The power of rituals

As evening falls, a child stands at her bedroom window searching the sky for the first star to wish upon. Thousands of miles away, a Shaman doctor blesses herbs thrown into the fire in a ceremony to attract spirit. What do these seemingly unconnected individuals have in common? They are both practicing magic and rituals.

Magic and rituals have long been connected. There is magic in any ceremony that we do, whether it of a routine nature, such as making a wish on our birthday, or whether it is a sophisticated ritual involving all kinds of movements, lights and music. In both cases we are using the power of the ritual in order to create magic in our life.

An actual definition of magic is difficult. However, as Scott Cunningham states: "Magic is the projection of natural energies to produce needed effects." In other words, every time that we consciously connect to the universal energy in order to direct it to a specific result that we wish to manifest in our life, we are utilizing magic.

In the same way, a child, focused on the light of the candle whilst making a wish, then blows it, thus releasing that energy into the universe.nn>From that point it is manifested later as a physical object.

Magic, therefore, is not an unnatural incidence; it is actually utilizing and therefore harnessing the power of nature. Rituals are the tools by which we do so.

The purpose of rituals is to demonstrate this connection between nature and its laws. Rituals are a reminder to us that we are an intricate part of this vast universe. Ritual is the form and structure that enables our spirit to fly free. It is the safe space that allows us to open to the deepest part of ourselves.

Ritual is the magic that you do for yourself. Ritual is transformational. You commence a ritual in one state of being and end in another. The result is major or minor shift of consciousness.

Ritual contributes to your wholeness by allowing enough safety and freedom for all the parts of yourself to be expressed.

Rituals are important in our daily life, because they allow us:
1. to be as creative as we wish;
2. to enjoy ourselves and have fun;
3. to experience beauty and pleasure in our life.

As rituals are connected to nature, they are also connected to the changing of seasons, and the wheel of the year.

31st of October is the day that has been marked for thousands of years as the beginning of winter. It was called "Samhain". Winter was interpreted as a "small death", when the land is so visibly barren, the trees naked, and the animals in hibe
ation. Therefore it is associated with death and dying. However from that "death" life will re-emerge in the spring. This period was worshiped as a time of "going within" and contemplation, as in preparation for a new birth.

In many of the ancient traditions, Samhain was also a day in which the veil between this physical world and the world of the dead is the thinnest, and therefore a time associated with insights and ancient wisdom, a time to honor our ancestors and our loved ones that passed away.

Today's Practice offers you a ritual to celebrate this date, this Sabbath called Samhain. This ritual is only a suggestion; you can use it as a framework and put in it all your creativity and joy, put your pleasure and fun, so it will become your magical ritual.

Have Fun with it.

Samhain Ritual

1. Prepare the Room.
Clean and purify your room with incense or sage. Decorate the room in the colors of autumn - red, orange, brown. Create an altar and put on it four red candles in the different directions of the wind (east, south, west and north). Include the four elements - a center candle for fire, a chalice with water for the water element, a crystal for the earth element and wind chimes for the air element. Decorate it with falling leaves and fruits such as apples, pomegranates, and any fruits of this season.

2. Start with silent meditation - focus on the year that has passed and your achievements in it.

3. Say a prayer or chant the following words to your own creative melody:
Come with me.
As daylight ends,nthe sun sinks low.
Black night descends,ninto a world of sleep and dream.
Moon and star shinenand lamplight steam.
Enter now and join the dance,nof creeping shadownand midnight trance.
This is the dark kingdom,nwhere colors change,nstreets grow longer,nand mystery reigns.
Enter now and join the dance.

4. Tell a story about one of your ancestors. After everybody has told a story, go out with a plate and a piece of cake and a candle to be left out in memory of the dead.

5. Go through the house and find something physical that you do not need anymore. Then sit and write those emotional and mental things that you do not need anymore in your life. Then go out and throw the physical to the garbage outside. To let go of the emotional and mental garbage, tear the paper and throw it to the wind, and as you do it, visualize those issues leaving your life.

6. Write down your fears that you wish to transform into strength. After you have written them down, burn the paper, and as you watch the paper being burned, see those fears transforming into the new qualities of strength.

7. Cut an apple or a pomegranate and for each part say out loud new things that you invite into your life.

8. End with a silent meditation.

9. Have a feast made of pumpkins, apples, cauliflower, yams and carrots.

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