This one is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Book of Spells and Rituals. I love her work, and I think her rituals are very nice and well written.
You Will Need
- A homemade harvest offering wrapped up so no one can see what it is.
- 1 white and 1 black candle for each person attending the ritual
- Candleholders for each of the candles
Before the ritual begins, packages should be placed on a tray, covered with a cloth and placed under, or behind the altar out of sight.
Cast the Circle
- Take up the Athamé and facing East, the direction of the Rising Sun, take a moment to center yourself and begin to cast the Circle. Visualize a white light coming from the tip of the athamé and with arms straight out, turn the blade point out, slowly turning clockwise the light following you.
- When you return to the East bring the athamé
back to you and say:
- "As above, so below."
- As you say this, visuallize the light going above you and below you, forming a perfect sphere.
Calling the Quarters
West
- "From
the West, I call the eternal sea.
Bring your peace here to me!
Welcome and blessed be!"- Pour a small amount of water from the chalice as an offering to the West.
North
- "From
the North, I call upon the solid land.
Bring balance to my hand!
Welcome and blessed be!"- Leave an acorn or stone as an offering to the North.
East
-
"From the East, I call the blustery winds of air.
Blow away the chaff from my life and bring me balance so fair!
Welcome and blessed be!"- Light the incense as an offering to the East.
South
-
"From the South, I call the warming need fire flame.
Your welcome warmth, I now claim!
Welcome and blessed be!"- Light a candle as an offering to the South
Sabbat Introduction
Priestess:
"Welcome. This is Mabon, the Autumn Equinox when day and night are equal once again. The harvest is well under way and we are seeing the results of our efforts. Even as we reap the rewards of our labor we must ask whether we have indeed paid for that which we have been given."
Priest:
"As we see the Wheel turn towards Autumn our hearts and minds too turn to hearth and home. We seek the resolution of quarrels, and reconciliation with those we love, for this is the time of forgiveness and reunion. A time for the payment of debts and the release of prisoners. And so we must ask ourselves whether we have indeed paid for what we have been given, and whether we still hold prisoners in our minds and hearts. For all must be set into balance lest the storms of Autumn come and nothing survive. Blessed Be."
Sabbat Ritual
Everyone stands in a Circle.
The High Priestess says:
"This is a time of balance and it is fit that we should seek balance within ourselves. Within the hearts and minds of each and every one of us there is that which is no longer useful. We have guilt which is outworn, regret which should be put behind us and feelings which are past their time. Let us first put these from us. Let us open our hearts to the Goddess and God, that they might bring us the balance which we seek. Blessed Be."
She turns to the Altar and lights the first of the
black candles.
Each person now
steps forward and takes a turn to light a black candle and state which feelings
they have finished with.
"We are the flow, we are the
ebb,
We are the weavers, we are the web."
The High Priest now says:
"The Goddess and God have smiled upon us, each and every one. Let us recall their gifts and give thanks."
One by one each person forward to the
Altar, states the things that they have received in the preceding year, and
lights a white candle.
As they light their candle they say:
"I give thanks to the Goddess and the God for their bounty, may I ever be aware of their gifts and worthy of them. Blessed Be."
Again everyone chants four times:
"We are the
flow, we are the ebb,
we are the weavers, we are the web."
The High Priestess now steps forward again and
says:
"It is meet and
fit that we should cast off that which is no longer needful and that we
should give thanks for that which has been given.
But also we should seek to repay the gifts of the Goddess and the
God, and the companionship of the Circle to which they have brought us. Bring for the gifts."
The High Priest brings the covered tray forward and
says:
"Each of us has worked on one of these, has placed their energy into it in token of repayment to the Old Gods. Let us each receive the gift of another that it may serve to remind us to strive ever towards balance. Blessed Be."
The High Priest
now takes the tray around the Circle and everyone should take a gift which
they did not provide.
The gifts should not be opened until after the
Ritual. Should someone end up
with the gift they brought, they can exchange it with someone else.
The High Priest and High Priestess now perform the
Rite of Cakes and Ale.
Sabbat Blessing
A Covener gives the blessing:
"I call upon the Old Gods, to bless us. At this time of harvest we ask that they guide us in the sowing of our seeds for the future, aid us in reaping the harvest we seek, and help us to remember the life of the land, and the love of friends. May they bring us balance in our lives. For all things strive towards balance, night and day, male and female, dark and light, Summer and Winter. And so the Wheel turns. Blessed Be."