Ritual Instructions Page

"Dancing the Goddess Home" Spiral Dances

Dec 22, 1999 8:00pm (or Dec. 21, 1999 in some areas, and also on other dates during the season)

Contributors who are writing sections of this Ritual are:
Marion Weinstein, Merlin Stone, Selena Fox, M. Macha NightMare, Patricia Monaghan, Hallie Austen Iglehart, Riane Eisler, Z. Budapest, Diana L. Paxson, Valorie Dove, Myria Egito, Lorellyn Marshall, Lunaea Weatherstone, Judith Laura, Oberon Zell, Masika Szilagyi, and Abby Willowroot

The Rituals will be performed in local communities in a number of countries, as well as in most of the US States. Each community will probably add sections to the ritual that reflect their regional traditions and community, but the basic "Dancing the Goddess Home" Ritual elements will remain the same. It is the thread that unites us as a global community. With the diversity of the Goddess Community it is amazing that so many have come together in this way.


Rituals can be as simple or complex as suits your purpose. These are only guidelines. We do hope that you will include most of the Invocations and Blessings in your "Dancing the Goddess Home" Rituals.

There is great power in all of us sharing a single ritual. To the best of my knowledge, this Ritual, on such a large scale around the world, is a first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Setting up Space for Ritual

Preparing a space for ritual is an important step that should not be skipped. The space must be clean and clear of any unnecessary distractions. Make sure to remove anything people may trip over.

For a harmonious Ritual, the space should be "smudged" (cleansed) with sage or incense to clear out any old energy and set the stage for clear communication and healing ritual. This is done by lighting the sage or incense and walking clockwise around the room or outdoor area waving the smudge gentle to the cleansing smoke throughout the entire area. You may want to utter a blessing of the area as you do this, or it can be a silent blessing that is filled with positive intentions for the coming ritual. I usually ask the energies of the space for permission to use it for ritual. You can also cleanse the space with water, salt, and a candle, to stabilize the "elements" of the space prior to ritual.

Lighting for the space must be determined. If you are using candles or cauldron, make sure it is done in a way that guards against possible fire. It is a good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy, as well as a bucket of water. Pagans are often clad in flowy fabrics, and there is always the potential for an accident.
There are a number of lighting suggestions in a Lighting section below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music

Music Sources should be determined. will there be live music, (ie: drums etc.)? Will you be using a tape as part of your ritual? Will you need bells, rattles or other sound makers. Generally it is a good idea to ask people to bring instruments to a ritua;l

Musical Suggestions include:
"Oceans of Light" by Gwen Jones (Raindreaming Productions PO Box 697 Point Reyes, CA 94956)
"Voice of the Earth" by Gwen Jones (Raindreaming Productions PO Box 697 Point Reyes, CA 94956)
"Sophia Return" (Hiddesn Waters Sound PO Box 1207 Carmel Valley, CA 93924 1-800-659-5615)
"Angel & the Hanged Man" by Christopher Bingham (Suddenly Naked Art Collective PO Box 85043 Seattle, WA 98105 - naked@serv.net)
"Earth Tribe Rhythm", or almost anything from "Dead Can Dance", or "ENYA"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessability

Make sure that your space is easily accessible for everyone. If it is not wheelchair accessible, make arrangement to have helpers assist in transporting wheelchair folks to ritual, so everyone in the community can attend. Make it clear that assistance is available, and then make sure it is. Decide what kind of restroom facilities there are, and make sure everyone knows what they are. Set aside a "quiet space" a bit apart from the ritual space for use if needed by parents with kids, or if someone becomes ill. It is a good idea to have a nurse, doctor or qualified medical emergency person in attendance at all public gatherings, so check with your folks and see if there will be one at your gathering who would be willing to help in an emergency, and know where they are.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wisdom Words"

These are thoughts at the turn of the Millennium from Elders in the Pagan Community that will be printed and shared at the "Dancing the Goddess Home Rituals". Some of the contributors to Wisdom Words section of the Celebrations are; Riane Eisler, Oberon Zell, Diana L. Paxson, Patricia Monaghan and others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Macha's Three Easy Rules for Achieving Enchantment

by M. Macha NightMare ©1999
1. Be sensitive to the purpose, and use the chant accordingly.
If your intent is to move into trance, then chant softly. If it's to raise
energy, begin slowly and softly and very gradually increase in pace and
volume.

