I think Ostara is a wonderful time for a croning with all of its symbology about the rebirth of life and newness! I think it will be a wonderful thing and I look forward to hearing about it!
Our ritual was amazing and empowering......
Each of us stand in our chosen direction. We will be on the outside side of each of the torches and will stay that way facing the circle. Everyone else will turn and face us as directions are called. I will direct the circle to All face East. We will light the torch as we finish each call.
Participant 1:
Spirits of the East, whose element is Air
Through your magic was I able to bring forth new life
As does the Sun when it rises in the East
HP:
Spirits of the South, whose element is Fire
Through your magic were they able to make a tiny spark into the flame of life
Warm and bright as the Sun at Midsummer
Participant 2:
Spirits of the West, whose element is Water,
Through your magic I was able to open wide the gates
Letting the birth waters flow, uniting Spirit and Matter
Just as they where the Sun sets in the West
Participant 3:
Spirits of the North, whose element is Earth,
Through your magic I was able to feed and nourish fresh Spirit
Just as Our Mother nurtures us
Like the newborn sun at Yule.
We all come to the center of the circle around the altar. Facing outward, backs to each other:
HP:
Hear the words of the Grandmother of Time:
She who has been known as
Hecate, Erishkagel, Cerridwen, Kali-Ma,
Anna, Perenna, Spider Woman,
and many other names - some feared, and some loved,
but none ever ignored.
She it is who brings wisdom and
the awareness of eternity.
P1:
She has been the Maiden, and remembers that joy.
She has been the Mother, and recalls that pleasure.
But age has changed her, and taught her the mysteries of
the Wheel that is ever turning, the Wheel that is life, death, and rebirth.
She is the whirling tornado, the erupting volcano,
the rising tidal wave, the trembling of the earth's crust.
With age comes an understanding of the past,
and a glimpse of the future.
P2:
For, in the turning of the Wheel, the past is the future,
and the future is the past.
She is the Learned One, the Teacher,
the Bringer of Inevitable Change.
She is the Dark of the Moon, the Hidden One,
the invisible unknown that lies ahead.
But do not fear her for she is not malicious,
and her touch, however harsh, is love.
Only in ignorance is she scorned and reviled.
Those who do not know her,
parody her as the ugly old woman
whose powers were said to blight crops
and sour the milk in the cow.
P3:
It is fear that turns her age into abomination,
her wrinkles into hideous deformity,
and her voice into an evil and manipulative cackle.
For those who sought power over the earth were afraid
to face her wisdom and her unalterable truth.
But in the old days, we sat at her feet to learn the most ancient lore.
From her came the knowledge of the healing herbs,
and the chants and songs that shaped our lives.
She sat in honour at our councils, our marketplaces, in our homes.
She governed our governing, and interpreted our laws.
She gave focus to our changing seasons.
She was our teacher, our oracle, our promise of rebirth.
HP:
Come, honour her as of old,
listen now to the words of the Wise One,
the ancient Seer, the Crone!
All face into the altar now, backs to the circle.
We gather together to commemorate the withdrawal of the flowing bloods from our friends. We ask the Great Mother to bless our sisters with good health, vitality and gladness. Let the flow act through the younger women now, let these women rest, they have finished their parts as the Goddesses of the Bloods. They are now the Goddesses of the Great Achievements.
P1:
I light this first candle for the bloods that are gone.
P2:
I light this candle for the flowerings of my womanhood.
P3:
I light this candle for the labors ended in glory.
HP:
I release you, said the Goddess of the Red. I accept you said the Goddess of the Yellow. I call you into my Wisdom to grow in, I call you like a new Maiden into my sciences, into my knowledge, into dreams to be manifest!
P1:
I light this first candle for the flowering of my skills.
P2:
I light this candle for friends and support.
P3:
I light this candle for the Blessing from Above.
Pick up amulets from center of altar. Hold them in your hand, turn and face the circle.
Raise them up in one hand above your head.
Participants:
I am Crone
I am Wise
I am Powerful
I am Beautiful
I am Strong
HP:
These are not qualities you have been given anew, but ones you have earned and harbored throughout your life. May this be the day of your rebirth, freed from the burdens of the past!
All place amulets over neck�and yell next line
I am Crone
Clap and cheer�we will have plants in circle to do the same so all will do so.
Give it a few moments, then go back to opening positions. I will say All Face North.
P3:
Spirits of the North, behold my new beginning
Now may I receive your gifts of strength and solidity
Behold my true self
Changing yet unchanged
P2:
Spirits of the West, behold I am reborn
May I now receive your gifts of intuition and knowledge of the Spirit World
Behold my true self
Changing yet unchanged
HP:
Spirits of the South, behold they are born anew
May they now receive your gifts of creativity and energy
Behold their true selves
Changing yet unchanged
P1:
Spirits of the East, behold my new life
May I now receive your gift of clear thinking and inspiration
Behold my true self
Changing yet unchanged
ALL:
The Circle is open, but unbroken
And there was much hootin' & hollerin' and feasting!
The ritual was put together from parts of 5 or 6 rituals that we liked. The amulets were my Willendorf goddess pendants, which I made specifically for us and this ritual.
I look forward to this chapter of my life with peace and joy!