March 20, 2012 Vernal Equinox Ritual - ADF style

For this year's Spring Equinox, I did a solo ADF ritual based on the COoR as outlined in the Dedicant Program Handbook pg. 60.
0 - Preliminary Rites
A) Claiming and Hallowing the Sacred Space:
Lit the fire, poured fresh water into the well, rubbed essential oil onto the bile.
B) Preliminary Meditation:
Explained aloud my intentions for the ritual, to honour the coming of spring, the planting season, Sunna and Eostre. Closed my eyes and worked through the Two Powers meditation from memory.

I - The Procession and Opening Prayers
A) Musical Signal and Call to the Grove:
Rang a bell three times and circumambulated the space.
A1) Optional: Purification of the Folk:
Dipped my fingers in the well and drew a triskel on my brow with the waters
B)Opening Prayer:
Sang "Come We Now", the ADF Portal Song
C) Earth Mother Offering:
Sang "Earth Mother I sing to your body" song three times and "Mother I feel you" nine times.


II - Opening the Grove
A) The Grove Attunement:
Sang "The leaves on the trees" song nine times with eyes closed
B) Described from memory that this was a time when the ancestors planted seeds and grew sprouts, a time when they acknowledged the melting of the snow, the blooming of the first flowers and the return of the warm winds. Described some of the traditions I've experienced as a neopagan, including spring crafts and activities such as dying eggs and planting them in the soil for fertility. Described the Norse Goddess Eostre as the spring goddess of fertility, her symbols of flowers, bunnies, eggs, and chicks. Described Sunna as the sun in her chariot.
C) Optional - Purification of the folk
1) Offering to the Outdwellers:
Lit an incense different from the other offerings in this rite, and placed it in the far corner of the room, asking the outdwellers and anyone who would disturb the rite to accept the peace offering.
2) Cleansing by smoke and water:
Lit a sage smudge stick and waved it around the sacred space, saying "Negative vibrations be gone from here, this is no place for harm or fear" three times. Dipped my hands in the well and symbolically washed hands and face with the water.
D) Honoring the Sacred Center:
Sang "Fire, Bright Fire" song three times while acknowledging the representations of fire, well and tree on my altar.
F) Opening the Gates:
Called upon Heimdal, the gods' watchman, warder of the realms to open the gates with "Gatekeeper Open the Portals" song. Lit an incense offering to Heimdal and visualized the rainbow bridge Bifrost blazing across the sky.

III - Offering to the Powers:
A) Triad Offerings:
Lit an incense offering to the gods, ancestors and nature spirits with the song "Gods and dead and mighty sidhe"
B) Key Offerings:
1) Descriptive Invocation and offerings to the Patron Powers of the rite:
Called upon Eostre as goddess of spring and honoured her symbols. Lit an egg shaped candle in offering to her.
Called upon the Sunna at her equinox point as the days will now be longer than the nights. Lit a tea light candle in offering.

2) Praise offerings:
Read a prayer I wrote to the sun:
Vernal Equinox - 2011
"As the sun rises, it is victorious,
Conquering the night at last.
Its warm, golden rays are glorious
And signs of winter almost past.
With days and nights of equal length,
The sun gains power, shining on,
We benefit from solar strength,
melting, budding, early dawn.
The bulbs begin to sprout and rise,
Toward the mighty sun's bright rays
Mother Earth relaxes under skies
that wake her gently with longer days
That handsome sun sends rays of gold
Upon the birds whose songs are fair
As waning are the nights and cold,
Bright blessings in the warming air."

Recited a poem to Eostre "The Handing Over Of The Year" 2011 by RuneScape and sang “She changes everything she touches” chant nine times.

C) Prayer of Sacrifice:
Sang "May my life be a gift to you" song.
D) Taking of omen:
Shuffled the tarot deck while focusing on the egg candle and drew the top card. Recieved the Ace of Fire, Power. Understood it to mean that I am filled with inner power and now is a good time to start projects as they will be successful.

IV: The Blessing
A) Meditation on the Omen:
Closed my eyes and asked for visions of the blessing.
B) Calling for the blessing:
Chanted "Seed of what I wish to be" chant nine times.
C) Hallowing the Waters
and D) Recieving the Blessing
Sang "Power of the spirits" song three times as I poured the water and drank from the cup. Visualized the power entering me and running through my body.

V) Closing and Ending:
A) Affirmation of success:
Acknowledged the feeling of power in myself, of seeds planted and sprouting within me.
B) Thanking the powers:
Gave thanks to Sunna, Eostre, Heimdal, the nature spirits, ancestors and gods for their presence and blessings. Said "Go if you must, stay if you will, I bid you farewell".
D) Closing the gates:
Asked Heimdal to close the gates, and clapped once to signify the closure.
E) Final Blessing and announcement of ending:
Said "Blessings be upon all who have attended this rite. The rite has ended. " And rang the bell three times.
Extinguished the Fire. Allowed offerings to continue burning down.

I felt relaxed and open as I began the ritual. Breathing through the Two Powers meditation was a good way to settle deeper into ritual consciousness. I always respond to the sound of the bell ringing by turning my attention to the gods. As I visualized them crossing Bifrost when I called upon Heimdal to open the gates, I felt the presence of the gods. I also felt the powers as I worked the ritual. I especially felt them empowering me when I took the omen and received “The ace of fire - power” I changed from my original intention of hallowing the waters according to the Simple Rite of Offering on page 64 to singing “power of the spirits” as I poured and drank because it felt more appropriate at the time. I would like to try making offerings to the fire, well and tree in a future ritual, rather than just acknowledging them with song. I would have liked to have done this rite outside during the daytime, and if I do it again, I will make this change. Then I could feel Sunna shining down upon me and see the work of Eostre around me greening the earth.It would have been nice if I was familiar with Nerthus before the ritual, so I could have included her in the Earth Mother invocation.

Spring Equinox, approx. March 21st

Also known as the Vernal Equinox, this is a time where the day and night are of equal length. The first flowers push through the remaining snow and the ice and snow begin to melt away as the first rains of the year fall and the temperature rises. Although the Celts did not have a major celebration, they did recognize the change in season and begin to plant seeds. In the Norse tradition, this is the time of Eostre, the Teutonic Spring Goddess, who is celebrated at the following full moon. Also possibly a goddess of the dawn, Eostre had a month named after her, Eostremonath, during which feasts were held in her honour. There is only one source documenting Eostre, a few brief sentences by the Christian scholar Bede. As a fertility festival for Wiccans, who call it Ostara, many of the trappings of Easter such as flowers, chicks, bunnies and dyed eggs are part of the celebrations because they symbolize the fertility of the land. According to Graves, dyed eggs are also solar symbols. (Farrar 76) Wearing white and lighting a fire during ritual are symbolic actions that can be taken for Ostara (Cunningham 123). The heiros gamos is symbolic of the dying and resurrecting god who descends into the goddess to be reborn in various Mediterranean traditions at this time of year (Farrar 74), although human fertility is more suitable for Beltaine to most Neopagans.

Works Cited

Cunningham, Scott. Living Wicca. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 2002.

Farrar, Janet and Stuart. A Witches' Bible. Blaine, WA: Janet and Stuart Farrar, 1984.