Before going to the mundus, everything is done with the right hand; after going to the mundus, it is done with the left hand. Also, there is a shift from east to west.
At the beginning of the ritual, the mundus is outside the space, to the west. By it is a bowl of cider, a ladle (on a plate or towel), and the Waters bowl. The speltá is set up in the east. It is set up reversed, with the bowls on the right and the knife on the left. There is graveyard wood on the south side of the fire.
Nemos Ognios Samhain Ritual, 2011
Ceisiwr Serith, Liturgist
When it is time for the ritual, the Priest sounds the sickle. All gather, and he says:
Bigí do thost! Bigí do thost! Bigí do thost! May we all maintain a holy silence.
(Each time he says “Bigí do thost!” he sounds the sickle.)
The Fire Tender says:
And in that holy silence, may truth be spoken. May lovely Brighid inspire our words, inspire our actions, inspire us all. May her flame, a living flame, burn in us.
The Priest says:
All things begin in darkness and in it all things end as well. We start in the darkness and to it we go as well. At the year’s end, at harvest’s end, comes the dark, comes the mystery, comes the beyond. Tonight we will call to those beyond to join us in the dark, the ancestors who come to us from beyond, and join us in the mystery of life and death.
The Fire Tender says:
May we be pure that we might cross through the sacred. May we cross through the sacred that we might attain the holy. May we attain the holy that we might be blessed in all things.
She asperses herself and other and then puts the bowl down.
She puts a small amount of lighter fluid over the briquettes in the xā́sā, and light them, saying:
Shining Lady, unite us all, for by worshipping at a common hearth we are made one family, one people. Queen of the hearth, your household is here. May we pray with a good fire.
She starts to sing, with the others joining in on the chorus:
This flame is small that’s how it seems yet even so it bears our dreams For flame’s a goddess to whom we pray to be one family, here today. The flame now grows from coal to coal and every one is each a soul For flame’s a goddess to whom we pray to be one family, here today. The flame has spread from heart to heart. It binds us still when we’re apart. For flame’s a goddess to whom we pray to be one family, here today. She burns within through all our days. Let all as one sing out her praise. For flame’s a goddess to whom we pray to be one family, here today. For flame’s a goddess to whom we pray to be one family, here today.
[The Fire Tender sings the last chorus once more by herself, with " family, here today" is sung more slowly.]
The Fire Tender pours butter on the fire and says:
Eat with us,All:
Eat with us,Fire Tender:
Share our food,All:
Share our food,Fire Tender:
Share our home.All:
Share our home.Fire Tender:
Tod héstu!All:
Tod héstu!
The Procession
The Priest says:
Set forth upon the shining path, the ancestral way laid out before us. Place your feet with measured stride, in ancient rhythm.
All then process to the site in silence to a slow heartbeat drum. There is no singing of the Earth Mother song when people enter. As he arrives at the gate, the Priest lifts and then lowers the sacrifice silently. He enters and puts the sacrifice down on the speltá. The Chthonic Celebrant picks up the bowl of mixed grain and goes to where the Fire Tender is. The Chthonic Celebrant sprinkles the grain onto the ground where the xā́sā will be, praying:
We build our fires on the breast of the Earth; on Her our hearths are formed. To Her this offering, then, preparing this to be our space, our place of worship.
She pauses, then says:
Mother of All, receive this gift!All:
Mother of All, receive this gift!
The Fire Tender puts the xā́sā down and the Chthonic Celebrant goes to her place. The drummer stops.
The Main Ritual
The Fire Tender offers some butter to the hearthfire, while the Priest says:
With the burning of the fire we take possession of the land it lights, of the world it warms. From here to there we take possession.
With the last sentence he gestures from side to side.
The Priest picks up the bottle of beer, opens it, holds it up, faces out through the gate, and says:
We form our Cosmos in the midst of Chaos, and on this night, of all nights, we must deal with the Outsiders. For the walls weaken, the mists clear, the ways to the Otherworld open, and who knows what might wander through? To those who might harm us, this beer. Take it and do not trouble us.
He takes the beer outside of the space and brings it to the offering spot. He puts it down, turns away, and tips it over with his left foot. He returns to the space and purifies himself.
The Champion goes to the gate and says:
If they won’t accept our offering, if they seek to invade our world, if they seek to undermine our Cosmos, they should know: Lugh is our champion!
He lifts the spear up high and sings:
Strong hand, bright one, Spear tip: Lugh is our champion! Long hand, skilled on, Young bull: Lugh is our champion!
