SAMHAIN CELEBRATION 1995

PRE-CEREMONY: Get together.  Start fire (newspaper & pallets).  Draw
              circle with chalk. Clean area & pathway. Practice chants.
              Set up altar.

CEREMONY:     (Everyone gather at mouth of cave)

Guide: Tonight is Samhain, the time of the Thin Veil -- when the veil
       between the worlds of the living and the dead is the thinnest.
       As the wheel of the seasons is turning from fall to winter, so
       does the wheels of our lives.
       This is the Celtic New Year, a time of new beginnings and
       transformations.  Therefore, this evening we ask that you choose
       something about yourself - a trait or habit - that you wish to
       change during this coming year.  When you have chosen something,
       come forward and receive a small piece of pliable wood, which
       represents what you wish to change.  You are able to bend,
       break, or destroy your own habits, like this piece of wood.
       Please hold on to this symbol and we will use later in the
       ceremony.  Follow me into the womb of this cave so that we might
       be reborn and renew ourselves.
       (Participants follow Guide into circle.)

(Circle-Caster walks with swinging incense burner clockwise around
circle while participants sing Casting Chant 4 times. Participants
imagine golden protective aura around the circle.)

Chant #1: Casting Chant:  (Chant 4 times)
          The circle is cast, the circle is cast, the circle is cast,
          Again and again and again and again.

Chant #2: Invocation to the Four Elements: (Chant 4 times)
          Air moves us, fire transforms us,
          Water shapes us, earth heals us,
          And the balance of the wheel goes round and round,
          And the balance of the wheel goes round.

(Male #1 and Female #1 walk to altar.)

Female #1: I light these candles for the triple Goddess.
           (Light white candle.)
           Glorious maiden, Goddess of youth and new beginnings.
           (Light red candle.)
           Great Mother, Goddess of magick and plenty.
           (Light black candle.)
           Dark Crone, Wise Goddess of the night.
           I welcome the Goddess in all Her forms in to our circle
           this night.

Male #1:  I light these candles for the triple God.
          (Light yellow candle.)
          Bright Sun King, God of success and plenty.
          (Light green candle.)
          Horned God of the Woodlands, God of fertility and growth.
          (Light black candle.)
          Dark lord of the Underworld, God of protection and rest.
          I welcome the God in all His forms into our circle this
          night.

Chant #3: Blood of the Ancients

Female #2: Tonight is the Feast of the Dead. The gates between the
           world stand open this night. I honor those who came before
           me. All those who wish me well are welcomed within this
           circle. As we celebrate this feast, repeat after me as we
           partake.

(Female #2 and Male #2 take chalice and bread and salt to each, and
says to each, "May I always have good health, prosperity and
happiness," and each participant repeats, dips bread in salt, eats, and
drinks wine.)

Guide: Let us all be seated.  Let us meditate upon the trait that we
       wish to change this Samhain night. Think about ways to transform
       this trait into a more positive one.  When you are finished
       contemplating, throw your wood into the fire and then come forth
       and get a golden bead, which symbolizes the metamorphosis of
       your trait.

Person: Short Grounding Meditation

Guide: All those who have gathered here to join us this night --
       godforms, elements, and ancestors -- we bless thee and release
       thee.  Let us leave here changed, renewed, and reborn with our
       golden symbol of fortune, blessings, and transformation. The
       circle is open, but unbroken.


Potluck follows.

_______________________________________________________________________

Parts: Guide;  Male #1;  Female #1;  Male #2;  Female #2;  Person;
               Circle-Caster


Agenda:  Directions. Precise time of ceremony.  Time to meet to clean up
         site. Scrolls for Guide & Female #2 (?)

Bring:    Flashlight (Everybody).
          Food for potluck (Everybody).
          Newspapers.
          Lighters.
          Chalice.
          Bread. Salt.  Plate (for bread and salt).
          Wine.

Items (already purchased or have):
Gold beads. Altar. Candles and holders. Incense (charcoal & cone).
Element symbols (pentagram, incense holder, chalice, athame).
Scrolls(?). Tarot layout(?). Antlers. Pieces of wood. Chalk. Pallets.