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Temple Ankh |
Worshiping the ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
through Rituals, Prayers and Spells dedicated and directed to the Old ones
who still hold the power of the universe. |
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Egyptian
Midsummer Festival For the entire days Rituals, everyone should bring: Plan to camp out with your Coven the night before and wake up before the sun rises. Begin this Ritual before Sunrise. Each participant should bring to the Morning Ritual your taper and engraving tool. If you do not have an engraving tool, the Temple has some you can use. You will be awoken and given a 15 minute time limit to appear for Sunrise Ritual, if you choose to do so. Sunrise Ritual Each person arrives at the place which welcomes the Sun God best. All have one candle that guides their way, which has been lit by the fires which cover the ashes of the years before. All participants take a seat directly on the ground to quietly to witness sunrise. All should be assembled and sitting in a quiet group as the Sun brings it’s first rays over the horizon. When the sun’s first rays are seen, everyone should close their eyes and imagine the face of the Great God Ra rising over the horizon. As the first rays hits everyone’s face, the High Priestess says The Invocation to Amen Ra: Honor to thee, Great and Powerful, Amen Ra May your name live forever in the hearts of men Once this invocation has been spoken, everyone takes a moment to worship as they need, then begin to carve their candles with sun signs, runes and words of power. While they are doing this, the Temple Guardian, and Priest light a small balefire. Once the fire is going and flames are present, each person brings their candles and lights them from the fire. When everyone has their candle lit, they all hold their candles to the sun and say: May the Great God Ra be praised! Then everyone moves back to the campsite, snuffing out their candles as they return. These candles should be used by each member in their home, on their personal altar as an altar candle. Each time this candle is lit, it shall re-invoke the power of the Coven as well as the protection of the Sun God. A hearty breakfast is first, while everyone cleans up as it
is cooking. Change into your work clothes and once the breakfast dishes are
clear, we begin the work that makes our Temple special. The mornings are the coolest part of the day, so we work on Temple projects until around 11:00am, then get cleaned up and eat lunch. After lunch is finished, everyone should assemble in the Temple with the herbal offering they have brought. Sacred Space does not have to be created for this ritual. The only set up the Temple needs is to have the balefire ready to be lit, and the basket of spell candles should be on the worktable, along with pen and paper. On the Altar should be the first of the harvest to serve as an offering for the Temple. Each person should also have brought an offering as well. Around Noon everyone should assemble in the Temple for the Ritual of the First Harvest, with their herbal offerings with them. First Harvest and Midsummer Ritual High Priestess: This festival celebrates the beginning of the Harvest, as well as the beginning of the darkness. From now until the Winter Solstice, the daylight times will shorten and darkness begins rule. The Great God Ra, begins his journey through the hours of Tuat to release the souls of our dead, to their judgment. Midsummer marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. We celebrate Ra on this day by waking up early enough to feel his first rays of the day upon our faces, and spending as much time as possible in his presence. Priestess: Today is the Solstice, the longest day of the year. High Priestess: We come together to celebrate the beginning of the Harvest. All – May it be so. The Temple Guardian lights the bonfire. High Priestess: Today we offer the first of our Harvest Each person brings their offerings to the balefire. They throw ½ into the flames while saying: May their hearts be light. The other half of the offering is handed to the HPS, to be added to the Temple herbal supplies. Once everyone has made their offering, the High Priestess thanks them by saying: For sharing your bounty, Everyone responds: May the Gods be sustained. At this time, the High Priestess should invite all members to come up, one by one and ask for a spell or prayer request to be done. The High Priestess chooses the appropriate candle and supplies, and explains what the member should do. The Priestess or Priest then takes the person to the altar and assists them in performing the spell, as the HPS turns to the next person. Once all requests have been done, the members are released to spend the afternoon at leisure activities. During the hottest part of the day, we prefer to hold seminars, work on the Temple Lessons, play games, hike or take naps. This time is rarely structured, and is up to the individual as to the activities they choose. The are two things, however that must be done by the Temple Elders. The Temple must be completely set up for the evenings Ritual, and the balefire must be kept going all afternoon, for at least prior to the evenings ritual so there is a good bed of coals for the evenings Feast of packet dinners. An hour before sunset, the campsite should be prepared for evening by filling the lanterns and having them ready to be lit. The Temple should be set up, with a lantern or two for additional light. Members should begin to move their chairs into the Temple and get cleaned up for the evening Ritual. Before the Ritual Each person who is directly involved with the Ritual should attend to the duties they are responsible for. Everyone who has lost a loved one in the last year should bring an herbal offering to give on behalf of their loved one. Everyone who has a prayer request should bring an offering as well. If you plan on doing both, bring two offerings. Special Duties are as follows: Cardinal Point Holders – Set up your Cardinal Point and take a moment to make sure everything is in place, clean and ready for the Ritual. If you are not sure how to do this properly, ask the High Priestess or Priestess for assistance. High Priestess - Set the Altar and Temple up in the normal manner. Use this as a time to show any members who are working on the Temple Lessons how to set up for a formal Ritual. Priest and Priestess – Prepare the table for the Feast foods. Have everything you will need at hand so each member may create their own packet dinner in the balefire. Good choices for foods are pork, beef, corn, beans, and any foods which become ripe at this time. Have wine or grape juice available for beverages. Don’t forget seasonings, sliced fresh onions and potatoes and heavy duty aluminum foil. Temple Guardian – Make sure the balefire has a good bed of coals going for the packet cooking. Make sure the rake and shovel are nearby to assist with placing and retrieving the packets. Elder – Make sure all tiki torches and lanterns are filled