This food is not just a symbol of, but the true substance of, nurturance, and of the cycles of life. May the sacrifice of this that I am about to ingest feed my body, my spirit, and my soul. May I always experience, receive, and honor my hungers. May all true hungers be fulfilled.
Water is life. Life, and regeneration, and healing. Let this water remind me of my origins; of the womb, and of the blessed sea, the birthplace of life and that which forms the flow.
This wine is the blood of willing sacrifice. It represents the cycles of life, death, and birth. It offers succor, and a doorway to new perception. May this wine bless me with the awareness of choice, and with divine vision and ecstasy.
Take time to honor your body with treats, water, and wine. As you eat and drink, sit in awareness of the magick of transmutation: how the food, water, and wine affect your senses, and how these edible items become part of the very fabric of your cells. Allow gratitude, honor, and acceptance of and for the elements you are bringing into your body.
Ending of Ritual
Again, this section may be performed by the initiate, or by one of the witnesses. Find out the initiate’s preference in advance of the ritual. Say:
Mine is the temple. As I walk through the world, I know that my body is a sacred vessel. It is consecrated to me, and to my unfolding and empowerment. As I learn to love and honor my body as the beautiful temple, wondrous tool, and amazing vehicle for transformation that it is, I become closer to the divine gift of creation.
Now, as I breathe again, inhaling the sacred scents, I prepare to walk forward into the world. I carry sacred space everywhere I go, and all I need is to remember: My body is sacred. My breath is sacred. My bones and blood and sweat and tears are sacred. My laughter is sacred, my voice is sacred, and my skin is sacred. I claim this mantra: this temple is mine.
Turn your focus inward, close your eyes, breathe, and relax. Allow yourself to slowly come back to the world you inhabit, the room you are sitting in, and your daily life. As you open your eyes, give yourself a hug, remembering that even as you reenter the world, your body remains a sacred temple of creation and empowerment.
• Releasing of quarters and entities (optional).
• Opening of circle (optional).
• Banishing (optional).
[contents]
rituals ii
Rituals for Circles of Sexy Witches
Building Ritual, in Theory
If you have been working with your group of Witches for a while, you may already have an established way that you perform ritual. If you have a form of banishing, casting, invocation, or other ways of creating sacred space that work for you, I encourage you to integrate those aspects into the ritual outlines in this section.
Ritual, ceremony, and magick are about consciousness. Our relationship with magickal consciousness can be highly intuitive. However, there are also strengths to formal practice as well. It is my desire to give you as many options as possible in this section so that you can find, build, or create the ritual format that works the best for you. It’s your magick—modify at Will!
I have purposefully left the basic ritual outlines very minimal. From a minimalist Mindful Magick or Conscious Intuitive Magick perspective, the rituals work as they are presented. If you want to add more structure, you may. I have included many elements of ritual performance that can be added to the basic ritual outlines. If working with a more traditional approach is most effective for you, stick with it.
Building Ritual, Sexy-Witch Style
In this section I offer the tools to create rituals that are tailor-fit to the needs of your group. I have included a description of Mindful/Conscious Intuitive Magick, a modified Lesser Banishing Ritual, some information on Wiccan circle casting, a few examples of ways to call the quarters, and then the more barebones, chapter-by-chapter ritual outlines.
There are opportunities built into the flow of each ritual to read from journal entries and to consecrate artifacts created while working the chapters. All participants may want to read the ritual section before gathering, as the ritual will flow more smoothly if everyone has an idea of what to expect.
Sharing Leadership
Depending on the needs and desires of your group, you may wish to rotate facilitation (the role of Priestess) for the weekly rituals. I suggest that you discuss as a group what would be the most comfortable way for you to proceed. If you are going to rotate, you may wish to host at different homes, or if one of you has a fabulous, spacious, comfortable home, perhaps you can use the same location, and just rotate the responsibility for facilitating and preparing for the rituals.
Some advantages of rotating facilitation include building leadership skills, sharing power and responsibility, and giving everyone the experience of shouldering the work. With effective sharing of responsibility, everyone will get a chance to both support and be supported. Everyone in the group who wants to have the experience of Priestessing will have it, and everyone will also have a chance to be guided; to totally give herself over to the experience of the ritual rather than having to focus on the flow so much.
One thing to keep in mind is that one of the responsibilities of any Priestess is to learn how to delegate. The Priestess has a lot to get together for rituals. As Priestess for the rite, it is not only all right but a really good idea to ask your circle mates to bring some items that are on the list for the ritual. There are also other ways in which all the circle mates can be involved with the circle as it is built. We will go into this in more detail later.
Sexy Witch Saturdays?
