Pagan Portals - Dancing with Nemetona: A Druid's exploration of sanctuary and sacred space by Hoeven Joanna van der

Author:Hoeven, Joanna van der [Hoeven, Joanna van der]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781782793267
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Published: 2014-05-30T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Lady of Ritual

Ritual – the word rolls off the tongue. It evokes images of moonlight and standing stones, or incense and flower-filled temple rooms, women and men gathered under the stars or the light of day to celebrate an aspect of life, death and rebirth.

Ritual is as simple or complex as we allow it to be. We can follow a set liturgy, or we can create our own path. Within Paganism, both are equally acceptable. As Modern Paganism is, technically, a newly rebirthed religion the question of authenticity with regards to validity is moot – someone, somewhere along the line, whether it was sixty years ago, six-hundred years ago or sixty-thousand years ago, made it up at some point. That has no bearing on its validity.

When we create ritual, we are taking a moment, taking time out, to celebrate or honour a specific moment in time. It may be as simple as saying a prayer of thanks at sunrise or sunset, or it may be a full blown affair held within a stone circle, with twenty or more participants, having rehearsed their roles and reenacting a mythic drama. Whatever ritual you choose to perform, establishing a relationship with Nemetona can be a rich and rewarding experience to lend to these sacred acts.

Nemetona is Lady of the Sacred Grove, where it is believed that ritual occurred in past history. The ritual itself is just as important as the setting. It must speak to us, must sing to our soul, otherwise, what is the point?

As the Lady of Holding, of guarding and watching over our sacred space, our created sanctuaries, Nemetona is also a Lady of Ritual, integral to it if we so desire. She moves in circles and in cycles, and therefore when we hold a ritual circle, we can invoke her easily within that sacred place. She is all that is within the sacred circle, and also all that is without. Like a vase, the vase is not only the boundaries of its own edges, but also the emptiness within that allows it to be a vase as well as the space outside that allows its form to be.

We can call upon Nemetona in ritual, to protect our sacred circle, to bless it, or simply to witness what it is that we are doing within that space (or all three). She can be called upon before a ritual to help define its intent and purpose. She is the Lady of Holding, and within her embrace we are free to be and do as we wish. Within the sacred ritual circle, she enables change and growth, safety and security where we might otherwise feel it lacking.

Within the ritual circle is a space where we can grow, where we can make associations and develop our spirituality to its true potential. Within the sacred circle, we overlay it with our associations in ritual such as the elements, our spirit guides, ancestors, gods and goddesses and more. By finding out where these “fit”

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