I've been meeting a number of people from different traditions lately and talking about open ceremonies and I realized although we hold an open full moon ceremony every month both here in Roscommon and on Tara for the past 10 years we don't often write down exactly what we do. I guess this is just because the ceremony is very fluid and interactive and really depends on who is present. There is a format that we use, so I thought I'd share an outline here.
The ceremony has a facilitator, at the moment this is either myself- Niamh, Con, or Red John. The facilitator is not in charge, their role is to hold the space. We start at 8pm(ish) on the full moon, this is the 2nd day of the three days that the moon is full. During the dark half of the year a fire is lit in a container off the ground. The fire is made with wild wood, no petrochemicals and no processed wood.
We wait until the fire has it's heart and then we begin with a dedication. A simple statement of why we do this ceremony. Sometimes it is passed around the circle and people introduce themselves and make a declaration why they attend ceremony. We let everyone know the format for the ceremony, that it is participatory and inclusive, and that often there is humor involved, it is encouraged to smile, laugh and have fun at the ceremony.
The ceremony has a facilitator, at the moment this is either myself- Niamh, Con, or Red John. The facilitator is not in charge, their role is to hold the space. We start at 8pm(ish) on the full moon, this is the 2nd day of the three days that the moon is full. During the dark half of the year a fire is lit in a container off the ground. The fire is made with wild wood, no petrochemicals and no processed wood.
We wait until the fire has it's heart and then we begin with a dedication. A simple statement of why we do this ceremony. Sometimes it is passed around the circle and people introduce themselves and make a declaration why they attend ceremony. We let everyone know the format for the ceremony, that it is participatory and inclusive, and that often there is humor involved, it is encouraged to smile, laugh and have fun at the ceremony.
We do a series of exercises that energize our aura's. These exercises are a series of hand movements co-ordinated with the breath and Irish words, these words are explained in English. Now that we're all shiny and bright we call in energies from outside of us to stand with us for our ceremony. The facilitator calls to the directions in Irish and everybody assists in the actually calling in. The directions we call to are East, South, West and North, Above, Below and the Fire at the centre. We also call in the four bright stars of the zodiac and acknowledge the sign in which they reside. We then pass it around the circle for everyone to call in supportive energies. We work clockwise and ask every one to say sin é (that's it) when they're finished so there is no awkwardness for the next person. No one has to speak out loud, they can call in silently or not at all, we just ask that they say Sin é to pass it on to the next person. At this point it depends on the night and the group, the facilitator might pass it around the circle to see if anyone would like to say or add anything. Often we let go of things into the fire using a stick and our intention and similarly call in something new and fresh into our lives.
Then we have a healing circle where we send love and light to those we know will accept it. Again this works clockwise with everyone given an opportunity to speak out loud or not and saying Sin é when they are done. After this we might stir the energy as a group, walking in a circle around the fire with our hand extended towards it, stirring the light.
Again it is passed around the circle if anyone would like to add or say something, this is often the point where a song, a poem or a piece of music is shared.
This brings us to the end. We finish the ceremony by standing shoulder to shoulder and getting down on our hunkers as close to the fire as is safe. The facilitator will explain that we as a group have connected with the light and have generated a bubble of light all around us, and as we never try to hold on to the light, we only ever want to flow with it, we prepare to lift the light and throw it high up into the sky, so that it can flow as high and as wide as it can. We work together as a group counting to three in Irish, by three we're all standing up with our arms outstretched to the sky, feeling the light flow up, depending on the mood we'll say or shout out the Irish word for Freedom SAOIRSE!
The facilitator then declares the ceremony over. Some people head off straight away. Depending on the weather, others stay for a little while and chat around the fire. We've been holding these ceremonies since 2003, you are more than welcome to join us here in Roscommon or on Tara in Co. Meath on any full moon. The dates are here on the website and we post them on our facebook page too. All are welcome, we just ask that anyone under 18 brings a guardian with them and that no one is under the influence of alcohol or an illegal substance.
Grá
Niamh
Then we have a healing circle where we send love and light to those we know will accept it. Again this works clockwise with everyone given an opportunity to speak out loud or not and saying Sin é when they are done. After this we might stir the energy as a group, walking in a circle around the fire with our hand extended towards it, stirring the light.
Again it is passed around the circle if anyone would like to add or say something, this is often the point where a song, a poem or a piece of music is shared.
This brings us to the end. We finish the ceremony by standing shoulder to shoulder and getting down on our hunkers as close to the fire as is safe. The facilitator will explain that we as a group have connected with the light and have generated a bubble of light all around us, and as we never try to hold on to the light, we only ever want to flow with it, we prepare to lift the light and throw it high up into the sky, so that it can flow as high and as wide as it can. We work together as a group counting to three in Irish, by three we're all standing up with our arms outstretched to the sky, feeling the light flow up, depending on the mood we'll say or shout out the Irish word for Freedom SAOIRSE!
The facilitator then declares the ceremony over. Some people head off straight away. Depending on the weather, others stay for a little while and chat around the fire. We've been holding these ceremonies since 2003, you are more than welcome to join us here in Roscommon or on Tara in Co. Meath on any full moon. The dates are here on the website and we post them on our facebook page too. All are welcome, we just ask that anyone under 18 brings a guardian with them and that no one is under the influence of alcohol or an illegal substance.
Grá
Niamh
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