Diasia / Chloaia
Notes and
packing list are at the end of ritual.
The Pompe,
or Procession
The
Incense is lit, then, in the order dictated by the order of the Sacra, as
listed above, the People are lead by the Priest or Priestess to the Temenos, or
Sacred Precinct, containing the altar.
At
the entrance to the Temenos, each person is sprinkled with pure spring water
(note 1) then moves in a counterclockwise direction to form a circle around the
bomos/altar.
After
the khernips, everyone remains silent until the Priest or Priestess cries out:
"Hekas, o hekas, este bebeloi!"
The People Reply:
"Let All That Is Profane Be Far From
Here!"
The Lighting
The
Priestess cries out:
"Paresmen
time, sonta tas theas kai tous
theous."
The People Reply:
"We Are Here To Honor the Gods and
Goddesses."
The Priestess then lights the fire on the
altar, which should have been laid out beforehand.
The Scattering
Katie
walks the barley counterclockwise and each person takes some and tosses it upon
the altar. The remaining barley is placed nearby.
“with this
scattering, we are joined as community”
The Mixing
The
Libation Bearers move to either side of the Priest or Priestess and the Wine
and Water is mixed.
The
Priest or Priestess says:
"Theasthe
ta hudata biou."
The
People Reply:
"Behold the Waters of Life."
The
First Libation
The
Priestess says:
"Hestia, Thine is always the first and the last."
Some
of the water/wine in the cup is poured out on the altar fire, then the cup is
passed around counterclockwise, each person taking a sip in offering to Hestia,
or touching a drop to his or her forhead in offering,
and repeating the above formula of offering to Hestia. The Priestess takes a
last sip, and the remaining part is poured out on the altar.
As
it’s being passed around…
(note
4 for source of prayer)
Hestia,
Goddess of hearth and
temple fire,
Of the spiritual center
of our world,
And of all sacred places.
Hestia, beloved Goddess
of the spiritual flame,
Come be honored at this
place.
Bring to us the peace and
sureness
Of that place which is
home and hearth.
Please bring your purity
and beauty to us,
As we honor you
Who are
the center of the spiritual flame.
Hymnodia
The Priestess cries out:
"Koimeson
stoma!"
The People Reply:
"We will be silent!"
(The People then maintain silence through the
Hymn. Note 5 has
the source.)
Of generous Demeter we shall sing,
she who watches over seeds
Demeter
Chloaia, Verdant One,
When
the first green leaf of the daffodil
Rose
from the damp soil,
There
was the sweet whisper of your return.
As,
beneath the cool shadows of the clouds
You
labored
So
that beauty returned to Earth.
For
months now, the hillsides and meadowlands appeared
Dressed
in emerald green,
As
you the verdant Goddess reigned,
Jeweled
in larkspur, lupine,
And golden orange poppies.
The
spirits of the running stream,
The
redwood and the eucalyptus,
All
rejoice in the glory of the season,
For
under the sea-blue skies
Your
song resounds across the land.
The
lush green stands of wheat and barley
Bend
and sway in the winds,
And
it is you Chloaia,
In your Dance of Creation.
The
golden grasses of our hills,
Tell
us harvest time is near.
To
you
We
offer gifts of the heart
Of
love, beauty, and reverence,
O
grant us the season’s bright benedictions
As
we honor the Great Mother of the land.
The Second Libation
The
Libation Bearer fills the cup with milk.
The Priestess offers up the cup and says:
"Hear, Oh Demeter,
First Mate of Father Zeus,
Goddess of the Barley and
the Wheat:
You Who
preside over the growing of all crops,
You in Whose care is all
that lives upon Gaea, the Earth;
without Whom the seed does not sprout
nor the blossom blow nor the fruit mature and fall from the
tree.
Mother Who brings forth,
and Mother Who defends;
Mother Who Destroys if aught assault Her Offspring;
You before Whom the very throne of
Goddess of the Biosphere:
we call upon You with whatever name it pleases You to
be called! If ever we have made offering to You, or
honored You in word or deed, grant us that sustenance without which mortal life
cannot go on."
The Priestess pours some of the Milk on the
altar, then passes the cup counterclockwise. When the
libation returns to the Priestess she takes a last sip, and the remaining part
is poured out on the altar.
Offerings
of flowers to Demeter can be made at this time. Each one who is making an
offering may say, as it is offered:
"Lambane
kai heydou anathema mou,"
or simply: "Accept and Delight in my
Offering."
Each
one may also add any particulars he or she feels necessary, such as requests or
thanksgivings.