Try to allow enough time on your ritual days to really get into the material a bit. Sharing your experiences, talking about the work you have done, and sharing insights you have found and struggles you have overcome will reinforce the work. Of course, it doesn’t need to be Saturday; it can be whatever day works best for your group.
You may want to plan a meal together before the ritual, and use that shared time to process through your experiences. Aside from reinforcing your personal grasp on the work you have done, this will reinforce the group dynamic and allow your group to become closer and stronger through shared experience. And, it may be the best day of your week—a whole chunk of time with your circle sisters, eating and chatting, and sharing your souls with each other. What could be more fun, enriching, and fulfilling?
Ideally, you will fit in time for whatever discussion of the chapter your group wants to do before the ritual. The idea is that each ritual will be an initiation, which is both an ending of one phase and a beginning of another. Give yourself and your circle mates the time to delve in and experience these transformations.
Doors of Perception
These weekly initiations, of which there will be seven—like the veils of Salome, or the gates that Inanna faced on her journey into the Underworld—are designed to be doorways between the chapters. You will move through the material in the chapters, find your depth, and then move ever deeper, toward the very core of your self. Each ritual will be a doorway that demarcates the transition from one chapter to the next, and also demarcates the spiraling journey in toward your center. It will be the pause between breaths, the transition point, the recognition and the act of transformation.
Tools: To Have, or Not to Have . . . That Is the Question
I have never felt a strong need for many magickal tools, though I have made some of my own, had some made, and been gifted with a few over the years. I have consecrated them and kept them on my altars. But I truly feel that anything that a wand can do in magickal space, a finger or hand can do as well. It’s not the tool, it’s how you use it!
I have my own superstitions about investing items with power, and feel most resourceful when my power is contained securely within my body. That is not to say that working with a wand doesn’t make working certain magick easier for some Witches. If you have tools that make you feel strong, b
y all means, use them! Again, I am just reminding you of many possible options. It’s your magick—own it!
Ritual Garb
I have more often than not been the Witch in street clothes. Or the Witch in a cocktail gown. Or the Witch in her birthday suit, if it’s warm enough out. I almost never feel the need, and rarely have the desire, to dress in Renaissance-era garb for ritual, or wear a toga or a chitan, or a big, fancy cloak (unless it’s performance ritual theatre, and costuming is required).
Yes, you wanna feel good. So, what does a Witch wear to perform ritual? Whatever she damn well pleases! You can wear your best dress or your nicest lingerie, or you can wear your pajamas if it’s been that kind of week. The clothes do not make the Witch. Dress in whatever way makes you feel good. If that happens to be a ritual gown or cloak, more power to you. If it’s not, more power to you as well. If there is certain dress that may assist you in any of the following rituals, it will be mentioned in that ritual’s outline.
What to Bring to Circle
The following lists include items you will need for every ritual. The first list is for all participants, and the second list is for the Priestess. In the outline for each week’s ritual, you will find an additional list that is specific to each ritual. Please make sure you have all items from this list and from the week’s more specific list.
Also, where this Priestess’ list says, “Priestess should bring . . .,” it really means, “Priestess should make sure that someone is bringing . . .” Don’t forget to offer the Priestess of the week a hand. You’ll want help when it’s your turn, too!
Participants’ List
1. An individual candle. Tea lights or smaller votive candles are a good bet, and are available in most supermarkets. As the first one burns down, just replace it with another. You may dress these candles, if you’d like. (For dressing instructions, see Appendix I.) Also, if your group decides to invite other witnesses to the seventh initiation, you may want to provide personal candles for your witnesses. (See the section “A Few Final Words Before Diving In 16” later in this chapter, and ritual seven in part 2, for more details about witnesses and their roles in your final initiation.)
2. Candle holder for tea light or smaller votive (be conscious in choosing your color). Each circle member will probably want to choose and purchase her own.
3. Each practitioner should bring her copy of Sexy Witch if she writes in the margins or needs to have the ritual outline at hand.
4. Each practitioner should bring her journal.
5. Each practitioner should bring any works of art or writings created while working the chapters that she wants to consecrate and share with her circle mates. One of these may become her weekly additional altarpiece for her personal self-love altar.
6. Each practitioner should bring a small pouch to put beads in.
Priestess’ List
1. The altar—an altar space integrating all the ritual items. The altar should be pleasing to the senses, have a nice altar cloth (choose the color well), and have space for the artifacts that you and your circle mates will place on the it for sharing and consecration. The altar can be on the floor, or on a table.
