Solitary Rituals for the Sabbats
From the book "Wicca A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham
Some of the Spoken Words were Personalized by: Ambrosia Knight

Samhain: October 31

Place upon the altar apples, pumpkins, squashes and other late autumn fruits. Autumn flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums are fine too. Write on a piece of paper an aspect of your life which you wish to be free of: anger, a baneful habit, misplaced feelings, disease. The cauldron or some similar tool must be present before the altar as well. A small, flat dish marked with an eight-spoked wheel to represent the holidays should also be there.

Prior to the ritual, sit quietly and think of friends and loved ones who have passed away. Do not despair. Know that they have gone on to greater things. Keep firmly in mind that the physical isn't the absolute reality, and that souls never die.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, Cast the Circle and invoke the God/dess.

Lift one of the fruits and, with your freshly washed white handled knife, pierce the skin of the fruit. Remove several seeds and place them on the wheel-marked dish.

Raise your wand, face the altar and say:


"On this night of Samhain I mark your passing,
O Father Sky, through the sunset into Summerlands.
I also mark the passing of all who have gone before,
and all who will go after.
O Gracious Mother Earth,
You who gives birth to the fallen,
teach me to know that in the time of the greatest darkness
there is the greatest light."
Bite into the fruit and savor it. Look down at the eight spoked wheel on the plate; the wheel of the year, cycle of the seasons, the end and beginning of all creation.

Light a fire inside the cauldron (a candle is fine). Sit before it, holding the piece of paper, gazing at its flames. Say:


"O Wise Mother Earth,
I create this fire within Your cauldron
to transform that which is plaguing me.
May the energies be reversed:
From darkness, light!
From bane, good!
From death, birth!"
Light the paper in the cauldron's flames and drop it inside. As it burns, know that your ill diminishes, lessens and finally leaves you as it is consumed with the universal fires.

If you wish, you may attempt scrying or some other form of divination, for this is the perfect time to look into the past or future. Try to recall past lives too. if you will. But leave the dead in peace! Honor them with your memories but do not call them to you. Release any pain and sense of loss you may feel into the cauldron's flames.

Celebrate the Simple Feast and release the Circle.



Yule: December 21

The altar is adored with evergreens such as pine, rosemary, bay, juniper and cedar. Dried leaves can also be placed on the altar.

Place a red candle inside your cauldron (If you do not have a cauldron, just use the candle and put it in a candle holder). Place the cauldron on your altar.

Cast the Circle and invoke the God/ess.

Stand before the cauldron and gaze within it. Say these or similar words:


"The long lazy days of Summer are gone
On this shortest day and night so long
Though the chill of Winter has covered the Earth
It is time for celebration on this night of rebirth!"
Light the candle. As the flames leap up say:


"I ignite this flame in Your honor, Earth Mother
You are the Giver of Life
The Sun lives again because of You
With pure heart, I welcome Thee, Sky Father!"
Circle the altar and cauldron slowly, clockwise, watching the flame. Say the following chant for some time:


"The wheel turns; the power burns."
Meditate upon the Sun, on the hidden energies lying dormant in winter, not only in the earth but within yourself. Think of birth not as the start of life but as its continuance. Welcome the return of the Sun.

After a time, cease and stand once again before the altar and flaming candle. Say:


"Sky Father
I welcome Your return
May you shine brightly upon Mother Earth
And always fill my heart with Your rays of light
So that I may continue to grow in Mind and Spirit
Hail Father of the Sky!"
Celebrate the Simple Feast, then release the Circle.

Imbolc: February 1 or 2
A symbol of the season, such as a representation of a snowflake, a white flower, or perhaps some snow in a crystal container can be placed on the altar. An orange candle annointed with musk, cinnamon, frankincense or rosemary oil, unlit, should also be there. Snow can be melted for the water during the circle casting.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, cast the circle, and invoke the God/dess.

Say such words as the following:


"Flame of candles, burning so bright
Instill in me your passionate light
Father of the Sky, fire so deep
I welcome Thee as the earth stirs
Below it's mantle of sleep
I celebrate Mother Earth
I celebrate Sky Father"
Light the orange candle from the candle that represents your Fire element (at the south direction). Slowly walk the circle clockwise, bearing the candle before you. Say these or similar words:


"All the land is embraced in winter
A chill is in the air
But, Lord of the Sun
You are with us
Unseen, You watch over us
Hail Father of the Sky!
Hail and welcome!"
Stop before the altar, holding aloft the candle. Gaze at its flame. Visualize yourself blossoming with creativity, with renewed energy and strength.

If you need to look into the future or past, now is an ideal time.

Celebrate the Simple Feast, then release the Circle.



Ostara: March 21

Flowers should be laid on the altar, placed around the circle and strew on the ground. The cauldron can be filled with spring water and flowers, and buds and blossoms may be worn as well. A small potted plant should be placed on the altar.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, cast the circle, and invoke the God/dess.

Stand before the altar and gaze upon the plant as you say:


"Mother Earth, you have freed yourself from the icy prison of winter. Now is the greening, when the fragrance of flowers drifts on the breeze. This is the beginning. Life renews itself by Your magick. Sky Father stretches and rises, eager in His youth, and bursting with the promise of summer."
Touch the plant. Connect with its energies and through it, all nature. Travel inside its leaves and stems through your visualization -- from the center of your consciousness out through your arm and fingers into the plant itself. Explore its inner nature; sense the miraculous processes of life at work within it.
After a time, still touching the plant, say:


"I walk the earth in friendship, not in dominance.
Mother Earth and Father Sky, instill within me
through this plant a warmth for all living things.
Teach me to revere the Earth and all its treasures.
May I never forget."
Stop before the altar, holding aloft the candle. Gaze at its flame. Visualize yourself blossoming with creativity, with renewed energy and strength.