When
all offerings have been made, the Priestess says:
"Lambane
kai heydou anathemata heymown."
Response:
"Accept and Delight in Our Offerings."
Hymnodia
The Priestess cries out:
"Koimeson
stoma!"
The People Reply:
"We will be silent!"
(The People then maintain silence through the
Hymn)
Great Zeus, Son of Kronos,
Most High, Father of Gods
and Men,
Protector of Strangers,
Good Counselor
Hear my prayer, and
bestow your blessings
-
Zeus Kataibates,
Cloud Gatherer,
You descended upon Danae as a shower of golden rain.
Rain now upon your
parched children, Ombrios,
Water more precious than
gold.
-
Our dry lips praise you,
Great Zeus,
In hope of this blessed
moisture.
The
Libation Bearers again mix water and wine. The Priest offers up the cup and
says:
"Zeus, this Libation
is for You”
Cup
is passed, etc.
The Sacrifice/Offerings
The
Sacred Victims of bread are brought forward to the fire.
The Sacral Feast
Everybody
eats.
In
making Sacrifice and in the exercises of the Agon we
have called upon the Deity to join us. When the Agon
is done, the Sacral Feast is set and everyone eats. This can be something as
simple as bread and milk, or as elaborate as a many course banquet. For
Demeter, the Bounty of the Harvest should figure prominently in the Feasting.
The important thing to remember is that this is a communion not only between
mortal and Deity but between the mortals who share the feast as well. We are
all joined in communion, in community, by the sharing of the Sacral Feast.
The Libation of Thanks
The
Libation Bearer pours milk again. The Priestess leads the people in giving
thanks to the Goddess, letting individuals speak at will. Then the Priestess
offers up the cup, saying:
"Demeter Charin echomen soi."
Some
of the milk in the cup is poured out on the altar, then the cup is passed
around counterclockwise, each person taking a sip in offering to Demeter, or
touching a drop to his or her forehead in offering, and saying:
"Demeter, Hilathi!" (Demeter Be Propitious!)
or
"Demeter, Sponde!"
or simply
"Demeter, we thank You."
The
Libation Bearer pours wine again…..
"Zeus, Hilathi!" (Zeus Be Propitious!)
or
"Zeus, Sponde!"
or simply
"Zeus, we thank You."
The Final Libation
The
Libation Bearer pours wine one final time. The Final Libation is offered to
Hestia, with the words:
"Hestia, Thine is always the first and the last."
It
is offered in the same manner as the first, but when the Priestess pours out
the last of it upon the altar, she cries out:
"Houtos
heksoi!"
The
Response is:
"Houtos heksoi,"
or simply: " So Be It!"
This
is the End of the Ritual.
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History geek footnotes:
Note 1 – We are trying out
sprinkling with pure spring water, as per page 45 of
Landscapes, Gender, and Ritual Space: The Ancient Greek Experience by Susan Guettel
Cole
Since the gods inhabited
space in the human realm, special care had to be taken to preserve the purity
of sacred space. Special basins called perirrhanteria
containing water from pure springs were placed at the entrance of many sacred
precincts. When this water was sprinkled around those about
to enter the sacred space, the ritual "demonstrated purity by an
allopathic process that employed pure water to expel any trace of
pollution" (45).
Note 2 – much of this ritual was borrowed
from the Thiasos Olympikos website, and as always I
owe many thanks to Pyrokanthos who has taught me much. And I have always
enjoyed his hospitality in ritual.
Note 3 – poem by Nels
Lindberg found
http://www.hellenion.org/lindbergn/toZeus.html
Note 4 – Hestia prayer is s a modification
of the one found in “Mysteries of Demeter” by Jennifer Reif.
Note 5 – Hymn to Demeter is s a
modification of the one found in “Mysteries of Demeter” by Jennifer Reif. Plants were
changed to our local flora, past tense used as we are at the end of our green
period, some lines were dropped, and a traditional beginning tacked on.
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Packing list
Perirrhanteria – large bowl to hold spring water for sprinkling
Bottled
spring water (lots)
Spring of
laurel for sprinkling
Portable
Hestia
Charcoal
Matches
Incense
Barley
Glass for
milk
Glass for
wine
Krater
for mixing water/wine
In the ice
chest
milk
image of
the gods
flowers from the garden
performed
5/26/2007
Yvonne
Elan
Katie, and Zoe
(and publicly announced on NorCal
list)
Feast:
Brown rice
based couscous salad (mint and cucumber)
Hummus and
veggies
Lemon
rosemary pork
Animal
cookies (the kind with the white and pink frosting) were used for the animal shaped cakes.