March 2016. Presented at the Vancouver Pagan Pride Day fundraiser.
Community circle ritual: What do you or your group need? Are you looking for new members or for a group to join? Are you looking for resources, information, training, or support? Do you want to sell something or raise money for a cause? Bring your “ask” to the community circle and see what magic the community can bring about. Even if you don’t need anything, please come and see how you might be able to help someone. Hosted by the Silver Spiral Collective.
No ritual experience necessary; all ages welcome (though kids may not be interested); chairs are welcome if you prefer to sit; allergy-friendly (no scented products and no food).
Set-up: Circle of paper taped down to the floor and a basket of scent-free markers or crayons.
Opening:
All ritual participants gather in the centre of the circle of paper and start chanting:
All the tribes are coming together
Just like birds of a feather
We are the children of the lady and the lord
Our hearts are in accord1
Then they step out to their quarters and keep chanting as people join the circle.
All quarters are called facing inwards to the centre of the circle:
I stand in the North, place of Earth. Feel the ground beneath you. Stomp your feet. This is the spirit of home, of nourishment, of embodiment.
I stand in the East, place of Air. Feel your breath. Breath in; exhale. This is the spirit of words, of thought, of knowledge.
I stand in the South, place of Fire. Feel your heartbeat. Clap it out. This is the spirit of energy, of passion, of action.
I stand in the West, place of Water. Feel your blood pulsing. Hum with its flow. This is the spirit of love, of empathy, of care.
Ritual leader:
We stand together in a sacred community circle. Our collective work today will be to share our needs and to offer our own skills and knowledge. Should you wish to have a deity or spirit witness or assist your part of this work, we invite to welcome them silently at this time.
Working:
Start a beat, drumming on thighs with one hand.
While passing out markers/crayons, the ritual leader says:
We stand together in a sacred community circle. If you or your group have need of anything, speak it here. If you have something to offer the speaker, write it down.
Have a few people prepared to do asks first to get things rolling. For example, the leader of the Pagan Pride Day fundraiser would step to the centre of the circle to ask for financial assistance and/or volunteers for the main event in August.
Model the behaviour you want, cheering and saying "so mote it be" after each ask.
When people seem to have run out of asks, the ritual leader transitions with one final request:
I ask that as we chant, we will continue to add to our circle of community assets. Write down anything you can contribute to this community.
We are the weavers, we are the web
We are the flow and we are the ebb2
When people seem to be done writing, peak the chant’s energy.
Closing:
Ritual leader:
Let us silently thank any deities or spirits invited here today for their part in our community circle.
Quarters are acknowledged in reverse order, still facing inwards:
I stand in the West, place of water, and thank all present for bringing love, empathy, and care.
I stand in the South, place of fire, and thank all present for bringing energy, passion, and action.
I stand in the East, place of air, and thank all present for bringing words, thoughts, and knowledge.
I standing in the North, place of earth, and thank all present for bringing home, nourishment, and embodiment.
Ritual leader:
Though our circle is done, now the real magic begins: tell each other what you can help with, get event and group details, share resources and ideas, and as we will, so mote it be!
Clean up: Make sure photos are taken of the circle of paper before it is taken up.
The Magical Ask by Melissa Hope is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.