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This is the general ritual behind my grove’s seasonal ones. Or, more truthfully, it’s a theoretical ritual that has been spun out of the ones we have. The idea of it, however, is the framework of those other ones.
The root principle of the Indo-European (IE) ideology is reciprocity. In human society this shows up in the laws of etiquette, which require that a social invitation obligates the recipient to respond in turn – if you’re a guest, then at a future date you serve as a host. This is summed up in the Proto-Indo-European word *ghostis, from which we get both “guest” and “host.” A *ghostis is someone in a reciprocal relationship of hospitality.
In religion this shows up in ritual. A typical IE ritual is a social function to which the gods are invited. We serve as their hosts. Since the gods follow the rules of etiquette, by accepting our invitation and coming to our meal, they obligate themselves for a future occasion. We give to them, they give to us. We are ghostye:s to each other.
This ritual calls for two fires. One is the hearth fire, which is incense briquettes in a cauldron filled with sand, and other is the hngwnis, which is low, square barbecue, also filled with sand. The cauldron for the hearth fire, the páxur, is actually filled mostly with balsa wood, with an inch of sand on top of that; even done this way it is heavy, but filled completely with sand it is very difficult to carry. For the altar, wood is used outdoors and charcoal briquettes indoors. We pour a small amount of lighter fluid on briquettes before we light them, even though they may be self-lighting. Otherwise they take way too long to light up enough to use. The Fire Tender will need a fire glove to be able to carry the cauldron.
The main sacrifice is a piece of pita bread, and another is used for the piacular sacrifice. The last is placed on a plate, and then another plate is put on top of that with the main sacrifice on it. Over it is a white cloth, with two gold chains vertically parallel to each other on top of that. (We put a silver plate under them as well, for no other reason than that we have it and it’s pretty.)
Either on top of the sacrifice or carried in separately is a small dish with silver in it. This includes a piece from the grove and a dime from every non-grove member attending; it is carried by a guest if possible. Once it is in the space, it is placed to the left of the board, or held by the guest until it is used.
The board itself is a low table on which certain items are placed during the creation of sacred space – a bowl of mixed cornmeal, barley, and spelt; a bowl of water, a bowl of barley, and a knife. We use a wooden cutting board place on two low stools.
The mundus is a dark colored large vase, with a tile on top to close it off. It functions as both a ritual shaft and an opening to the land of the Ancestors. It is placed in the far west of the space, as close to the edge as possible.
The butter used in the ritual is clarified and melted before the ritual. It is put on the fires with spoons. For the páxur at the starting place we use an iced tea spoon, while at the main ritual site we use the spoon half of a metal salad serving set.
This ritual is written for five people, a Priest, a Fire Tender, an Earth Priestess, a Victimarius (the person who actually “kills” the sacrifice), and a Diviner. If you wish to have more people involved, the parts assigned to the Priest can be broken up among them, but those of the Fire Tender are specifically associated with her function and should not be divided. It can also be done by fewer -- we have performed it with two by combining all the parts other than the Fire Tendeer -- but that is not optimal.
Because a plurality of our rituals are in the Irish tradition, I've used Irish deities. In our Proto-Indo-European rituals, we use Páxuson as our gatekeeper, and have been experimenting with Bhrgntya: for inspiration. For our American tradition rituals, Minerva opens the gates, and the Muses are asked for inspiration. As can be seen here, for our meeting rituals, we follow the practice we did when we started the grove, and ask Janus to open the gates.
Opening Rite
When it is time for the ritual, the Priest makes a musical signal.
The musical signal varies according to the ritual, as may be appropriate to the ethnic orientation or occasion.
All gather at the processional site. The Priest says:
[“Be silent” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
May we all maintain a holy silence.
ADF is fond of liturgical languages. They’re used because: 1. there are some concepts associated with each ethnic tradition which are best expressed in the language of that tradition. 2. the use of such a language provides a signal of ritual time and space. 3. members of ADF generally see the deities as existing in actuality, which means that they have preferences; it’s polite to address them in their primary languages.
By “holy silence” we don’t mean for everyone to be quiet, but rather for all speech from that point to the end of the ritual to be ritual in nature.
The Fire Tender says:
And In that holy silence, may truth be spoken.
May lovely Brighid inspire our words,
inspire our actions,
inspire us all.
