Becoming’s Samhain ritual was Saturday evening. This year we did the biennial Journey to the Otherworld. Every time we do this ritual I learn new things about myself, my abilities, the people I work with, and what’s weighing in the hearts and minds of those who journey through.

This year, a core group began preparing for this ritual about six months in advance. We met at the Full Moons to begin connecting more closely with each other, allowing the spirit of the group show us how the ritual would shape up, and planning the logistics. This year was different for me as I opened the process of discovery up to others in the group and released control over every little detail. I had to trust in others more than I have previously — trust that the small, still “voice” would be there to guide me and the others, trust that others would open themselves to the process of discovery and connection, trust that I had the skills, experience, and talent to shepherd the process as a priestess, trust that I could step out of the way and allow the “voice” of Becoming to speak through me. At times, it was the most natural, wonderful feeling; at others, it was one of the most frightening things I have done.

Back in the early part of this year, I set my intent and did magic to call a temple for Becoming into existence. At the time, I was assuming a physical space and did not specify that in my working. What seemed like an oops! was really fortunate for how the Samhain ritual developed. I realized after the ritual team had been meeting for a few months that we were building a temple — an astral temple and the core energy to guide and focus the work of the larger group of Becoming. It is this temple that we manifested before the public arrived and through which the journeyers moved.

For the ritual, our Steward and I embodied this central core energy of Becoming, our part within the web of life and light, a connection and channel to the Heart of the Universe, envisioned for this ritual as the Oracle. I’m not sure where on the spectrum between light trance and full aspecting we were, probably somewhere along drawing down, where you step out of the way, allow the energy to envelop you, and inspire your speech. I can’t speak for the other, but I was never completely aware or unaware, but I felt our individual energies combine into one flow up our spines and chakras. I also felt that it was not me speaking — I was a channel for the group mind or group heart of Becoming. I was so full of the love of the Heart of the Universe, which is how we tend to speak of the Divine (capital D in addition to individual’s relationship with specific gods and goddesses).

While I don’t remember specific questions or needs, I do remember the overall flavor of what journeyers were seeking that night. Mostly meaning and direction. What is the meaning of my life? Am I on the right path? What is my path? Should I take the path that calls to me? How can I be less afraid in my journey? How can I find certainty and peace?

Here is what I remember the Oracle saying: If you are breathing, you are certainly alive. If you are human, you will certainly die. If you are alive, then you can make choices and do something. If your feet are moving, then you are walking your path. Even if it is dark and scary, you are still walking your path. If you are not sure which way to go, stop and listen to your heart. Which option sings to you? Follow that. If you are looking for peace, take a deep breath. Find the moment of peace within that breath. Continue to breath with attention, and you will notice that moment stretching through time. Strength lies in your heart. Tears, family, joy, and fellow journeyers are precious and will support you. Keep breathing and know that you are alive and can act in this world.

Maybe it seems basic, but simple is not necessarily easy, or easy to remember when we get caught in the fears and pains of daily life. I don’t think there are hard and fast answers beyond these anyway. Holding hands, touching hearts, acting in truth and love, breathing together.

And of course, if you want a bit of absurdity about the whole “meaning of life” question, there’s always Mr. Deity.

If you are around the DC area….

Journey to the Otherworld
Saturday, November 3, 2007

Time: Gather in at 6:30pm. Ritual begins promptly at 7:00pm.
Location: Campgrounds at Watkins Regional Park, Upper Marlboro, MD.

Written or emailed RSVP required - Angela (at) Becomingdc.org

Do you dare to cross the threshold and walk the unknown path? In the temple of the Otherworld, a connection to the Heart of the Universe is opened. Take a journey to the oracle of the Heart. Only you know what you are seeking; and who knows what you will find at the Heart of Mystery.

You only need bring food for potluck after the ritual, a flashlight, a small token offering, and yourself. Sturdy shoes and warm dress is encouraged as we will be outdoors the entire time. Depending on the attendance, this ritual can last up to 3 hours. People between 12 and 18 must be accompanied by a parent; no children under 12 should attend this ritual.

