Tree of Life

Rituals: Why, When, Where, Who and How?

‘Let’s do a ritual!’

These words are usually greeted with much enthusiasm. We Pagans do love our rituals! The

opportunity to get together with like minded folk and honour our beloved Deities or celebrate

the turning Wheel of the Year – what’s not to like? And yet how often do rituals fall short

of our expectations, fail to hit the mark, fizzle rather than spark, leave us feeling unsatisfied

or disappointed? We’ve probably all been there. Most rituals are the wonderful, moving,

transformative experiences we hope for. Yet there will always be those which don’t quite work (and

a handful that are outright disasters – hopefully only a handful, anyway!). As with any negative

experience, however, this can be turned to our advantage. By analysing what did or didn’t work, we

can build on our successes and avoid repeating mistakes or misfires.

The likelihood of creating a successful ritual can also be increased by using the simple questions

Why, When, Where, Who and How?

Why?

The first question to ask is why? Why are we holding this ritual? What is its purpose, what are we

trying to convey?

I would estimate that most of the unsuccessful rituals I have attended have failed simply because

those planning them have not given enough thought to why they are holding the ritual in the first

place. It is easy to get so carried away by enthusiasm for holding a ritual that you forget to give it

a clear purpose. If the participants are unclear as to what they are doing and why, the energy of the

ritual will be scattered, confused and unfocussed and the outcome will be unsatisfactory.

The easiest way to avoid this pitfall is to make your first step the formulation of an intention for

the ritual. Examples of an intention could be ‘We will gather together with our Pagan community

to celebrate the festival of Beltane and dance the maypole’, ‘We will trance together to the Isles of

the Dead to meet with and gain wisdom from our Ancestors’, ‘I will raise healing energy through

chanting and send it to A___ to help her arthritis’. It is best to formulate a fairly simple intention

(although you can polish it up with more poetic language if that pleases you) as the simpler the

intention, the easier it is to remember and refer back to during the planning process. Try to sum

up what you are trying to achieve in one or two succinct sentences. Then simply refer back to the

intention periodically as you plan, to make sure you stay on-topic and clearly reflect what you

intend in the ritual content. It’s also helpful to read the intention aloud at the beginning of the ritual.

This ensures everyone is clear about the ‘Why’ of the ritual.

When?

When to hold your ritual? It seems obvious: if Beltane is on a Thursday this year, then your ritual

should be on Thursday. But – especially when planning rituals for a group – Thursday may not be

convenient for everyone. When planning a ritual it’s probably helpful to check with all participants

that the date you have in mind is workable. There may be family commitments, work issues or

childcare to take into consideration. The venue you want may not be available on the date you want.

Although it is lovely to feel you are celebrating on the ‘proper’ date, if this excludes members of

your group it is worth moving the date a few days forward or back . Of course you may find there is

no one date that suits everyone, but it is worth trying to negotiate something mutually convenient to

ensure harmony within the group.

Where?

Where will you hold your ritual? Issues to consider include cost (if hiring a venue), accessibility

(Can you get there on public transport? Can group members lift-share? Is it accessible to those

with health or mobility issues?), weather conditions (if working outside), privacy, time constraints

etc. If your choice of venue excludes participants due to cost or inaccessibility, or you are unable to

concentrate because you are worried about being disturbed by passers by, perhaps you may wish to

re-consider ‘Where’.

Who?

Who will be at your ritual? Is the content appropriate and understandable if children are to be

present? Is prolonged dancing round the fire really a good idea if someone in the group has

bad knees? Is it an open ritual which will include people from different traditions and levels of

experience – if so how will you make it inclusive? If you are doing a solo ritual which will include

deep work, should you arrange to have a ‘minder’ to watch over you or be on call if you need help?

A successful and enjoyable ritual is one that has taken all its participants and their needs into

consideration. With a little simple adaptation you may still be able to go with your original plan

– for example if you really want to raise energy by dancing round the fire, you could have a chair

ready by the fire for the person with sore knees to sit on when they tire, or ask them if they would

be happy to sit and drum instead of dancing. Everyone should be included in, and able to contribute

to the ritual in their own way.

How?

How brings us back to the specifics. When you know why you are holding the ritual, when and

where you will hold it and who will be there you can decide how you are going to convey your

purpose and accomplish your intention in a meaningful way.

Most Pagan rituals typically follow the following formula: Opening (welcome participants, explain

intention and form of ritual), Cleansing, Grounding, Creating Sacred Space (cast circle, welcome

elements, Deities, allies etc), Body of Ritual (visualisation, meditation, spellwork etc), Energy

Raising (chanting, dancing, music etc), a Blessing or few words summarising the work that has

been done, an Offering or Libation (usually food and/or drink shared amongst participants and

offered to Deity/Deities), Closing of Sacred Space (devoke elements, allies, Deities, close circle,

closing words such as ‘Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again!’).

Decide How you will cover each part of the ritual, and ensure that what you have planned fits with

and expresses your ‘Why?’ intention clearly. Then check each component against the questions

When?, Where?, and Who?. When you are happy that you have covered all the parts of the ritual

and checked them all against your simple questions, take a quick look at the ritual as a whole. Does

it flow together smoothly and logically? If not, you may need to polish it a little until it works well

as a whole. Then breathe a sigh of relief and know that you have given it your best shot.

You can’t guarantee a perfect ritual. There will always be hiccups and unforeseen snags. Someone

will fluff their lines, or knock over a candle or the incense will stubbornly refuse to light (or set

off the smoke alarm!). But with good planning and forethought you will reduce the likelihood of

serious problems. And if the worst does happen and you accidentally kick over the altar whilst

circle dancing, don’t panic. Pick it back up and set it straight, but remember to see the funny side

too. After all, in The Charge of The Goddess, She does exhort us to have reverence and mirth within us.

within us.