May her flame, a living flame, burn in us.
This is for our Celtic rituals. For our Proto-Indo-European rituals, we ask Bhrgntyā́ for inspiration.
The Priest then describes the intent of the day's ritual. After this, the Fire Tender asperses herself and the others, while saying:
May be we pure that we might cross through the sacred.
May we cross through the sacred that we might attain the holy.
May we attain the holy that we might be blessed in all things.
and asperses herself and the others.
Traditionally, Fire Tenders were female, such as the Vestal Virgins. We therefore prefer that our Fire Tender be a woman.
In IE ideology there is a distinction made between two aspects of the divine: the sacred and the holy. The sacred is that which is set apart, cut off. It’s the dangerous border which must be crossed to come into the presence of the holy. The holy is the unreservedly benevolent, the center. The sacred is identified with water and the holy with fire.
She then puts the bowl down. She pours a small amount of lighter fluid over the briquettes in the páxur, and lights them saying:
Shining Lady, unite us all,
for by worshipping at a common hearth
we are made one family, one people.
Queen of the hearth, your household is here.
May we pray with a good fire.
The theology here is that a family can be defined as those who worship around the same hearth.
We use two fires, the hearth, which we call the xá:sa: (the Proto-Indo-European word for "hearth”), and the altar, which we call the hngwnis (the PIE animate word for “fire”). The xá:sa: is lit before the procession, giving the imagery of a family bringing fire to the ritual together.
She starts to sing, and the others join in.
This flame is small
that’s how it seems
yet even so
it bears our dreams
For flame’s a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family,
here today.
The flame now grows
from coal to coal
and every one
is each a soul
For flame’s a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family,
here today.
The flame has spread
from heart to heart.
It binds us still
when we’re apart.
For flame’s a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family,
here today.
She burns within
through all our days.
Let all as one
sing out her praise.
For flame’s a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family,
here today.
For flame’s a goddess
to whom we pray
to be one family,
here today.
The Fire Tender sings the last chorus once more by herself, with " family, here today" sung more slowly.
The Fire Tender pours butter on the fire and says:
Eat with us,
Share our food,
Share our home.
All: [“So be it” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
The hearth goddess is part of the family, so she eats the same thing that we does. Practically, butter is flammable, and thus “feeds” a fire.
The Procession
The Priest says:
Set forth upon the shining path,
the ancestral way laid out before us.
Place your feet with measured stride,
in ancient rhythm.
All then process to the ritual site, either in silence or singing. The Victimarius leads the way, carrying the axe. The Priest leads, carrying the sacrifices, followed by the Fire Tender, who carries the xá:sa:.
The sacrifices are two pieces of pita bread. One will serve as the main sacrifice, and one as the piacular sacrifice. We put them together thus: silver plate, white plate, piacular sacrifice, white plate, main sacrifice, two gold chains, white cloth. The overall intent is for the sacrifices to be presented beautifully. In ancient times, sacrificial animals might have ribbons tied to them, or gilded horns. The silver, white, and gold are our versions of this.
There is good evidence from ancient times of using bread or other grains as substitutes for animals. In Iran, for instance, flat breads are used, and in India balls of rice. The theory behind this is the most basic ritual principle, that anything that happens in a ritual is real. From the outside of the ritual, we see it as an organized structure of symbols, but inside it things are as they are said to be. Thus when the bread is later said to be an animal, that’s what it is.
White bread is used for sacrifices to celestial deities, and whole wheat bread for chthonic deities or the Ancestors.
In Rome, rituals were presided over by elected officials, who couldn’t be expected to be able to kill animals quickly and painlessly, so specialists, called “victimarii,” were used. We use them in part because of the Roman influence in the founding of the grove, and in part because since death is polluting, the priest can better keep his state of ritual purity if he’s not the one doing the killing.
When all have arrived at the gate, the Priest says:
[“We are here to worship the gods!” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
He enters the space and begins to sing:
Earth Mother, we honor your body,
Earth Mother, we honor you bones.
Earth Mother, we sing to your spirit,
Earth Mother, we sing to your stones.
As each person (other than the Fire Tender) enters, they pick up the chant.
The priest goes to the speltá and puts the sacrifice down. He stands behind the speltá, facing east. The Earth Priestess picks up the bowl of mixed grain and goes to where the xása: will be. While the others continue to sing, she says:
We build our fires on the breast of the Earth;
on Her our hearths are formed.
