As long as mankind has been worshiping, we have been preforming ritual. Ritual and religion go hand and hand. Through out the ages ritual has touched the heart and soul of everything that is human. All humans preform ritual is some way or form.

 

  First of all, let us see what the word "Ritual" means. According to the dictionary, it is "a formal practice or custom". This tells us very little, so we must supplement it by a further definition. A " Ritual Rite" is a certain sequence of operations linked together by a common object or idea.

 

THE ART OF RITUAL

 

When we as Pagans and Wiccan priest/ess preform our rituals, we need to understand how ritual works. By knowing what makes ritual spiritual we begin to fully understand the real power behind the craft.  You see we all have the same basic sense and our minds work in the same basic manner. Certain things like smells , sound, sight and touch affect us on a spiritual and psychological level. They open our pathways for us to reach a heightened sense of spiritual awareness.

 

First let us look at the senses,  

 

1. Smell - What happens when you walk into the mall food court. You begin to smell all the good food that is cooking, It might be those fresh cookies baking, or that smell of beef on the grill, You walk by and all of sudden your mouth waters, and you think boy that cookie smells good. Or you smell that burger on the grill and you think oh that smells great, Then before you know it, you are in line getting that burger or cookie.

 

What has just happened. You smelled the food and your brain processed the smell into a emotional and physical response. You got hungry.  Even if you are not truly hungry.  There are restrants and theme parks that actually do this on purpose.

 

 

Certain smells also work well with certain rituals. a example would be that when you smell something spicy, you get excited, When you smell something sweet, your get relaxed, When you smell something with a unpleasant odor you get upset or mad, or sad.. So in a ritual that you want to do a healing work, you might want to burn a sweet incense so the people will be relaxed, In a ritual you want to raise energy something spicy would work better.

 

2. Hearing - Hearing is one of the strongest of all senses. With out the ability to hear there would be no verbal language. Sounds affect us on a very physical and psychological level. Sound can cause pain or can be soothing. Sound effects our movements and the Sounds we make. Think about it. When someone whispers we are quiet so we can hear what is being said. Ever been in a library?  Or hear a whisper in a restaurant? What do you do?  You try to hear what is being said. How about loud noises? When someone begins to yell at you what do you do? You yell back.  The sounds of a whisper are very calming and therefore it causes others to be calm and to relax, The sound of someone yelling can cause others to become upset and yell as well. You see. Sounds affect us on a psychological level. When I worked in the hospital we were taught to speak in a calm soothing low voice.  That way the patitant was relaxed and would stay calm.

 

What is another example on how sounds work?  Well, Sounds like running water can cause several physical and psychological responses. It can cause you to become relaxed, it can cause a soothing effect. However it can also cause you to have to go to the bath room.

 

So how dose sound work in a ritual ? Well the sound of bells can cause the worshipers to come out of a trance, It can also help to clear their mind. Bells are also used to mark points in the ritual. A bell can tell the worshiper that a important event is taking place. Another way sound is used is in chants and prayers. The tone of the chant can cause the group to become one mind, and it can also cause the group to focus on one thing. The sound of a chant can also start slow and weak and build fast and strong, so that energy can be raised.     

 

Musical sound in ritual also causes the brain to send a message to the worshiper to go into a more religious spiritual state of mind.

 

Remember the first time you went to drum circle at FPG? As you approached the fire circle, the sound of drums cause you to get into the mood. The closer you get, the stronger the feeling of magickal and spiritual energy you feel. And once you get to the fire circle and get all comfy, the drums start calling to you, then what happens? Before long, you dance. The Sounds of drums, bells and laughter along with the smell of the burning fire and sage causes a Physical, emotional and  psychological response. You get up from the chair and dance. What are some of the ways we can use sound in ritual. We already said chanting, and in the use of bells. We can also use singing, drums and other noise makers, guided meditations, and story telling can also be used. Even the lack of sound can be used. Silence is a very powerful tool in ritual if used in the right way and in the right amount. If the silence is to brief it will have no effect. If to long it can ruin a ritual by causing the worshipers to loose their train of thought.