More information will be sent when you RSVP. Please include your name and the number of people you are bringing. If you do not have a car and would like to carpool, please indicate that as well. We will try to make arrangements for a pick-up from the nearest Metro station.

Let Angela know that you are coming by Thursday, November 1, 10:00pm.

Technorati Tags: Becoming, Samhain, announcements

Every spring, Becoming goes on pilgrimage to the source of the Potomac River to give blessings and praise offerings to the beginning of the river that runs through the land on which we live. Some years, we have had lots of snow in the mountains, the land is saturated, and the spring is full and flowing. Even then, the Potomac at this stage is small enough to stand with one foot on either “shore.” Some years, there has been little snow or rain, the land is parched, and the spring is empty. During these years, we pour water over our cold hands into the spring, praying for rain and lending our energy to unblock the flow of the waters.

Every fall, we meet near Hains Point, where the Anacostia flows into the Potomac, and the river becomes tidal and salty with the waters from the far-off ocean and Chesapeake Bay. Here we give thanks for the abundance of our lives and the land on which we live, and we give back some of that abundance in appreciation.

In our monthly circle yesterday, we mixed water from the source with salt to bring together this two annual rites for us. Becoming is about connections and community — connections with the world around us, with each other, and with our gods; and being in community within these relationships of connections. This has been a tough drought year for our region. Many of us in the group belong to community supported agriculture coops and are learning from our local farmers and from the vegetables that do and do not show up on our tables how the lack of rain affects us directly.

In circle, we cannot just pray for rain and expect it to come. A cone of power can do wonders, but learning through doing is more effective for our group. So, gathered in sacred space, we teach ourselves how to nurture and care for the earth by nurturing and caring for each other. We wash each others hands in the salty water, gently showing caring for each other. Care. Compassion. Love. Respect. Our simple actions embody the attitude we wish to carry forth in our lives to others and the world around us.

The water is then lovingly spread on the ground between us. From the earth to us, from us to the earth. May the rains fall. May your harvest be bountiful. May your life have meaning. And may the earth be renewed and loved.

Blessed be. So mote it be. So say we all.

posted as part of Blog Action Day

Technorati Tags: Becoming, ritual, Potomac, water, compassion, pantheism

On the night of the New Moon and the eve of National Coming Out Day, I had the honor of priestessing a ritual for a friend of mine who is transitioning male to female. She has been passing as female since starting graduate school this summer, and now is starting hormonal treatments. She wanted to honor her transitional journey and set her intention to reshape her body with the help of the hormones with the New Moon.

The intent of the ritual was to:

• release the male identity and honor the death of the male body
• accept the female identity and celebrate the journey toward the
  female body
• experience the Mystery of the liminal space of transition and her personal identity

Prior to the ritual, she wrote on slips of flash paper those aspects of identifying as male and being in a male body—both good and bad— that she was releasing, on slips of colorful origami paper those aspects of identifying as female and transitioning to a female body—both joyful and challenging—that she anticipated. The strips of flash paper were strung on a cord tied around her neck.

Three of us (myself, a Radical Faerie priest, and a transgenedered priest/ess from the West Coast) gathered with our friend near the arbor of her backyard under the night sky. We purified the space and ourselves with sage and lavender. We cast the circle and called in the elements. We invoked deity as Divine Male, Divine Female, and the Divine Two-Souled. Our friend invoked her higher self into the circle and called upon her spirit guides to help her with her intent.

To release the male identity and honor the death of the male body, my friend pulled off the slips of flash paper from her necklace and read them aloud one-by-one, before burning each in the candle flame. We then washed her body with salt water to honor the body she was born into and the lessons she learned in it.

To accept the female identity and celebrate journey toward a female body, she read each slip of origami paper aloud one-by-one and strung them onto her necklace. We then anointed her body with oil and welcomed her as a strong, beautiful woman.

