Category: Fall

Balance Ritual of Giving and Receiving for the Autumn Equinox

9/3/2015

The time of the equinox, when light and dark are exactly the same, is a time of moving toward balance in every area of our lives where there are opposites or dichotomies. As the time of the Fall Equinox is the time of harvest, it is the perfect time to practice balance with giving and receiving, both of which are essential for a life well lived.

This is a ritual for two people. A pair of people can take turns being the “leader” or if there are more people at the ritual, it can be done in a circle, with paired people turning to one side and then the other so everyone gets to lead and respond. Alternatively, there can be one leader in front of a group of paired people, giving the directions and everyone following. This ritual can even be done with just one person going through the ritual contemplatively.

The leader stands in front of the person to respond with her/his left hand facing up and right hand facing down, and says, “In esoteric knowledge your right hand and right side represent giving forth and sending on and your left hand and side are for receiving and receptivity. Place your right hand on my left hand and your left hand under my right hand. Focusing on your right hand, tell me what you have to give to the world in loving contribution.” The respondent does this. Then the leader says, “Focusing on your left hand, what is your heart’s desire to receive from the universe?” The partner responds.

The leader, the one who has asked the questions, then brings all four hands together so that his/her left hand is on the bottom and right hand is on the top, cradling the respondent’s hands between and says a blessing of giving, receiving, and balance of inflow and outflow. “I bless all the ways you contribute and give to the world. I know that you possess unique and miraculous gifts that are made to be given out again. You do this with love and generosity. I also bless all that comes to you to nurture, sustain, inspire, and fill you. May your giving be in love and balance and your receiving be in true receptivity and harmony. May there be joy in your giving and receiving. May you live in balance now and always. Blessed be.”

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Ritual for the Fallow Time of Year

12/1/2014

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Our European ancestors considered the holiday on October 31 to be the marker of the New Year, among other things.
I love the notion that there is a beginning time when absolutely nothing is going on….except going deeper. The darkness and cold are increasing. For our farming ancestors there was nothing to do on the land, and repairing tools is a very meditative job. Everything in nature is pretty quiet.

This is a ritual of going into the absolute stillness within. It can be done alone or in a group. The purpose of the ritual is to luxuriate in the time before time, the place from which all ideas come before the ideas are formed. The outcome of this ritual is to achieve a full stop in our busy lives and, perhaps to receive some input from a deep place within. This is more of a shamanic journey with some ritual elements. I hope you enjoy it.

Materials: cozy blankets

All participants sit comfortably in a circle. The environment should be free from all distractions. Nighttime is a good time for this ritual. Blankets are offered to anyone who wants to curl up in one. If you are doing this alone, simply read through the leader parts and go within.

Leader: I bid you a beautiful New Year. As a farmer allows his fields to rest at this time of year, let us also cease from creating, just for this precious time. Let your body become comfortable, heavy, and warm – no need to move at all. Let your eyes gently close. We are going to that place within, from which all new beginnings arise. However, I admonish you, this is not the time for new beginnings; that time will surely come, but it is not now. Now is the time to pause in the field of all potential. Repeat after me:

“I go to the place where the flowers are … before the buds appear.” (All repeat in the indicated phrasing and continue repeating the prompts by the leader.)

“I go to the place where the ideas are given … before they are ready to be formed.”

“I go to the place of new beginnings … before anything is begun.”

Leader continues: We are in the place of unformed substance. All around us, above and below, is a benign bubbling field with unimaginable potential energy. It is as if one of these bubbles or bursts of energy, at any moment, could form itself into the prototype of a new idea, but because it is not the time for new ideas it is all held in the powerful place of potential. (Pause)

Let me describe to you what is happening now. (Pause between each statement.) Surprisingly, a small boat is bobbing up to you. In it are the four elementals of our earthly existence. At least one has a message for you. Elementals are beings in another dimension from earthly existence, although they contribute to earthly existence by inhabiting the four ancient elements. They are purely themselves with no mixture. The water elemental, for example, is only watery, flowing, touching, relating – nothing else but the properties of water – no steady form, no fire, no linear logic.

So, in the boat is an ondine, a mermaid, the elemental of water who is the expert on emotions and relating. There is an orange salamander, the elemental of fire, who is an expert on passion and life force. There is a sylph, a being is so airy that she hardly can be seen; as the elemental of air, the sylph is an expert of logic, ideas, and speech. Finally, there is a troll with his pick ax, the elemental of earth, who is an expert on form and stability.

The elementals approach you. As I said, at least one has a message for you. It might be a message about balance in your life, since humans are a combination of all the qualities represented by the elementals. It could be a message of praise or a message of suggestion or healing. I will be silent while you have your time with the elementals. (Longer pause)

Thank your elementals at this time and let them drift away. In a moment I will ask you to return to your normal awareness. Just now, reflect on the wisdom that was given to you and in your imagination tuck it in a place within yourself that holds the space for new beginnings, when it is time for new beginnings.

Let yourself drift in the semi-darkness of pure potential. Feel how safe you are and how timely all new beginnings will be. Feel yourself loved and held in this place of no action and no responsibility. Know that when something is required of you, there will be all the inspiration and time that you need. You are unique in all the realms of time and space. Your gifts will be drawn from you in the perfect way and the perfect time. Now….just be. (Pause)

Feeling refreshed and calm, I invite you back into the earthly realm that is most familiar to you. Welcome back, and once again, Happy New Year.

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Balance Ritual of Giving and Receiving for the Autumn Equinox

Ritual for the Fallow Time of Year

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