Online Ceremonies

Ceremony for Lugnasad (lammas; first grain)
Universal Life Church 

Introduction;

As the wheel of seasons continues to turn, we gather to honor the sun god, lugh, and the earth mother danu. The seeds of hope that were planted in spring, have matured into fruits and grain to be harvested and put away for the long cold nights ahead. projects and ideas that were inspired by the dark nights of winter, have matured, and their developments are to be reflected upon, so changes can be made for next year. We give thanks for our bountiful harvest, and mourn the sacrifice made by the god and the earth mother in the reaping of the grain. Let us honor them now with this, our rite.

Casting the circle/ making sacred space:

Ask participants to hold hands as they invite the old ones, and elemental kings to the rite,

“Close your eyes, and breathe in deeply, feel “ the element of air” welcome the mental clarity that comes from air,

Again breathe deeply, and welcome “the element of fire”, feel your spirit deep inside you, light with a fire from within. Welcome the protection, and courage, the passion of your faith. Welcome, fire.

Take a breath and let it fill your toes and continue up to the top of your head in one continuous wave.

 Exhale and let your breath flow. Feel the harmony and peace, let your breath, restore  your balance. welcome “ the element of water.

With feet firmly planted on the ground, breathe deeply and imagine yourself grounded to the earth,  with roots that extend deep into the soil. Feel your stability, stand on firm foundation, you are a rock, and your faith is unwavering, and strong. Welcome “the element of earth”.”

“Let us now invoke our gods of old, pray with me, father , lugh, god of the sun, and danu, our mother earth, welcome us into your willing womb. Let us learn to live in love, of all that you are so that our seeking spirit, will serve you in this our rite of honor and thanksgiving. We are your children. Protect us   as we seek wisdom and guidance from you, help us to understand the meaning of your mysteries,  as we meet today as others have met before us, to honor you with this our rite.”

The rite:

(For this ceremony, a shaft of wheat, or an ear of corn is ritually cut at dawn, and placed on the altar before the ceremony. Participants are asked to place their best fruits and vegetables on the altar as well so they can be blessed and consumed at the feast. Sometimes a harvest king and queen is chosen as well to preside over the festivities. A shaft of wheat or a portion of the seeds of the harvest are given out to all participants to be kept safe, and planted the following year, to ensure next years bountiful harvest. Corn dollies are fashioned as decorations and for children to play with. Berry pies and whole grain bread fashioned from new wheat and cornmeal are served) 

celebrant  speaks to congregation holding up the shaft of wheat or ear of corn;

“behold, the seed planted in the dark womb of our mother, has sprouted, grown, and now matured. It is cut and sacrificed, so as to become food for our bodies, and energy for our spirits. We mourn the death of the harvest king, the sacrifice made for us so we may live. As we partake of the harvest this day, let us remember the sacrifice, and allow this food to nourish our physical bodies as well as our spiritual body.

    Let us reflect also on our projects, relationships and ideas that we have nurtured this year, and give thanks for those that have developed and prospered.”

    (Each participant is given a grain of wheat or a seed)

   “ Know that we hold in this seed the hope and promise of our harvest for next year. It is our faith in the blessings of our gods, that makes it so. Let each one of us receive this seed, to remember our harvest king and earth mother, let us keep it as a symbol of our faith, to be  planted next year as confirmation of  our faith and renewal of  our pledge to the old ways.” 

Consecration of food and drink;

( wine or fruit juice, various vegetables and fruits, as well as breads on the altar are blessed, and passed among the participants, so all may partake of the best of the harvest.)

“ let us now give thanks for this food and drink, lovingly prepared by willing hands and grown with the goodness of the earth, and the strength of the sun, let us give thanks for our ancestors who came before us and who have taught us the ways of the old ones. Let us learn from them love, humility, sacrifice and service so that together we can make our home a better place for all. May this food and drink nourish us today, and through memory, tomorrow.”

( food and drink is passed to all participants)

Benediction;

“In peace and love we gathered here today, to give thanks and mourn the sacrifices made by all so we may live to worship here again. We thank the elemental kings of earth and air and fire and water, for stability, mental clarity, protection, and harmony. We thank our god, lugh, and our dear earth mother danu, for their guidance and wisdom to understand the mysteries of life and death. Our circle is closed now, but never broken, and remains a sacred place for us to meet again. We leave now in peace and love, and take with us a small seed to remind us of this day, and our love for our ways and each other. Blessed be.”

Suggestions

Altar decorated with summer fruits and vegetables, and summer flowers, such as sunflowers, white candles (one to represent  each,the god and goddess). Table  cloths of gold or yellow, to represent the sun. berry  pies , whole grain bread, freshly baked, wrapped in white cloths, placed in baskets on altar.

Games of summer;  making corn dollies, from ripe ears of corn, or shafts of wheat. Games of tag and races, corn mazes, fire-fly catching, music, dance, making sunflower hats, swimming, bonfires, storytelling

Hanging corn on front door;

1 ear; meant that your crop was small and your family may need food for the winter, those with plenty would leave food on the doorstep to help those in need.

2 ears; meant that you had enough food to last your own family for the winter

3 ears; meant you had plenty to share with those in need,

this was a way  to aid the poor, but to do so discretely.

Written by rev. becky king

Also known to our troops as “mamadukes’

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have many classes in Christianity, one about Wicca, several forms of Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

You can  become an ordained minister, for free,  and for life, so use this Free Online Ordination, link.

This  online seminary, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies. 
 