To experience the Mystery of the liminal space of transition and her personal identity, she stepped into her place of power to commune directly with herself and her spirit guides and to offer prayers for how her body is to be kept healthy while being transformed into a new feminine shape.

As we welcomed her back into the circle, a gentle rain began to fall. Tears of love from the Goddess, indeed! As the drops grew fatter and fell more quickly, we thanked the Divine and the elements, and opened the circle.

Fare well on your journey, my magnificent and glowing sister! You’ll do just fine.

Technorati Tags: ritual, gender issues, transgender, rites of passage

“Yes, I create magic,” I told the teenagers in the Comparative Religions class I talked to on Monday. I really didn’t want that question to come up, but the teacher asked me. I tried, but plainly faltered. No one who never experienced some type of magic will ever be convinced by me that it exists.

I hate talking about magic, especially with people who have no experience with it. I have never been that good at wrapping words around what, for me, has always been a visual, kinetic, and visceral experience. Magic is a part of the Mystery, over which words slip and slide, but can find no firm purchase — one of the reasons I have never “taught magic.”

Many people completely misunderstand the concept of magic. For years, I thought of magic as something separate from my daily life, separate from my spiritual practice — something you did in a set way, something you only did in circle. I was (and am) uncomfortable calling myself a witch. It seemed to have the wrong focus for me and to set the wrong expectations in others — at least expectations that I did not want to deal with. The word “pagan” has its own set of connotations, but those I could talk about without problem. I have even said, “Oh, I don’t do magic, but I know others who do.”

But in reality, I do magic all the time. I see magic. I feel magic. I pull magic from the world around me and set it in motion. When I see the trees shimmering in spring, that is magic. When the birds sing to my heart, that is magic. Or at least, when I give meaning to those experiences and use them to guide my life, that is magic. I have been relearning what magic means in my life and how to experience the natural flows of that energy through my connections with others and the world around me.

At Beltane this year, a small group of us gathered to embody the elemental forces of creation and weave the magic of creation and manifestation through dance and song. As the Center, my role was to hold the container for the magic to happen. I initially moved around the perimeter of the dance as being in the physical center might end up with me wrapped in May ribbons. But once the dance started, I quickly noticed that the pole was pulled this way and that, and was in danger of being toppled. So, I moved to the center and held the pole up while the forces of nature danced and pulled and whirled around me. In my hands, I could feel the push and pull of these forces bend and shake the pole. As the center, it was my job to hold the intent, to wield the strength to keep one element from taking over or moving us from center. And I laughed. The Center is the Witch, who directs the elemental forces of this world toward a purpose. This is why your Will must be strong — all the different forces are doing their own thing and could easily pull the entire working away from your intent.

I told the kids on Monday that magic was an active form of prayer in which you are co-creating reality with the Gods. That sounds so easy, but at Beltane, I got a taste of what that really means. I wrestled with magic. And perhaps, I am ready to begin teaching people some of my moves.

Technorati Tags: magic, witch, Beltane

This offering prayer is dedicated to the 22 people killed in today’s mass shooting at Virginia Tech.

Hermes! Hermes! Hermes! Listen, the people call to you!

O, great Hermes Psychopompos, conveyor of souls,
Many lost ones will show up on the threshold tonight.
Guide them gently to the shore of the River Styx and beyond.
I offer this bag of coins for their passage.

O, great Hermes Enodios, he who travels over the lands
Many souls are wandering, unsure of the road they travel.
Watch over their journey as they cross the last boundaries.
I offer this grain for their last pilgrimage.

O, scheming Hermes Dolios, charming trickster of the night,
The souls in your care found death in violence unsuspecting.
Help them escape from the pain of their last moments.
I offer this honey to sweeten their memories.

O, divine Hermes Diaktoros, translator between gods and men,
Heavy are the hearts that mourn today’s loss.
Whisper sweet words to cleanse their wounded hearts.
I offer this wine to ease their pain.