Meditate upon the changing of the seasons. Feel the rousing of energies around you in the Earth.

Celebrate the Simple Feast, then release the Circle.



Beltane: April 30

If possible, celebrate Beltane in a forest or near a living tree. If this is impossible, bring a small tree within the circle, preferably potted; it can be of any type.

Create a small token or charm in honor of the union between Mother Earth and Father Sky to hang upon the tree. You can make several if you desire. These tokens can be bags filled with fragrant flowers, strings of beads, carvings, flower garlands -- whatever your talents and imagination can conjure.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, cast the circle, and invoke the God/dess.

Stand before the altar and say:


"Mother Earth, Queen of the night and of the land;
Father Sky, King of the day and of the forests,
I celebrate Your union as nature rejoices in a riotous
blaze of color and life. Accept my gift, Earth Mother
and Sky Father, in honor of Your union."
Place the token(s) on the tree and say:


"From Your mating shall spring forth life anew;
a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands,
and the winds will blow pure and sweet.
Mother Earth and Father Sky, I celebrate You!"
Celebrate the Simple Feast, then release the Circle.



Midsummer: Circa: June 21

Before the rite, make up a small cloth pouch filled with herbs such as lavender, chamomile, St. John's Wort, vervain, or any of the Midsummer herbs listed in "An Herbal Grimoire." Mentally pour all your troubles, problems, pains, sorrows and illnesses, if any, into this petition as you construct it. Tie it shut with a red string. Place this on the altar for use during the rite. The cauldron should also be there or nearby. Even if you use candles to mark the quarters, the red candle in the holder should also be on the altar.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, cast the circle, & invoke the God/dess.

Stand before the altar and say, with wand upraised:


"I celebrate the noon of summer with mystic rites.
Great Mother Earth and Father Sky
all nature vibrates with your energies
and the Earth is bathed with warmth and life.
Now is the time of forgetting past cares and banes;
Now is the time for purification.
Father Sky
Burn away the unuseful with your fiery light,
the hurtful and bane.
Purify me!"
Lay the wand on the altar. Take up the herbal petition and light it on the red candle on the altar. When it is burning, drop it into the cauldron (or some other heat-proof container) and say:


"I banish you by the powers of Mother Earth and Father Sky!
I banish you by the powers of the Sun, Moon, and Stars!
I banish you by the powers of Earth, Air, Fire and Water!"
Pause, seeing the hurts and pains burning into nothingness. Then say:


"Mother Earth and Father Sky,
on this night of Midsummer magick
I pray that you charge my life with wonder and joy.
Help me in attuning with the energies adrift
on the enchanted night air.
I give thanks."
Reflect upon the purification you have undergone. Feel the powers of nature flowing through you, washing you clean with divine energy.

Celebrate the Simple Feast, then release the Circle.



Lammas: August 1

Place upon the altar sheaves of wheat, barley or oats, fruit and breads, perhaps a loaf fashioned in the figure of the Sun or a man to represent the God. Corn dollies, symbolic of the Goddess, can be present there as well.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, cast the circle, and invoke the God/dess.

"Now is the time of the First Harvest,
when the bounties of nature give of themselves
so that we may survive.
Father Sky, Lord of the Grain
As you prepare to give of Yourself to Mother Earth
Grant me understanding.
Earth Mother,
Teach me the secrets of rebirth
as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold."
Rub the heads of the wheat with your fingers so that the grains fall onto the altar. Lift a piece of fruit and bite it, savoring its flavor, and say:


"I partake of the first harvest,
Mixing its energies with mine that I may continue my quest
For the starry wisdom of perfection.
Mother Earth and Father Sky,
Gracious Ones before Whom the stars halt their courses,
I offer thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth.
May the nodding grain loose its seeds
to be buried in Mother's breast,
ensuring rebirth in the warmth of the coming spring."
Consume the rest of the fruit, celebrate the Simple Feast, and release the Circle.



Mabon: circa September 21

Decorate the altar with acorns, oak sprigs, pine and cypress cones, ears of corn, wheat stalks and other fruits and nuts. Also place there a small rustic basket filled with dried leaves of various colors and kinds.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, cast the Circle and invoke the God/dess.

Stand before the altar, holding aloaf the basket of leaves, and slowly scatter them so that they cascade to the ground within the Circle. Say such words as these:


"Leaves fall
as days grow cold.
Mother Earth pulls her mantle of the land around Her
as You, O Great Father Sky, sail toward the West
to the lands of eternal enchantment,
wrapped in the coolness of night.
Fruits ripen,
seeds drop,
the hours of day and night are balanced.
Chill winds blow in from the North wailing their song.
In this seemingly extinction of natures power,
O Blessed Mother Earth,
I know that life continues.
For spring is impossible without the second harvest,
as surely as life is impossible without death.
Blessings upon you, Father Sky
As you journey into the lands of winter
and into Mother Earth's loving arms."
Place a basket down and say:


"Gracious Mother Earth of all fertility,
I have sown and reaped the fruits of my actions,
good and bane.
Grant me the courage to plant seeds of joy
and love in the coming year,
banishing misery and hate.
Teach me the secrets of wise existence upon this planet,
O luminous Mother Earth!"
Celebrate the Simple Feast and release the Circle.

Go To Part 3 of my book of shadows