Grove of the Other Gods,
Ár nDraíocht Féin
Druid Ritual MetaPrompter Outline -- Trance Journey to Manannan Mac
Lir (2009)
by Monika (& gate-opening couplets by Hillary)
Start- 3 Chimes (Apple Branch w/ Bells) :___________________________________________
"We Are Here to honor the Gods,
Old ones who give life to all that is, give to
us Your presence."
Earth Mother Invocation
: ________Norma______________
Statement of Purpose
This year we are honoring our Grove Patron, Manannan Mac Lir, in His
form as Magician,
Illusionist, and Revealer of Secrets. Last year, we witnessed his Tempest
of Emotions, and now we
are together in the peaceful calm after the storm. The Spring Equinox is
also the time of year
when all of us as a Grove combine the waters of our many Wells into the
Community Well.
Meditation
Ok everyone, I would like for you to make yourself comfortable. Stretch
out all the kinks in your body, shake them all out, and take a nice, deep
breath. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes. Take another deep breath,
relaxing your muscles, starting with your toes, then your legs, then your
thighs. Take another deep breath, slower, relax your torso, then your chest,
and now your back. Slowly, take another deep breath, letting out all your
tension and relaxing your shoulders, then your arms, and now your hands.
Take another deep breath, slowly, release the tension in your neck, your
face, and one last deep breath, and release all tension everywhere. You
feel relaxed, at ease, and comfortable.
You begin to notice a warm, inviting light just above your head. It slowly
become brighter and brighter, and you take a deep breath, and you are on
a wooden dock, standing before a great, gleaming white ship. You look to
your left and your right, and notice that your grovemates are standing on
the dock with you. You feel the warm sun on your skin, and smell the slightly
briny sea air. You take a deep breath, and look towards the end of the dock.
A gangway is there. You start to walk towards it, and your grovemates fall
in line with you. You take a deep breath, and hear a seagull cry out. As
you look past the ship to spot it, you notice that the ocean is very calm,
very peaceful. You feel very confident that this journey will be a relaxed
one. You take another deep breath, and begin to make your way up the gangway,
towards the deck of the ship. You look towards the bow, and notice that
this ship is named the Ocean Sweeper. As you pass the Captain at the gated
entrance, he gives you a small salute, and you smile to yourself. You pass
him, and shuffle into the cue. You take a deep breath, and walk up a slight
incline, and turn to the left. You look up to the sky, and can feel a slight
chill in the air from the wind. It is blowing from the North, and you extend
your senses outwards. You follow the coastline, up through New York, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. You continue into
Canada, taking a deep breath, and feeling the crisp air on your skin as
you begin to smell the sharpness of glaciers and frozen ice. You continue
North until you pass by Greenland & Iceland and see the dark oceans.
Your senses return to you on the gangway, and as you take another deep breath,
you make your way further up the incline, and turn to the right. The vastness
of the Atlantic Ocean stretches on for miles to the East, and you see calm,
gently flowing waves all the way to Europe. You take a deep breath, and
hear the Captain pull the long horn, a boarding call. You continue up the
inclined gangway, following the roped cue, and make another left. You look
around at your fellow grovemates, and feel a little bit of humidity at your
back. You turn and look South, to where the Atlantic Ocean turns green and
the sand turns white and smooth. You take another deep breath, and smell
the tropical scents of mango, coconut, and pineapple. You extend your senses
outwards, and can hear a steady bass beat. You return to the gangway, and
continue to make your way up the cue. You follow the person in front of
you, and make another turn to the right. Youre not really sure where
you are, until you hear a taxi honking. You tilt your head, and hear the
sounds of the city to the West. You extend your senses outwards and smell
the sickly sweet smell of rotting garbage, along with pizza and elephant
ears, the typical shore food. You take a deep breath, and see past the shore,
further West to New Brunswick, through Pennsylvania and the Midwest, past
the Rocky Mountains and the Deserts, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. You
return to the gangway and notice that you have finally reached the end of
the cue. You take a deep breath, find a seat on the deck in the shade, and
prepare for departure.
The Captain pulls a final blow on the horn, signaling that anchors are hoisted
up. You look out over the sides, and notice that there is not a cloud in
the sky, the sun is bright and warm, and the ocean is calm. You barely feel
the ship pull away from the dock, sail past the harbor, and make its way
into the open ocean.
You notice that the other grovemates are walking about the ship, and you
decided to get up and look out over the calm ocean. You take a deep breath,
and as you look out over the side, you see how large it is, the steely blue-grey
waves slowly lap against the hull of the ship. You look further down into
the ocean, and begin to feel gently surrounded by the comfortable darkness
of the deep. You realize that the Ocean Sweeper is floating on the surface
of a Great Well, and you honor its presence in your journey (Well, accept
our offering).
As you bring your awareness back to the deck of the ship, you take a deep
breath, and feel the warm sunlight against your body. You extend your awareness
up, up through the mast of the ship, up past the Crows Nest, and up
into the sky. You feel warmed all over, and a certain lightness of the spirit
passes over you. You realize that the Sunlight is touching everything with
its pure rays, all the way down to the ocean. You realize that you are being
watched over by a Great Fire, and you honor its presence in your journey
(Fire, accept our offering).
The Captain pulls the horn in two short bursts, and you look around at the
ship. You take a deep breath, and move closer to a section of the deck.
