The Rite of the Well

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Officers:

• Druid and Bard.

Materials and setup:

• Staff for the Druid
• Objects to represent the three Realms, the four Treasures, and a central
• object to represent the Well of Wisdom. (I used a big brass chalice, that was about eight inches in diameter)
• Wine or other offering.

Opening

Bard: O Companions: The time has come for the parting of mists. All you who would seek passage to the Otherworld, hear me: put behind you the troubles of the mortal realm, hear the calling of the Gods, and come away. (Bard leads the group to the circle, but does not yet enter it

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Druid: (inside) Before you stands the holy gate to the Otherworld. It is the perilous bridge, the hidden cave, and the secret path. It is trod only by the wise, the heroic, and the seekers of Truth, who hear the calling of the Sidhe!

All: We hear!

Druid: (improvised) I call upon the gates of the Otherworld to open. I call upon the Mighty Ones to be present tonight, and join our circle. O Gods of my people, hear my prayer, for I am a wind on the sea.

Bard: And the Tuatha de Danaans brought from those four cities their four treasures:

(as the Bard describes each treasure, the Druid takes up the object to represent it and casts the circle.)

>From Falias was brought the Stone of Fal, which was located in Tara. It used to cry out beneath every king that would take Ireland.

>From Gorias was brought the spear which Lugh had. No battle was ever sustained against it, or against the man who held it in his hand.

>From Findias was brought the sword of Nuada. No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its deadly sheath, and no one could resist it.

>From Murias was brought the Dagda's cauldron. No company ever went away from it unsatisfied.

Druid: We stand upon the Stone of Destiny, we cast the spear of Lugh Lamh-fada, we draw the sword of Nuada Argat-lamh, we feast with Dagda's cauldron. O Gods of my people, hear my prayer, for I am a wind on the sea.

Bard: It was on the first day of Beltaine, that is now called May Day, the Tuatha de Danaan came, and it was to the north-west of Connaught they landed. But the Firbolgs, the Men of the Bag, that were in Ireland before them, and that had come from the south, saw nothing but a mist, and it lying on a hill. Druid: Ye dwellers of the south, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, monsters and tempters, and all who dwell in shadow, I lay this offering before you, that you shall be satisfied and leave our circle in peace. And on our own inner shadows let us dwell, our hatred and cowardice, our vice and falsehood, and for tonight, we cast them aside! O Gods of my people, hear my prayer, for I am a wind on the sea. Bard: And the three things they put above all others were the plough and the sun and the hazel, so that it was said in the time to come that Ireland was divided between those three, Coll the hazel, and Cecht the plough, and Grian the sun. Druid: (Everyone in turn follows the Druid's lead: Thump staff three times) The Land upholds me from below. (Swing staff around the body three times, held vertically so no one gets hurt.) The sea surrounds me from all sides. (Draw spiral in air with staff three times) The sky covers me from above. I agnowledge these three realms, for such is the shape of the world. O Gods of my people, hear my prayer, for I am a wind on the sea. Bard: And they had a well below the sea where the nine hazels of wisdom were growing, that is, the hazels of inspiration and of the knowledge of poetry. And their leaves and their blossoms would break out in the same hour, and would fall on the well in a shower that raised a purple wave. And the five salmon that were waiting there would eat the nuts, and the colour would come out in the red spots on their skin, and any person that would eat one of those salmon would know all wisdom and poetry. And there were seven streams of wisdom that sprang from that well and turned back to it again; and the people of many arts have all drank from that well.

Druid: (As all grasp the Druid's staff, and lower it into the Well, the company recites the Universal Druid Prayer.) As we enter the Well of Wisdom, let us offer the words that have been the bond between all Druids.
(underlined words are repeated by all)
Grant, O Gods, thy protection
And in protection, strength
And in strength, Understanding
And in understanding, knowledge
And in knowledge, the knowledge of Justice
And in the knowledge of justice, the love of it
And in the love of it, the love of all existances
And in the love of all existances, the love of the Gods and all goodness.

When the staff is removed from the well, allow each participant to drink from it. Then the Druid begins a chant which everyone knows to complete the group mind.

The work that the participants have decided to do for this ritual proceeds when the chant is complete. When I first performed this ritual, i lead the group in a guided meditation to the Well itself.

Closing

Druid takes up staff, invites all to hold it, and says: Promise you know that the Earth our home and mother shall be protected by the weapons of our spirits and wills.

All: We swear it.

Druid may improvise farewells to the Gods for being present, thanks to the Firbolgs for leaving us alone, and to conclude the right, the Well is emptied and turned upside down

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Notes

The main part of the storytelling text comes from the opening few paragraphs of Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Agusta Gregory. This is one of two volumes of Irish myth composed around the turn of the century, written for "people who think in Irish". It is edited somewhat, excluding an enormous (yet interesting) litany of the Gods, and also changing the order somewhat. The description of the four Treasures comes from the Cath Magh Tureadh. But the order of events follows a logical order: establishing space, cleaning it up, and then filling it with sacred things. I have interwoven the story with invocations and affirmations of my own composition; the exception to this is the Universal Druid prayer, which comes from the liturgy of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, and is part of the liturgy I have used since undertaking Druidism as my spiritual path. The oath sworn on the staff is usually sworn on a sword, though the text of the oath is vertabim OBOD liturgy.

I have discovered that defining sacred space is partly a matter of putting the proper frame of mind onto the people present, and as a dramatist I believe one of the most effective ways of doing so is through storytelling. In this way, all participants have an experience that they are sharing on both the material and mental level. Even in non-ritual environments, storytelling moves our minds, and prepares it to accept things it would otherwise be unable or unwilling to accept. It is my belief that part of the point of ritual is to make our awareness of the universe more comprehensive, and we need a special frame of mind to accomplish that.

The same can be said for the "three things put above all others", for the Sun is the sky, the Hazel is the sea, and the Plough is the land. These also represent some desirable attributes of each: the Hazel, wisdom; the Plough, fertility; and the Sun, craftsmanship and ability.

I think the profound thing about this view is that divinity becomes accessible to everyone. One need not have special Sight to discover God. One need only look out the window... to the sea....

The Well of Wisdom is undoubtedly symbolic of the wisdom principle also expressed by Dagda's Cauldron and by the hazelnuts, for the Well is at the bottom of the ocean and is surrounded by hazel trees. It may also be a kind of psychological gate to the subconsious, or a kind of reservoir and source of spiritual energy. In our times of doubt, weakness, or uncertainty, it is good to seek the Well, to have our clarity of thought and of perception restored.

A final note on the performance of the rite: When I first performed it, I did it in the central temple space of the Wiccan Church of Canada, in Toronto Canada. Present at the rite were three members of a coven who invited me to be a "guest Priest" for a while. (For Imbas-L members: this was Liath's coven, tho she was out of town that day). I used an oriental sai instead of a staff because i couldn't transport my staff on the bus. I didn't think of putting it in the cargo hold under the seats until too late. When the sai is lowered into the cauldron in a ritual gesture that is almost identical to the wiccan Wine Blessing, let it stay in there for a while. We found the energy that we raised to be quite invigourating!