Ritual

An introduction to Ritual

Types of ritual.

There are a number of types of ritual you may come across. This included;-

Gateway ritual, sometimes called rites of passage, creating a new witch, changing the grade of a witch, or some other life stage.
Handfasting, similar to marriage, but with more variables that can be agreed. (see handfasting on left for more details).
Naming, usually a new baby to a couple who are witches, or can be a witch taking on a new witch name.
Witch pairing, setting up working pairs within a coven, also covered on the handfasting page.
Sabats 4 major and 4 minor. these are celebrations connected with the wheel of the yarer and are detailed in their own section, see panel on the left.
Coven meeting, often monthly, but may not be every month as sabots may take precedence on some occasions.
Magic, or sessions specifically set up to do specific spells.
Special training events or days when a respected member of the water witches visits the coven.
Other celebrations, or special occasions.

In Britain the weather and lack of private space, has meant that many are carried out indoors, although some covens are lucky enough to have access to land and woodland to allow some to be carried out privately in the countryside.

The content of rituals.

The actual design of rituals are a variable feature of individual covens but of course follows common themes, and are similar in content across covens.

It is far more important that those participating understand what they are doing, the basis behind it all, and participate in it whole heartedly, with belief and enjoyment, than they try to follow set structures or words. We encourage each coven to create their own format and wording for each ritual, and discourage the copying of rituals from our other covens or from any of the many published works giving rituals.

However to start with, we have a basic formula as far as the relation of working space, the circle, tools and elements are concerned and share with other witchcraft traditions much of this common ground. Some of this is available from buttons on the left of this page.

You can find more through www.school-of-witchcraft.com covering other traditions.

Sex and nudity in ritual.

Many witchcraft traditions involve nudity and sex within their ritual. Some have all of their sessions carried out in the nude and they give very good reasons for this. We as water witches have difficulty in seeing why they do not find the cold, particularly when working outdoors at night.

When taking part in ritual we normally wear a tabard, a type of rectangular sheet with a hole to put our heads through and a rope tying it together around our waists. our arms and part of our sides are open and you will see this gets over most of the working needs others give for needing to work in the nude. Many of our covens also have a form or netting cloak that can be worn indoors made out of material similar to that used for decorative lace curtains that are used for some ceremonies.

However it is important to point out that the working arrangements are down to each coven, and each coven will have its own rituals, some if they wish can include nude sessions, these however would only ever be the inner circle, so all would be adults, and of course as always any witch that wished to could stay away from that particular session if they wished.

Most witches do not have the same hang ups as some sections of the community about nudity, and many feel that the human body is an art form, and where other traditions work all the time in the nude they report that after the first couple of sessions the novelty wears off and no one takes any further notice, in the same way as people who attend naturist camps.

Orgies are not a standard part of any witchcraft tradition we know of, sorry to disappoint you, most traditions include sex magic between two members who are otherwise also a couple, some to handfasted or working couples, the arrangements vary. Sex magic is performed as a part of three rituals, the only one of these you are likely to come across is the the grand rite, this can be performed in two different forms one that just involves the athane (dagger) and chalice symbolically as the union between a god and goddess and the other format includes a sexual act, where the individuals take on the roles of god and goddess. Those participating decide which format they will use, in most cases before, but within some covens it is the female partner who seeks advice from the spirit as to which format it should take as a part of the ritual itself.

In a small number of the water witches covens they have chosen, a half way stage, suggesting that to wear what you would be happy to wear on a continental holiday topless beach should be OK in the circle among coven friends. Each coven decides what is right for them.

It is most important to remember that water witches only do what they want to and believe is right for them and at that time. Therefore none will be expected to take part in any ritual involving nudity or other acts that they are not happy with. It is also a topic that is openly discussed with you when you are looking at joining a coven, and perhaps some covens are more suitable than others for you. In the end it all comes down to what you believe and feel is right for you.