A Womanhood Ritual
July 23,1999

Consecration of Sacred Space
Mother:From water has all life come. May the life which is in this
water cleanse and purify all impurities, that we may be cleansed.
Maiden: I bless this water in the name of the Goddess, that it may
bless us.

Crone: As the water of the sea is salt, so are the tears we weep and
the blood in our veins.
Mother: As the sea responds to the pull of the moon, so do we respond
to the call of the Goddess within our hearts.
 Maiden blesses the Mother and Crone with the elements. The Mother and
the Crone then take the elements to bless each participant with these
words.
 “We bless and consecrate you with the air that is Her breath, and the
warmth of Her Love...”
 “...With the waters of Her Womb, and the earth that is Her Body.
Blessed be.”

Casting the Circle
Maiden: Join with me now in creating this circle as a meeting place
between this world and the Otherworld...
 Mother:  A shield of protection against all that might seek to harm
us....
 Crone: And a place of transformation and celebration, that a
daughter of the Goddess may come into her own. So mote it be!

Calling the Quarters
East:  Spirits of the East, Spirits of Air, bring us your blessings on
this night. Hail and welcome!

South: Spirits of the South, Spirits of Fire,bring us your blessings
on this night. Hail and welcome!

West: Spirits of the West, Spirits of Water,bring us your blessings on
this night. Hail and welcome!

 Spirits of the North, Spirits of Earth,bring us your blessings on
this night. Hail and welcome!

 Mother: Within each woman, the Goddess lives, in her three faces. We
gather tonight to celebrate the Goddess within Katie Thrasher, and to
rejoice with her that she has become a woman. But more than that, we
also have here a chance, by participating in this ritual, to heal
ourselves from our own lonely passage into womanhood, and to celebrate
the Goddess within ourselves.

The Guide leaves to get Katie. She brings Katie down the stairs, and
stops her at the foot.

Guide: Woman-child, you are about to enter the circle of women. Kneel
and receive your mark.

Katie kneels, and is marked on the forehead with a downward pointing
triangle of red pigment.

Guide: Bear the mark of womanhood proudly, but first, contemplate the
transformation that is taking place.

The Guide covers her completely with a piece of black cloth, as with a
shroud, and she and the women in the circle drum and chant as they
move into position before Katie, standing with legs apart. As they do
so, the chanting builds in intensity, and when it reaches its peak,
the Guide pulls the black cloth off Katie and pushes her through the
“tunnel” formed by the women of the circle. (As she passes, they
return to their places). The Guide walks around to meet Katie as she
exits, facing her.

Guide: Now you kneel in the circle of women. Do you know what this
means?

Katie replies, “Not yet.”

Guide: Stand now, and walk the circle with me, and you will learn.

Katie is taken to the East.

East: Katie, know that as a woman
Once in the month when your blood flows
Or the moon is full, your mind will be
Open and receptive to things unseen.
Learn to see with the mind’s eye,
And listen to the wind.
Heed your inner voice.
To be a woman is to gain Wisdom.
Take this gift so that you will always remember this.
(hands her a silver feather charm)

Katie is led to the South.

South: Katie, know that to be a woman
Is to know the joy of passion’s flame.
Learn to open your arms and your heart to love,
And to return it freely.
Be guided always by your mind’s vision
And by your heart’s desire.
To be a woman is to know Love.
Take this gift so that you will always remember this.
(hands her a silver heart charm)

Katie is led to the west.

West: Katie, know that to be a woman
Is to feel the ebb and flow of the tides of life.
Learn to move to the gentle rhythms of your own body,
And to flow with the current of your life.
To be a woman is to feel the flow of life.
Take this gift so that you will always remember this.
(hands her a silver seashell charm)

Katie is led to the north.

North: Katie, know that to be a woman
Is to possess the magick of making.
Learn to bring forth and to nurture
That which the mind can envision,
The heart love and the spirit sense.
To be a woman is to possess the power to create.
Take this gift so that you will always remember this.
(gives a small quartz crystal made into a charm)

