Spring Equinox Rite 1996

    by Bob Gratrix and Katlyn Breene


Invocation Of Faunus 
(based on a text by Morning Glory Zell)

All wild creatures hear thy cry
upon the haunted wind.
Hear our call great Horned One
Return to Earth again!
Together we shall manifest
The magick of the Man,
And falcons soar from out the sky
To perch upon thy hand.
The Serpent's wisdom thou shall teach from tip of forked tongue;
The fleetness of the white stag's flight in starlight or in sun.
Lord of Light and Lord of Shadow - Keeper of the Key
Which unlocks the Door of Dream whereby all come to thee. 
Cernunnos, Tane, Herne, and Pan:
By name we set thee free!
Oh Shepherd of the Wild Wood
May we be One with Thee.

Invocation to Flora

Lady of the flowering field
Maiden of green and grain
Within thy heart the gift of Love
Return to earth again!
Together we shall manifest 
The dreams of our desire
Our bodies long to feel thy touch
And fill with holy fire
Nature's wisdom thou shall teach in leaf and bud and flower
In dark rich earth and gentle rain each seed shall feel thy power

Lady of light, Lady of Joy - Fair and fertile maid
The Lord unlocks thy secret door where sacred seeds are laid
Flora, Venus, Persephone, Diana:
By name we set thee free!
Goddess of the earth's delight
May we be one with thee!

       * * *

        LOVE OF GODDESS
SPRING EQUINOX - DESERT MOON CIRCLE

Priest:
Eostara,  Spring Equinox !
The waxing Maiden Moon lies Crescent like  a silver cup of light.
Persephone Emerges from the Underworld,
The way blossoms reach forth to celebrate the Sun.
Life returns from death and dormancy like shape shifting water spirits
escaping their frozen forms.
The Wheel of the Year turns, and life renews itself in a miraculous cycle,
Eternally fresh, the never ending circle.
We join together and celebrate in this great Mystery-
Where our view of the natural world can depend on how we view ourselves.

Priestess:
The natural world exists with out cliche or fatigue, it renews itself... It
is the nature of  Goddess, timeless, yet urgent,
And yet within Her Mystery the simple can become ineffable and sublime, The
physical in divine dance with the spiritual.
Goddess teaches us through the physical world, 
through our surroundings to understand ourselves more deeply- 
And realize our unity with Her divine Nature.
Goddess is the Soul of the World.
The soul in which we are all a sacred part.
She holds each of us dearly, and forgives our forgetfulness.
 Her beauty reaches out to remind us each Spring, 
That we are all one with  Her and with each other.

Priest:
Every individual will has the potential and the right 
To act as a divine force within the Universe.
Sadness and regret, ambition and anger 
are transformed through Her,
Granting the gift of new vision. 
New ways to see our world and all the life that shares it with us.
To know the Goddess is to experience the fulfillment of desire.
She  reveals the power to create within ourselves Foundations,
Upon which we can build a world where 
true beauty, joy and meaning can exist in every heart.
To connect with Goddess is to touch a deeper reality.
To reach a new understanding that all things in the natural world
are inherently Sacred.

Priestess:
The Night is as sacred as the Day,
The Predator as sacred as the Prey.
All  of heaven and earth, every natural element
are sacred and a part of Her body
All are divine, and share in the Soul of the World.
Each person is a manifestation of Goddess,
Even if they have obscured this truth from themselves.
To connect with Her is to deny no part of creation.
In living this reality and acting upon our belief, 
Love is allowed to flow through us, without reserve, without fear.
Truth is then experienced in all of Nature and 
Love revealed as the essence of creation.
To Love is to dance with She from whom life sprang.

Priest:
To act out of love is to embrace Goddess, Flow in the now of passing time.
Each of us is unique within time and the entire universe, and can act as the
consciousness of Earth, of Goddess.
We can be all that the Soul of the World has made us.
When we love ourselves we love Her, and should strive with all our hopes and
energies to discover our true nature and real needs.
Goddess asks so little of us....