2. A “source” or “mother” candle (this item should rotate with facilitation of the ritual). The source candle is a seven-day jar votive. This candle will be lit during every ritual, and extinguished afterward. Jar candles can be purchased in most supermarkets, in mercados mexicanos (Mexican markets), botanicas, and some carnecerias. Some of these jar votives will have the Catholic Saints, Jesus, or Mary on them, but you will also be able to find some without any decoration. Choose your color with intention. For group work, white may be the best, but if the group agrees, any color may be right. And, if your group has an affinity for the Mary (see Appendix II), feel free to choose the Mary candle. You may dress this candle, if you’d like. (For dressing instructions, see Appendix I.)
3. The Priestess should bring a basket, bowl, or other container with a bead for each participant (including herself). The weekly outlines will state what each week’s bead should represent.
4. A censer for the incense.
5. Charcoal for the incense.
6. Incense (see Appendix I).
7. A chalice for water.
8. A chalice for wine, if desired.
9. Wine, if desired (see Appendix I).
10. Water.
11. Cookies, bread, or other edibles (see ritual outlines for details).
12. A box of tissue in case of tears.
13. The Priestess and other participants should bring any specific items mentioned in ritual outlines.
14. Don’t forget things like matches or a lighter, a corkscrew (if needed), water, and a glass. Long matches (BBQ style) will be needed to light personal candles from the source candle. (How-to: Each person lights a long match from the source candle, and then lights her personal candle from the match.)
15. Make sure there is enough comfy space for participants to sit in around the altar.
16. The Priestess should make sure that everyone can tolerate scents and smoke in an enclosed space. Incense can be intense, and can alter your senses in a good way, as long as it’s not triggering an asthma attack or allergies.
All participants should always read the ritual outlines in advance of rituals so that everyone has all the necessary items on hand when it comes time to perform the ritual, and has an idea of the flow of the ritual. EXCEPTION: The outline for Ritual Seven should be read in full only by the Priestesses, of which there will be two instead of one for the final Sexy Witch initiation. Other practitioners should read only the section titled “What All Participants Will Need.”
A Few Final Words Before Diving In
In working Sexy Witch with a posse, you will have choices to make as a group. One of those is about sharing leadership. Another may be regarding how much time you want to dedicate to your group work over the next seven weeks. Another will be how many aspects or layers of ritual you want to use in your group ritual format. You may, or may not, want to invite witnesses who are not part of the group for the seventh initiation.
In creating community in general, there can be conflict. This is also part of the work. I encourage you all to explore the extent to which you are able to make space in your life for the group-work aspect, and to create ritual outlines and shared duties accordingly.
In the ritual outlines, there are words to recite. Of course, as always, the words I have written down are optional. You can use mine, or you can make up your own if you’d like. You can make them rhyme, or not (I have not).
The words I have written are not based on a secret formula. The magick that will be done in these rituals of initiation is you and your group getting together and working ritual, and doing so with intention, focus, and growing skill. The magick is a circle of women, sharing sacred space, growth, and transformation.
There are certain benefits to using a standardized set of words, as ritual may flow more smoothly if everyone can expect basically the same outline from week to week. If you decide that you want to create your own words in place of mine, you may want to do so as a group, and adhere to a standard outline created by your group. On the other hand, some people really enjoy the free flow of improvised ritual. It’s your magick. Make it work for you!
Mindful Magick
In my magick working, I often take a minimalist approach to ritual. It’s what currently works for me. I call it Mindful Magick, Mindfulness Magick, or Conscious Intuitive Magick. I do a lot of focusing inward, breathing, centering, sensing, and being.
Some of the concepts that I’m working with in creating ritual space at this time include recognizing space as sacred, rather than creating a space that is sacred. I focus on my body as a sacred space, and center in that. I focus on the world around me as a sacred space, and honor that. I encourage you to work with these concepts
as well.
Use the outlines I have provided, but follow your intuition. Do what feels right. It’s your magick. Create it. Shape it. Ride it. Follow it.
A Witch’s Banishing Ritual,
Modified from the Ceremonial Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
The Lesser Banishing is a simple and profoundly effective way to clear ritual space, cast the circle, and call on the guardians of the gates in one fell swoop. It is a beautiful piece of ritual when executed well, and can be modified to encompass your group’s orientation.
This modification of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram was created by myself and assorted ritual partners over the years. Throughout the instructions I will give you options that will allow you to modify it even further yourself, and ideally to make it your own.
1. The Priestess chosen to lead the ritual enters the circle.
2. The other participants follow in a clockwise flow, creating a loose circle around the Priestess.
3. The Tree of Life, performed at the center of the circle.
a. The Priestess points the index and middle fingers of her right hand, folding the other fingers.
b. Touching her forehead with the extended fingers, she says:
I am I,
c. Pointing to the sky, she says:
in harmony with the heavens,
d. Pointing to the ground, she says:
with the earth,
e. Touching her right shoulder, she says:
with the sun,
f. Circling to her left shoulder, she says:
and with the moon,
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