Katie is led to the east again and then, having completed the circle,
returns to the altar. The Maiden, Mother, and Crone stand behind it.
Guide: From this night forward shall your life
And the cycles of the moon
Be entwined.
Light now the candles of the Triple Goddess,
The three who are One.
(She hands Katie the matches or lighter)
White as snow or the flowers of May
Is the color of the waxing moon.
Light the white candle for the Maiden.
(Katie lights the candle)
Maiden: I am the promise of the road as it curves behind the hill,
I am the fragrance of another land that inflames your dreams,
I am the magic of a shy smile,
the sweetness of a first kiss.
Look for me,
and you shall find me
In every woman’s laughter,
In every woman’s beckoning hand.
I call to my love,
Come,
Chase me,
Pursue me,
will to have me...
but I will not turn to you without your call,
and when I turn you will see
That I am the wild horse that tosses her wild mane on the wild hills,
and there is no safety in me.
I am the wind that splinters lives to fragments,
and I am the fire that reduces them to ashes,
the water that engulfs,
and the earth from which you emerge, remade
With eyes that have seen the Land of Dreams.
To you who dare to love me,
I give the music of my silver branches,
and the colors of the sunrise
to light your lives forever.
I am eternally new
but always just out of reach.
I am the crescent moon that waxes in the skies.
I am the queen of dreams...
and I am you, and you are me
And no matter your age
I live in you always.
I am the Maiden.
(She marks Katie with a waxing crescent in white pigment to the side
of the red triangle)
Guide:  Red as the flowing blood of Life
Is the color of the moon at Full.
Light the red candle for the Mother.
(Katie lights the red candle)
Mother: High born, full-blooded and lusting free am I;
The wind is my voice and my song.
High and low,
breeze and whirlwind,
soft and sweet,
loud and shrill,
Wild is my will,
and I know my desire.
I am thy Goddess--
before the beginning of time was I.
I made the mountains into peaks,
and laid with soft grass the valleys and meadows.
Mine was the first foot that trod upon the earth,
and where I walked there sprung forth flowers.
In the dawn of the world I taught the sea its song,
And all that lives are my children.
Listen and hear me,
for none can escape me.
It was I who gave birth to you,
And in the depths of my earth,
you will find rest and rebirth,
a fresh shoot to greenness.
Fear me, love me, adore me,
Lose yourself in me.
I am the wine of life,
I stir the senses,
I put song in your heart...
and I am you, and you are me
And no matter your age
I live in you always.
I am the Mother.
(marks her forehead with red pigment, enclosing the triangle)

Guide: Black as the darkest winter’s night
Is the color of the waning Moon.
Light the black candle for the Crone.
(Katie lights the black candle)
Crone: I am the Grandmother of Time.
My names are many,
some feared, some loved...
but I am never ignored.
I have known the joy of the Maiden,
And I have known the pleasure of the Mother.
But I am she who knows the Wheel
that is life and death and rebirth
For me, the past is future, and the future is the past.
I am the Learned One,
The Teacher.
I am Change,
But I am eternally the same.
I am the dark of the moon,
the Hidden one,
the invisible unknown that lies ahead.
But do not fear me, daughter,
for I am not malicious,
And my touch, however harsh, is love.
It is at my feet that learning comes,
and the wise honor me
as oracle, as teacher, as wise woman...
And I am you, and you are me.
And no matter your age,
I live in you always.
I am the Crone.
(marks her forehead with a waning moon in black pigment, completing
the Triple Goddess mark)
Guide: Now the three who are One are within you, and you are within
them.
(she hands her a mirror)
Guide: Behold the girl who has become a woman.
(she is given a moment to gaze upon her reflection)

Guide: We stand now, woman to woman
At the center of the circle
Where all things meet their opposites.
Take this charm of the silver crescent
As a reminder of this:
That as the Horned Moon represents the Goddess
Giver of Life
So too does it symbolize the horns of the Lord of Death.
She who has the power to create life
Also has the power to take it.
The magickal power of womanhood
Is to accept responsibility.
(gives her a charm in the shape of a silver crescent)

Mother: You have been blessed by the Lady in her Three Faces. Now be
blessed by the Lord. For without the Lord, life cannot be. And without
balance, there is no growth.

Pendragon enters and blesses his daughter.
The bread and water are blessed and the Simple Feast is shared. If
there are gifts, they will be presented during this time.

Thanking the Lady
Mother: Goddess, in your many names and faces, you live within us all.
Thank you for your blessing and healing this night. Hail and farewell,
Blessed be.

Closing the Quarters
Spirits of the East, spirits of Air, thank you for your blessings
tonight. Hail and farewell. Blessed Be.

Spirits of the South, spirits of  Fire, thank you for your blessings
tonight. Hail and farewell. Blessed Be.

Spirits of the West, spirits of Water, thank you for your blessings
tonight. Hail and farewell. Blessed Be.

Spirits of the North, spirits of Earth, thank you for your blessings
tonight. Hail and farewell. Blessed Be.

Closing the Circle
The circle is open,
but unbroken.
May the peace of the Goddess and the Love of the God
go in our hearts.
Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again.
Blessed be, and divine do!
1,2,3...It’s a Womaning!