Samhain Ritual 2020
This is the Samhain Ritual for Fieldhaven Coven. If ever anything needed to be unmade, it is this clusterfuck of a year. We've done similar "roll back" rituals on other occasions when the time change coincided with Samhain. We're sharing this version so that other people can also use it if they wish, especially in different time zones to compound the effects. For reference, we are in the Central zone.
2020 Samhain Outline
Opening Quarter Calls
Caller for the East:
I call to the East, and the powers of Air,
By which scents of each season keep us aware
Of changes that happen as time cycles past:
Remind us that nothing around us will last.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to focus on change:
May Air’s inspiration our thoughts rearrange.
Caller for the South:
I call to the South, and thus summon fire
That by your power, you may lift us higher.
In summer, unbounded, you warm with sun’s rays;
In winter, contained within woodstoves, you blaze.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to celebrate change:
The passions of fire, our souls rearrange.
Caller for the West:
I call to the West, invoke Water’s power
And ask for your presence this evening hour.
From spring’s nurturing rains through winter’s bright snow
The change in the seasons is something you show.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to focus on change:
May Water’s emotions our hearts rearrange.
Caller for the North:
I call to the North, and the powers of Earth:
It’s in your endurance that we find your worth.
Though dinosaurs, mammoths, and others have passed,
The Great Mother, Gaia, continues to last.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to focus on change:
Earth’s constancy gives us the freedom to range.
Cast Circle
Caller for the East: To the Past
Caller for the South: To the Present
Caller for the West: To the Future
Caller for the North: For Remembrance
Caller for the East: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Caller for the South: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Caller for the West: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Caller for the North: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Charge of the Great Mother (weather permitting if outdoors)
Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was called Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Diana, Arianrhod, Brigid, and by many other names:
Whenever you have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, you shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me who is Queen of all the Wise.
You shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites.
Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in My presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and Mine also is joy on Earth.
For My law is love unto all beings.
Mine is the secret that opens upon the door of youth, and Mine is the cup of wine of life that is the Cauldron of Cerridwen that is the holy grail of immortality.
I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of youth unto the heart of mankind.
I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before.
Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother of all things and My love is poured out upon the Earth.
Charge of the Star Goddess
Hear the words of the Star Goddess, the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, whose body encircles the universe:
I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars and the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto Me. For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe. From Me all things proceed and unto Me they must return.
Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold – all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.
For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
Invite Deities – Hecate and Hermes
Hail, Maiden, Mother, and Crone!
Yours is the power of Night,
For you see and for you know
All that passes in your light.
Hecate of the Crossroads,
Three-Faced Goddess of the Moon,
Guide our wayfinding tonight
That we may find our path soon.
Come forth, wing-footed Hermes,
Swift messenger of the Gods!
Trickster Lord of Luck and Games,
Help us to balance the odds.
You who oversee contracts,
See that everything is fine.
God of Roads and Boundaries,
Come and help us draw the line.
Call on Ancestors
As the Veil is growing thin
And Samhain night grows near
We call upon the Ancestors,
The ones that we hold dear
They’ll guide you on your Journey
With knowledge you can trust
Fire, Feast and Celebrate
Burn leaves of gold and rust
The New Year is upon us,
So raise your voice in song
Sing with your father’s father,
You’ve waited all year long
Dance with your mother’s mother
And join in ritual rhyme
We honor all their wisdom
Passed down through all of time
Ask the Ancestors
We ask this of you, who’ve transcended the veil
To guide and protect those who’ve passed in this year
To comfort, console them, and let them avail
Of your wisdom to banish their fear.
We ask that you help them and lend them your grace
Your knowledge of what lies beyond
To share all your joy in this transient place
Until rebirth shall form a new bond.
Statement of Intent
We are gathered here on a night of convergences: the sabbat, Samhain; an esbat, which is not only a full moon but a blue moon – the second full moon this calendar month; and the night where, in most of the United States, we shift from Daylight to Standard time. The first two of these simultaneous events provides us with a backdrop of power, and the last of them a rare opportunity: we are to experience an hour of time which vanishes, and thus get to repeat that hour again – an ideal circumstance for sending away the negative, and replacing it with the positive.
