The EsbatsThe Esbats
In the Charge of the Goddess, the Lady tells us 'Once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye gather in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me, who is Queen of all witcheries and Magicks.' The Esbat ritual is that meeting, that ritual that adores the spirit of the Divine Feminine.
A fundamental occult and Craft belief is that the psychic tides of mankind are ruled by the moon, growing as it does and waning with it as well. The night of the full moon in any given month is the time of the greatest psychic and magical power, when all the powers of the subconscious are available to the trained and sincere witch.
It is on or around this night that the most common rituals of a coven take pl ace. The members of the group, initiate and neophyte, gather together to adore the Goddess, to learn and teach, and to work magick. The focus of an Esbat ritual is always the Goddess, for the moon is Her symbol and is inextricably linked with the feminine principle in the archetypal other-minds of our species.
So it is that the ritual begins after all are prepared; ritual baths are done, robed covens are clad in their cowled majesty, and skyclad ones are glorious in the freedom they embrace.
The first step in the ritual is the Casting of the Circle, in which the High Priest and High Priestess consecrate and bless the area about the altar where the rites are to take place. (It must here be noted that in some covens the High Priestess will cast the Circle, ca ll the quarters and generally perform every duty possible to her. It is in my opinion however, better to leave the casting of the Circle and quarter-calls to the Priest, allowing the High Priestess a little more freedom to handle other things. If you, reader, would prefer the original version, you need simply change the gender of the active initiate.)
Approaching the East, the HP, sword in hand, slowly walks about what is to be the perimeter of the Circle, channeling the power he has stored for this purpose through the naked blade, and continuing clockwise about the Circle until again he stands in the east. Saluting the quarter, he invokes: "
I conjure thee, O Circle of Power, that thou mayest be a meeting place of love, and joy and trust; a shield against all wickedness and evil; a boundary between the worlds of Men and the Realms of the Mighty Ones, a rampart of protection which shall preserve and contain the power we shall raise within thee. Wherefore I do bless thee and consecrate thee in the names of ( the God) and (the Goddess)."
A gate is now cut, that is to say, an opening in the Circle, so that the remaining coven members might be admitted. Each is greeted with a kiss and signed with oil, man greeting woman and vice versa. Once all have gained entry to the Circle, and stand between the Worlds, the gate is closed.
The Priest (or Priestess) now calls forth the Mighty Ones of the Watchtowers--great elemental forces--summoning them forth equally from within as well as from without. As the words are spoken, the active Priest traces an Invoking Pentagram of Earth in the air before him/her (an earth pentacle begins at the left hip, then proceeds upward then to the right hip, left shoulder, right shoulder, and back to the left hip.): "
Hear Ye O Mighty Ones, Dread Lords of the Watchtowers of the (direction)! I, (craft name), Priest/ess and Witch, do summon, stir and call thee up, to this our meeting, to witness our rites, and to guard our Circle. So Mote It Be"
He proceeds on, clockwise, to the south, then west and north, until the quarters are called. this being completed, the first goal of the ritual is now within sight: invocation of the Goddess. The High Priest gives the five-fold kiss to the High Priestess, kissing each named part as he goes:
Blessed Be thy feet which have brought thee in thy ways;
Blessed Be thy kness, which shall kneel at the sacred altar;
Blessed Be thy womb/phallus without which we would not be;
Blessed Be thy breast(s) formed in beauty/stength;
Blessed Be thy lips which shall utter Her sacred names..
Kneeling before her, the Priest takes up the wand and with it touches her womb, left breast, right breast, and womb again as he invokes:
I invoke thee and call upon thee O mighty mother of us all, Bringer of all fruitfullness: By seed and by root (touch), By bud and by stem (touch), By leaf and flower and fruit (touch) , By light and by love (touch), Do I invoke thee to descend upon the body of this, Thy servant and priestess.
Bending low before the Priestess, he invokes:
Hail Aradia! From the almathean horn pour forth thy store of love, I lowly bend before thee, I adore thee to the end, With loving sacrifice thy shrine adorn Thy foot is to my lip (kisses foot) My prayer upborne upon the rising incense smoke,.Then spend thine ancient love O mighty one, And descent to aid me, who without thee am forlorn.
The Priestess traces the Invoking Pentagram over the priest, saying:
Of the mother, darksome and divine
Mine the scourge and mine the kiss
The five-point star of love and bliss
And here I charge thee in this sign!
At this point, the preceeding ritual (called Drawing Down the Moon) will have brought the Goddess principle out in the Priestess as she shares her body with the Lady. The priest now gives the opening l ines of the Charge of the Goddess, which is answered by the body of the Charge, delivered by the Priestess.
At the end of the Charge of the Goddess, the Priest throws his arms wide and cries out the ancient invocation, likely a source of the 'barbarous names of evocation'of the witch-trials:
Bagabi lache bachabe
Lamac cahi achababe
Karellyos
lamac lamac bachalyas
Cabahagy sabalyos
Baryolos
Lagoz atha cabyolas
sanahac atha famolas
Hurrahya!
(together with Priestess) Akhera goiti--akhera beiti!
The coven, led by the Priestess and the Priest, begin the Witches' Rune, a dance in which the participants face inward, hands linked and move clockwise. As the dance rushes on, everyone chants the Witches' Rune:
Eko eko Azarak,
Eko eko Zomelak
Eko eko Cernunnos
Eko eko Aradia! (x3)
Darksome night and shining moon
East then south then west then north
Hearken to the Witches'Rune
Hearken as we call thee forth!
Earth and water, air and fire
Wand and pentacle and sword
Work ye unto our desire
Hearken ys unto our word!
Cords and censer, scourge and knife
Powers of the witch' s blade--
Waken all ye into life
Come ye as the charm is made!
Queen of heaven, Queen of hell
Horned hunter of the night
Lend your power unto the spell
And work our will by magic rite
By all the power of land and sea
By all the might of moon and sun
As we do will so mote it be
Chant the spell and be it done!
Eko eko Azarak
Eko eko Zomelak
Eko eko Cernunnos
Eko eko Aradia!
When the Priestess feels that the chant has gone on long enough, she ends it and the coven comes to a stop. This is now the time for the Great Rite, follow ed by any magic the coven may be working, or lectures and lessons. The High Priestess and High Priest are usually expected to have something prepared.