Gay Spirituality

I wrote earlier about some ideas for the Imbolg ritual I was to facilitate for my grove.   In that post, I said that once the ritual came together I would post it here for anyone that might be interested.  As I worked on the ritual, I made some changes and expanded the ritual slightly.  If you use this ritual yourself, please let me know how it worked for you and whether you made any changes to it.  Without further introduction, here’s what I came up with:

Supplies:
One white taper in a candleholder
One red taper in a candleholder
One black taper in a candleholder
3 tealights per ritual participant
Some dried hyssop
A censer and charcoal

Set the 3 tapers in a row across the back of the altar.  In the center of the altar or circle put a tray, cauldron or something to place the tealights in or on.  (I used a large platter to keep wax off the altar).

Light the charcoal.  Cast your sacred space in whatever way you normally do.  We invoked the four elements in the quarters and invoked the God.  We didn’t do an invocation of the Goddess since our ritual was calling on her extensively.

Start by explaining that Imbolg is the half away point between winter and spring.  Our ancestors often lit fires to “strengthen” the sun and encourage the end of winter.  It’s also a time of new beginnings and a time for cleansing (spring cleaning, anyone?).  As such, houses were often aired out and cleaned at this time.

Burn some hyssop on the charcoal and use it as a smudge to lightly smudge the circle and each participant.  You can talk briefly about how hyssop is traditionally associated with purification and cleansing and was used in medeival grimoires for ritual paths.

Now, pass out 3 tealights to each participant.

Light the white taper.  Invoke Brigid as the maiden and the fires of the hearth.  Here’s the verbiage I used:

Lady, we call upon you as the maiden, the keeper of the fires of the hearth.   We call upon you as the protector and keeper of community, fertility and family.  Be with us and kindle among us the fires of the hearth.

Each person lights one tealight from the taper and put it in the center while thinking about the bonds of community.  Then go around the circle and have each person speak something that they’ll do in the next year to strengthen the bonds of community of their chosen family.

Next, light the red taper and invoke Brigid as the mother and the fires of the forge.  I used something like this:

Lady, we invoke you as the mother, keep of the fires of the forge.  We invoke you as the patroness of the crafts, the protector of law and order and as the champion of justice.  Kindle the fires of justice and of activism, of our desire for equality and for the rule of law.

Have each person light a tealight and place it in the center.  Then go around the circle and have each person speak something that they’ll do to foster justice in the world.

Finally, light the black taper.  Invoke Brigd as the crone and the fire of inspiration.  I used the following:

Lady, we invoke you as the crone, the fires of inspiration.  We invoke you as the bringer of poetry, the creative spark, our muse.  We invoke you as she who knows what lies beyond.  Kindle in us the fires of creativity, of wisdom, of expression.

Have each person light their last tealight and place in the center of the altar.  Then go around the circle and have each person express how they will foster their creativity and their expression.

Thank the powers and the Goddess and close as you see fit.  Allow the tealights to burn out on their own.

When we did this ritual, I also said a few words after each person finished.  I thanked the aspect of the Goddess we’d invoked and asked that she kindle the fires within us.   Feel free to adapt this ritual to your group.  We were specifically seeking to strengthen the bonds between us and to inspire people to activism so you may associate different actions to each of the three aspects.