,
be with me tonight!
Bláithíne,
I have named you and so I call you forth. I call with the power
within me. I call with my own voice. I use my hands and my being
as the bridge across. Bláithíne, I call to you. I
have named you blossom. I have named you flower face. You, whose
wisdom comes with the fertility of the land. Whose power is in that
which shapes the soil. Whose power is in that which causes trees
to grow, flowers to bloom. Bláithíne, I call you.
I call you forth with the word and with the power within me. Bláithíne,
I call you.
Praise Offering
This
can be done through offers of song, poetry, story, dance, artwork,
etc. You should prepare what you will be offering in advance of
the ritual and make sure that it is a worthy offering.
Omen
The
omen is usually done with either runes or Ogham cards or sticks
(or any other form of divination you feel comfortable using).
Return Flow
Having
given offerings to the Kindreds, you hope that blessings will flow
back to you magnified many times. The “return flow”
is started by holding up a cup of water, juice, beer, or ale. Energize
the beverage by visualizing while speaking:
Once
again, I turn my vision inward. I look to the area around me, to
the trees. I look at the faces if the beings gathered here around
this ritual. I listen to the noise they make as they move through
the trees. Now I turn my vision upwards, up to where the gate shines
above me like a ring of gas gets, a circle of flame. Looking up
through that circle, I can see a host gathered there, looking down
on me with love. And looking downward through the gate below, I
can see the host gathered there, as well, looking up at me with
love. Now I call upon all those gathered around and above and below
me to take the offerings I’ve made and to return some to me.
To give me the bounty of your blessings. A return, a bounty that
has been magnified by your wondrous powers.
I
can see how the flow of energy and love streams down from above
and surrounds me! I can see how the energy fills the cup and spills
over. I can see how the cup sparkles and shimmers. Gods and Goddesses,
Spirits of Nature and Ancestors, I thank you for this gift in return!
(forcefully) Behold, the waters of life!
Thanking the Deities,
Bláithíne and Angus Mac Óg
A
gift of olive oil is poured on the fire or into the offering bowl,
as the parting is spoken:
Bláithíne,
I thank you for joining with me and for bringing your fertility
to my fields. As this rite is ending, I give you this gift in parting,
given out of love, with nothing asked in return. (forcefully) Bláithíne,
I thank you!
Angus
Mac Óg, I thank you for joining with me and for bringing
your fertility to my fields. As this rite is ending, I give you
this gift in parting, given out of love, with nothing asked in return.
(forcefully) Angus Mac Óg, I thank you!
Thanking the Kindreds
Another
gift to the Gods and Goddesses of olive oil is poured on the fire
or into the offering bowl, as the parting is spoken:
I
call once again to the Shining Ones. I thank you for joining with
me tonight. As this rite is ending, I give you this gift in parting,
given out of love, with nothing asked in return. (forcefully) Gods
and Goddesses, I thank you!
Another
gift to the Spirits of Nature of olive oil is poured on the fire
or into the offering bowl, as the parting is spoken:
I
call once again to the Spirits of this Place. I thank you for joining
with me tonight. As this rite is ending, I give you this gift in
parting, given out of love, with nothing asked in return. (forcefully)
Spirits of Nature, I thank you!
One
more gift to the Ancestors of olive oil is poured on the fire or
into the offering bowl, as the parting is spoken:
I
call once again to the Ancestors. I thank you for joining with me
tonight. As this rite is ending, I give you this gift in parting,
given out of love, with nothing asked in return. (forcefully) Ancestors,
I thank you!
Thanking the Gatekeeper
and Closing the Gates
One
last time, a gift of olive oil is poured on the fire or into the
offering bowl, as the parting is spoken:
Manannán
mac Lír, I thank you for coming to me tonight as my magician,
as my Druid, and as my Gatekeeper. Now that this rite is ending,
I give you this gift in parting, given out of love, with nothing
asked in return.
As
this ritual is ending, I ask once again, let the fire be once again
fire [pointing at the Fire and visualizing it simply as a candle
or small fire]. Let the well be once again a well [pointing at the
Well and visualizing it as simply a bowl of water], and let the
tree be once again a tree [pointing at the Bile and visualizing
it shrinking back down to normal size]. (forcefully) O Manannán
mac Lír, let the gates be closed!
Reversing the Two-Power
Meditation
This
meditation is reversed at the end of the ritual by allowing the
energies to move back to their source. Again, you can record the
following on tape and play it back during this part of the ritual:
Once
again, look about, using your inner vision. The gate has closed
down, but the Spirits of Nature are still all around you. They never
really leave. You can still see and feel the different types of
energies swirling around your sacred space. Take those energies
from the Sky into your being and start to move them upwards, back
to where they came from. And as they pass through you, keep what
you need to remain energized and at peace.
And
once those energies from the Sky have left you, look around at the
energies of the Earth that still flow around your sacred space.
Allow those energies to flow into your being and start to move them
downward, back to where they came from. As they pass through you,
keep what you need and let the rest go.
Conclusion
Some
type of formal closing must be spoken aloud, even if it is as simple
as:
As
I have given honor tonight, so will I do in the future! The rite
has ended!
Source:
The
Solitary Druid - Walking the Path of Wisdom and Spirit
by Rev. Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison, Ár nDraí Féin
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