NOTE: these are NOT indigenous rituals -I am not indigenous, and have had no training on rituals of the Kulin or any other indigenous peoples. This is my attempt at an adaptation of Wiccan rituals to Australia - specifically, that part around Melbourne which is the Kulin people's lands, based on their seasons.
This ritual is for the start of the kangaroo apple season, the season of storms and changeable weather.
I have structured each of these rituals around my interpretation of the essence of each season. Others may have different interpretations, which are either equally valid or even superior to mine.
Poorneet - Opening/invocation when potential is invited to manifest
General Comments: Poorneet marks the time when tubers are hidden in the ground, but are ready to eat. What needs to be made known now? What powers and energies of body, mind and spirit are to be drawn upon?
Face the appropriate direction as you say:
“In the east, we acknowledge the spirit of Poorneet, the tadpole season when hidden tubers are ready to find and eat, and the coming into being of inner potential;
in the north-east, we acknowledge the spirit of Buath Gurru, the season of flowering grass when butterflies come to the flowers, and the spirit of fertility;
in the north, we acknowledge the spirit of kangaroo-apple, the season of storms, the benefits and testing that come with plentifulness, and the existence of the risk of conflict;
in the north-west, we acknowledge the spirit of Biderap, the dry season, and the unavoidable need for tests of endurance and strength;
in the west, we acknowledge the spirit of Iuk, the eel season, and the easing of troubles by the spirit of water;
in the south-west and south, we acknowledge Waring, the wombat season, the value of inner reflection and rest, and the times when we have to draw on our inner reserves;
in the south-east, we acknowledge the spirit of Guling, the orchid season, and the value of healing.”
Buath Gurru – fertility
General Comments: Fertility, also known in other guises and by other names such as creativity, can manifest in body, mind or spirit. In addition to its own essential benefits, like a flower, it tends to exert an attraction: may the attraction only be of butterflies. What are the aspects of fertility/creativity, on all levels, that could be relevant here? Write them down, or note them mentally, or make a representation of those forces/influences.
Consider the ways you wish to develop or manifest fertility/creativity in body, mind and soul If you have no particular ideas, you could invoke the runes Berkano, Inguz and Ansuz, and chant:
May I be fertile of mind and soul,
may my life give forth more life.
while you light a green candle.
Kangaroo-apple - storms and managing abundance
General Comments: This is about the dynamic aspects of this situation – just as a storm marks the build up and release of tension, with watering of life as a result, what are the dynamic aspects relevant to this ritual? All things pass, so think of it as coming up with as many yin-yang types of polarity as apply to the matter which is the core of this ritual, and which will lead to cycles of change. This may lend itself to movement such as dance to represent or clarify the dynamic forces at play here.
Now work out how to manage those: what are the balancing forces, and what are the points of resolution? Are there, for instance, roles and limits of responsibility/accountability/duty to make clear – on all levels, not just physical? Having a gift comes with obligations – much as the wealthy person is tested, by having wealth, to see what they do with that wealth: what are the obligations and tests that need to be managed as a result of the fertility identified under Buath Gurru?
Now work out how to manage those: what are the balancing forces, and what are the points of resolution? Are there, for instance, roles and limits of responsibility/accountability/duty to make clear – on all levels, not just physical? Having a gift comes with obligations – much as the wealthy person is tested, by having wealth, to see what they do with that wealth: what are the obligations and tests that need to be managed as a result of the fertility identified under Buath Gurru?
A flower can bring butterflies or grubs: this part of the ritual is where you can try to establish the consequences of being creative, by avoiding misuse or squabbles over your creativity. I suggest you invoke the runes Algiz, Thurisaz, and Tyr, and chant:
May all that comes through, from and of me
be of the Divine,
and may it only call
to those who are of the Divine.
while you light a blue or orange candle.
Biderap – strengthening exercises
General Comments: The ways to manage abundance have been worked out under kangaroo-apple: what strengths are needed to accomplish that? What strengths of body, mind and spirit are capable of being developed as a result of the ritual, or the situation the ritual is about? How do you best develop those strengths? Sometimes tests, such as tests of endurance, are unavoidable: what tests come with this situation?
The strength that is needed around fertility/creativity is of an ethical nature: do you have the quality of character not to create something that you can, if it will be destructive? Can you say to someone, possibly close to you, that their involvement in something is inappropriate and they must desist, or otherwise you will stop the creation? I suggest you invoke Tyr, Thurisaz and Algiz, then chant:
Just because
it can be so
does not mean it should be so;
may I have the will
to keep things sane,
and balanced and whole.
while you light a purple candle.
Iuk – easing of troubles
General Comments: Much as the arrival of the wet season eases the build up at the end of the dry season, or the cooling rains mark the passage of the long, hot, dry time, water marks the arrival of relief. What could lead to relief, could lead to a celebration in the situation the ritual is being built around? How could you obtain relief or celebrate?
Inspiration has led to many improvements to the human condition – things such as fire, the wheel, and so on. Of course, some inventions have been double edged, or problematic, or even evil. In the context of this ritual, however, it is appropriate to ask for creative easing of problems in your life (including any obstructions to creativity). I suggest you invoke Laguz and Ansuz, then chant:
As the rain washes away dust
may the Universe
ease away
all blocks to creativity, and
ease away
what troubles it may.
while lighting a blue candle.
Waring – meditation
General Comments: Waring marks the time of going within, of accessing and drawing on inner strengths. Meditate on all you have learned, and of how to implement your knowledge.
Meditate on the dynamism that leads to changes and thunderstorms – the localised accumulation of heat and moisture, the cooling as air ascends leading to rain, leading to growth and – if the rain is hard enough, change. There is a psychic renewal that can come from this time of change and renewal as well, capitalising on the flowering that was allowed – or foretold –during Buath Gurru. Think of the dynamic elements in your life, how something, perhaps an irritation, in one area of your live can, if you allow it to and handle it maturely, lead to change and renewal (even if that change is the sweeping away of an irritation). What areas of potential irritation do you have in you, and in your life? Contemplate opposites, dualities, dynamic balances and conflicts within yourself and your world, and the ways these can be balanced or drawn on
Finish by thinking of how you can manifest the changes which may be needed. What powers, strengths and attributes in yourself, your world and those around you, can you call on?
Just remember that what you sew now can come back to you, much as too much rain can lead to too much growth and then fires in the seasons to come.
Guling –Healing and Closing
General Comments: Allow yourself to be healed, and then it is time to close this ritual.
I suggest continuing the water theme by invoking the rune of Laguz, but also the runes of Berkano and Sowelu, and chant
As the rains heals a parched land,
may the Universe heal
my body, mind and soul
while lighting either a green or yellow candle.
Never devoke any of the directions/seasons!
“May this circle be cleansed, cleared and closed, and may we be assisted to centre and ground ourselves, the close our auras and close down, but may the protection, guidance and healing continue for the Highest Spiritual Good.”
Gnwmythr
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear")
Tags: rituals, seasons, indigenous, kangaroo apple,
First published: Sunnudagr, 11th December, 2011
Last edited: Sunday, 11th December, 2011