Hermes! Hermes! Hermes! Listen, this person calls to you!
I pour out the wine in your honor.
I pour out the oil in your honor.
I pour out the milk and honey in your honor.
Hermes! Hermes! Hermes!
Do not let the lost souls wander forever in the wild darkness.
Take them safely to rest in the Realms of the Dead.

Last night as I was driving home from my friend Carly’s lovely, moving, earth-based Pesach seder, I looked up and saw the full moon brightly, calmly shining in the night sky. I began to rifle through my memory for any songs/chants that I could remember about the moon. I sang two over and over:

Full Moon shining bright
Midnight on the water
Oh, Aradia,
Diana’s silver daughter

Silver shining wheel of radiance, radiance!
Full Moon, come to us, come to us!

But that wasn’t enough for the spirit that moved through me. Through various hummings and snitches and snatches of words and melody, I finally allowed a new song to well up.

Artemis Selena
Lady of the Moon
Hear the people calling
Bless us with your boon!

Silver bright in the night sky
Shining in the dark
Reflecting in each other’s eyes
Connecting heart to heart

It has been a decade since I’ve been in a group that regularly met on the full and new moon. And frankly, I don’t notice the energy pull of the lunar phases that many say they feel. For me, it is often a happy surprise to look up and see her shining round and bright. Like a phone call from a distant friend you think about occasionally, but whom you haven’t talked to in ages.

I have been toying with the idea of doing something more regularly at the new and full moons, but haven’t been sure what would engage my imagination enough to ensure that I follow through….I’ve never been good at being solitary. Perhaps one song from the deep self and the heart will spur the desire forward.

We shall see where the wandering takes us.

Last weekend, Becoming made its fourth annual pilgrimage to the source of the Potomac River in West Virginia. Our intent was as it has been each year:

to honor and bless the source of the waters that run through the land on which we live. We ask humbly for her to return and bring abundance to our land and our lives in this coming year.

As we drove from our cabin at Lost River State Park, I wondered if there would be a pool of water beneath the boulder or would everything be dry like last year. All winter, I have prayed for snow. I have visualized streamlets and imagined saturated mud. Everytime I wanted to curse the inconvenience of snow, I instead offered up a blessing in gratitude.

Was I heard? Did it work? Would the voice of one lone pagan in the city make a difference?

I’m not hubristic enough to believe that the forces of nature are bent by my desire, but still I cried when I saw water in the pool. Not as much as years past, but still there.

We lined up along the sides of the stream and made our praise offerings — songs, poems, heartfelt words, waters from other sacred rivers.

Water for water, music for music, poetry for poetry, life for life, a gift for a gift.
May our offerings be accepted.

The weather was overcast and foggy as always, but it’s not a Becoming Rite of Spring Blessing until and unless it rains on us. As I stood on a stone at the edge of the pool, in order to place our love-charged, heart-shaped stone directly into the pool, we asked for the spirits of the river to accept our love, our blessings, our offerings, and our gratitude. I dug away some of the leaves and mud, and water filled in. The source was there, but under cover. As soon as I plunged the stone into the pool, the skies opened and rained upon us. Yes! Yes! I believe that our offerings were accepted.

There is no shelter at the small park around this sacred spring, but that didn’t stop us from having a fun time with our lunch. Some of us wandered around the trees, while other sat on the tailgate barely sheltered by the hatchback. We ate our sandwiches, listened to music honoring the nature around us, and laughed with each other as we increasingly got wet.

Yes! Yes! Spring has returned and the waters will flow through our land, giving us life and blessings.

A friend of mine has made the tough decision to put her beloved dog to sleep. Ernest has been with my friend for many, many year, since puppyhood. She has asked me to put together a short, simple ritual for her to use to help him during his crossing.

With much humbleness and awe at the miracle of life and death, I offer this to her.

Have all attending stand in a circle, holding hands. Ernest should be included and the people next to him should place their hands on him.

Have everyone take 3 deep, grounding breaths.

