Ed Fitch - Magical Rites from the Crystal Well

First Edition Copyright2011
By Pendraig Publishing
SmashWords Edition 2012
All rights reserved

No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording orotherwise without the prior written permission of the copyrightholder, except brief quotation in a review.

Cover Design & InteriorImages, Typeset & Layout by: Jo-Ann Byers-Mierzwicki

Pendraig Publishing

Los Angeles, CA91040

www.PendraigPublishing.com

ISBN:978-1-936922-30-7

The Witches Rede ofChivalry

Forming a Pagan TrainingGroup

Notes from the Outer Court Book ofShadows

Familiar Household Pets

Spring Rite

Midsummer Rite

Harvest Festivals

The Lammas Festival

The Lammas Meal

Harvest Rite

Winter Rite

Rite of Calling Down theMoon

Ceremony of Cakes andWine

Feast of the Full Moon

Invocation to the FullMoon

Visit to the Cave ofAphrodite

Storm Magic

The Beacon of Light

Magical Dance

Building the Flow of theForce

The Spell of the Comb andMirror

Building an AstralTemple

Spell of the FiveCandles

Pathworking

Audience with the SeaQueen

American Indian CeremonialPrelude

Earth-Cleansing

Blessing of a Garden

Rite for Dedication and Protectionof an Infant

Rite of Paganing

Handfasting Rite

Rite of Release

Rite for the Dead

C rystalWell magazine was around for a fairly long time ... since 1965, tobe exact. Starting off as an occasionally published mimeographednewsletter, it eventually grew to be a scholarly, good-sizedmagazine which often managed to come out quarterly. Quite a varietyof subjects were covered, but the most popular always seem to havebeen the rituals.

The rituals have been quitevaried: seasonal, magical, specialized, general ... whatever thedirections of our current researches happened to be at the time.These studies have always been of major importance to those of uswho worked on the magazine and in the Craft. There is a very greatamount of Pagan lore which can be drawn from history, literature,anthropological researches, and many other areas ... if one knowswhere to search, and is willing to do a lot of work in digging itout.

Over the years numerous readers,as well as many of the staff, have suggested publishing one or morecompilations of these rites, though time and money always seemed tobe in short supply. But we knew that sooner or later this sort ofthing had to be attempted; in our rapidly changing modern world thepublishing of ones researches gives at least some chance ofkeeping them available to the public. Magazines and newslettersseem to vanish like summer dew.

And we want the Old Ways ofPaganism and of Wicca to be around for a long time; we want to havesomething that is pleasing to the psyche and provocative to theimagination to be on the bookshelves in the decades to come. Intime a new generation will arrive which will be looking forsomething of quality and depth. Hopefully this can be part of ourlegacy.

The rituals and background loreherein represent a full cycle of material ... perhaps enough tobase a full tradition on, and definitely enough to enrich andexpand existing books maintained by Witches and Pagans. We cantclaim that its a fully self-consistent system based on totallyfundamental folk roots and the most ancient Mysteries: that sort oflore is still being researched.

What you hold in your hand is acarefully researched and restored volume of material basedprimarily on Central and Eastern European lore, as well as that ofthe British Isles. Its all been around, in quite similar form, forcenturies or possibly millennia.

The past can have a lot to offerus, and can point the way to an even better and more challengingfuture.

The world can be molded andimproved in many ways, and humankind itself has the potential forveritable godhood. By gaining a deep realization of our mostancient foundations, and by constantly re-establishing ouressential oneness with all of nature, we can make both ourselvesand the universe at large into works of ever greaterperfection.

This volume, and the materialwithin it, provide for a few steps towards that high goal. Theinner drive and the questing, adventurous spirit, are somethingthat you must provide.

Best of fortune be with you,friends. And may the blessings of the Lady ever be yours.

Blessed Be,
Ed Fitch
April 1982, C.E.

T his bookhas been compiled to provide modern pagans with rituals and withsuggestions for festival practices which will help us return to ourancient roots. Paganism is a joyous yet reverent philosophy whicheveryone can share in for there is not a person alive in theworld today who is not descended from Pagan ancestors.

We like to describe ourselves asNeopagans because weve taken the most worthwhile philosophiesand practices of the Pagan religions of ancient times, and adaptedthem to modern needs and life-styles.

According to our definition, aNeopagan is a person who believes that the Divinity or God-forceis contained within all living beings and in the material world aswell, (this belief is known as Monism God is one with theUniverse); and who follows a religion which honors and observes thecycles of nature.

Although our Pagan ancestorshonored even deified natural forces in their religions, theydid so because their lives were dependent upon these forces forsuccessful hunting and a good harvest. Today, life is very muchchanged, and the average person is practically divorced fromnature, and it would not be feasible for most of our modern Pagansto try to return to the more natural life-styles of the past.Therefore, modern Paganism concentrates on a more spiritual ideal... striving for higher consciousness and spirituality ... but wedo continue to revere the Earth-Mother, the power and beauty of thenatural Universe, and the universal Archetypes within ourselves. Byliving in harmony with the rhythms, the tides, and the forces ofthe Cosmos, we will be more complete persons ... enjoying health ofbody, strength of mind, and greatness of soul.

The set of rites and practicescontained herein comprises our own system, which weve developedfor use by our students and our friends. Im afraid weve not yetdevised a name for our particular brand or denomination ofNeopaganisms.

Our rituals are deeply reverentand rich in symbolic content, but they are best performed wherethere is privacy. It is very sad that religious bigotry can stillflourish in a nation that was founded on freedom of belief. Eventhough morals, ethics, and clean living are important to our way oflife, we find it necessary to practice our religion in a subduedmanner. We do not want to draw attention to ourselves and abuse toour children from people who may be prejudiced against a religionwhich is different from their own. Usually this prejudice is basedsolely upon misinformation and ignorance.