Saturday March 21st Hearthside CUUPS celebrated their second open ritual at the First Universalist Church in Salem Massachusetts.
We were able to open up Bolles Hall to the public and offer a fun filled evening where children were given the opportunity to wake Mother Earth by use of drums, musical frogs and tambourines.
A meditative reading was done as well, envisioning the Goddess Oestara coming forth and displaying both the light and the dark side of life and discussing the balance of the two.
Raffles were done and many people walked away with simple yet elegant items hand crafted by people of the group and the children went on an easter egg hunt.

Below see a copy of the Ostara ritual where only the names have been deleted. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed performing it.

Excerpts of Ostara Ritual written by Lady Bridget 1997

East- Air
Hail to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. I call upon you to attend these rites and share with us your gifts- your gentle breezes, the sweet scent of spring flowers, the breath of life and the ability to know, understand and communicate.
We ask for your presence as we celebrate the triumph of dark over light.
Hail and welcome!

South-Fire-
Hail to the guardians of the south, the powers of fire. Fill the souls of each individual in this circle tonight with the power and strength needed to drench the seeds of our desires with the fire of transformation.
We ask for your presence as we celebrate the triumph of dark over light.
Hail and welcome!

West- Water-
Hail to the guardian of the west, the powers of water. Swirling waters of the ocean blue, grant us fresh ideas. We ask for your presence as we celebrate in the triumph of dark over light.
Hail and welcome!

North- Earth-
Hail to the guardians of the north, the powers of earth. Corner of all power, bring us your wisdom, bring us your knowledge, growth and fertility. We ask for your presence as we celebrate the triumph of dark over light.
Hail and welcome!

HPS

We gather here tonight to celebrate the Maiden, the light of life which is a bright flame before us, a guiding star above us, and a smooth path beneath us.
May this flame kindle within our hearts, a flame of love for our neighbor, to our friends and to all.
We gather this equinox night to honor the virginal daughter of Cerridwen; the maiden of spring.

Invocation to Flora
By the flowers of the field, O lady of delight—
By the crops thy blessing yield,
Oh maiden clear and bright.
We invoke thy presence in kernels and sheaves
We see thy face in the moonlit leaves.—
Come now to us, extend thy grace
Come into our circle within this holy space.
Daughter of the earth, drinking sunlight
Queen of plants, sister of night,
By leaf and twig, by root and bough
By water and earth, come to us now!

Bring us your grain, the staff of our lives.
Bring us your fruit, wherever it thrives.——
Mistress of herbs, unlock your power
And lead us into your leafy bower.
In love and joy we call your name
With comforting hope, you ease our pain.

We see thee in the swelling bud
We feel thy stirring in our blood.—–
O Lady clear, we feel thee near
In spring a maiden with flowers crowned,
In summer and harvest, the mother renewed. In fall and winter, the had hols sway
Yet, the maiden remains but months away
Great triple Goddess, the seasons flow
And ebb to thy will, as you come and go.

We call upon thee- Persephone!—-
We call upon the- Eos!—-
We call upon thee- Aine!—
We call upon thee- Arianrod!—–
We feel your presence here! Blessed Be!—–
Invocation to the God

Lord of the Springtime
Father of flower, field and fruit—–
Smile on us as the days grow longer!
Everywhere is the green of new growth,

The amazing sight of the renewal of the earth.
Therefore, by see and root, by stem and bud—-
By leaf and flower and fruit.
Do we invoke the Lord of light,
And spring sun.
Move our bodies, our minds and our spirits
To leave a whole new rhythm, the rhythmic pulse of the renewing forests,—-
May spring come to us, be in us and recreate life in us.

We call upon thee- Adonis!
We call upon thee- Baldur!
We call upon thee- Apollo!
We call upon thee- Bacchus!
We feel your presence here! Blessed be!

Prepare everyone for journey

The room is dark and silent. You sit in the darkness, cold and alone, wondering if winter will ever end. You are restless, anxious, feeling something undefined stirring within you.
The stirring within you builds as you hear a gentle chime and feel a breeze brush your face. A young woman in a sky blue gown, blonde hair flowing over her shoulders, glides gracefully towards you. She holds a candle, its flame creating a chioscuro of blackest darkness and warm white light.

You search her face as she glides toward you with graceful steps. It is warm as morning sunlight. Her blue eyes twinkle as a smile lights her pale face.

“I see you have been waiting for me. I am Oestre, Goddess of the Greening Earth. I am the Maiden. I am childhood. I am Spring. I am the pink and yellow blossoms and the bright green of Spring grass. I am hope reborn.
She sets down the candle, its flame continuing to pierce the darkness along with the soft glow from Oestre’s face and gown.
“I have a gift for you,” she says. In her extended right hand appears an egg, glowing milky white, translucent alabaster. You peer into its depths and see children playing in the sunshine, soft spring rain falling on fields of wildflowers, lambs running through spring grass, pine forests exuberant as the trees show off their fresh soft green needles to one another. You see a waxing crescent moon pale but visible in the morning sky.