All sing:
Strong hand, bright one, Spear tip: Lugh is our champion! Long hand, skilled on, Young bull: Lugh is our champion!
The Champion says:
If, then, the Outsiders won’t accept our offering, let them accept our warning: Lugh is our champion, and he will protect his own.
He goes out the gate and sticks the spear in the ground just outside of it and to the right. He returns to the space, purifies himself, and returns to his place.
The Fire Tender transfers a briquette from the hearthfire to the altar with the butter spoon, while the Priest says:
In the world's very center we light our fire, here where the sacred and the mundane meet Here we light a living flame. Receive our offering and bless our rites.
The Fire Tender blows on the briquette to enflame the tinder, while the Priest says:
With our prayers we bless you, with the breath of our mouths.
It may be necessary to use matches, lit by pressing them against the briquette, to get the tinder going.
Once the fire is going well, the Priest says:
Listen to my words; see the cosmos about you.
He sings:
The waters support and surround us
He makes a semi-circle with both his hands, extending upwards from a point. He sings:
The land extends about us
He puts his hands in the middle of the top of the semi-circle, palms downward, and brings them out to the ends of the semi-circle. He sings:
The sky stretches out above us.
He makes another semi-circle upwards from the edge of the other one, with his hands meeting at its top. He sings:
At the center burns a living flame.
He puts both of his hands, joined together, in the center of the circle he has drawn (and thus the center of the flat area he has also drawn), and brings them in to touch his heart. He sings:
May all the Kindreds bless us. May our worship be true.All:
May our worship be true.Priest:
May our actions be just.All:
May our actions be just.Priest:
May our love be pure.All:
May our love be pure. Blessings, and honor, and worship to the Holy Ones.
The Priest says:
Come we together on this holy day across the distances that lay between us to this time, to this place, For one strong purpose: To honor the Ancestors in the proper manner, on this night, their night, night of Samhain.
The Chthonic Celebrant sets up the image of Janus to the east of the hṇ́gwnis, and the Fire Tender offers incense, saying:
Jan-e Pater, with honor, with worship, with thanks.
She offers incense with each of the three phrases.
The Chthonic Celebrant returns to her place, and the Fire Tender says:
From tearing ocean into welcoming bay, Come homeward, Sailor, on silver keel. Cross beacon-guided the shattering shoal, O gently comeAll:
and joyful stay.
The Fire Tender pushes her hands outwards in an opening gesture, saying:
A Mhanannán, open the way!All:
Open the way!
The Chthonic Celebrant throws whiskey on the fire with the butter spoon.
The Fire Tender continues:
From tearing ocean into welcoming bay, past guardian jetty guide your boat, and tie its rope to pillared pier, O gently comeAll:
and joyful stay.
The Fire Tender pushes her hands outwards in an opening gesture, saying:
A Mhanannán, open the way!All:
Open the way!
The Chthonic Celebrant throws whiskey on the fire with the butter spoon.
The Fire Tender says:
From tearing ocean into welcoming bay, set foot on land with blessing touch, and enter home, and sit at hearth. Come homeward, Sailor; come Son of Sea: O gently comeAll:
and joyful stay.
The Fire Tender pushes her hands outwards in an opening gesture, saying:
A Mhanannán, open the way!All:
Open the way!
The Chthonic Celebrant throws whiskey on the fire with the butter spoon.
Fire Tender:
From the land of the gods, To the land of men,All:
May sacred power flow. May Manannán be our guide to the gods.
The Fire Tender says (with a gesture of opening):
May the gates be open!All:
May the gates be open!
The Priest then sets up the image of Xáryomen. He goes to the hṇgwnis and pours butter on it. He sings:
Xáryomen Dhétipotei,All:
Xáryomen, Lord of the Law of the People.Priest:
Sumēnésṇs prihons dṓtorAll:
Giver of well-disposed friends.Priest:
Suwéstēr zdhi.All:
Be our good Herdsman.Priest:
Wédhe nōs somAll:
Bring us together.Priest:
Xṛ́neu nōs sḗm.All:
Make us one.Priest:
Tebhyo zṃgénse spendemes.All:
May we worship you as one people!Priest:
Unite us Xáryomen, make us one,All:
May we come before the gods speaking with one voice.
