Playing: LacrimosaDust in the Wind:Memorial for the Children Who Weren'tCleansing Creature of fire and creature of air, take this circle into your care. Cast the Circle The Circle is cast. We stand between the worlds. EAST: Guardians of the eastern watchtower, spirits of air, creatures of thought and communication, we bid you join us and protect this circle from all peril approaching from the east. SOUTH: Guardians of the southern watchtower, spirits of fire, creatures of faith and will, we bid you join us and protect this circle from all peril approaching from the south. WEST: Guardians of the western watchtower, spirits of water, creatures of dreams and emotion, we bid you join us and protect this circle from all peril approaching from the west. NORTH: Guardians of the northern watchtower, spirits of earth, creatures of strength and endurance, we bid you join us and protect this circle from all peril approaching from the north. CENTER: Guardians of the central watchtower, spirits above and below, the spirit of humanity, creatures of identity, we bid you join us and protect this circle from all peril from within.Invoke the Goddess: Great Mother, by your thousand names we call upon you. Persephone, Queen and Mother of the Dead, we ask that you witness this rite. Invoke the God: Horned One, by your thousand names we call upon you. Hades, King and Father of the Dead, we ask that you witness this rite. Drawing Down the Goddess (Priest): We call upon the goddess of perfect Love, who purifies the seas in which worlds are born, and brings to flood and ebb the rivers flowing beneath all manifest being. Behold now in her Image, crowned with the deepest glory of the sunset, robed in blue and green and silver. We call upon the Goddess who sets the stars in motion upon the endless mirror of night. Behold her now, Lady of the silver Wheel, crowned with silver and crystal, robed in deepest black. As Guardian of the Deepest Mysteries of Death and Birth she opens now the Way, and fills the Circle with her blessing, her power, and the unseen presence. Listen...listen for her heartbeat. Feel her warm and gentle breath as she enters the circle. Be still, and listen. PAUSE The Goddess speaks (Priestess): I am the Dark Mother. I am the Blood Mother. I am the Queen of all Creation, and I am the Guardian of the Graveyard. I have given birth to planets, to stars, to entire galaxies. All that is may call me Mother. Yet I have also birthed the empty husks of dead worlds, and seen the lightless voids in the universe where my children did not thrive. I have known the pain of losing a child unborn, or unconcieved, or of watching the dead body of my child emerge from between my thighs. My heart has stopped suddenly when I realized that my newborn child's cries had stopped. I, who am the Mother of all - I who am the Great Goddess - have cried bitter tears over the loss of my children. And to you who have shared in such loss, I say this: YOU DID NOT KILL YOUR CHILD! Your seed is not poisonous... Your child's life ended before it was truly begun. But you did not kill your child. There is no blame. You gave all you could to your child, and now the child is gone. You did nothing wrong. The child did nothing wrong. There is no blame. Every parent, even before the birth of the child, has dreams for the child, hopes of how the child will be treated and how the child will treat others. And each parent has a storehouse of love for each child. In time you may find that your hopes and dreams, dulled by pain and disappointment, will fade. But do not let that love fade. Do not do as others may tell you, and give this love to your other children. Do not do as others may tell you and dedicate this love to the creative works of your hands and of your mind. This love is a gift your child has given to you; use it wisely. Do not waste it where it is not needed. Save and cherish this love as love for yourself. Love your body, your mind, your soul. Learn to accept yourself. For the sake of your child, love yourself. Look to the stars at night and know that they are your brothers and sisters. They know your grief, and will help you bear your anger and fear. Look to the Sun and see the bright face of the Lord of Light; He will always be there to warm you against the shivering cold of loss. Look to the Moon and see Me; I will always be there to share your sorrow and to hold you when the pain is too much. But look, too, within yourself, to find the God and Goddess within you, and to find the love that makes you whole. Feel the fulness of all the love you have within you. And know that your child loves you still. Pause Chant (begun slowly): Pause EAST: Spirits of the east, we thank you for your presence here tonight and for the qualities of thought and communication with which you have endowed this circle. Go in peace. SOUTH: Spirits of the south, we thank you for your presence here tonight and for the qualities of faith and will with which you have endowed this circle. Go in peace. WEST: Spirits of the west, we thank you for your presence here tonight and for the qualities of love and compassion with which you have endowed this circle. Go in peace. NORTH: Spirits of the north, we thank you for your presence here tonight and for the qualities of patience and strength with which you have endowed this circle. Go in peace. CENTER: Spirits of the center, bright spark of the self, we thank you for giving us the wisdom, the will, the love, and the patience to partake of the energy of this circle. Great Mother, we thank you for your love and understanding. Be with us always. Horned One, we thank you for your strength and compassion. Be with us always. Take down the circle. The circle is open, yet unbroken. Go with love in your hearts. Ritual is by Gypsy and StormRider, in memory of their own lost little one. It is reprinted with their permission.
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