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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
MOON WEB
C/O Michael Harismides
PO Box 4538, Sunnyside, New York 11104-4538
Subscription $3.00 a year
RITUAL FOR THE HEALING AND PRESERVATION OF RAINFORESTS
May 24th, 1988
8 pm local time
(Individual version):
Cast a circle
Invoke elements by calling upon them in protective aspects (for example,
you might invoke Watchfires or Beacons in the South).
Chant the names of the Earth Goddess, beginning with your personal
favorites, then naming as many as you can think of.
Take a piece of green string. Begin to tie knots in it, while chanting:
Tying the Cord, Renewing the Earth;
We are Her Children, bringing Rebirth.
(The knots may be simple or elaborate, but leave enough string to tie
together at the end.) As you chant, see the world as a network of
connected systems. Breathe the air that comes from the jungles of South
America. Feel the living fire of an ocelot's power. Taste the rain on the
leaves at the tops of the trees. Feel the delicate structure of the soil
at the forest floor.)
Tie the cord together in a loop; hold it up, strung around your two hands,
and begin chanting:
We are the Flow and we are the Ebb;
We are the Weavers, we are the Web.
As you chant, see yourself standing guard over the borders of the
rainforest. See yourself with others, protecting rainforest as you would
protect yourself,_because that's what you're doing._
Bury the cord in a container of earth. Earth the power; thank the Deities
and elements; open the circle. Later bury the cord in the forest if
possible.
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(If circumstances make the above impossible):
Sit quietly and see: the network of ecosystems that make up the world; the
rainforests thriving; plants and animals breeding; the Earth, green and
filled with life; yourself, standing guard. Breathe, and know that the air
comes from the sea and the jungles of Brazil. Drink and know that the
water has been around the world, and circulates through you as it does
through the air, land, and sea. Stand up and stretch; the strength of your
body is the Earth's strength.
RITUAL
FOR THE HEALING AND PRESERVATION
OF RAINFORESTS
(Group version):
Facilitators give each participant a slip of paper containing the name of
an Earth Goddess and a Nature God.
Facilitators invoke elements, stressing protective/preservative aspects of
each one and ending with "Into this circle I call the Element Air! (Fire,
Water, Earth.)" After each such invocation, a dancer or dancers
representing the particular element come into the circle from outside and
do an elemental dance.
A facilitator says: "We now call upon the Earth Goddess by her many
names!" Participants call out the Goddess name on their slip of paper,
then any other Goddess names they wish. This ends on a signal from the
drums.
A facilitator says: "We now call upon the God of Nature by his many Names!"
The God is invoked in the same fashion as the Goddess, ending with a drum
signal.
The elemental dancers go to the quarters and begin passing out pieces of
green string, while a facilitator explains that the condition of the
rainforests affects us all, that all things are connected, and that the
worldwide climate is changed every time another acre of rainforest is lost.
S/he explains that these sections of cord represent parts of the Life
Circle of Earth, and that they must be joined to protect her.
When the above speech has been made and all the cords have been passed out,
a facilitator ties the first knot, saying that tying the cord is renewing
the Earth, that we are her children, bringing her rebirth. This is the
signal to begin the chant:
Tying the Cord, Renewing the Earth;
We are Her Children, bringing Rebirth.
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Clockwise around the circle, one by one, each cord is tied to the next.
When the circle is complete, the elemental dancers go to the quarters and
hold the cord aloft (participants should not let go yet). The chant
continues until the facilitators begin a second chant:
We are the Flow and we are the Ebb;
We are the Weavers, we are the Web.
(Since this is to the same tune, the transition should be easy and
seamless.) When this chant begins, the elemental dancers begin to gather
in the cord, gently pulling it away from the participants, who gently
release it. The elementals bury the cord in a container of earth in the
center of the circle, then return to the outside to lead a spiral dance in
to the center and back out (once) as the chant continues. When the
participants are standing in a circle once more, the chant builds to a cone
of power and fires.
The Deities and Elements are thanked, the power is earthed, the circle
opened, hugs exchanged. Later bury the cord in the woods.
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