and ready to be lit. The Ritual of Midsummer When everyone has assembled within the Temple and everyone has their power hands raised, signifying they are ready to begin, the High Priestess lights the altar candle and says: May the Great Gods know this work we are about to do. And everyone replies: May it be so. Everyone now lowers their arms but remains standing. The High Priestess lights the white altar candle. This altar candle should be used to light all the others, including the incense and balefire. As the elements are invoked, everyone should turn to face the element as it is being invoked. The Cardinal Point Holders should make sure that when they walk the boundaries of the Circle, they do so to the OUTSIDE of the Cardinal Point benches. The HPS takes the altar candle to the NCPH, who uses it to place a drop of wax onto the salt in his bowl. The North Cardinal Point Holder (NCPH) holds up the bowl of salt and recites: I spread this salt of our earth NCPH sprinkles the salt around the perimeter of the Temple, beginning and ending at the North. As he passes the ECPH. He hands off the Altar candle. Place the salt next to the north candle and stand to the inside of the North Bench. East Cardinal Point Holder (ECPH) holds up the incense burner and lights the incense with the white altar candle, then recites: I light this incense Walk with the burning incense around the perimeter of your Sacred Space, beginning and ending at the East. Hand the Altar Candle to the SCPH on your way around, and stand to the inside of the East bench when finished. The South Cardinal Point Holder (SCPH) picks up the red Fire Candle, lights with the altar candle and recites: This fire honors all Gods and Goddesses SCPH walks the candle around the perimeter of the Sacred Space, beginning and ending at the South. Hand the Altar candle to the WCPH on the way around and stand to the inside of the South bench when finished. The West Cardinal Point Holder (WCPH) holds up the seashell
filled with water and recites: WCPH sprinkles the water around the perimeter of the Sacred Space beginning and ending at the West. Hand the Altar candle off to the NCPH on you way around, then stand to the inside of the West bench when finished. The NCPH uses the candle to light the East blue Candle, then
recites: I call to the great God Osiris NCPH hands the candle to the ECPH, who uses it to light the
yellow candle and then recites: I call to the Great God Ra ECPH hands the candle to the SCPH, who uses it to light the
red candle, then recites: I call to the Great God Set SCPH hands the candle to the WCPH, who uses it to light the
blue candle and recites: I call to the Great God Thoth WCPH hands the white altar candle back to the NCPH who
places it back on the altar before returning back to the center of the
Circle. We bid welcome to the Great Goddess Nut, The HPS raises her hands to the skies and recites: We bid welcome to the Gods and Goddesses The Temple Guardian (TG) picks up the sword, raises it
straight up to the skies and recites: TG drives the sword gently into the ground in the center of the circle, being very careful not to stab his foot. HPS says: Everyone responds: Priestess says: High Priestess: The great God Ra is ready Each person who has lost a loved one, now comes forward in turn and tosses their offering into the Balefire, while saying: May the soul of _____________ be blessed. Once everyone has gone, everyone says: May it be so High Priestess: May all those who travel with Ra be lightly judged Each person steps forward in turn, writes their request on a piece of paper, lights it from the altar candle, then tosses it into the fire, along with their token gift, saying: May the smoke from these flames Once everyone has had the opportunity to take their turn, the High Priestess asks everyone to take their place for the closing and grounding ceremony. WCPH snuffs out all candles at the West and recites: We thank the great Goddess Neith SCPH snuffs out all candles at the South and recites: We thank the great Goddess Sekhmet ECPH snuffs out all candles at the East and recites: We thank the great Goddess Bast NCPH snuffs out all candles at the North and, recites: We thank the great Goddess Isis HPS stands in front of the altar, snuffs out the altar candle and recites: We release this circle of power and might And everyone responds: Everyone forms a circle, hand in hand, around the balefire or in the center of the sacred space. HPS stands at the East, HP stands at the West, PS stands at the North, and P stands at the South. All gathered raises their hands to the sky and HPS recites: We now share our energy and will with HPS lowers her hands to shoulder level and all others follow
in kind. We now release our energy and will HP lowers his hands to waist level and all others follow in
kind. Let our energy and fall upon the Earth, P releases his hands and shakes them, all others follow
suit. We give thanks to all of the Gods and Goddesses, All say together: High Priestess – May we all enjoy the Feast of the Harvest. This feast should be a time of celebration. The Priest and Priestess should serve at the feast table, assisting any who should require help. The Priestess pours the beverages from the bowl into individual glasses for everyone, while the Priest carves any meat that is served. If your coven does not have a Priest or Priestess, then choose a male and female member to fulfill these duties. The order of serving is: A plate is made for the Gods and set aside for them. Then, guests and members first, then the Elders, High Priest and Priestess. Each person present is required to eat something from the feast, whether it is a full plate or a single bite of meat, ALL must participate. Once everyone is served, the Priest and Priestess take the plate for the Gods, and place it where offerings of food are always placed. If this is somewhere outside of the circle, then the Temple Guardian shall cut a door for them to allow them to exit and enter. The Priest and Priestess then serve the Temple Guardian, and themselves. Once everyone has finished eating, sit comfortably around the fire and share stories of those who have passed on in the prior year, or stories of things that have happened in the last year. This should be a time of fellowship and fun. Immediately after the Ritual: |
News & Upcoming Events March 16-20 - Spring Equinox celebration. Main ritual will be on the 18th starting at 10:00 a.m. and lasting until we get sleepy. April 29th - Beltaine celebration beginning at 7:00 p.m. June 20 - 25 - Second annual Trial of Set game! June 24 - Midsummer celebration beginning at Noon and lasting until 11:00 p.m. Main ritual begins at 6:00 p.m. September 22 - 24 - Autumn Equinox Celebration. Main Ritual will be on the 23rd beginning at 7:00 p.m. October 26 - 29 - Harvest celebration. Main Ritual will be on the 28th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. For more information on any of these events, please email Nydia. Please put 'Rituals' as the subject line of your email. |
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