To Her this offering, then,
preparing this to be our space,our place of worship.
She waits for a break in the song and says:
Mother of All, receive this gift!
All: Mother of All, receive this gift!
One of the basic and required parts of the ADF order of ritual is an acknowledgment of the Earth Mother. In some groves this is a very large and important part of the ritual, but since this wasn’t the case in ancient times, Nemos Ognios prefers to put less emphasis on it.
We use a mixture of grains to honor the traditions of this land (cornmeal), Rome (spelt), and the Celts and Proto-Indo-Europeans (barley).
The Fire Tender puts the xá:sa: down and sits to the north, between them so that she can tend both easily. The Priest puts the bowl down on the ground on the fire side of the board, and goes to stand in the west.
Standing to the west of the fires, the priest is facing east. This is the traditional direction of prayer for the Indo-Europeans. This is based on the IE love of light.
The Main Ritual
The Fire Tender offers some butter to the xā́sā, xā́sā swhile the Priest says:
With the burning of the fire we take possession
of the land it lights, of the world it warms.
From here to there we take possession.
With the last sentence he gestures from side to side.
Just as earlier we expressed the principle that worshiping around a common hearth makes us a family, here we express the principle that placing a hearth on a spot is the same as claiming it as a home.
The Fire Tender transfers a briquette from the xā́sā to the hngwnis, while the Priest says:
In the world's very center we light our fire,
here where the sacred and the mundane meet
Here we light a living flame.
The Fire Tender blows on the briquette to enflame the tinder while the Priest says:
We our words we feed you,
with the breath of our mouths.
It may be necessary to use matches, lit by pressing them against the briquette, to get the tinder going.
In ancient times fires either needed to be lit by friction or flint and still, or carried from one place to another. From a practical point of view, then, a sacrificial fire could best have been lit by coals carried to it.
The religious point of view is more important, that by lighting the hngwnis from the xā́sā it’s identified with the hearth. The public fire of offering is therefore in a sense the private hearth fire. Further, lighting the hngwnis second and extinguishing it first emphasizes the primacy of domestic religion.
Once the fire is going well, the Priest says:
Receive our offerings and bless our rites.
while the Fire Tender offers butter.
It can’t really be said that a space exists until it has a border and a center. In the creation of sacred space ritual we created the border, setting our space apart, but it isn’t really “alive” until the fires are lit in it.
The Priest then says:
Listen to my words; see the cosmos about you.
He sings:
The waters support and surround us
He makes a semi-circle with both his hands, extending upwards from a point. He sings:
The land extends about us
He puts his hands in the middle of the top of the semi-circle, palms downward, and brings them out to the ends of the semi-circle. He sings:
The sky stretches out above us.
He makes another semi-circle upwards from the edge of the other one, with his hands meeting at its top. He sings:
At the center burns a living flame.
He holds both of his hands, joined together, out towards the fire, and then brings them in to touch his heart. He sings:
May all the Kindreds bless us.
May our worship be true.
Others: May our worship be true.
Priest: May our actions be just.
Others: May our actions be just.
Priest: May our love be pure.
Others: May our love be pure.
All: Blessings, and honor, and worship to the Holy Ones.
The Priest says:
Come we together on this holy day
across the distances that lay between us
to this time, to this place,
For one strong purpose:
To worship the Holy Ones in the proper manner.
[This prayer ends with a statement of the intent of the ritual, naming the spiritual being(s) to whom it is addressed.]
The Fire Tender sets up the image of Janus to the east of the hngwnis and pours a libation of red wine, saying:
Jan-e Pater, with honor, with worship, with thanks.
She puts the pitcher down and returns to her place and sits. She offers some whiskey on the fire and says:
From tearing ocean into welcoming bay,
Come homeward, Sailor, on silver keel.
Cross beacon-guided the shattering shoal,
and gently come
All:
and joyful stay.
The Fire Tender pushes her hands outwards in an opening gesture, saying:
Á Mhanannán, open the way!
All:
Open the way!
The Fire Tender offers some whiskey on the fire and says:
From tearing ocean into welcoming bay,
past guardian jetty guide your boat,
and tie its rope to pillared pier,
and gently come
All:
and joyful stay.
The Fire Tender pushes her hands outwards in an opening gesture, saying:
Á Mhanannán, open the way!