For many of us, 2020 has been a year that we could have done without. And while we can’t undo the emotional and physical damage that has occurred throughout this challenging year, we can pool our resources on this night to disperse the negative energies, the metaphysical forces that have amplified those circumstances – in effect, banishing them along with the hour that vanishes, and re-setting the energies to bring about a better, more harmonious year ahead.
To this end, let us bless the fire, and with the aid and support of Hecate, Hermes, and our ancestors, create a clearer safer path for all to follow as the days unfold. This we ask, its equivalent or better, for the greater good of the greatest number: so mote it be!
All reply: So mote it be!
Fire Blessing
The ancestral fire,
Our creator,
Our ancestral memory,
Our future.
It draws us in...
People sing, talk, tell stories round the fire.
Fire still captivates us.
It is within us.
People wanting the fire visible in their home…
Creating the hearth fire,
A focus, offering protection, warmth, and light.
The faint ancestral memory is there in us.
And so we welcome the fire.
We charge these fires to be a portal of resetting
To be a living doorway between the worlds
To carry our intentions on wings borne of flame
By the god and goddess, by our ancestors,
We consecrate thee.
Banish individual “stuff”
We stand in the presence of the quarters
Of Hecate, of Hermes, of the ancestors
We have stated our intention and consecrated our fire
So that we may reset this terrible year.
Let us add to our fire our tokens
Silently, for those on whom we have called can hear our thoughts
And ask that the world be reset and made new.
Around the circle, each person adds their tokens to the fire.
At 2:00 am, when the clock turns back to 1:00 am (TIMING IS IMPORTANT HERE), the hour is reset and we begin anew.
Offerings for replacement of what was banished
It was 2:00 am, and the clock turned back to 1:00
The hour is reset and we begin anew.
Let us each add to the fire our offering,
Silently, for those on whom we have called can hear our thoughts
And ask for what change we desire.
Around the circle again with offerings (could be food, incense, oils, sparklers, or anything of value to the coven member) and requests to replace that which was reset.
Cakes and Ale
For the cakes: Remember the past.
For the ale: Live for the future.
Thank Ancestors
We thank thee, all those who have joined us this night
In ritual both here and there, [continued on next page]
For lending your wisdom and energies bright
And keeping us all in your care.
We thank thee for holding the newly passed souls
In comfort and learning to trust
For guiding them gently ‘til they find new roles
So stay if you will now, or go if you must.
Thank Deities
Hecate of the Crossroads,
O Maiden, Mother, and Crone!
We give thanks for your presence
Under the Moon that you own.
As we each go our own ways
You watch over us, we know,
For we see the Moon aloft
And walk ever in your glow.
Go now, wing-footed Hermes,
Return to guarding the line,
With thanks for your assistance;
We know that all will be fine.
Watch over us as we part
And take up each of our loads
Swift messenger on the wind,
God of Boundaries and Roads.
Closing Quarter Releases
Caller for the North:
I call to the North, and the powers of Earth:
The altar for cycles of death and rebirth.
Though ritual’s finished, the Earth still endures:
No matter the conflict, time offers the cures.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our feet balanced with every pace.
Evolution, mutation – time to adjust:
So stay if you will, Earth, but go if you must.
Caller for the West:
I call to the West, Water’s powers release
And offer this parting with wishes of peace.
Though ritual’s finished, transition’s begun:
The cycle of changes will never be done.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our hearts open with every pace.
Your passage through time can turn iron to rust:
So stay if you will, Water: go if you must.
Caller for the South:
I call to the South, and give Fire my thanks
For all that your flames added here to our ranks.
Though ritual’s finished, still passions burn bright:
Transforming continues, beyond just tonight.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our souls burning through every pace,
Igniting the passions in souls that are just:
So stay if you will, Fire: go if you must.
Caller for the East:
I call to the East, and the powers of Air,
And offer our thanks for this time that we share.
Though ritual’s finished, change never does end:
Ideas keep appearing, new thoughts to append.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our minds focused with every pace.
From ashes to ashes, from dust into dust:
Air, stay if you will, or else go if you must.
Caller for the North: To the Future.
Caller for the West: To the Past.
Caller for the South: To the Here and Now.
Caller for the East: For Remembrance.