“All that ever was exists now
in the living body of the being
we call universe, Goddess.
She breathes in –
We are born.
She breathes out –
We die.
But birth and death are on the same wheel
Which is always turning,
Like the tide
Or the changes of the moon.
All points on the wheel are sacred.
Together we embrace the change
and send Ernest on his journey.”**

Wash/anoint Ernest with pure blessed saline water and a clean, white rag. You can prepare this before you go to the vet. Just wet the rag with the water and rub his fur gently.

“Goddess of death
I stand here as your priestess
To open a gateway for a small creature
Who needs your comforting touch
Who needs to rest in the Summerlands.
This is a healing act we do
Releasing his suffering
And easing his way to you.”

Keeping in physical contact with Ernest to reassure him, allow the vet to administer the shot. Extraneous talking should be held to an absolute minimum during this time. Words of love and quiet encouragement and kisses should be offered to Ernest as his body falls asleep.

When life signs have stopped:

“Birth, growth, death, rebirth –
all points on the wheel are sacred.
In some new form,
You will live in again.
Until then, rest in peace, our beloved Ernest.”

**All prayers are adapted from The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk, M. Macha Nightmare, and the Reclaiming Collective.

One in our community is taking a leap of faith and stepping forward on a big journey. She has no idea where her steps will take her, but journey she must. As her family, we are charged to bless and support her today. Chava Chai, step into the center of the web.

I call you to the center of the circle. You know why, but don’t know what you are in for. You take a deep breath, square your shoulders, and step forward. Several people call your name and describe what may happen on your journey.

In the darkness of dawn, you will awaken from vivid dreams
In the darkness of dawn, you will look out and wonder
In the darkness of dawn, you will stare out the window into the woods

You have heard the call

In the morning after the sun rises, you will put shoes on your restless feet
In the morning after the sun rises, you will look for the map
In the morning after the sun rises, you will close the door behind you

You have heard the call

In the afternoon with the sun overhead, you will ask yourself “why”
In the afternoon with the sun overhead, you will wipe your brow and sigh
In the afternoon with the sun overhead, you continue around the bend

You have heard the call

In the evening twilight, you will rest in the shade of the large oak tree
In the evening twilight, you will cool your blistered feet in the river
In the evening twilight, you will eat a crust of bread and a juicy fruit

You have heard the call

In the black of night, you will wonder if you did the right thing and went the right way
In the black of night, you will hold yourself and pray to your gods
In the black of night, you will sing the song of your soul to the stars

You have heard the call

In the morning when the birds sing, you will put your shoes back on
In the morning when the birds sing, you will walk stiffly forward
In the morning when the birds sing, you will remember why and smile

You have heard the call

You turn to face me again. Yes, you have heard the call, even though you wonder if you are crazy. Why leave? Why go off into uncharted territory? Why indeed. Because you have to follow the call. That is what this life is all about — hearing and answering your divine call.

Questions are asked of you by those closest to you.

The way lies in front of you. Are you prepared?
Why are you going forth?
What are you taking with you?
Why will you return?
What will you bring back?

You answer with depth and surety and a few tears.

I take out a bottle of vision quest oil and anoint your third eye, your lips, your heart, your hands, and your feet.

May the Source of Life bless your connection to all that is, was, and shall ever be that you know your belonging and place in the web of life.
May the Heart of the Universe bless your vision that you may see your way clearly.
May the Source of Life bless your ears that you may hear the sacred teachings from whoever they may come.
May the Heart of the Universe bless your voice that you may speak only truth and beauty.
May the Source of Life bless your heart that you truly connect to the divine that abounds everywhere.
May the Heart of the Universe bless your hands that they be strong and gentle do the sacred work.
May the Source of Life bless your feet that they support you well whenever the path is rocky.
May the Heart of the Universe bless your soul that you know the joy and grace that is showered upon you daily.

You are hugged and fluffed and wished well, my sister, my soul-mate, my friend.