All:
Open the way!
The Fire Tender offers some whiskey on the fire and says:
From tearing ocean into welcoming bay,
set foot on land with blessing touch,
and enter home, and sit at hearth:
Come homeward, Sailor; come Son of Sea:
O gently come
All:
and joyful stay.
The Fire Tender pushes her hands outwards in an opening gesture, saying:
Á Mhanannán, open the way!
All:
Open the way!
The Fire Tender says:
From the land of the gods
to the land of men
All:
All: May sacred power flow.
May Manannán be our guide to the gods.
[In our Proto-Indo-European rituals our gatekeeper is Páxusōn, and butter is offered instead of whiskey. The prayer is this:
Páxusōn who guards the herds of the people,
watching there on the borders of our lands,
who protects the merchants who go to and fro,
from this land to others, and back again,
be our guide to the sacred realm.
God of the Way, open the way,
open for us the gates to the gods.
The Fire Tender puts down the spoon, and makes a gesture of opening, saying:
God of the Way, reu dhurns!
Open the way!
All say:
Open the way!
The Fire Tender:
Páxusōn, who goes before us on pathways,
go before us, preparing the way for us to the Kindreds.
God of the Way, reu dhurns!
Open the way!
All say:
Open the way!
The Fire Tender:
Páxusōn, guardian of the borders,
Open up the gate
that our prayers, that our offerings,
may go easily to the Holy Ones.
God of the Way, reu dhurns!
Open the way!
All say:
Open the way!
The Fire Tender:
From the land of the gods,
To the land of men,
All:
May sacred power flow.
May Páxusōn be our guide to the gods.]
The Priest then sets up the image of Xáryomen to the east of the hngwnis. He goes to the hngwnis and pours butter on it. He sings:
Xáryomen Dhétipotei,
Others: Xáryomen, Lord of the Law of the People.
Priest: Sumēnesns prihons dṓtor
Others: Giver of well-disposed friends.
Priest: Suwéstēr zdhi.
Others: Be our good Herdsman.
Priest: Wédhe nōs som
Others: Bring us together.
Priest: Xrneu nōs sḗm.
Others: Make us one.
Priest: Tebhyo zmgénse spendemes!
All: May we worship you as one people!
The Priest: Unite us, Xáryomen, make us one,
All: May we come before the gods, speaking with one voice.
A rite of unity, in which those present become one group, is a common part of the ADF order of ritual. Nemos Ognios does this by invoking and offering to Xáryomen, the Proto-Indo-European deity of social law, and thus of society itself. In a sense, this has been accomplished earlier, with the lighting of the xā́sā. That made us one family, however; at this point we become one society. The relationship is that between the xā́sā and the hngwnis.
Someone takes the dish with the silver to the mundus, while the Fire Tender says:
Today we welcome the honored dead
to sit beside the fires they once held so dear,
to worship with us as they once so loved to do.
Welcome to the Ancestors!
All: Welcome to the Ancestors!
The person with the silver removes the tile from the mundus and pours the silver in silently. They go to the board and purify themselves with the water in the bowl and return to their place.
The mundus is an opening to the Underworld. In this case it is seen as connecting us to the Ancestors. Because we don’t want to attach ourselves too closely to death, we normally cover the mundus with a tile. As a further separation, if we can we give this job to a guest. After the offering, the guest purifies themselves from death.
The Fire Tender puts more incense on the hngwnis and says:
May all the Holy Ones come to us as we worship them here.
May they come to us on the shining path as we call to them with proper words.
Holy Ones, we worship you with sweet offering.
All: Holy Ones,we worship you with sweet offering.
The idea of “proper” is very important in IE ideology; there are right and wrong ways to do things. In particular there’s a belief in three types of law, the Xártus (cosmic law), the dhétis (social law), and the yewesa (ritual law). In a perfect world, all three would coincide. Thus proper words would be ones that are in accord primarily with the yewesa, and by that, the Xártus and dhétis.
All sing Hail All the Gods:
Hail all the gods
Hail all the goddesses
Hail all the Holy Ones
we dwell together
Lords of the sky
Ladies of the sacred earth
Ancient and Undying Ones
we dwell together.
Hail all the gods
Hail all the goddesses
Hail all the gods
and goddesses
Hail all the gods
Hail all the goddesses
Hail all the Holy Ones
we dwell together.