2. Look into each other's eyes. Hold hands or move your body,
as you might be doing if dancing a spiral.

3. Chant until you no longer need to think about what the next
words are. Chant for longer than the time it takes for you to memorize the
chant with repetition. Chant beyond the point of boredom. Chant beyond
the point at which you know you can chant no longer. When you've reached a
point where you think you cannot possibly chant these words one more time,
reach deeper inside yourself and bring up more energy and chant some more.
Chant until your consciousness begins to change, until you begin to
experience enchantment. Finally, when neither you nor anyone else in your
circle can chant any more, allow the words to become a wordless chant and
raise it higher and louder.
I hope that readers find inspiration from the examples and
suggestions I have offered. I look forward to an ever-increasing repetoir
of chants for us to employ in our celebrations and workings.

---------------------------
Chant

chant (chant, chänt) n. 1 A melody adapted to words without strict
rhythm, or containing both recitative and rhythm: the most ancient and
simple form of choral music. 2 A psalm or canticle so recited. 3 A
song; melody. 4 Any measured monotonous singing or reciting of words. 5
A singing intonation in speech; twang. [ chant; intone, as in public worship. 2 To celebrate in song: to chant
the praises of. 3 To say repetitiously and monotonously; harp upon. -
v.t. 4 To sing chants. 5 To make melody; sing. 6 To talk mononotously
and continuously. Also spelled chaunt. [ canere song]

en.chant (in-chant', -chänt') v.t. 1 To put a magic spell upon; bewitch.
2 To delight; charm completely . . . [ cantare sing]

en.chant.er (in.chant'er, -chänt'-) n. One who enchants; a magician.

en.chant.ment (in.chant'ment, -chänt'-) n. 1 The act of enchanting, or the
state of being enchanted.

en.chant.ress (in.chant'tris, -chänt'-) n. 1 A sorceress. 2 An
attractive or fascinating woman.

in.can.ta.tion (in'kan.ta'shen) n. 1 The utterance of magical words for
enchantment or exorcism. 2 The formula so used. 3 Any magic or sorcery.
See synonyms under sorcery. [ incantation. See enchant.] -in'can.ta'tor n. - in.can.ta.to.ry
(in.kan'te'tor'ë, -to.re) adj.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toning and Wordless Chants

There are places in the Ritual where Toning would be quite appropriate. This also can be done using a single Goddess name, this works well to amplify energy and unite the energy of the participants.
Popular Pagan songs such as, "We all come from the Goddess" also would be good at the ending of the ritual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPIRAL DANCE

Macha's suggestion for Spiral Dancing
Take the opportunity to look into the eyes of every single person
you pass in the spiral. This is where the deep magic potential comes from.
Open your heart in the safety and trust of the circle.

Spiral Dance Instructions

From The Spiral Dance ~ © Starhawk, 1979, 1989 used with permission

Begin in a circle with everyone facing in. The leader drops the hand of the person on
her or his left, and begins moving in toward the center in a clockwise
direction.

When the lead person nears the center of the circle, she/he turns
toward her left hand, to face the person who is following her. (For
simplicity's sake, let's assume the leader is a woman.) She keeps moving,
always following her left hand. (1) Each person in the spiral will pass
all the other people in the group.

Eventually, the leader will find herself outside the body of the
spiral, facing out. She should continue about one quarter of the way
around the outside edge and then turn again to face the person following
her. She will then be leading the line around the outside of the circle,
facing in. (2)

When she comes to a loop in the line, at the place where she
turned, she goes inside the loop,(3) and continues until she finds herself
back in the center of the circle. Then she can wind the spiral tighter,
letting the energy build and the chant become a wordless sound, until the
group raises and grounds a cone of power.

This sounds horribly complicated but is actually easy to do. Walk
through it a few times first to gain confidence. Be sure to go slowly,
especially in a large group, for if the leader goes too fast, the person at
the tail end of the line will be jerked around dangerously.

© Starhawk, 1979, 1989, from the book THE SPIRAL DANCE ~ used with permission

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photos

If you take pictures at your ritual or event, please send copies to the Goddess 2000 Project at WillowWebs@aol.com so we can have them for our archive, and possibly the website. We would also like to have a copy of any Flyers or Press that you have the Project in your area.
Be sure to ask people if it ok to take their picture, and bring model release forms with you for them to sign. If people are unrecognizable in the pictures, you will not need to get a release. (We have these forms available).

Remember, not everyone wants to have their picture taken, please respect the rights of others.

Liability

It is a good idea to see if a local Non-Profit Group or business will Co-Present the "Dancing the Goddess Home Ritual" with you, so you will be covered under their liability insurance. We are trying to raise enough money here to get a blanket policy, but it is still a good idea to be under under someoine's umbrella in your area.

