The members of Whispering Lake Grove, ADF would like to take this opportunity to invite you to attend our public worship. We hope that the following information will provide an introduction to the structure and meaning of our worship.
Honoring Our Grove Patron
Manannan mac Lir, Whispering Lake Grove’s Patron Deity, is honored and invited to join us in celebration as part of our opening blessings.
Procession
We begin our ritual by gathering in a single file line following the Grove Bard outside of our Nemeton. We proceed to our ritual space with a slow walk, while singing a chant or song. The song is repeated until all participants are within the Nemeton.
Musical Signal
A musical signal, usually in the form of a hammer striking an anvil nine times for our Norse rituals or nine drum beats for our Irish Celtic rituals, lets all who have gathered know the ritual has begun.
Honoring the Earth Mother and Sky Father
An opening prayer is given to honor and invite the Earth Mother and Sky Father, the primal Mother and Father of all, to our ritual. WLG has made an addition to our opening blessings in the inclusion of a Sky Father. The Earth Mother and Sky Father are not to be confused with the Wiccan concept of Lord and Lay, but are the primal mother and father or their pantheons. Our Earth Mother may be a localized Earth Mother or chosen from among the Goddesses of Sovereignty from the Norse-Teutonic or Irish Celtic pantheons. The Sky Father deity honored in our opening blessings is the God of the Clear Sky or Day Sky. He is the embodiment of the Sky power, the illuminating radiance of the Heavens. It is through the union of the Earth Mother and Sky Father that all life comes into being and true balance can be achieved.
Invocation for Bardic Inspiration
The Bard will call upon a specific Deity to provide participants with the gift of inspiration and eloquence for the period of our worship. This deity is also called upon to aid us in communication with the Otherworld.
Statement of Purpose
The statement of purpose is a brief statement of the purpose of our celebration or ritual. It explains the reasons we have gathered, who the Beings of the Occasion will be and is often accompanied by a storytelling based on Norse-Teutonic or Irish Celtic mythology to establish the historical precedent.
Purification
Outdwellers:
Purification:
Creating the Group Mind & Affirmation of Unity:
(Re)Creating the Cosmos
Consecration of Time:
Completing the Cosmos:
Opening the Gates
Inviting the Three Kindred
Key Offerings
Invitation of the Beings of the Occasion:
Personal/Praise Offerings:
Seasonal Customs – Lore Play:
The Prayer of Sacrifice
The Omen
Calling for the Blessings
Hallowing the Waters
Affirmation of the Blessing
Works
Thanking the Beings
Closing the Gates
Thanking the Earth Mother and Sky Father
Closing the Rite