The Priest then lifts the sacrifice and says:
This [ ] has come willingly, eagerly,
to the place of sacrifice
bedecked with gold
in celebration and beauty.
He uncovers the sacrifice and sprinkles water on it, using his right hand, three times, saying:
A pure offering is this,
without blemish or stain,
fit for [the deity of the occasion].
He puts down the bowl of water, picks up the bowl of barley in his left hand, and scatters grain from it three times with his right hand onto the sacrifice, saying:
Be blessed and fed with the fruits of the earth.
He then picks up the main sacrifice (that is, the top plate) and brings it clockwise about the space, carrying the bowl of barley as well. Each person takes some barley and throws it on the sacrifice with their right hand. When he returns to his place, he puts the sacrifice down.
He puts down the bowl, holds up the sacrifice, and says:
A proper offering is this,
as it is right to give.
This [sacrificial animal] to [deity of the occasion.]
He picks up the knife (still covered with the cloth) in his left hand and, carrying the animal in his right, he goes to between the fires and squats. He puts the knife and plate down. He removes the animal, placing it between himself and the sacrifical stake, touching the stake. The Fire Tender motions to the Victimarius, who comes and faces her. When the Victimarius has arrived, the Fire Tender says:
[“Strike!” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
The Victimarius goes clockwise around the space, holding the axe upright and out.
Clockwise is the IE direction of blessing. By walking around the sacrifice the Victimarius is blessing it.
As he walks, the Fire Tender strikes the bell, and the others clap, stomp their feet, or use percussion instruments. They increase the tempo and volume as he walks. When the Victimarius returns to the sacrifice, he stands and faces the Fire Tender. She says:
[“Strike!” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
He brings the axe down hard against the sacrifice, and then lifts his axe to a vertical position in front of him and returns to his place. When he hits the sacrifice, everyone stops making noise.
This is actually the opposite of the Greek tradition, where it is when the animal is struck that the noise begins. But it is a very dramatic way to do this part, and brings people into the ritual.
The Priest quickly cuts a slice from the right side of the bread, using his right hand.
In IE ideology, right is the side for the celestial deities. If the ritual is for the Ancestors, the left hand would be used.
He cuts this in half in turn. He puts the top half into the hngwnis, saying:
[Deity of the occasion], here is your share.
Sit down at our table,
and see the meal we have spread out for you.
Eat, and be strong.
This is the central point of the ritual, when the meal takes place. The gods are fed first, since they are our guests. Then we eat some of the meal, so that it is a shared one.
He holds the bottom half over the fire a moment, then cuts it in two. He eats the top half and gives the bottom half to the Fire Tender. He holds the rest of the bread over the fire a moment, and it is distributed. Any extra is burned in the fire.
As a substitute for the animal, the bread is “cooked” before it is eaten. The Priest and Fire Tender eat first as ritual representatives of everyone there.
When this is finished, the Priest pours beer or mead with his right hand at the base of the hngwnis, saying:
All the Kindreds, be honored in our midst.
We pour out our offering to you,
like living water,
like grain from a bag.
Drink deeply of the gifts we give.
He returns to his place. He says:
Have the folk brought praise?
The Fire Tender says:
They have!
Praise offerings are then made by those who wish. Praise offerings are one of the traditional parts of ADF ritual, providing an opportunity for everyone present to give their own offerings to add to the main ones. They may be offered to any of the Kindreds, and be of any kind – physical objects, libations, songs, prayers, dance, etc.
After the last offering has been made, the Priest takes the remaining piece of bread, holds it up, and says:
Gods and Goddesses,
Holy Ancestors,
Spirits of this place:
If anything that we have done here has offended you,
If anything we have done here has been incomplete,
If anything we have done here has not been done in the proper manner,
accept this final offering in recompense.
He breaks the bread into pieces, and puts once piece on the hngwnis, one on the xā́sā, one in front of the image of Janus, one in front of the image of Xáryomen, and one in the mundus. He breaks the rest up and scatters it about the space.
This is the piacular sacrifice. Under the principle that our ritual actions should be in accord with yewesa, but with a realization that mistakes will be made, the piacular sacrifice brings any such mistakes into the ritual order.
The Priest or Fire Tender then says:
Diviner, take the omens.