The Fire Tender puts incense on the altar fire and says:
May all the Holy Ones come to us as we worship them here. May they come to us on the shining path as we call to them with proper words. Holy Ones, We worship you with sweet offering.All:
Holy Ones, We worship you with sweet offering.
All sing:
Hail all the gods Hail all the goddesses Hail all the Holy Ones we dwell together Lords of the sky Ladies of the sacred earth Ancient and Undying Ones we dwell together. Hail all the gods Hail all the goddesses Hail all the gods and goddesses Hail all the gods Hail all the goddesses Hail all the Holy Ones we dwell together
The Priest says:
From our safe and warm home we will go into the dark, to honor the Ancestors, and invite them to join us.
Process out of the space, counter-clockwise, to the mundus. The Priest leads, carrying the silver. He is followed by the Fire Tender, who carries a bowl of beans. The drummer begins a heartbeat rhythm.
When all have reached the mundus, the Priest removes the tile from it, and the drumming stops. He pours the silver into the mundus, saying:
Dark place, be our opening to the Underworld that the Ancestors might be honored and return to us tonight.
The Fire Tender puts beans in the mundus, saying:
Come to us, Ancestors, Spirits of the Dead: be honored by our rites, be pleased with our offerings, be strengthened, be strong.
The Priest uncovers the skull and places it on the ground by it. He says:
Donn, first to dieAll:
You went before us, be here now.Priest:
Donn, to whose realm we will all someday goAll:
You went before us, be here now.Priest:
Donn, on whose island home the dead now liveAll:
You went before us, be here now.Priest:
We pray to you tonight, Donn, Donn, Lord of the Dead.
With each of the first three lines he throws beans so that they strike the skull.
There is a short pause. Then the Priest sings:
Old Ones Ancestors Source of our people, Source of our wisdom, Source of all we are and have: we offer to you, we praise you, we give you thanks.
Starting with the Priest and going counterclockwise, each person puts a bean or so in the mundus, invokes an ancestor or ancestors, and ladles some of the cider into the Waters bowl. This is continued as long as desired; each person may invoke more than once.
When all have finished, the Priest pours the rest of the beans into the mundus, saying:
For all the Dead who have no descendants, and for all those who descendants do not offer to them, these beans, that they might be strong.
He pours the rest of the Waters into the bowl. The drumbeat begins again. The Fire Tender picks up the mundus, and the Priest the bowl, ladle, and skull. All process back to the space, the Fire Tender first. She puts the mundus in the west. The Priest puts the skull in front of it, facing in, and the bowl and ladle down on the left of the speltá. He goest to the speltá, facing west, and the Fire Tender moves to the other side of the fires.
The Fire Tender pours butter on the fire, saying:
Be welcome in our midst, You who precede us: be honored at our hearth as we feed you.
She puts graveyard wood on the fire, saying:
We join our hearth this night with yours, Honored Dead.
The Priest then uncovers the sacrifice, lifts it, and says:
This sow has come willingly, eagerly, to the place of sacrifice bedecked with gold in celebration and beauty.
He sprinkles water on it, using his left hand, three times, saying each time:
A pure offering is this, without blemish or stain, fit for the Ancestors.
He puts down the bowl of water, he picks up the bowl of barley in his left hand and scatters grain from it three times with his left hand onto the sacrifice, saying:
Be blessed and fed with the fruits of the earth.
He then picks up the sacrifice and the bowl of barley, and brings them counter-clockwise about the space. Each person takes some barley and throws it on the sacrifice with their left hand. When he returns to his place, he puts the sacrifice down.
He puts down the bowl, holds up the sacrifice with both hands, and says:
A proper offering is this, as it is right to give. This sow to the Ancestors that they might be strong, that they might give us their wisdom.
He picks up the knife in his left hand and, carrying the animal in his right, he goes to the mundus, where he puts the them both down. The Champion removes the spear from the ground, and goes to the Fire Tender. He then holds the head of the spear down at an angle between the Fire Tender and the ground. The Fire Tender pours a small amount of butter on the spearhead without looking at him, and says:
Buail!
The Champion goes counter-clockwise around the space, holding the spear upright. As he walks, the Fire Tender strikes the sickle, and the others clap, stomp their feet, or use percussion instruments. They increase the tempo and volume as he walks. When the Champion has returned to the sacrifice, he stands and faces the Fire Tender. She says:
Buail!
He stabs the sacrifice with the spear, pauses a moment, and then removes it. As he strikes, all noise stops. He returns the spear to outside the gate, and then returns to his place.
