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Standard meeting ritual tools (Quarters, Deity, Inner Divine and God/Goddess candles)
Priestesses:
After standard meeting ritual, following reading of the steps, all six participants stand and read:
Maiden: Tonight we have come together to celebrate Samhain. We shall honor our ancestors, our loved ones and friends who have all passed before us.
We also send our energy to others in recovery, and to those who have relapsed, and are suffering from their Disorder. We pray that they find their Divine Union once again, and continue on the path the deities have set for them.
This is a place but not a place, a time but not a time, where past, present and future merge and become one. The veil between our worlds is thin; may our love ones speak to us if they wish.
Crone: We come together to remember, to reminisce, to feel joy at having known them all, and celebrate this knowing. We reflect on their gifts, whether it is their wisdom and love, or the reminder that ours is a cunning Disorder, dormant, inert, and waiting.
Oak King: To prepare for the lean times our ancestors culled their herds of the weakest, salted and preserved the meat, harvested and stored the grain, gathered the wood, and gave thanks to their deities.
All: This is a place but not a place, a time but not a time, where past, present and future merge and become one. The veil between our worlds is thin; may our love ones speak to us if they wish.
Our ancient ancestors lived in balance with the world, drank the purest water from her lakes and streams, and knew also her cycle of seasons.
Just as there is a Summer of warmth, bountiful game and rich harvests, there is a Winter of cold and dark, when life retreats within our mother's breast and awaits a new spring. Moves toward the censor. We embrace the elements of Air, Fire, Earth and Water to attune ourselves with the God and Goddess, to wrap their love around us, keeping us safe, as we were safe in the womb. Lights incense.
This is a place but not a place, a time but not a time, where past, present and future merge and become one. The veil between our worlds is thin; may our love ones speak to us if they wish.
As we breathe the incense, the symbol of air, we feel ourselves gaining the power of her wisdom.
Mother: As we watch the candle flames we see the fires our ancestors built in caves and hut, kept them warm, and cooked their food. Lord of Misrule puts measure of salt in the chalice and stirs three times, then goes about aspersing (sprinkling) it on all present. Have fun. If the mood is to somber, this should break it up a bit.
We touch and taste the salt, and welcome its spiritual cleansing for the year ahead. We anoint ourselves with salt and water, to cleanse out spirits of negativity and renew our hearts. After all are anointed, LOM pours the remaining salt water into the waiting cauldron.
Gather 'round the cauldron, to set a flame for those we knew. Let us call upon our ancestors to celebrate with us, if they wish, and be remembered. And light a flame for someone you know who has relapsed, mentioning no names. Tea light ceremony. We use a copper fire pit for a "cauldron," which is easier to fill and empty than a regular cauldron. Participants light a candle for someone who has passed, and speaks briefly about the person, if desired. Afterwards is the Samhain feast. Remember to close by thanking the deities for their presence and aid.
Certain issues in recovery respond well to moon power, in particular, cravings. If you are new in recovery and haven't been abstinent for long, focus on the waning (getting smaller) phase of the moon and coordinate spellwork for "decreasing" goals: decreasing cravings, anger, resentment, patterns of obsolete behavior. During the waxing (getting bigger) phase, set "increasing" goals: increasing energy, serenity, personal power, freedom from others. In conjunction with the recovery glyphs, the one's imagination is the only limit. Note the moon phases when constructing talismans, amulets, or other devices.
Recovery "Tree Hugging" Journey A practiced shaman should mediate this group journey. During the heyday of our disease and Disorder, the pain we endured likely caused portions of our soul to splinter off; as part of a comprehensive spiritual recovery, this exercise can help us regain what we have lost. In traditional journeys, one seeks a power animal to guide us to where the Deities mean for us to go. In finding one's power animal, one can indicate to the journey facilitator that you have "found" your power animal by physically reaching (in "ordinary" reality) for and embracing them. In this journey we a are seeking our Recovery Tree, which represents for us the splinters of soul we have lost. The tree can be any species, or all; when we have found it we reach out and hug it, to signal the facilitator that we have achieve our goal.
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