Lesson Three

Quarter Calls Associations & Correspondences

Gods & Goddesses

Acts of Power

 

 

 

Quarter Calls

 

Quarter calls are the easiest to compose as long as you remember the associations for each quarter.

 

Here are some associations for the four quarters with a little research you can find many more but these should get you started.

 

 

Quarter associations

 

East:

Air

Intellect, vision, motivation, knowledge, wisdom, inspiration, wind, sprite, sylphs fairies, pixie.

Goddess: Arianrhod Nuit

God: Mercury, Thoth, Shu

 

South:

Fire

Actions, will, energy heat, flame, passion, sun, imp salamander, goblins wolf cats lion coyote fox

Goddess: Brigit, Vesta 

God: Horus, Vulcan

 

West:

Water

Transformation, emotion, love, courage, tranquillity, passion, rain, ocean, undine dryads Nereids, mermaids, selkie, nymph, kelpie naiad limniad, dolphins whales, frogs, butterfly

Goddess: Aphrodite, Isis,

God: Osiris, Neptune, Poseidon

 

North:

Earth

Strength, stability structure growth, gnomes, elves brownie, dwarf, faun satyr, bear, dear, elk, buffalo turtle, bull

Goddess: Ceres, Rhiannon

God: Pan

 

 

Basic quarter call:

 

Hail! Guardian of the Watchtower of the [direction])

Powers of (----)

Be with us in our [healing/moon/sabbat] ritual.

Hail & Welcome!

 

Which could look like this for a healing ritual:

 

Hail, Guardian of the Watchtower of the West,

Powers of the Transformation,

Be with us in our Healing Ritual

Hail & Welcome!

 

Or you could write:

 

Spirit of water and the dolphins, passion of the ocean,

Bring your healing energy to our ritual

Protect and guide us with your love and courage.

Hail & Welcome!

 

And for a Sabbat or Esbat you could use the same call:

 

Hail, Guardian of the spirit of the west.

Powers of transformation

Be with us in our Sabbat ritual

Guard us with your love and courage,

Hail & Welcome.

 

A very basic quarter call is:

 

Guardian of the Watchtower of the east,

Element of air.

Hail and Welcome.

 

This could be given to a novice quarter caller, simple to type in and easily elaborated on.

 

These are very simple calls and you can easily substitute the directions and associations appropriately.  Once you have mastered the basics then you will be able to compose your own in any way you like.

 

A good idea is to find the time to find as many associations as possible so if you do get writers block when writing a ritual it could help to give you inspiration.

 

Another idea is to try and see what element is in every day things, when you are out and about look for the elements in whatever is around you.  This gets you used to finding correspondences.  

 

Devoking Quarters

 

This means to dismiss the quarters and invoking is to call the quarters.

Quarters are always dismissed tuathal that means starting in the north, then west,

then south and finally east.

 

More often than not each one ends with Hail and Farewell!

Although this isn’t strictly necessary but it does give those attending the opportunity to participate a little more actively in ritual 

 

Part of the invoking is used to make up the devoking such as the associations for each direction.  Although you don’t want to make them too long as people are expecting an quick end, usually, to ritual and this will drag it out.

 

Examples:

Guardian of the Watchtower of the east,

Element of air.

Hail and Farewell!

 

Spirit of water and the dolphins, passion of the ocean,

We thank you for your healing energy.

Hail & Farewell!

 

 

 

Acts of Power

 

As with the rest of ritual acts of power should be typed or copied and pasted into the appropriate ritual.

 

When composing an act of power try closing your eyes and imagining the scene, if you can imagine it then so can others.  

 

You can see by this sample that a certain amount of visualisation is require, but those attending should not have any problems with this if clear instruction to imagine what is being written is asked of those attending.

 

Do not copy and paste the words in italics into your window they are directions for you to know where you are in ritual. All other words should be typed or copied and pasted as they are instructions to those attending.  This is a great example of how to perform what at first appears to be a difficult act of power and was written/adapted by one of my Temples member.

 

 

 

 

Sample

 

 

Bealtaine Act of Power :

 

Before we begin the glorious age old dance of the maypole, it is customary to bless and consecrate both the pole which is the representation of the God's regenerative life force, the phallus, and the earth, which represents the body of the Goddess.

 

(pours a libation of  wine into the Maypole hole.)

 

 Blessed Be!

 

Wait for response

 

Earth Mother, may this offering prepare you to receive this symbol of your consort, the Bright Lord.

Now look and see the men bringing the Maypole in: They are moving in a slow, seductive, rhythmic dance, two steps forward, and one step back. Finally they arrive at the centre of the circle.

 

The High Priestess speaks: Blessed be this tree, potent symbol of the Young Lord, which shall soon enter our Mother Earth.

Now Priestesses of all ages come forward and anoint the pole with sacred oil, chanting and vocalizing as they do so.

 

 Now everyone in the circle comes forward and ties a ribbon to the end of the   pole. The colour of each ribbon holds a special meaning for the person holding it.

Now, in your minds eye, take your own ribbon – note the colour – and tie it to the Maypole.

 

The men now lift the pole aloft and then slide it gently into the place prepared  for it:

This representation of the union of Goddess and God is accompanied by much laughter, cheering and other comments

This is a time for joy and sharing. The richness of the soil accepts the seed, and now is the time that seeds should be spilled.

Togetherness brings joy, and abundance fills the Earth

Now, music starts and everyone circles the maypole in the time-honoured dance

 

As you see the pole, you see in your mind's eye the pure life force rising up   from the earth, blossoming overhead, and cascading down through each of us...

then flowing out from us to the Lady's world beyond…

It is spring, the time for all in field or forest to be fertile!

Now, as in ages past, it is the pleasure of the Lord who longs for the touch of His Lady to light the Bale Fire, as a signal to all, that this is the season of Beltane!

 

(lights twin candles, symbolic of the bale fires)

(begins to chant, no need to type this just read.)

 

Nine woods in the Bale Fire go: 

Burn them fast and burn them slow

Oak for the God,

Birch for the Goddess,

Fir for birth,

Willow for death;

Rowan for magic,

Apple for love,

Vine for joy,

Hazel for wisdom, and

Hawthorn for purity - and for the May.

 

Blessed be!

 

Wait for response of Blessed Be!

 

Now, as in ages past, it is the pleasure of the Lady to arouse the passions of   the Lord, to cause the sap in the trees to rise, to cause the very breath of the earth  to sigh in anticipation!

 

 (Chants again)

 

Behold in token the ancient sign of union,

The path divine to the twilight glade,

wherein all things are manifest made.

Before the Wheel of Time could turn For the Goddess the primal God did yearn

And in his lusty, warm embrace, she, our Goddess, fair of face

Did bless the union, receive the seed, and consummate the sacred deed,

Creation of stars, birth of man - in union first was all began.

Behold in symbol the ancient rite!  

Pillar of Day, Pillar of Night!

Osiris to Isis - Shiva to Shakti, El to Ashera , Solomon to the Shulamite maiden –

For as the chalice is the yoni and the athame the lingam,

conjoined in love they bring true blessedness.

 

 Blessed Be!

 

Wait for response of Blessed Be!

 

 

 

Assignment suggestion:

 

Try and find and list as many associations and correspondences you can for the four elements. Research gods and goddesses for the types of rituals you will be writing such as the ones that are associated with healing.

 

Keep these in a safe place for when you need inspiration for a ritual.