After the divination has been announced, the Priest or Fire Tender says:
We hear what the Kindreds have to say,
and are made wise by it.
A required part of basic ADF ritual, the divination asks whether the Kindreds are pleased with our ritual, and if so, what messages or blessings they wish to give us. It can be done in any way a grove wants. Nemos Ognios uses runes (although we flip coins at our Independence Day rituals). The most common result of our divinations is a statement of the ritual itself, which we interpret as approval, indicating that the ritual has achieved its goal.
The Priest pours the Waters of Life into the large bowl and takes it to the hngwnis. He holds the bowl over the fire for a moment and then raises it. The Fire Tender says:
[“Behold the Waters of Life!” in the liturgical language.]
Behold the Waters of Life!
All reply:
Behold the waters of life!
This is done two more times. Then the Priest holds the Waters high and shouts:
Fire!
All:
Fire!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid on the hngwnis with a pastry brush. The Priest shouts:
Water!
All:
Water!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid on the hngwnis with a pastry brush.
This is done two more times. Then the Priest shouts:
Fire, Water!
All:
Fire, Water!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid on the hngwnis with a pastry brush.
This is done two more times, and then the Priest joins in with the others, and the others join in with him, so that they are chanting "Fire, Water!" continually. They may also join in with percussion instruments. After a bit of this, while the others continue, the priest sings loudly:
Bring us inspiration,
Bring us power,
Bring us unending life,
Fire in water, water in fire.
He sings this more softly as he lowers himself to hold the Waters as low over the fire as he can bear. After a while, he stands suddenly and yells:
Behold the Waters of Life!
There is general rejoicing.
The Waters of Life are the gift the Kindreds give in return for our offerings. We hope, of course, that they will give us more gifts after the ritual, but this is in part representative of what those gifts will be.
The Waters are far more than that, though. One of the central mysteries of Indo-European is fire-in-water, a fluid which may be drunk, filling them with this paradox. Different Indo-European traditions use different actual beverages in ritual or myth – ale, mead, nectar, haoma, soma – but what they share in common is that they contain mind-altering substances.
In our rituals, however, we don’t use such substances. That’s because the obvious choice would be alcohol, and since ADF rituals are open to anyone who shows up, there’s always the possibility that someone will come who can’t drink alcohol. Instead we usually use honey water. This is meant to play off the idea of mead, which was likely the drink used by the Proto-Indo-Europeans. For Samhain, however, we use spiced cider, since on that occasion the Waters are seen as coming from the Ancestors rather than from the deities; rather than the bright honey water, we use the dark cider. This is especially appropriate for a Celtic ritual, since in Celtic traditions apple trees grow in the land of the dead.
When this dies down,the Fire Tender says:
What the Kindreds have given to us, we distribute freely.
The Priest ladles some of the Waters into a cup, which the Priest takes to the bases of the images of Janus and X&aaute;ryomen, while the Fire Tender says:
May the Kindreds always receive their due.
The Waters are then are distributed. The Waters are ladled into cups by the Fire Tender. They are then passed out by either one or two people, depending on how many are attending. After she has ladled out all the cups, she ladles one for those who have been distributing the Waters. She fills one for herself, and then she and the person who began the ladling exchange their cups. All go to their places and drink.
The last exchange, between the Fire Tender and the distributor, is so that everyone is given their cup.
After all have drunk, the Priest says:
Filled with the Mystery of Fire in Water
we rest in the presence of the Kindreds.
There is a pause while all meditate on the divine presence which fills them.
Then the Fire Tender offers incense, saying:
With wondering souls we have welcomed this mystery,
with grateful hearts may we accept its manifestation in our midst.
The Priest says:
We have offered to [the deity of the occasion],
we have prayed to all the Great Ones,
and they have given us only a token of what they will bestow.
We have asked, we have given, we shall receive.
["So be it!" in the liturgical language.]
All: ["So be it!" in the liturgical language.]
Then the Fire Tender says:
Never would we take without returning,
never receive without appreciation.
We must end our rites, but we will do it with gratitude.
Having invited the Kindreds we must, if we are to be polite, thank them and say goodbye. By this point it shouldn’t be a surprise that we do this with offerings, parting gifts.
Then the Fire Tender offers incense into the hngwnis, while the Priest says:
Blessed ones, may you always be with us.
