Gamelia ritual by Neis he Sunarmostes I. Equipment and Supplies II. Preparation A. Tool Consecration B. Theagamia III. Ritual A. Purification / Concentration B. Consecrating the Bomos / Defining the Sacred Space C. Hymn to the King and Queen of Heaven and Earth D. Hieros Gamos of Hera and Zeus 1. Hymn of praise to Hera 2. Hymn of praise to Zeus 3. Preparation / Narration of the Hieros Gamos 4. Symbolic Union / Conception of Ares 5. Entheos of all present 6. Hymn of praise to Ares E. Closing the circle ________________________________________________________________________ I. Equipment and Supplies sword bowl incense and burner salt candle matches altar cloth apple post-ritual munchies *duct tape *dark bedsheet *Specific to the place we're holding the ritual. II. Preparation A. Tool Consecration Needed: Salt, water, incense, candle or altar fire. Procedure: 1.Prepare altar. 2.Have tools to be consecrated on or near altar. 3.Cast circle. 4.Consecrate Salt and Water (if not already done as part of circle casting). 5.For each tool to be consecrated, do the following: 6.Hold up the tool and pray: Hera, hear! Zeus, hear! I call on You and all the other Gods! I dedicate and consecrate this bowl/sword to You. If ever I've fulfilled my vows and pleased Your hearts, now cleanse this bowl/sword of every taint and all corruption. Purify it for my use and for Your service. 7.Meditate on the tool, on its history and construction, on the purposes you intend for it; send it purifying energy. 8.Sprinkle it with salt (representing Earth). 9.Sprinkle it with consecrated water (representing Water). 10.Pass it through the incense smoke (representing Air). 11.Pass it through or over the candle or altar flame (representing Fire). 12.Hold the tool aloft, point to it, and command: I charge thee by the powers of the Goddesses and Gods, by Sun and Moon and Stars, by Fire, Water, Earth and Air, to serve the Goddesses and Gods through me. I consecrate thee by the names: Hera! Zeus! By the names of all the Gods and Goddesses! Esto! 13.Repeat for each tool. 14.Open the circle. B. Theagamia Clean the bathtub well. Draw a bath and scent it with an appropriate oil. The priestess should bathe herself thoroughly and recite the following prayer: "By the power of the Gods, I present myself as Hera's humble servant. Through me may she be cleansed, and reclaim her sacred virginity. By the powers of the Gods, all things are possible; Mother becomes maiden, to become mother once more. Esto!" The priest should also cleanse himself in a ritual bath, but can forgo such a prayer. III. Ritual A. Purification / Concentration The priest or priestess should lead all present in a relaxation / guided meditation, focusing on draining away all ill thoughts and purifying the mind and soul. B. Consecrating the Bomos / Defining the Sacred Space I. Erecting the Temple Censor is lit, and a brand therefrom is dipped into water to make Khernips. See the prayer of the Flame and the Khernips. [below] Cup and Dagger are taken up in the left and right hands. Priest shouts: Hekas Hekas Este Bebelloi! He or she then says: "Let these Holy Instruments be carried about the Bomos." on the first Circumambulation. (Opening circumambulations are clockwise.) On the second circumambulation: "With Will I cleanse this Temple and define the Sacred Precinct." On the third circumambulation: "With love I cleanse this temple and define the sacred precinct." A circle of protection should be visualized. The precinct is sprinkled with Khernips and fumed saying: "I purify with water" and "I sanctify with fire." I. Prayer of the Flame Prometheus, who brought this flame to Earth Was bound for it, and tortured daily for An eagle eats his liver: by this use We set Him free. All holy things hold heat, All living things are flame, the flame of love Of sex, of war, of anger: these all burn As this flame burns, a doorway to the Gods, A path up high Olympus, which we climb To offer gifts to all the Deathless Gods. We light a flame to guide us to the Truth, We light a flame to warm our frigid hearts, We light a flame to honor ancient Gods. II. Prayer of the Khernips Into the water let the fire plunge! We wash our hands together, one by one, And purify ourselves, we wash our hands Of hatred, pain and jealousy, of fear, Of enmity and cowardice, of lies, We wash our hands together: we are one Before the Gods, we stand together, One. C. Hymn to the King and Queen of Heaven and Earth To be recited by one of the worshippers in attendance. "It was no good mind of man that came North with thunder, riding the wind, But the breast of God, the brow subtle flesh It was, and Goddess too, Lord and Lady together, Friends of humans, They, and in Their hands Holding aloft the Fruits of Plenty and the Bolts of Law. Hail unto you! God of Gods and Goddess of Goddesses! All-father, All-mother, creator and destroyer Unto you is the glory of the Earth complete, Unto you is all praise given, whether known or not, And unto you, all sacrifices find their eventual way. Lord and Lady, Zeus and Hera, Father, Mother I sing the praises of Your Holy Names today!" D. Hieros Gamos of Hera and Zeus 1. Hymn of Praise to Hera To be recited by the priest. "I hold an apple up, and sing Your praise, The mystery hereof, is clasp within, and shines A star -- within each seed, You dwell, my Queen. How can I sing aright Your modesty and power? How can a human bard reveal the love he feels For You, oh Ancient Goddess, Immortal, fresh And pure! We sing Your praise, for life you give And always gave; how can we take from You, And not give back our love, My Queen? All Hail Hera, of the Gentle Rains, we sing!" 2. Hymn of praise to Zeus To be recited by the priestess. "Your hoary head will nod, and hairs will wave To crush the mountains down, and nations test, While suns shine in Your eyes, O ancient God, Of ancient force, to You we sing this hymn. Your power is so great, a single breath May raise a valley, knock a mountain down, May smash a nation, bless a joyous house, May give us fear, or awe to be beloved Of You, so great a God. The World Hails!" 