From The Wiccan Book of Ceremonies and Rituals by Patricia Telesco.
Preparations
To prepare the ritual space, burn incense (such as orange bergamot,
lavender, lily, mint or sage); use a handheld fan or large feather to
disperse it as you walk. Have a tape or CD with flute music playing in the
background. Turning a fan on LOW adds to the ambience if no natural winds
are present.
A cauldron or cup is again filled with rich soil. Also have ready a
rectangular planter, the seedling from Imbolc, and four stones, one for each
element. For Earth use green agate, coal, green jasper, or salt. For Air use
aventurine, pumice or mica. For Fire use red agate, amber, bloodstone or
carnelian. For Water use blue agate, amethyst, coral or lapis.
If you have an outdoor garden where you can work, hold the ritual outside
instead of having a planter at the altar. Anoint yourself with patchouli oil
to honor the Fire element. If possible, perform the ritual at dawn, the time
of beginnings. Finally, into the ritual carry a raw egg and leave it on the
altar as a symbol of spring fertility.
The Altar
Cover the Altar with a yellow cloth, honoring the Air element and Eostre.
Prepare a bowl of fragrant petals from early-blossoming flowers and small
feathers (try a craft store to find these), and leave it on one corner of
the altar. On the other, place a string of tiny bells. Pale green candles
are a good choice for representations, because this is the color of new
plant growth.
Invocations
Pick up the bowl of flower petals and feather, and begin walking the circle,
sprinkling them along the perimeter. Stop at each compass point, lighting an
appropriately scented stick of incense at each quarter as you invoke that
power.
East
Sylphs and Spirits of the Winds, I call to you.
Come to this place with
the ancient song of air on your wings.
South
Salamanders and Spirits of Fire, I call to you.
Come to this place to
warm the winds of spring and give life the magic.
West
Undines and Spirits of Water, I call to you.
Come to this place with
salty sea air that motivates the tides of inspiration.
North
Gnomes and Spirits of Earth, I call to you.
Come to this place with the
living magic that abides in each grain of soil,
and within my soul.
Center
Guardians and Great One, I call to you.
Come to this place with
Creation's power.
Bind the elements into one and bear the magic safely to
its mark.
Meditation and Visualization
Envision a wheel of spinning starlight; you sit at the vortex. It slowly moves clockwise. The cold, silvery stars transform into tiny green buds and sprouts. The scene around you teems with life, with the smell of new grass, early flowers, and the sounds of robins, which bear the spring on their wings.
Feel the rhythm of the seasons beating with your heart. Hear spring breezes
in your breath. Smell the newness in your own aura. Earth has thrown off
winter's cloak, yet you are not cold. The sun instead embraces you, fills
you, and holds you in this place between worlds.
As the light saturates every cell, let all your tension and any sickness
fill the egg you've carried. Whisper to the egg of things that you wish, of
abilities you want to hone. Also place within its shell those things that
bind you. Leave them there; your spirit no longer needs such constraints.
Let it fly with the winds of spring. When you feel finished, open your eyes,
make notes of your impressions in your journal. Then, continuing to carry
the egg, start the main part of the ritual.
The Ritual
Stand before the altar. Hold your hands, palms down, over the string of bells. Close your eyes and repeat this chant until it naturally grows loud, then quiets into silence:
Winter recedes, spirits are freed;
darkness take to flight, spring winds,
fill with light.
Take a moment to just stand there, absorbing the energy created by chanting.
Next, take the egg you carry. Hold it cupped in both hands saying:
Bonds are broken, by potential replaced;
sickness shall cease, the
magic's released.
Break the egg to symbolize your spiritual rebirth. Place in the bowl to give to a pet cat or dog, or to mingle with the soil in the next part of the ritual so the negatives can grow into something positive.
Finally, take out the four stones you've chosen to represent the elements. Begin placing them in the four corners of the planter (or your garden), saying:
Earth is alive and fertile.
The winds blow the seeds to the soil
(East/Air);
the Sun God gives warmth (South/Fire);
the Rain Goddess
nourishes (West/Water);
the Earth roots (North/Earth).
Pour the soil from the cauldron into the planter (or your garden), gently placing the seedling in the center, then hold both hands over it:
Let my spirit be as this seedling,
flexible to the winds of change,
ever
reaching toward the sun,
inspired to grow by the rain,
and grounded solidly
in my path.
After the ritual, keep this planter in a sunny window, where you can tend and nurture your spirit with the seedling. If you used your garden, make sure it receives plenty of water. Whenever possible, meditate quietly with this plant nearby; Nature spirits have much to teach us when we learn to listen.
Closing the Circle
Since this ritual focuses on the Air element, it will be the last one dismissed before the Spirit. So the closing begins in the North.
North
Gnomes and Spirits of the Land,
I thank you for your fruitful energy.
Carry peace and renewal from this place through the roots of trees,
and on
the breath of beasts.
West
Undines and Spirits of the Water,
I thank you for your flowing energy.
Carry peace and renewal from this place in every drop of rain,
and on every
wave that caresses the shores.
South
Salamanders and Spirits of the Fire,
I thank you for your motivating
energy.
Carry peace and renewal from this place
in every ray of sunshine that touches the Earth.
East
Sylphs and Spirits of the Air,
I thank you for your billowing energy.
Carry peace and renewal from this place in every wind and breeze,
in the
sound of bells, and on the wings of birds.
Center
Guardians and Great One, I thank you for your blessed energy.
Carry
renewal from this place with every star wished upon.
Release in me my inner
child, loose any bondage,
and grant my spirit the wings of peace. So mote it
be!