 

3. Sight - Sight is used in ritual all the time. The sense of sight is the one we focus on the most. Everyone who dose ritual worries about how the altar looks and if the colors are right for the working and so on.  Another way sight is used is in the way the Priest and Priestess are dressed. Most of the things we do in ritual is all about the way it Looks. imagery in ritual takes on many forms. A few examples are the tools, Some are male and some are female. They need to have image of such. Deity symbols also play a key role with sight. It is easier for the worshipers and the priesthood to pray to the horned god if there is a set of deer horns on the alter.

 

Some other ways sight is used in ritual might be, in the use of a fire at Beltane and Yule. If at Yule you are trying to bring back the suns energy then you need to see a strong fire. A nice visual drama might give a ritual a nice touch. However I think a little goes a long way in this area. The sight of a beautiful and well cared for altar tells the worshipers that the ritual space is holy, But if the altar and the quarters are just threw together and are sloppy, then the worshipers will say to themselves , this ritual is no big deal, and is not really holy.

 

The reason that sight and how things look in a ritual are so important are because if you put on a ugly or sloppy ritual, then even if you felt spiritual about it, Worshipers will not.  Also remember that first impressions are very important. If a visitor comes to a sloppy ritual with a sloppy altar, and see a sloppy priesthood. Then you can bet you will never see them again.  Oh and they WILL tell as many people as they can about your messed up sloppy ritual. But if you have a nice altar that you took pride in, and a the priesthood look good, and the ritual was visually pleasing, Then you will most likely see them agin and they will give a good report to others about how nice your ritual was.    What about the lack of sight?

 

4. Touch - The last sense is touch. It is the one that is the most easily overlooked in ritual. But it is the one that cause the worshiper the most strong experience. What do you remember the most about a date? Is it your conversation, is it what you ate, or is it the Kiss at the end of the night. You see my point. You can go out on a real nice date and have a great time with your date, but if there is no physical contact , No kiss, it gets lost in the back of our minds with all the other dates. But a good kiss will make you remember it a while.

 

 

So how dose touch play a key role in ritual? Touch allows the worshiper to become part of the ritual. It makes them feel active in it. The worse thing you can do in a ritual is make the worshiper a outsider by making them a spectator. The worshiper needs to be involved in the act of worship. Think about it. What is more fun? Watching something you enjoy or doing it. If there is no sense of touch to ritual you then loose the meaning of it. You see the whole meaning to ritual is to connect the worshiper to deity. The worshiper wants to be touched by the Gods.

 

So how do we do this? We anoint, we esperge, we scorge,  we smudge, we drum, we dance, we eat and drink, These are but a few ways we use touch in ritual. The ritual must keep the worshiper connected to deity or they will loose them.

 

 

What did u think when you were anoited as you came today?  

 

How do you feel when you have cakes and ale ?

 

How important is dance in a ritual?

 

What about the 5 fold kiss ?

 

What about being bound?

 

What other ways can you think of that uses touch in a ritual?

 

 

So to some it all up here is how a good ritual will use the senses to keep the worshiper connected to deity. As Miss  pagan moon child approaches the ritual area, she hears the sounds of drums and smells the sweet sent of lavender. All of her cares start to slip away, her heart begins to beat and she gets excited. She enters and is greeted by a handsome well groomed man who anoints  her and gives her a kiss. She feels special. As she enters the ritual circle the sound of the drums and the sent of lavender filles the air, She looks around and is impressed by the beautiful quarter altars, and then she sees the most splendid altar she has ever seen, It is carefully laid out and she knows she is in a holy place. She finds a place in the circle and the drums suddenly stop. It is very quiet. The silence is deafing, She grows with anticipation. Then three sharp tones from the bells toll and she knows that something is about to happen. The ritual has began. During the ritual she feels alive with energy. She feels connected to the God & Goddess, She sees the images of them on the altar. During the cakes & ale she feels their blessings for she is reminded of all she has, and that all comes from them. As the ritual ends she holds hands with those in the circle and she feels a sense of community, She is not alone.  Then again the bell tolls and soon the ritual is over. But moon child , will not forget this ritual, She was in a holy place, She was with the Gods.  This ritual touched her senses.