The Ritual Bath

 

Ideally one should shower first to wash hair & body, or bath before & have your ritual bath just before leaving home or doing any ritual & magical spells at home. The ritual bath is used as a preparation done between worlds, earth & water in the presence of air [incense] & fire [candle's flame] it is a cleansing of mind & aura, one should arise from this bath calm, refreshed & have taken on ones magical persona by donning the robe  & your magical jewellery, headband etc.

In coven work each one present is expected to arrive in this prepared state, putting aside all mundane problems for the moment & tuning into higher self & the gods. In the neophyte, first flowing, desecrated grail & healing rites this bath is prepared by the spokes persons for the elements for the initiate just before ritual to calm mind body & spirit & allow the meditation that follows & the magical work to be done to be more effective &  pleasant experience. The bath is prepared in a ritual manner using symbols, blessings & visualisation to create a magical space.

 

The ritual.

 

Fire enters first, does banishing pentacle to the south, then silent call for fire, lights candle or candles, one or three may be used, use your own intuition, bless the flame, now visualise the flame burning up all negativity in the room , when ready leave to call water.

Water enters &, facing west, makes banishing pentacle, then does silent call, now run the bath [warm not to hot] while the bath is filling, trace a pentacle with finger on the water, then visualise it washing away all pain, sorrow & anger & leaving only love, happiness & joy for all who enter its watery realm. When the bath is full they leave to fetch air.

Air enters & does banishing pentacle while facing east, then silent call to air, now lights incense & blesses it, while visualising the incense smoke taking the mind & spirit to higher realms, then they add the oil to the bath & using their finger bless the water . They then leave to call earth.

Earth enters & does banishing pentacle facing north, then silent call, they now bless the salt & pour some down the toilet if present in the bathroom & any other plug hole in the bathroom, sealing them with banishing rune or pentacle. Now the clean towel is blessed & placed in easy reach of the initiate. Earth now adds the salt to the bath with any herbs & flowers needed for the ritual, at this point earth may leave to fetch cleansed crystals, pyramids or stones to amplify the energies within the bathroom, when they return they visualise the salt, he rubs & flowers energy  mingling with the water & creating a magical brew within the cauldron represented by the bath, now they concentrate on the crystals etc. seeing them amplifying all the energies within this sacred space. They now put their hand in to the bath and form a deosil circle.

They now leave the area to inform the sponsor that the rite has been done & is now ready for the initiate. The sponsor now leads the initiate to the bathroom where they are told to visualise cleansing on all levels. The initiate now lowers himself / herself into the water carefully & relaxes, making sure that every part of his / herself is touched by the water before they re-emerge from their ritual bath. They should visualise all their cares & woes being washed away by the water that surrounds them, then see their aura being cleansed by the salt so that it will shine & glow all around them when they emerge from the bath. When they are ready they pull the plug and see all the bane being washed away by the spiral formed by the plug hole. They then climb out & dry their hair with the towel, then place it around their shoulders & call their sponsor who will bring them their cleansed robe.

 

Please don't rub yourself dry, just place the towel around you if you are cold, one should air dry if possible. If your hair is long & you wish to dry it before , a hairdryer will be provided, remember to comb your hair free from knots before the ritual, for tangles may interfere with the electrical energy created within circle.

Hair may be braided within the rite when doing certain spells  & energy can be released by constantly brushing your hair while chanting a spell it is said that if your hair becomes knotted within ritual then you have had the help of mischievous elementals during the rite. If you are doing a solitary rite you will have to do the above yourself before climbing into your ritual. If a bath is not available, place salt, oil, herbs in a cloth bag, have your regular shower, then do banishing pentacles to the four quarters, then the silent calls, now seal any toilet or plug hole in the bathroom, light candle & incense & bless do visualising, bless the bag & visualise, bless your towel, now rerun shower & bless & visualise, then climb in & rub the bag all over you as the water runs over your body while visualising the bane run down the plug hole.

Don't forget to comb your hair. Outdoor ritual baths may also be done using the bag, a candle & incense, the sea, a pool or lake or river may be used, it is advised to cast a circle first & have a guardian as a look out when doing any outdoor rite sky clad. If you are doing an outdoor ritual & are interrupted by people who then decide that you are now so interesting that they must watch what you are doing, pause ritual by ringing bell 3 times then all sit in the meditative pose & visualise them leaving in sheer boredom, if more arrive or they chose not to leave, do thank the elements & the gods. Silently pass the cakes & ale around, all eat & drink, then pour some onto the earth, stand up & all dance around the circle widdershins & forming a snake leave the area. Please  remember you will get out of ritual only what you put in, solitary work is powerful if you are properly prepared & you focus your energy to bring the changes you want. In coven the combined effort will only work if all are in tune with the rhythm of rite, are correctly Visualising & see themselves as a combined force of energy doing the work & not as individuals. Many rituals fail due to ignorance of symbols within rituals, ego, shyness,  lack of bonding with others , feelings of anger, tiredness or being one who allows others to do all the work while they enjoy the spectacle, these people just drain the groups energy & no real power will be raised. When working within a group all present should see themselves as an important part of the group & as an aspect of the group personality, those who work magic with them are their brothers & sisters in the craft & all are equal before the gods. Even blood brothers & sisters fight & disagree, & it is perfectly normal for those in the craft to disagree with each other from time to time, but these squabbles should be put aside before ritual work is done, always remember we are all on the same path, some behind & some in front, none should judge the other lest they be judged by a far higher power. In essence put aside your mundane self & allow your higher self to enter ritual & see yourself as a part of the whole. Please go through the ritual before the ritual & ask any questions before the rite is in progress. If you are late, feeling out of sorts after a bad day or are ill  it will be better for the group to do without your presence that night unless you are taking part in a healing rite & you are the one to be healed. Never take drugs or alcohol before ritual bath, meditation, spell or ritual work of any sort unless it is part of a blessing or in the case of festival rites part of the festivities, this applies to drink only, the surest way of being asked to leave  our group is to use drugs or arrive under the influence of drink before esbats or lesson nights.

Lateness will not be tolerated, many rituals should be done at a specific time, & although we allow a certain elasticity within that hour, to delay longer causes friction & nerves to fray before the rite, & often causes those who are working the next day to miss the feast, which is as much part of the festival as the rite itself.

So if you see that you are going to be late, please phone & cancel or make your apologies the next day. We will no longer provide lifts to the rites from individuals homes, the pick up point will be at sunny park  between 17h00 & 18h00 on lesson nights, we will not return to the pick up point to fetch late comers, we can’t afford it unfortunately.

You are requested to make your own way to festivals & esbats. We will however provide you with a lift home after the rite if you wish. Those who wish to sleep over may do so, but please let us know before time for we only have one spare bed & 3 sleeping bags.

If it is possible please come early, we need willing hands to help with the ritual & feast preparations.

Blessed be.