Autumn Equinox Ritual, 1 Vine (22 September) in the Year of our Lady 2006

Needs: White altar cloth, black altar cloth, scale (or a picture of one), feather, censer, matches, lavender, oak, basil, charcoal block, picture of a mermaid (you can just draw one), picture of a cornucopia, 1 rose candle, one blue candle, 2 candlesticks, a piece of paper, a pencil or pen

Cleanse aura with the feather. Shake it vigorously when you are through.
Cleanse space using the feather. Shake it vigorously when you are through.

Set up altar:
Place the black altar cloth across your altar one way and the white one across the other way so that the altar cloths make a cross.
Place the scale in the center of your altar.
Place the feather at air, the censer at fire, the mermaid at water, the cornucopia at earth, and the rose and blue candles at spirit.
Light charcoal and allow to heat

Close circle:

Maat, great Egyptian Goddess whose symbol is the feather, you who weigh our hearts to see if we have led a good life, beautiful Lady who is worshipped wherever the rhythm of truth is heard, I invite you into my circle this night. Come, Lady of the feather and scale! Bring me balance this night and for the year to come.

Hestia, Lady who takes no form but of the fire to which you give life, you who lie at the center of each home, you who bring warmth and who allow us to cook our food, you who symbolize family unity and harmony between family members, I invite you into my circle this night. Bring me the warmth of knowing that my life is in balance and my relationships are strong.

Hold your hands over the burning charcoal. Feel her warmth.

Liban, Irish Goddess who was the only one of your family not to drown when a flood hit your home, you who are as at home under water as you are above it, you who took the form of a mermaid and transformed your dog into an otter, I invite you into my circle this night. Come, lovely lady of two elements! I need to learn from your adaptability this night.

Kiss the image of the mermaid.

Concordia, Roman Goddess of peace, you from whom we got the word "concord", meaning peace, you whose figure is substantial to show the prosperity peace can bring, you whose symbols are the cornucopia and the olive branch, I invite you into my circle this night, great Lady of peace and harmony, to teach me to find balance and harmony in my own life.

Focus on the cornucopia and the bounty she brings.

Neith, Goddess of both upper and lower Egypt, you who strung the sky on your loom and then wove nets to pull from the sea the primordial creatures, including women and men, you who are the queen of healers, who taught humans how to live and thrive on the earth, I invite you into my circle this night. Come great Goddess, oh ancient one of Egypt! I need to learn from your wisdom this night.

Light the rose and blue candles. Enjoy their light.

I am here to celebrate the autumn equinox, evidence of the turning wheel, when light and dark are equal, when everything is in balance. I celebrate the balance between darkness and light and the healing I experience when my life is in balance. This is the time when I reap what I've sown - when the harvest is equal to the work I've put out. Tonight I celebrate balance in whatever form it takes: equality between the sexes and the races, my well-balanced diet, the balance between work and sleep, the healthy balance between joy and grief. And this is the night when I remember that the coming dark of winter will eventually bring the joy and warmth of spring.

And tonight I invite the spirits of those who have already crossed over. Come join me in my circle this night! Sing to me of the balance of life, of death, and rebirth, and of life!

Greet those who come into your circle.

Charge of the Goddess:
Whenever you need anything, once a month and best when the moon is full, and eight times more in the year, you shall meet in some safe place to celebrate my spirit, who am the queen of all women. You shall meet in freedom, and as a sign of trust you shall be naked in your rites. Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in my presence, for mine is ecstasy of the spirit and joy on earth. My only law is love unto all. Mine is the secret that opens on the door of birth and mine is the mystery of life that is the Cauldron of Hecate, the womb of immortality. I give knowledge of the all -creative spirit, and beyond death I give peace and reunion with those gone before. Nor do I ask any sacrifice, for I am the mother of all things and my love is the breast milk that nourishes the earth. I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars and the mysteries of the waters, I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe. From me all things proceed and unto me they must return. Let my worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold- all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And you who seek to know me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not unless you know the mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without. For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which us attained at the end of desire.

Place some lavender on the charcoal.
Lovely lavender burns for me and brings my life into harmony.

Place some oak on the charcoal.
Oak, oak, burns bright this night and brings my life into balance just right.

Place some basil on the charcoal.
Basil I burn on the charcoal tonight. His aroma brings balance and heals me in flight.

Focus now on the scale on your altar. Mentally lay your work on the scale. See how the arm swings like a see-saw with one player. Now see your success piling up on the other tray. Watch the scale come into balance.
Speaking into the incense smoke so your words blow the smoke to the scale, say in a firm voice, "The scale is balanced. The success I enjoy equals the work I do." This will seal the spell.
Do the same thing with other aspects of your life, altering your words to fit what needs balancing. See how everything slips into harmony. Notice how peaceful you feel.

Journey if you'd like. Go to your safe place. Find your special goddess and talk to her. Ask her for help in putting into balance those aspects of your life that have not been in harmony.

When you are ready come back and ground, sending excess energy into the earth so that She may be in balance too. Write what you have learned.

Open the circle, thanking the spirits who came to celebrate with you and thanking the Goddesses in reverse order, beginning with Neith and ending with Maat

Allow the candles to burn themselves out.
When your censer cools place the ashes in a blue sachet and tuck it into your pillowcase so your dreams will be of balance and harmony.
Place the note you wrote on your bathroom mirror or some other place where you'll see it every day. Follow the advice you got on your journey to live a healthier life.