Closing words:
May the Lord and Lady be ever in your heart.
All:
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again.
2020 Samhain Outline
Opening Quarter Calls
Caller for the East:
I call to the East, and the powers of Air,
By which scents of each season keep us aware
Of changes that happen as time cycles past:
Remind us that nothing around us will last.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to focus on change:
May Air’s inspiration our thoughts rearrange.
Caller for the South:
I call to the South, and thus summon fire
That by your power, you may lift us higher.
In summer, unbounded, you warm with sun’s rays;
In winter, contained within woodstoves, you blaze.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to celebrate change:
The passions of fire, our souls rearrange.
Caller for the West:
I call to the West, invoke Water’s power
And ask for your presence this evening hour.
From spring’s nurturing rains through winter’s bright snow
The change in the seasons is something you show.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to focus on change:
May Water’s emotions our hearts rearrange.
Caller for the North:
I call to the North, and the powers of Earth:
It’s in your endurance that we find your worth.
Though dinosaurs, mammoths, and others have passed,
The Great Mother, Gaia, continues to last.
Stay with us at this time, and lend us your grace
As we cast our circle in ritual space.
This Samhain we gather to focus on change:
Earth’s constancy gives us the freedom to range.
Cast Circle
Caller for the East: To the Past
Caller for the South: To the Present
Caller for the West: To the Future
Caller for the North: For Remembrance
Caller for the East: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Caller for the South: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Caller for the West: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Caller for the North: Voice to voice, the circle is cast.
Charge of the Great Mother (weather permitting if outdoors)
Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was called Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Diana, Arianrhod, Brigid, and by many other names:
Whenever you have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, you shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me who is Queen of all the Wise.
You shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites.
Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in My presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and Mine also is joy on Earth.
For My law is love unto all beings.
Mine is the secret that opens upon the door of youth, and Mine is the cup of wine of life that is the Cauldron of Cerridwen that is the holy grail of immortality.
I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of youth unto the heart of mankind.
I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before.
Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother of all things and My love is poured out upon the Earth.
Charge of the Star Goddess
Hear the words of the Star Goddess, the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, whose body encircles the universe:
I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars and the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto Me. For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe. From Me all things proceed and unto Me they must return.
Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold – all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.
For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
Invite Deities – Hecate and Hermes
Hail, Maiden, Mother, and Crone!
Yours is the power of Night,
For you see and for you know
All that passes in your light.
Hecate of the Crossroads,
Three-Faced Goddess of the Moon,
Guide our wayfinding tonight
That we may find our path soon.
Come forth, wing-footed Hermes,
Swift messenger of the Gods!
Trickster Lord of Luck and Games,
Help us to balance the odds.
You who oversee contracts,
See that everything is fine.
God of Roads and Boundaries,
Come and help us draw the line.
Call on Ancestors
As the Veil is growing thin
And Samhain night grows near
We call upon the Ancestors,
The ones that we hold dear
They’ll guide you on your Journey
With knowledge you can trust
Fire, Feast and Celebrate
Burn leaves of gold and rust
The New Year is upon us,
So raise your voice in song
Sing with your father’s father,
You’ve waited all year long
Dance with your mother’s mother
And join in ritual rhyme
We honor all their wisdom
Passed down through all of time
Ask the Ancestors
We ask this of you, who’ve transcended the veil
To guide and protect those who’ve passed in this year
To comfort, console them, and let them avail
Of your wisdom to banish their fear.
We ask that you help them and lend them your grace
Your knowledge of what lies beyond
To share all your joy in this transient place
Until rebirth shall form a new bond.
Statement of Intent
We are gathered here on a night of convergences: the sabbat, Samhain; an esbat, which is not only a full moon but a blue moon – the second full moon this calendar month; and the night where, in most of the United States, we shift from Daylight to Standard time. The first two of these simultaneous events provides us with a backdrop of power, and the last of them a rare opportunity: we are to experience an hour of time which vanishes, and thus get to repeat that hour again – an ideal circumstance for sending away the negative, and replacing it with the positive.