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Pagan Online Ceremonies

By Rev. A. Einion (Cardiff) A Look At Paganism

Hello all Paganism today is as multi-faceted as it ever was, perhaps even more so. But there are fundamental aspects of The Craft which underlie the belief systems of most pagans and which inform us in our daily lives. One of these in the Threefold Law. Most pagans know the rede "An it harm none, do what ye will." Added to this is the rule that whatever you send out into the Universe you will receive back, like for like, threefold. If you transmit love, then three times as much love will return to you. If you transmit hate, then that hate will be returned to you three times over. This forms the bedrock of pagan morality for many pagans, and as such needs to be explored a little more in relation to notions of good and evil. As other ministers have already mentioned, most pagans do not believe in a devil, but in evil residing in the hearts of people who practice it. Others argue that paganism is not a religion. For some it is a religion, with a prescribed set of teachings, a book, rules and guidelines for living our lives. Those of us from Hereditary backgrounds are more likely to be of the latter kind of pagan. For us, notions of good and evil also come from working against the laws of nature and of the Family or Coven. What is to do harm? Many of us do not realise that to do harm can merely be a product of failing to act. If someone is being unjustly accused of a crime or an action, and we do not act to correct the injustice, we have allowed harm to occur. If we see someone being bullied but do nothing to correct that, we are doing harm. Failing to act in the presence of evil, when such action can bring about good or prevent harm, is to do harm as surely as if we had carried out the act ourselves. What are the rules? Our Family tenet revolves around Love, and all of its manifestations. This means we must act only in love, worship only in love, come together only in love, however that may manifest itself. Certain 'morality systems' might then have issues with the ways in which that is occasionally manifested, or with the ways in which certain of our group choose to work magickally in order to engender love or follow the tides of energy that flow from the Gods themselves. If we are to 'do only that which is right' then we must clearly identify the definition of right. Is it right to go against the flow of nature? Is it right to engender hate by ill-wishing through malicious gossip? But what if the action you take is something that is right for you, but seems wrong to others? This is where all situations, circumstances and happenings must be examined in the light of full knowledge of all the facts. Let me give you an example. A Family coven is working closely together, and the powers raised are such that two of the coven manifest them in a way that involves physical intimacy. One of the pair is married to someone outside the coven. Is this wrong? In the light of those simple facts, yes, because it would be doing harm to betray a monogamous, sworn relationship and hurt another person. But let us look at the full facts. The marriage was already on the point of ending, the couple had been having an open relationship for some time, and the one who engaged in this act did so knowing that it would not change anything in his marriage, only in his magickal growth and knowledge. The other of the magickal pairing was also aware of these facts, and deemed that if Love was being made manifest in this manner, it was being made manifest as a force of change and growth, liberating the married couple from a stagnant and unhappy state and allowing both to move on to new paths and new relationships. No harm was done until someone close to the married couple found out and began spreading malicious, cruel and evil gossip about the Family, threatening the Family with physical and psychological violence, and publicly condemning them. This person acted without full knowledge of the facts, and in the assumption that things occurred which did not occur. Their only purpose was to tell the whole world that the Family were evil. But who was in the wrong here? It is a difficult question. I will not give you the answers, but allow you to muse upon it yourselves. Just remember, so-called Christian morality is not necessarily all-encompassing and, while it works for some people, is not the only moral standpoint. If we look at the tides of life for knowledge and understanding, we can see that life is constantly in a state of growth and change. It is, in our view, more 'right' to follow that flow, to move with the tides of nature and with life and with love. I hope this has given you food for thought, without laying down the law. Love and Blessings Rev. A. Einion (Cardiff) ******************************* The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have many classes in Christianity, one about Wicca, several forms of Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.  You can  become an ordained minister, for free,  and for life, so use this Free Online Ordination, link. This  online seminary, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.    Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Online Ceremonies

Empty Next Ceremony
Universal Life Church
Online Ceremonies

Gather a small group of friends who are making this transition.

Ask them each to prepare their favorite dish to share with the group.

Set the tone by lighting candles and remind them that just as birthing a child can be a painful and yet amazing transition when done consciously, the same is true for allowing the child to fly. So this ritual is about bring deeper consciousness to the emotions and feelings surrounding this transition.

The leader might being with the reading "A New Dance" and then do a guided meditation.

Asking each guest to travel through the years that they spent with their children.

Allowing any feelings to just be notices, sadness, guilt, joy, pride.

Bring them to the present moment, and allow them to visualize themselves in a garden surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants, tall oaks, and climbing vines. Allow them to walk around the grounds and find a place to sit. In this place have them ask for the continued perfect unfoldment, for continued guidance, and for continued grace.

Allow them to look out at all the paths that lay ahead of them, there are some that lead to the ocean, some that lead to the city, some that lead to a party of dancing people, some that lead to a library and museums. etc.

Then ask them just to notice the paths and give thanks for all these possible perfect path ways of their future. Remind them that they always carry the blood of their offspring with them where ever they go. Remind them that the same is true for their children. Their children carry apart of their parents forever. So that the two will
never be severed.

Have tissues, note paper and pens available.

Invite each member to write about their experience and  any thoughts or ideas that may have come to light. Invite them to share with the group or just hold on to it.

Bless and share the meal.

Best of luck with your project. I know it all unfolds with effortless ease and for the greater good of all.

Sincerely,

Maureen Muldoon

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have many classes in Christianity, one about Wicca, several forms of Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

You can  become an ordained minister, for free,  and for life, so use this Free Online Ordination, link.

This  online seminary, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies. 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar