Three Aspects of Life
'For there are three mysteries in the life of man which are: birth, sex, and death (and love controls them all). 7o fulfll love, you must return again at the same time and place as those who loved before. And you must meet, recognize, remember, and love them anew.
from the text
A sense of community permeated all aspects of life in the early days of the Clan. The birth of a child, the wedding of a man and woman, and the death of a member were all integral parts of tribal existence. This cycle was just as much a part of the understanding of life as were the cycles of Nature. It is only natural that rituals were created to acknowledge these aspects of human experience, and that each was interwoven with the religious and magickal practices of the Clan.
The following modern rites of community are derived from three separate traditions of Italian Witchcraft. The ceremony to bless a child is from the Tuscan witches of northern Italy. The marriage rite is from the modern Aridian Tradition in the United States, and the burial rite is from the coastal region of central Italy. Although these are essentially a blend of Jnarric and Tanarric rites, it is common to the Triad Traditions as a whole. I have added modern material to this section in order to make its use universal. Some readers may find certain older elements of the child blessing a little disquieting, but alternative methods are provided to accommodate personal inhibitions.
BLESSING OF A CHILD OF THE CLAN
This is a ceremony for a child born into the Clan, or adopted in whatever manner. Traditionally the parents will chose someone to be "of the Fata" for the child (either an individual or another couple). This is someone who will see to the child's spiritual well-being, should the parents become absent in the child's life. The term "of the Fata" dates back to the early belief that the Strega were, in some way, related to the Nature spirits (or more specifically to the Fay, or Fairy Race). In this rite is preserved the ancient Etruscan ceremony in which someone is adopted into the family by suckling on the mother's breast.
Traditionally, the ceremony is performed on the first full moon following the birth of the child.
1. A ritual circle may be cast in the usual manner, or a circle may be marked out with flowers or leaves. Traditionally the leaves are from laurel boughs and the flowers are rosolaccio blossoms (rose-lace, also known as red poppy or cornflower).
2. The child is blessed by the High Priest(ess), who anoints the soles of the child's feet and forehead with olive oil, using a sprig of rue:
May the Lord and Lady look upon you always with great favor, and may your days be filled with all that is good in life. In the names of Tana and Tanus, so be you blessed.
3. High Priest(ess) addresses parents:
You have been chosen by our Lord and Lady to raise and care for this child. May your days be filled with all that is good in life, and may Tana and Tanus bless you and watch over you.
4. High Priest addresses parents:
Have you chosen someone to be "of the Fata "?
Parents reply:
We have chosen (name of person).
High Priest(ess) addresses the chosen one:
Is this your wish to be of the Fata for this child?
Fata parent replies:
It is.
5. High Priest(ess) addresses parents and Fata parent:
You must then be joined together through the link of Mother and Child, and become of one family, intimately bonded to blood and clan. You must be nurturer and nurtured. As it was in the time of our beginning, so is it now, so shall it be.
6. Birth mother then suckles the child and the Fata parent with milk from her breasts. They may suckle together, or one at a time. In the case of an older child or a mother who has no breast milk, a cup of goat's milk can be substituted. In this case the mother will dip her nipple into the cup of milk and then the cup is offered to the child and the Fata parent. If the mother is lactating, but personal inhibitions prevent the suckling of her breast, then the cup method can be used with the mother's milk instead of goat's milk.
7. The child is then presented to the four Quarters by he or she who has been chosen to be "of the Fata."
8. Members of the family and friends may now come forward and offer tokens to the child which symbolize their wishes for the child as he or she grows. Upon presentation, the person will say the child's name, and then say:
I wish for you (name of virtue or wish, etc).
These items will be kept for the child to be later placed in his or her Nanta bag. Some examples of tokens and their significance:
A shell: abundance and fullness in life
A raven's feather: wisdom, cunning, and a sense of humor
A flower: spiritual gifts of healing and cleansing
A stone: strength and fortitude, strong in nature
A hawk's feather: hunting skills and keen senses
A stag horn: virility and strong ties to Clan, personal power
A coin: prosperity
A rabbit's foot: good luck
9. Ceremony is concluded. Close circle and proceed with social occasion.
THE MARRIAGE RITE
Traditionally the bride wears a saffron-colored gown with a red veil. The groom is dressed in green. Around the waist of the bride is tied the Knot of Magick (by the parents of the bride), which the groom will later untie prior to the consummation of the marriage. On the day before the ceremony, the bride and groom will make a laurel cake together. This cake will symbolize the union of their lives.
Wreaths/garlands of myrtle with orange blossoms are worn by the bride and groom to the place of the ceremony. Traditionally there is a procession to the site by the wedding party, and flowers are strewn out before the couple, along with leaves of rosemary and bay. The flowers may be of any of the following: primroses, violets, daisies, or roses.
Traditionally the bride will offer three coins to complete the rite of marriage: One to the groom, one to the crossroad, and the last coin she will place upon the hearth, at the couple's place of dwelling.
1. A circle of flowers is laid out to mark the wedding site. The circle is cast by the High Priest(ess) and a doorway is left at the northeast.
2. Attendants form a walkway into the circle. The couple then follows the High Priestess and High Priest into the circle. Attendants toss flowers upon them as they pass.
3. High Priest(ess) and couple move to the altar. The ritual circle remains open.
4. High Priest(ess) presents the laurel cake to the gods at the north quarter. Couple proceeds around the altar to the face of the altar.
5. High Priest(ess) addresses couple (who are holding the cake):
(Groom's name) and (bride's name) you have come into this Sacred Circle, and before those assembled here this day, to join together your lives and your futures, so that they may become as one.
This sacred cake, which you have made together, symbolizes the union of your love and your lives. Partake of this cake, and in the openness of your love for each other you shall be joined together.
(Bride's name) is this your desire? (reply: It is)
(Groom's name) is this your desire? (reply: It is)
Partake then now of the Sacred Cake of Wedding.
6. Bride and groom offer each other a bit of the cake. Bride offers to the groom first, and then the groom offers to the bride.
7. High Priest(ess) blesses the tokens (rings) of Oneness, and then addresses the couple:
Uni Suckling Hercules (the Adoption)
These are the symbols of your love, which you have chosen to wear, so that all may know of this special relationship between the two of you, and of the joining together of your love, your lives, and your paths.
8. High Priest(ess) presents bride's ring to groom and says:
Take this token and present it to your beloved (groom complies) and repeat after me: "This is a symbol of my love for you. " (Groom repeats.)
Bride accepts the token upon her left hand (ring finger). High Priest(ess) addresses bride:
(Bride's name) repeat after me: "I receive this token of your love, and I will wear it always as a symbol of my love for you, and of your love for me. "
9. High Priest(ess) presents the groom's token to bride and repeats the procedure in step 8 ( reversing roles).
10. High Priest(ess) blesses the couple, and says:
In the names of Tana and Tanus I bless this Union. May your love make fruitful all of your desires, and may your future be prosperous, and may the gods grant you the best of fortune ever.
11. High Priest(ess) binds the right hand of the groom to the left hand of the bride with a wedding cord.
12. High Priest(ess) places a sprig of rosemary herb in the groom's right hand, and a laurel leaf in the bride's left hand, and says:
Where he is Lord, she is Lady.
13. High Priest(ess) taps bride and groom upon their chests with the ritual wand, and says:
(Bride's name) and (groom's name) in accordance with our ways, and before those who have gathered here, I now declare you husband and wife. (couple kisses)
The ceremony is completed.
THE RITE OF PASSAGE FOR THE SOUL
Traditionally the body is cremated, although the Fanarra Clan was known to practice burial of the whole body in the forest. During the Middle Ages, the magickal practice was to cremate the body upon a structure of cedar, sandalwood, and juniper wood. The Janarra were known to have made a raft upon which these woods were piled. The body was then laid upon the wood and the wood was ignited. Then the raft was pushed out upon the lake, or the bay, symbolizing the journey to the Realm of Luna.
Preparation of the Body
The body should be anointed upon the forehead center, chest center, and just below the navel, with an oil of pennyroyal. The Clan mask should be painted upon the face, along with the forearm and hand symbols. The body should be clad in either the ritual robe or some article of clothing which the person may have designated (or would have been known to have desired).
The Rite of Marriage
Placed with the body should be the cord of initiation, along with the person's book of the Old Ways. Their physical ritual tools may be included or passed down to another person.
1. At the site of the burial, High Priest(ess) addresses those assembled:
We have come to the time now when must begin the sacred journey to the Realm of Luna. He/She knows now the Mystery that is forgotten in this life, and has therefore attained the greatest of all initiations. Let us not bind our friend to this world with our longing for him/her, nor burden his/her spirit with our sorrow. Let us release our friend with love, even as a parent must free a child who has grown.
Blessed be (everyone repeats), we wish you love and light to be with you on your journey, and happiness with the beautiful realms into which you pass. Blessed be. (all repeat).
2. Ritual bell tolls thrice. High Priest(ess) then reads the "Myth of the Descent of the Goddess" aloud to all.
Tana, our Lady and Goddess, would solve all mysteries, even the mystery of Death. And so she journeyed to the Underworld in her boat, upon the Sacred River of Descent. Then it came to pass that she entered before the first of the seven gates to the Underworld. And the Guardian challenged her, demanding one of her garments for passage, for nothing may be received except that something be given in return. And at each of the gates the Goddess was required to pay the price of passage, for the Guardians spoke to her: "Strip off your garments, and set aside your jewels, for nothing may you bring with you into this, our realm."
So Tana surrendered her jewels and her clothing to the Guardians, and was bound as all living must be who seek to enter the realm of Death and the Mighty Ones. At the first gate she gave over her scepter, at the second her crown, at the third her necklace, at the fourth her ring, at the fifth her girdle, at the sixth her sandals, and at the seventh her gown. Tana stood naked and was presented before Dis, and such was her beauty that he himself knelt as she entered. He laid his crown and his sword at her feet saying: "Blessed are your feet that have brought you down this path. " Then he arose and said to Tana: "Stay with me, I pray, and receive my touch upon your heart. "
And Tana replied to Dis: "But I love you not, for why do you cause all the things that I love, and take delight in, to fade and die?"
"My Lady" replied Dis, "it is age and fate against which you speak. I am helpless, for age causes all things to wither, but when men die at the end of their time, I give them rest, peace and strength. For a time they dwell with the Moon, and the spirits of the Moon; then may they return to the realm of the living. But you are so lovely, and I ask you to return not, but abide with me here. "
But she answered: "No, for I do not love you. " Then Dis said. "If you refuse to embrace me, then you must kneel to death's scourge. " The Goddess answered him: "If it is to be, then it is fate, and better so!" So Tana knelt in submission before the hand of death, and he scourged her with so tender a hand that she cried out: "I know your pain, and the pain of love. "
Passage of the Soul
Dis raised her to her feet and said: "Blessed are you, my Queen and my Lady. " Then he gave to her the five kisses of initiation, saying: "Only thus may you attain to knowledge and to joy. "
And he taught her all of his mysteries, and he gave her the necklace which is the circle of rebirth. And she taught him her mysteries of the sacred cup which is the cauldron of rebirth.
They loved and joined in union with each other, and for a time Tana dwelled in the realm of Dis.
For there are three mysteries in the life of man which are: birth, sex, and death (and love controls them all). To fulfill love, you must return again at the same time and place as those who loved before. And you must meet, recognize, remember, and love them anew. But to be reborn you must die and be made ready for a new body. And to die you must be born, but without love you may not be born among your own.
But our Goddess is inclined to favor love, and joy and happiness. She guards and cherishes her hidden children in this life and the next. In death she reveals the way to her communion, and in life she teaches them the magick of the mystery of the circle (which is set between the worlds of men and of the gods).
3. High Priest(ess) addresses the Gods:
We call upon you now, 0 Great Lord and Lady, to grant comfort and enlightenment to our friend. To forgive his/her offenses in this life, and to shorten the time of resolution which awaits him/her. For we trust in your love and compassion.
And when the time has come for our friend to return, grant him/her a healthy body and mind, and a good life among his/her loved ones. In your names, 0 Great Ones, so be it done.
(All repeat) So be it done.
4. Now anyone who wishes to speak about the departed may do so. Memories may be shared, deeds retold, and so on.
5. Each person attending may come forward now before the vessel containing the ashes and personally bid their friend farewell. Singing or chanting may begin at this time.
6. In conclusion the funeral prayer is recited:
We gather now in honor of our brother/sister who has crossed over and begun the sacred journey to the Realms of Luna. We wish you well on your journey, and send with you the emanations of our love, and our friendship. We know that the sorrow which we feel is of our own making. There has been no loss among us, for we shall meet each other again in a future life to come. And we shall remember, and know each other, and love again. We shall speak your name and remember you at Shad- owfest. If it is that we shall see you, or speak with you, then let it be of your own desire. For it is not our wish that our desires should bind you to this life.
May the Great Lord and Lady receive you into their care, and may they comfort you and prepare you to be born anew.
May the realms of Luna give you all that you desire, and may you find peace and pleasure, and reunion with those who have gone before.
Farewell dear brother/sister, farewell dear friend. Blessed be.
The ashes are then scattered (or buried) and everyone may toss flowers or other tokens as the body is received by the Great Mother. If the body was set out on a raft upon the lake or ocean, then the tokens may simply be tossed into the water as the raft burns. It is completed.