The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals. Kate West

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СКАЧАТЬ south then west and northHearken to the Witches’ RuneHere we come to call ye forth.

       Earth and water, air and fireWand and pentacle and swordWork ye unto our desireHearken ye unto our word

       Cords and censer, scourge and knifePowers of the Witches’ bladeWaken all ye unto lifeCome ye as the charm is made

       Queen of Heaven, Queen of HelHorned Hunter of the NightLend your power unto our spellWork our will by magic rite

      By all the power of land and seaBy all the might of Moon and SunAs we do will so mote it beChant the spell and be it done.

      There are other versions of the Rune which differ somewhat, but this is the version we use.

      BLESSING THE ELEMENTS ON THE ALTAR

      Until you have Blessed the Elements they are still objects in the mundane world rather than representations of the Elemental energies. Note that Air, Fire and Water are Blessed and Consecrated, whereas Earth is simply Blessed. This is because salt is deemed to be pure in itself. It is usual for one person to do the whole of Blessing the Elements, otherwise you are going to have a crush at the Altar.

       Firstly, light the Altar candle(s) and the incense.

       Take a pinch of salt and place it on the Altar Pentacle. Inscribe an invoking Pentagram (see Appendix 2, Terms and Definitions) over it with your Athame and say,

      ‘I do bless thee O creature of Earth to make thee fit for these our Rites.’

      Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

      In a group everyone will echo this and every other ‘Blessed Be’.

       With your Athame, draw an invoking Pentagram in the smoke of the incense and say,

      ‘I do bless and consecrate thee O creature of Air to make thee pure and fit for these our Rites.’

      Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

       With your Athame, draw an invoking Pentagram in the flame of the candle and say,

      ‘I do bless and consecrate thee, O creature of Fire to make thee pure and fit for these our Rites.’

      Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

       With your Athame, draw an invoking Pentagram in the water and say,

      ‘I do bless and consecrate thee, O creature of Water to make thee pure and fit for these our Rites.’

      Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’. Then say,

      I call on Earth to bind my spell,Air to speed its passage well,Bright as Fire shall it glow,And deep as ocean’s tides shall flow.Count the elements fourfold,For in the Fifth the Spell shall hold.Blessed Be.

      This latter verse, derived from Alex Sanders, is used in our group of Covens and not necessarily by other Covens.

      INVOKING THE ELEMENTS

      This is also referred to as Calling the Quarters. Some groups will have Quarter lights denoting the places in the Circle. These are candles either on tall candleholders, or on convenient pieces of furniture, and are generally yellow for Air, red for Fire, blue for Water and green for Earth. Some groups will use different colour correspondences, such as blue for Air, green for Water and yellow (or brown) for Earth, although Fire tends to continue to be red. Quarter lights are frequently employed outdoors where the edge of the Circle may be less well defined and then these candles may be placed in glass jars to prevent them damaging the environment, or being extinguished by the wind or the movement of group members. Other groups may place different indicators at these points, perhaps a Thurible for Air, the Sword for Fire, the Cauldron for Water, and Besom for Earth.

      Where possible it is helpful to have one person assigned to invoke each element, and that person will then banish the same element at the end of the Ritual. If for any reason it is not possible for the same person to banish that which they invoked it is the responsibility of the High Priestess to ensure that the banishing is carried out.

       The person invoking each element will stand at the appropriate point of the Circle and one at a time will turn outwards and, drawing the invoking Pentagram of that element with their Athame, will say,

      ‘I do summon, stir and call ye O element of Air (Fire/Water/Earth). Raphael (Michael/Gabriel/Uriel), guardian of the gateway of the East (South/West/North), attend with us, guard us, guide us and protect us in these our Rites. Hail and welcome.’

      They kiss their forefinger and say ‘Blessed Be’. They then turn back to the rest of the group ready to face the next direction as the next element is invoked.

      While the person invoking an element is saying their words, everyone else will turn to face that direction and they, and the rest of the group, will visualize that element, either in its natural form of wind, flame, water or land, or in the form of the elemental Guardians Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel. Raphael would be a young man dressed in the colours of Spring, and so on. Note that not all Covens will employ the Guardians when calling the Quarters.

      INVITING THE GODDESS AND THE GOD

      The Goddess and the God are not invoked, they are invited. This can be done by one person inviting each or, more usually, with one person inviting both. You can invite them by name (the following text gives the names we use in our Circle) or more simply as the Goddess and the God.

       The designated person turns to face the Altar and raises their arms in a gentle curve to each side of their head and, visualizing the Goddess and the God, says,

      ‘I call upon the Old Gods, upon Hecate and Herne, upon Ceridwyn and Cernunnos, to be with us. To watch over us, to guard us, guide us and protect us during these our Rites.’

      When they feel sure that the Goddess and the God are present, they lower their arms and cross them over their chest and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

      During this everyone will face the Altar and will support the visualization; this is why it is important that everyone in the group needs to know which Goddess and God forms are being used. In time everyone will easily be able to visualize the same thing.

      CASTING THE CIRCLE

      Some Covens will use the Coven Sword for this, but an Athame or the forefinger of your strong hand is just as good. If the ‘caster’ is short then it may be preferable for the rest of the group to move inwards to allow the ‘caster’ to walk around them, rather than having everyone ducking to avoid the point of the Sword or Athame!

       The Circle is Cast starting in the North-East and moving Deosil around the Circle with a good overlap at the starting point. The caster walks around the Circle and, raising their hand high, directs an electric blue light over the heads of the group towards the outer circumference of the area. This should be visualized by all present. As it is created it should be thought of as merging to form СКАЧАТЬ