Ritual. Perhaps it seems like a big word to you. Perhaps you think it requires a priest in a robe or a Pagan priestess calling the quarters and the elements with great force and confidence. But when it comes down to it, ritual is only what you need it to be and it never has to be more than that.
What is a ritual? It’s something you define for yourself. Perhaps it is the activity that brings you closer to the meaning of the Sabbat and the powers, if any, that you call upon. Maybe it is when you help others to share these ideas with you. It can be casual and intentional, spiritual and shared. It is as formal as you need it to be. Why is this time of year important to you, whatever time of year it is? Is it gratitude? Is it honoring or celebrating? What matters is that it speaks to you. Ritual may feel hard to plan, but doing it should bring a kind of comfort to the participant(s).
Mabon is next week and that brings me around to three. Three years with Covenant. And while we will do a ritual with each other on Sunday, I have my own Mabon ritual. I make squash soup and bake bread. It’s always the same recipes, the same methods. My tradition. The cup pours the flour, the knife chops the squash, while I remember what I am thankful for. My ritual. I am grateful to find myself at Mabon again with my adult children drawn to the soup like a moth to flame. My celebration and sharing.
Here at Covenant, you will often hear members of the Council asking folks to share their rituals. We really mean it. As a group with many beliefs and styles it is interesting and it is a blessing to see someone else’s point of view. There is no “right way” to do a ritual, no set format, no requirements to light fires or call quarters or share cakes and ale. Those are the rituals we find ourselves routinely using. And that can be comforting. But it is also why we need you to help us step out into something new, to shake it up. Maybe it will be just what I never thought of and needed. Maybe it will be the same exciting discovery to someone else.
Five months into my arrival at Covenant, I somehow ended up doing the Sabbat of Imbolg (or Brigid’s Day, or Candlemas, depending how you see it) I was sure I would do it wrong. I didn’t think I understood Covenant, I hadn’t been here long enough to know what to use for comparison. I was sure there was a routine, an expectation but maybe it was good to do it without knowing. I was free to be me and simply share what I saw as important for that Sabbat. In the end, I thought it went well. And I realized that “right” is only in the person who is doing the ritual for themselves. And sometimes it doesn’t matter what the ritual leader does other than provide a framework to honor the Sabbat or the Moon that the others fit their beliefs on. The circle was not a created circle, it was us, the people sharing the ritual.
Interestingly, what I saw as important that first early spring was what I find important in the cross Sabbat of Lughnasadh – the hope in the seeds, the strength of the earth. The holy that comes in the tiniest of seeds and in the way the earth wakes it to its purpose.
I sat in my backyard with a table and then a stump, doing solo work for over 20 years. Watching the moon, starting little fires, doing what I pleased, what I thought was appropriate for the moment, what I felt called to do. Reading books to help me understand, learning about Goddesses I wanted to help me find my way. So perhaps I was prepared to share something of what I had learned. What else could I do but be myself? It was all I knew. To bring my stump into the Hall (Figuratively).
My favorite ritual I have led at Covenant was the Full Moon when I turned everyone into children and the elements were represented by toys like pinwheels and bubbles. We danced under the Moon/Goddess and found a different way to honor her. It didn’t seem very “sacred” but what is more sacred than joy? (The first rune I drew at Covenant, by the way) My first Full Moon with Covenant was a quiet, peaceful, small circle led by Pat with gentle bells and soft voices. I still have the quarter he gave me, although I can’t remember what it stood for in the ritual. It stood for Pat welcoming me into the circle.
So I am here to welcome you into the circle, whether you’ve been here 15 years or three Mabons, or you just found us today. I encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and share yourself with us. Create a ritual to help us understand things as they look through your eyes. Help us to feel the world and each other in a new way. Teach us, dance with us, light candles, sit quietly. Whatever works for your beliefs or practice. Or write a ritual and ask others to lead it for you. We are not Wiccan or Druid, or Asatru, or any other Pagan group. We are Covenant of the River and we are kind of like my kitchen Mabon ritual. We are a mix of colors and textures becoming warm and full flavored together. We rise up with each other, and we nourish each other. This Mabon, find gratitude. Realize that, at Covenant, you are safe and welcomed. You do you. We will follow you earnestly, wherever you want to lead.
Mabon Blessings,
Chel