The Priest quickly cuts a slice from the left side of the bread, using his left hand. He puts it in the mundus, while the Chthonic Celebrant says:
Ancestors, receive the first part of the sacrifice.
The Priest cuts a slice from the bottom of the bread, and puts it in the mundus, while the Chthonic Celebrant says:
Ancestors, receive the second part of the sacrifice.
The Priest leaves the remainder of the bread on the plate. He pours dark beer with his left hand on the ground by the mundus, saying:
Givers of Life, be honored in our midst. We pour out our offering to you, like living water, like grain from a bag. Drink deeply of the gifts we give.
He returns to his place and says:
Have the folk brought praise?
The Fire Tender says:
They have!
Praise offerings are then made by those who wish. After the last offering has been made, the Priest takes the remaining piece of bread, holds it up, and says:
Gods and Goddesses, Holy Ancestors, Spirits of this place: If anything that we have done here has offended you, If anything we have done here has been incomplete, If anything we have done here has not been done in the proper manner, accept this final offering in recompense.
He breaks the bread into pieces, and puts once piece on the altar fire, one on the hearthfire, one in front of the image of Janus, one in front of the image of Xáryomen, and one in the mundus. He breaks the rest up and scatters it about the space.
The Fire Tender then says:
Diviner, take the omens.
The Priest holds his left hand over their divining tools and says:
By these offerings made to the Ancestors, we ask their wisdom.
After the divination has been announced, the Fire Tender says:
We hear what the Ancestors have to say, and are made wise by it.
The Priest goes to the mundus, gets the Waters bowl, and brings it to the fires, where he puts it on the ground between them, with his hands still on it. The Fire Tender says:
Féachaígí ar na h-Uischi Beatha! Behold the Waters of Life!All:
Behold the Waters of Life!
The Priest raises his hands and then puts them back on the bowl. The Fire Tender says:
Féachaígí ar na h-Uischi Beatha! Behold the Waters of Life!All:
Behold the Waters of Life!
The Priest raises his hands and then puts them back on the bowl. The Fire Tender says:
Féachaígí ar na h-Uischi Beatha! Behold the Waters of Life!All:
Behold the Waters of Life!
The Priest stands, holds the bowl up as high as possible, and shouts:
Fire!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid into the hngwnis, while all yell:
Fire!
The Priest shouts:
Water!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid into the hngwnis, while all yell:
Water!
This is repeated two more times. Then the Priest shouts:
Fire! Water!
The Fire Tender throws lighter fluid into the hngwnis, while all yell:
Fire! Water!
This is repeated two more times. Then the Priest again shouts:
Fire! Water!
but this time he repeats this instead of waiting for the response. Everyone joins in, and the chant becomes continuous. When the time seems right, while everyone else continues the “fire, water” chant, the Priest sings:
Bring us inspiration! Bring us power! Bring us unending life! Fire in Water! Water in Fire!
After the first time through, the Priest lowers the Waters over the fire (as close as possible). After the third time through, he stands quickly and says:
Behold the Waters of Life!
All repeat, amid general merriment and noise-making.
When it dies down, the Priest gives the bowl to the Fire Tender, who says:
By the Waters given by the Ancestors may we obtain wisdom.All:
Biodh se amladh.
The Fire Tender says:
What the Ancestors have given to us, we distribute freely.
She ladles some of the Waters into a cup which she brings to the bases of the images of Janus and Xáryomen, saying:
May the Kindreds always receive their due.
She ladles out another cup, and brings it to the mundus, saying:
May the Ancestors always receive their due.
The Waters are then are distributed. While this is done, people sing:
Power of the waters
with the alternating responses:
Flowing through me…
Burning in me…
Growing with me…
After all have drunk, the Priest says:
Filled with the Wisdom of the Ancestors, we rest in the presence of the Kindreds.
There is a pause for meditation.
Then the Fire Tender offers incense, saying:
With wondering souls we have welcomed this wisdom, with grateful hearts may we accept its manifestation in our midst.
The Priest says:
We have offered to the Ancestors, we have prayed to all the Great Ones, and they have given us only a token of what they will bestow. We have asked, we have given, we shall receive. Biodh se amladh.All:
Biodh se amladh.
Then the Fire Tender says:
Never would we take without returning, never receive without appreciation. We must end our rites, but we will do it with gratitude
Then the Fire Tender offers butter into the hṇ́gwnis, while the Priest says:
Blessed ones, may you always be with us. We thank all the Kindreds for their many gifts. Go raibh maith agaibh.All:
Go raibh maith agaibh.