3. Preparation / Narration of the Hieros Gamos The consecrated bowl is filled with water or wine. The bowl and the consecrated sword are placed on the Bomos with the sword to the right and the bowl to the left. The priest faces east across the Bomos, and the priestess faces west. The priest assumes the Olympic attitude of prayer (standing, feet slightly apart, arms outstretched to the sky, palms up. Face is bent slightly upward), and recites the following. "Forth from the clouds springs Zeus, the God of Storm Who with His lightning blasts all things he will, And spreads his silver seed upon the Earth. He came to Hera, Queen of Heaven, Ere they took themselves to the summit of Mount Ida, Where shrouded in a golden cloud They were joined one to another In the holiest of holy unions." The priest takes up the sword. The priestess assumes the Olympic attitude of prayer and recites the following. "Ah, yes, it's true that Zeus came forth, and with A terrible thundering, made love to the formidable Hera, And blessed His Queen with His love, And she was willing, true, for Zeus Had at long last wood Her to Her liking, And as she drew the trembling sparrow To her breast, so did she draw the great Heaven-shaker within her body, and thus she received The Will of Zeus, to mix with Hera's love!" The priestess takes up the cup. The priest holds aloft the dagger and says: "O Eimi Dios, in the Storm I come, My shadow comes, and swallows buildings down, My breath breaks mountains, lightning springs and blasts The Roots of Earth, oh Wild and Free I come, The God of wind, rushing might, and force, I come, an Eagle's shadow follows Me." The priestess then holds aloft the cup and says: "O Eimi Hera, from the Sky I come, From the stomach of Kronos I claim my second birth, Released by my brother-bridegroom, thou, Zeus, King of Heaven, whom I reign beside. I hold in My hands the power of Heaven and Earth, Of Birth and Death, of Love and Jealousy. Fitting it is that two so powerful as We Should be joined in body and spirit. So come, and in My arms I'll have the God And make a Child from They who rule the sky!" 4. Symbolic union / conception of Ares The priest and priestess raise a charge of Dunamis by chanting "erkhometha". All in attendance should join in to generate as much Dunamis as possible. When the energy is at its highest peak, the priest places the sword in the bowl, so the point thereof breaks the surface of the liquid. He pushes the energy raised through the sword, while the priestess pushes the energy she has raised into the liquid. When the two energies are commingled sufficiently, the sword should be removed from the bowl. The priestess then holds the bowl on high and says: "Behold, Ares is conceived! Here is the womb of Hera!" She takes the cup to each of the participants, who drink and say "Ego eimi Ares. Khaire!" The priest then drinks half of the remaining liquid, and the priestess the rest. 5. Hymn of praise to Ares The priestess recites: "Oh, brave, oh Manly, oh Ares Of the bare limbs, of the tight iron, Of the chest plate and clanging sword, Holy God of terrible War, I sing to you God of strength, god of courage, all things Need the power of Your might, And thus I sing, saying, come unto us And give unto us the manly courage of war, The brazen throated cry of victory, The unshaven valor of struggling men, Oh, sweat, oh blood, oh God, To you the glory of victor belongs, Warlike one, with terrible brute force you fight And win against all kinds of foes. Hail, Ares, though You make us tremble, We do homage unto You!" The priest recites: "Thus we have created entheos, and within is a God. The strength and courage of Ares infuses us With godly vigor, and we shake off the sluggish Doldrums of winter." All sing: "Winter still a time for sowing Secret seeds for future growing Life within your dream of what will be" The chant song is repeated over and over, and the priestess sings the descant: "Winter's secret life!" Winter Still (D minor) D A A G Win- ter's Se- cret A D D E F F E D Win- ter still a time for sow- ing A Life! A D D E F F E D Se- cret seeds for fu- ture grow- ing D A A G A Win- ter's Se- cret Life! A D D E F F E D D Life with- in your dreams of what will be. E. Closing the circle The temple is closed by the Priest walking counterclockwise once about the Bomos, then knocking on the Bomos with the hilt of the dagger, saying "I now declare this temple duly closed." _____________________________________________________________ Lesser tool consecration (c) 1996 Apollonius Sophistes Hymns, Defining Sacred Space, and parts of Hieros Gamos (c) Pat Dunn Gamelia Ritual (c) 1997 Neis he Sunarmostes