“This is the joy of new life, the Maidens gift of youth and possibility.” Oestre says.

In her extended left hand appears another egg, shiny black. In its glassy obsidian depths you see the deepest night lit by stars and a waning crescent moon. You see shadows as owls hoot in the midnight forest. You see stillness, the void before creation, the womb before it embraces a child. You see black velvet upon a midnight altar. You see a solitary old woman reflecting at midnight in darkness, a black cast resting on her lap.

“So many seek only light, joy, youth and beauty. But they cannot fully exist except by contrast with darkness, and yes pain and death. The maiden must become the Crone if she is to fulfill her destiny and gain the Wisdom the Universe has for her. So it is with your spirit. Times of pain, tears and darkness bring reflection, then change, then rebirth. You must rest if you are to know the explosion of new life that is spring. The womb must be empty and dark for the spark of life to light within it. The candle flame does not glow except in darkness.”

With that Oestre slowly departs, leaving the candle and the two eggs as tokens of her presence

To symbolize Her wisdom today, I offer these two candles, one black and one white. Please light them together in your time of personal reflection and meditate upon this time of balance between dark and light, day and night, life and death.

RAISE ENERGY!!!! CHANTS DRUMS, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

GREAT RITE

Thank the God and the Goddess

HP-
We are poised in the moment of equal light and dark.
The breathless point of balance between sun and moon.
As we bid farewell to the cold purification of winter,
In that same moment we fling wide our arms
To embrace the warmth and glory of the spring sun.

HPS-
Be with us as we continue our lives journey
Throughout the season, and those to come as we grow every closer to your
Perfection.
The true light that shines within us all
Blessed be!

East-caller-
Behold everyone, the spring has come!
The earth has received the embrace of the sun.

South- caller-
We shall see the results of this love
As every seed is awakened and so it all animal life.

West-caller
It is through this mystery that we too have our being.
Therefore we respect our neighbors

North- caller-
We respect also our animal neighbors
As we all have the same right to inhabit this world.

East-air-
Hail to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. We thank you for joining our Ostara celebration tonight. As you depart your mighty realms, we bid thee hail and farewell.

South- Fire-
Hail to the guardians of the south, powers of fire. We thank you for the energy you have lent to our workings tonight. As you depart to your mighty realm we bid you hail and farewell.

West- water-
Hail to the guardians of the west, powers of water. We thank you for joining in our celebration. As your depart your mighty realms, we bid thee hail and farewell.

North-earth
Hail to the guardians of the north, powers of earth. We thank you for attending our celebration. We thank you for planting the seeds of wisdom, truth and enlightenment. As we depart to your mighty realms, we bid thee hail and farewell.

Close circle.

Bibliography
“The Witches Goddess”- Janet/Stewart Farrar
“The Witches God”-Janet/Stewart Farrar
“A Witches Bible Compleat”-Janet/Stewart Farrar
“Earth Prayers”-Elizabeth Roberts/Elias Amidon
“Ancient Ways”- Pauline/Dan Campanelli
“Wheel of the Year”- Pauline/Dan Campanelli
Journey by Jaqueline Greer-Member of the Clan of the Triple Horses

SPIRALSCOUTS signup meeting
Date- March 15th
Time 12:30-2
Where- First Universalist Society of Salem Church Salem Ma.

General meeting to discuss interest of the community in regards to having your child be a part of SpiralScouts.
This is a perfect time to sign your child up and talk about what dates/times are good for future meets.
Please join us for this meeting and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at nehani36@hotmail.com

Wendy Rule is coming to Salem!!
April 25, 2009
Please come and join us for an intimate evening with Wendy Rule at the First Universalist Society of Salem Church where she will be performing music from her brand new cd as well as from her others.
She will be available to sign CDs and will be joining us for Beltane Ritual!

Doors open at 4 for meet and greet with light refreshments and ritual. Wendy will perform later in the evening.
Email me at nehani36@hotmail.com if you are interested in seeing her live. Performance is by ticket only which is priced at $20.00 for the entire event!

CUUPS Open Ritual-Ostara
March 21st at 6pm
First Universalist Society of Salem Church
*Enter thru Ash St entrance*

Open ritual with potluck dish of the season to be shared afterwards. Please bring with you a packet of seeds to be part of the ritual offering.
donation of $5.00 at the door to help fund future events.

CUUPS/First Universalist Society of Salem Congregational service Beltane
April 26th at 10:45am

Congregational/ritual to celebrate Beltaine. Join us in the celebration of Spring with the dancing of the Maypole along with a annual congregational celebration which will be held in Bolles Hall and in Sanctuary.

Donation is free for this event however canned goods for the food pantry would be gladly accepted.