It is built from strong and flexible Yew wood, and feels smooth as you glide
your hand along it. You extend your senses further, and can see intricately
carved whorls and spirals in the wood, and as you look around the ship,
you realize that every piece of deck, chair, mast, and hull is carved with
these beautiful designs. You realize that you are riding on a Great Forest
of Yew Trees, and you honor its presence in your journey (Tree, accept our
offering).
The Captain pulls the horn in one long honk, and you look to the skies.
Small wispy clouds have formed on the horizon, but as you are still riding
on a sturdy ship across the calm ocean, you do not feel afraid. You take
a deep breath, and notice that the clouds have slowly begun to gather more
substance, and are descending towards the ship. You and your other grovemates
find your way back to your seats, and calmly sit down. The wispy clouds
have now surrounded the ship in a fine warm mist; you cannot see more than
a few feet in front of you, but as the Suns rays penetrate parts of
the mist in funny angles, and the ship is still sailing smoothly, you do
not feel afraid. The Captain pulls the horn in three short bursts, and the
mist begins to dissipate. As you look out over the bow of the ship, you
see that youve arrived at an Island. The ship pulls up to a wooden
dock, and you can see lush green grasses, fragrant flowers, and groves of
Apple Trees everywhere. The gangway descends, and you follow your grovemates
down onto the dock. The Captain is there to greet you, and as you approach
closer, you realize that it is Manannan Mac Lir, the Ferryman who has taken
you safely across the ocean to his home on Emain Ablach, the Isle of Apples.
Invocation of a Gatekeeper : _______Hillary_____(Manny #1)____
Open the Gates : _______Hillary____________
Sometimes I can't help but feeling that I am living a life of illusion
and oh, why can't we let it be and see through the holes in the wall of
confusion
(Joe Walsh).
Illusions are confusions are bemusements are removements are amusements
are
illusions are confusions.
Open gnarly gates to venture into hidden minds and find your unwashed fates.
Rhyme and reason are kidnapped to the castle in the sky
we'll climb the beanstalk upward and their conversations spy
In my mimsy borogroves hides the cyan jub-jub bird
It feeds upon the scrapple of my patently absurd
Aboard the ship you've felt the toss of my most mighty well
and now my loves it is a gate that tips and turns and swells
The sun is such a mighty force it needs no introduction
Now it is a mirror gate to show our soul's reflection
The ship I steered you here is wood and through its mighty lee
it is a gate, it is our staff a mighty apple tree
now my island is a hearth which learn to cope in
now i swear on the ocean's soul Let the Gates Be Open!
(couplets by Hillary)
Honor and acknowledge the Outsiders: ___________________________ (prep this
person, perhaps the Outsiders would prefer to stay on the ship?)
Invocation of a Muse (& Song) : ____________Jenniforensic____
(Manny #2)___________
Ancestors Invocation (& Song) : _________________________
(Jenni begins Grandmother/Grandfather)
Nature Spirits & Spirits of Place Invocation (& Song) : _____________________________
(Jenni begins Fur & Feather)
Goddesses and Gods Invocation (& Song) : ______________________________
(Jenni begins Hail all the Gods)
Invocation of Main Deity (& Song): ______Monika______(Manny #3)______
(random notes about what to say
yadda yadda yadda J )
Praise Offerings (as the grove members bring Praise to Manannan, also have
them pout their waters into the Community Well)
Main Sacrifice (if there is one) (eh, could be spontaneous
)
Omen Reading (and, for this ritual, also Well Blessing and Magical working)
I will stand and make my way to the Magical Well w/ the beveled mirror,
Crane Bag underneath the table. Jenniforensic as Manny #1/Muse will start
the group in Shuili na Wanannan
.
Hillary as Manny #2/Gatekeeper will begin to pace the group, giving each
person enough time to make his/her way to the Magical Well, look for his/her
Omen in the water, hear any spontaneous speech that Manannan wishes to make,
and take his/her tangible Omen from the Crane Bag. As each person leaves,
the next one will be guided to me by Hillary. After all the grovemates go,
then Jenniforensic and Hillary will each have a turn, look for their Omens,
get their tangible Omens from the Crane Bag, and make their way back to
the group, carrying the Magical Well. I will grab the Crane Bag and pull
3 Omens (or whatevers left) for the Group Omen.
This where we hold up the Well (both) and have everyone focus their energy.
Catechism of the Waters:
Druid: Of what does the Earth Mother give
that we may know of the eternal renewal
of Her blessings?
Response: THE WATERS OF
LIFE
Druid: And from whence do these Waters flow?
Response: FROM THE BOSOM OF THE EARTH MOTHER,
THE EVER-CHANGING ALL-MOTHER
Druid: And has She given forth of Her bounty?
Response: YOU BETCHA!!!!
Druid: Then gimme those Waters!
(the next bit is
optional)
(main deity), (kindreds),
Hear us and hallow
these waters.
hit water jugs with sickel
Bless and Pass Waters :
3 pourers __________________________________________________________
3 passers-out: ______________________________________________________
As the waters are going around, Monika/Manny #3 will play a few Sea Shanties
and Pirate Songs to help keep the energy up. Jenniforensic & Hillary
might get the grove going with clapping, stomping, etc.
Behold! The Waters of Life!
(EVERYBODY DRINKS,
well, if they choose to accept their Omens J )
Thank You Main Deity(ies)
''
Goddesses and Gods,
''
Nature Spirits
''
Ancestors
''
Muse
''
Earth Mother
Thank You Gatekeeper
Ask GATEKEEPER to close Gates : ___Hillary____ (possible imagery of Closing
the Gates on the Gangway of the Dock, Mannys coming back with us to
Party, though!)
"This Rite is ended."