For many of us, 2020 has been a year that we could have done without. And while we can’t undo the emotional and physical damage that has occurred throughout this challenging year, we can pool our resources on this night to disperse the negative energies, the metaphysical forces that have amplified those circumstances – in effect, banishing them along with the hour that vanishes, and re-setting the energies to bring about a better, more harmonious year ahead.
To this end, let us bless the fire, and with the aid and support of Hecate, Hermes, and our ancestors, create a clearer safer path for all to follow as the days unfold. This we ask, its equivalent or better, for the greater good of the greatest number: so mote it be!
All reply: So mote it be!
Fire Blessing
The ancestral fire,
Our creator,
Our ancestral memory,
Our future.
It draws us in...
People sing, talk, tell stories round the fire.
Fire still captivates us.
It is within us.
People wanting the fire visible in their home…
Creating the hearth fire,
A focus, offering protection, warmth, and light.
The faint ancestral memory is there in us.
And so we welcome the fire.
We charge these fires to be a portal of resetting
To be a living doorway between the worlds
To carry our intentions on wings borne of flame
By the god and goddess, by our ancestors,
We consecrate thee.
Banish individual “stuff”
We stand in the presence of the quarters
Of Hecate, of Hermes, of the ancestors
We have stated our intention and consecrated our fire
So that we may reset this terrible year.
Let us add to our fire our tokens
Silently, for those on whom we have called can hear our thoughts
And ask that the world be reset and made new.
Around the circle, each person adds their tokens to the fire.
At 2:00 am, when the clock turns back to 1:00 am (TIMING IS IMPORTANT HERE), the hour is reset and we begin anew.
Offerings for replacement of what was banished
It was 2:00 am, and the clock turned back to 1:00
The hour is reset and we begin anew.
Let us each add to the fire our offering,
Silently, for those on whom we have called can hear our thoughts
And ask for what change we desire.
Around the circle again with offerings (could be food, incense, oils, sparklers, or anything of value to the coven member) and requests to replace that which was reset.
Cakes and Ale
For the cakes: Remember the past.
For the ale: Live for the future.
Thank Ancestors
We thank thee, all those who have joined us this night
In ritual both here and there, [continued on next page]
For lending your wisdom and energies bright
And keeping us all in your care.
We thank thee for holding the newly passed souls
In comfort and learning to trust
For guiding them gently ‘til they find new roles
So stay if you will now, or go if you must.
Thank Deities
Hecate of the Crossroads,
O Maiden, Mother, and Crone!
We give thanks for your presence
Under the Moon that you own.
As we each go our own ways
You watch over us, we know,
For we see the Moon aloft
And walk ever in your glow.
Go now, wing-footed Hermes,
Return to guarding the line,
With thanks for your assistance;
We know that all will be fine.
Watch over us as we part
And take up each of our loads
Swift messenger on the wind,
God of Boundaries and Roads.
Closing Quarter Releases
Caller for the North:
I call to the North, and the powers of Earth:
The altar for cycles of death and rebirth.
Though ritual’s finished, the Earth still endures:
No matter the conflict, time offers the cures.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our feet balanced with every pace.
Evolution, mutation – time to adjust:
So stay if you will, Earth, but go if you must.
Caller for the West:
I call to the West, Water’s powers release
And offer this parting with wishes of peace.
Though ritual’s finished, transition’s begun:
The cycle of changes will never be done.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our hearts open with every pace.
Your passage through time can turn iron to rust:
So stay if you will, Water: go if you must.
Caller for the South:
I call to the South, and give Fire my thanks
For all that your flames added here to our ranks.
Though ritual’s finished, still passions burn bright:
Transforming continues, beyond just tonight.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our souls burning through every pace,
Igniting the passions in souls that are just:
So stay if you will, Fire: go if you must.
Caller for the East:
I call to the East, and the powers of Air,
And offer our thanks for this time that we share.
Though ritual’s finished, change never does end:
Ideas keep appearing, new thoughts to append.
Your presence at this time has blessed us with grace
And kept our minds focused with every pace.
From ashes to ashes, from dust into dust:
Air, stay if you will, or else go if you must.
Caller for the North: To the Future.
Caller for the West: To the Past.
Caller for the South: To the Here and Now.
Caller for the East: For Remembrance.
Closing words:
May the Lord and Lady be ever in your heart.
All:
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again.