As the high priest sets up a simple altar, a single file line of people enter, making a circle around the collection of candles and incense.
This process casts the sacred circle and begins the sacred ritual for the Wiccan coven.
Wicca is one of the major forms of Paganism and focuses on the earth and earth-based ideals.
“The circle keeps the right things in and the right things out,” said Bonnie McIntyre, a “white witch” [a witch who does good, not evil] who owns a Wiccan specialty store called Stardust and Moonbeams in Abita Springs. “Rituals rely heavily on the person that is performing it. A lot of it depends on the holiday or purpose for having the ritual.”
A Wiccan ritual usually begins with building an altar.
A traditional altar usually is comprised of candles, incense and other necessary items to perform the ritual.
The high priest sets up a candle to symbolize fire, seasalt to represent the earth, some water to represent itself and incense to symbolize the wind.
They also lay down a crystal or sword to channel the energy into the circle.
After everyone is “smudged” into the circle, or anointed with oil in the sign of the pinnacle, the high priest will focus the energy of the god and goddess.
The group then welcomes the god and goddess and thanks them for joining them in their ritual.
“The goddess really depends on the purpose of the meeting,” McIntyre said. “Covens usually invite the goddess that best serves their purpose.”
Next, the coven performs meditation and prayer. Their prayers are followed by the giving of blessings to the god and goddess in the form of bread and wine.
The ritual then moves into any necessary spell work.
“The amount of spell work varies,” McIntyre said. “But, it is usually up to the high priest or the person who organized the ritual.”
Finally, the coven dismisses the elements and the circle is opened.
McIntyre also runs paganpantry.com, which is a Web site offering information on paganism and features Wiccan and earth-based products.