We give thanks to the Kindreds
We thank all the Kindreds for their many gifts.
All: [“Thank you” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
The Fire Tender offers incense and the Priest says a prayer thanking the deity of the occasion. He ends with “Thank you” in the appropriate liturgical language. All respond:
[“Thank you” in the appropriate liturgical language.]
The Fire Tender offers incense, while the Priest says:
Beautiful gods, whose continued presence is our constant joy,
we thank you for your attendance at today’s rituals.
Know this: we are always your friends.
May we always have reason to feel gratitude towards you.
We thank you!
All: We thank you!
The Fire Tender says:
Our elder family,
you who have celebrated with us in honor of the ones
whom you in your own time looked to in worship,
we bid you return to your proper place,
leaving the land of the leaving to those who live.
We send you on your way with our thanks.
We thank you!
All: We thank you!
The person who opened the mundus now closes it, purifying themselves afterwards.
The Priest makes an offering of butter on the fire, saying:
Xáryomen, who guards society's peace,
you have joined us together in our worship today.
Though the rites may end and the people scatter
may our fellowship remain strong.
Xáryomen, we thank you for your presence and blessings.
May we grow and flourish under your benevolent gaze.
All: Tebhyo gwrtins do-mes!
The Fire Tender offers incense into the fire, saying:
Á Mhanannán mac Lir,
Oirbsen of the Sea,
Lord of the mists between this world and the next:
we thank you for opening the door of the mysteries,
and ask that you close it again,
until the next time we call to you.
Go raibh maith agait!
All: Go raibh maith agait!
The Fire Tender makes a sign of closing and says:
Let the gates be closed!
All: Let the gates be closed!
The Fire Tender offers incense to the hngwnis. When it is burned, she takes a coal from it and puts it into the xā́sā, saying:
The true altar of the people is the hearth.
The hngwnis was lit from the xā́sā at the beginning, so now, as the ritual winds up the fire must return to it.
She then extinguishes the hngwnis with the water from the pitcher. The Priest then says:
Extinguished without
but burning within.
All: The living fire flames within us.
The Priest goes to the mundus and, with his left hand, puts the tile back on. He returns to his place and purifies himself.
The Fire Tender offers butter to the xā́sā, saying:
Lady of Fire, Queen of the hearth,
who by rights receives the last,
bless and guard all those who worship you
whether in their home or withoutwhether alone or with others
whether thinking of you or engaged in business.
Shining One, receive this offering.
All: [“Thank you” in the liturgical language.]
When the butter is burned, she extinguishes the fire by pouring water from the pitcher on it and then putting the top of the cauldron on hard. When it has finished smoking, the Priest says:
With the hearth fire extinguished,
the center of our sacred world is gone.
With the flow of fiery water ceased,
the sacred site dissolves about us.
We will carry it in our hearts, though,
nestled deep with the love of the gods.
The hearth is the center of the home, and the ritual space is a sort of home, so when the hearth is extinguished is like the home “dying.”
He pauses a moment and then says:
We have offered to the Holy Ones
and they have accepted our sacrifices.
The Fire Tender says:
We have worshipped the Old Ones as it is right to do.
The Priest says:
We have done what the people before us have done.
The Fire Tender says:
May we always be mindful of those we have worshiped.
May we always be mindful of them, worthy of worship.
May this grove grow strong, under their watchful eyes.
The Priest raises his hands in blessing, and says:
On all who have worshiped here:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
Priest: On all who revere the Kindreds:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
Priest: On all who walk the ancient path:
All: Inspiration, power, peace.
The Priest says:
With the gates closed
With the gods worshiped
We will walk in wisdom.
The people recess, in the same order as they came in.
Credits:
Prayer beginning “Janus Inceptio – Jenni Hunt.
“Hail All the Gods” – First verse, ADF Traditional (?); Second verse, Richard MacKelley; Seventh line (“Ancient ...”), Ceisiwr Serith. Bridge section, Gwynne Green. Music: Paul Maurice, Sean Miller, Gail Williams.)
“Have the folk brought praise?” “They have.” – ADF traditional.
“Behold the Waters of Life.” – ADF traditional.
“Janus Patulcius” and “Janus Clusivus” – Roman traditional, provided by Jenni Hunt.
“Walk with Wisdom” – Title of song by Sable.
All other words and music by Ceisiwr Serith.
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