Many rental spaces require that you purchase this insurance for one time events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Idea for Kid's participation in the Ritual

From ~ Anne Weller, CA

For the kids, we are putting a troop (on the spot) together of all ages of kids.I have bought about 20 scarf-length pieces of colorful chiffon, and they get to dance and run around within the circle as the "Rainbow Children of the Future" while we all chant or sing...song is yet to be decided, but possibly "Love is the Healing Power". I have lots of ideas .....how about having a large ball, yellow like the sun.and using it in the ritual for people to roll back and forth around the circle, and everytime it gets to someone, they say a blessing for the community or a way they want to see things evolve and grow as the sun returns after solstice!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lighting Ideas

From ~ Kaitlyn Breene, NV

Jar candles are always good and fairly safe for altars and quarters. If you are inside or cannot have a bonfire use many jar candles in a tight grouped circle with candles in holders of different hieghts to create a glowing centerpiece to dance around and focus for meditations . A real fire is always best and should be lit in a ceremonial manner. Assign people (Or the folks acting as the quarter callers) be torch bearers and have each person bear a torch blessed with an energy such as "Healing", "Love", "Abundance", "Peace" or whatever qualities the ritual is calling forth. The torch bearers can light these from the altar flame and dance them to the central fire ring. Saying something like this as they light the fire "I bear the fire of Transformation May it burn brightly...."

It is very important to have Jar Candles or Tiki torches surrounding the central fire, they should be at the far edges of the circle, outside where participants are standing. This creates a warm circle of light and lets the dancers and folks at the back feel part of the energy and not out in the dark. If you use Torches, always get torches that have removable fluid cans, this makes life much easier for clean up and transporting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lighting Ideas

From ~ Trian Saith, OK

One Kind of Ritual Outdoor Lighting I'm in Oklahoma and we have our share of inclement weather too. I bought a bunch of whalers lamps..I think that's what they're called. They're can-shaped and made of tin with holes punched in them or sometimes panes of glass set in them. You can make them really cheaply with a pair of tin snips or even a screwdriver (to punch just holes) and some Folger's coffee cans. At night they shine prettily and they're covered so your candles don't burn out. We've even lined some of them with colored tissue paper (but only when using tea lights, fire risks being what they are) and they created a soft, diffused light that was very special. Happy Howling!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Labyrinth of Canned Food

From ~ LynnLough, VA

My desire for a local celebration of Goddess 2000 is to create a canned goods public labyrinth that would be in place for the solstice...after the lab is dismantled the canned goods will be donated to a local women's shelter...Food Bank, or others in need.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celebrating Alone

Solitary Rituals are one of the ways that the Solstice will be marked. Some of us will be "Dancing the Goddess Home" by ourselves or with just a few other people. These small celebrations are very important and will add to the Goddess energy that is being raised. Our connection with each other in the Project is not just a physical one, but a spiritual and psychic one that spans space and time. Each one of us has a unique and powerful energy within us. That energy spark within all of us is weaving this international web of connections calling the Goddess home.

After preparing your space for ritual, read the meditation and allow yourself to ground and center.
Follow the ritual for casting the circle, (you may want to simplify this part)lighting the candles and calling the quarters, You can read each section of the Ritual aloud and vision those same words being spoken by thousands of other Pagans around the world. Do this slowly and with focus and you will begin to feel the energy of the others who are doing the same ritual. The physical boundaries often melt when an experience is shared by so many in such a focused way.

When you come to the part about the Spiral Dance, rise and begin to move clockwise in a circle, spiraling in as you go around, keep doing this until you are at the center, then turn to the left and begin to spiral out again, singing the spiraling chant softly. When you reach the outer edge where you began, begin spiraling in again, you can repeat this as many times as you like, while continuing to chant. Walking the Spiral in this way is a very powerful experience.

When you dedicate your artwork, speak the words that others are speaking and envision them blessing the images you have created, because the Blessing of Artwork at the public rituals is a blessing on all Goddess Art created, not just the art that is present at the ritual.Send out a blessing to all the artwork around the world, that you cannot see, except in your heart.

Bless the sacred food and drink according to the Ritual. After you offer it to the Goddess, offer some to all those who are not with you physically, but with you in spirit, sharing the same ritual. When you drink, drink in the love of the international community that you are a part of. . .Drink in the blessings that are being offered to you by many unseen friends. Focus on the abundance of all life and the magic of being. When you have finished the Ritual, take a piece of paper and write "So mote it be!" on it and then take another and without thinking about it, draw a quick image of the Goddess. The reason for doing this is to move you into the future with a committment to positively expanding the Culture of the Goddess.

"Dancing the Goddess Home Ritual" Page