The Fire Tender offers incense, while the Priest says:
Beautiful gods, whose continued presence is our constant joy, we thank you for your attendance at today’s rituals. Know this: we are always your friends. May we always have reason to feel gratitude towards you. Go raibh maith agaibh!All:
Go raibh maith agaibh!
The Champion pulls the spear out of the ground and stands by the hṇ́gwnis. The Fire Tender makes an offering of butter to the spear, and the Priest says:
To Lugh this offering, in thanks for his protection. Go raibh maith agait.All:
Go raibh maith agait.
The Champion returns to his place, carrying the spear.
The Fire Tender makes an offering of butter on the fire, while the Priest says:
Xáryomen, who guards society’s peace, you have joined us together in our worship today: though the rites may end, and the people scatter, may our fellowship remain strong. Xáryomen, we thank you for your presence and blessings. May we grow and flourish under your benevolent gaze. Tebhyo gwrtins dedǝmes.All:
Tebhyo gwrtins dedǝmes.
The Fire Tender offers incense to the fire, saying:
A Mhanannán mac Lir, Oirbsen of the Sea, Lord of the mists between this world and the next: we thank you for opening the door of the mysteries, and ask that you close it again, until the next time we call to you. Go raibh maith agait!All:
Go raibh maith agait!
The Fire Tender makes a sign of closing and says:
Let the gates be closed!All:
Let the gates be closed!
The Fire Tender pours butter on the ground, while the Chthonic Celebrant says:
Having given you your due we bid you farewell, Mother Earth. But how can we do that, with you all around us? How can we do that with you always in our hearts? Not a farewell, then, but a giving of thanks and a promise to remember you throughout our days. Mother of All, we thank you!All:
Mother of All, we thank you!
The Fire Tender offers incense to the altar fire. When it is burned, she takes a coal from it and puts it into the xā́sā, saying:
The true altar of the people is the hearth.
She then extinguishes the hṇ́gwnis with the water from the pitcher. The Priest then says:
Extinguished without but burning within.All:
The living fire flames within us.
The Fire Tender offers butter to the hearthfire, saying:
Lady of Fire, Queen of the hearth, who by rights receives the last, bless and guard all those who worship you whether in their home or without whether alone or with others whether thinking of you or engaged in business. Shining One, receive this offering.All:
Go raibh ma agait.
When the butter is burned, she extinguishes the fire by pouring water from the pitcher on it and then putting the top of the cauldron on hard. When it has finished smoking, the Priest says:
With the hearthfire extinguished, the center of our sacred world is gone. With the flow of fiery water ceased, the sacred site dissolves about us. We will carry it in our hearts, though, nestled deep with the love of the gods.
The Fire Tender says:
We have offered to the Holy Ones and they have accepted our sacrifices.
The Priest says:
We have worshipped the Old Ones as it is right to do.
The Fire Tender says:
We have done what the people before us have done.
The Priest raises his hands in blessing, and says:
On all who have worshiped here:All:
Inspiration, power, peace.Priest:
On all who revere the Kindreds:All:
Inspiration, power, peace.Priest:
On all who walk the ancient path:All:
Inspiration, power, peace.
The Priest says:
With the gate closed With the gods worshiped With the Ancestors honored We will walk in wisdom. Rath na sinsear oraibh: Success of the Ancestors be on you.
The people recess, in the same order as they came in. The Priest carries the remainder of the sacrifice and the Fire Tender the skull. When the recessional is in the kitchen, the Priest says:
We feast with those who went before us.
The Fire Tender puts the skull on the table, and the Priest puts the remainder of the sacrifice in front of it. No one is to touch the remainder during the feast.
When the feast is over, people go to clean up the site. The Priest brings the remainder of the sacrifice. While the Fire Tender pours the rest of the Waters on the ground by the mundus, the Priest puts the sacrifice in it, while the Chthonic Celebrant says:
Ancestors, receive all of the sacrifice.
Everything is then put away, except for the mundus, its tile, and the bowl of water from the speltá. Everyone then gathers about the mundus, and the Chthonic Celebrant says:
They go their way and we go ours. May we live a long life and peacefully join them at its end. May we walk their path, but not before our time.All:
A Shinseara, go raibh maith agaibh.
The Priest puts the tile on the mundus. The water is passed around, and people purify themselves.