This elegantly simple ritual is phenomenal for connecting and communicating with the energies, spirits and deities around you. No words need to be spoken, yet everything is understood.
A Ritual of Gestures
Adapted from Scott Cunningham
Stand in the ritual area. Still your thoughts. Breathe deeply for half a minute or so until composed and calm. Turn your mind to your deities.
Face north. Lift both hands to waist height, palms down. Press your fingers together, creating two solid, flat planes. Sense solidity, foundation, fertility. Invoke the powers of Earth through the gesture.
Moments later, turn toward the east. Raise your hands a foot higher, your palms facing away from you (no longer parallel with the ground), and elbows slightly bent. Spread your fingers and hold this position, sensing movement and communication. Invoke the forces of Air through this gesture.
Face south. Lift your hands fully above your head. Keeping the elbows straight, grasp your fingers into tight fists. Feel force, power, creation and destruction. Invoke the forces of Fire through this gesture.
Turn to the west. Lower your hands a foot or so. Bend the elbows, turn your palms upward and cup them, pressing the thumbs against the forefingers. Sense fluidity, the ocean, liquidity. Invoke the forces of Water through this gesture.
Face north again. Throw your head back and raise both hands to the sky, palms up, fingers spread. Drink in the essence of divine creativity; the unknowable, ultimate source of all. Sense the mysteries within the universe.
Lower your projective hand but keep your receptive hand high. With your raised hand press the ring, middle and fore fingers against the palm, lift the little finger and thumb to create a rough crescent shape. Sense the reality of the Goddess. Sense her love, her fertility, her compassion. Sense the powers of the Moon in the gesture; the force of the eternal seas- the presence of the Goddess.
Lower your receptive hand; lift your projective hand. Bend down the middle and ring fingers toward the palm, and trap them with the thumb. Life the forefinger and little finger up to the sky, creating a horned image. Sense the reality of the God. Sense the power of the Sun in this gesture; the untamed energies of the woodlands- the presence of the God.
Lower your projective hand. Lie down flat. Spread your legs and arms until you’ve created the pattern of the pentagram. Sense the powers of the Elements running through you; merging and coalescing into your being. Sense them as emanations from The Universe, The Goddess, and the God.
Meditate. Commune. Communicate.
When finished, simply stand up. Your rite of gestures is over.
Images pulled from Google.com
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