Moon Web

Ritual For The Healing And Preservation

Of Rainforests

C/O Michael Harismides
PO Box 4538, Sunnyside, New York  11104-4538
Subscription $3.00 a year

     
May 24th, 1988 ~ 8 pm local time

RITUAL FOR THE HEALING AND PRESERVATION OF RAINFORESTS
     
(Individual version):
     
Cast a circle
     
Invoke  elements by calling upon  them in protective  aspects (for example, you might invoke Watch fires or Beacons in the South).  
     
Chant  the names  of  the  Earth  Goddess,  beginning  with  your  personal favorites, then naming as many as you can think of.  
     
Take a piece of green string.  Begin to tie knots in it, while chanting:  
                         Tying the Cord, Renewing the Earth;
                         We are Her Children, bringing Rebirth.
     
(The  knots may  be simple  or elaborate,  but leave  enough string  to tie together  at the  end.)   As  you  chant, see  the world  as  a network  of connected systems.   Breathe the air  that comes from the  jungles of South America.  Feel the living fire of an ocelot's power.  Taste the rain on the leaves at  the tops of the trees.  Feel  the delicate structure of the soil at the forest floor.)  
     
Tie the cord  together in a loop; hold it up, strung around your two hands, and begin chanting:  
     
                         We are the Flow and we are the Ebb;
                         We are the Weavers, we are the Web.  
                         
As  you  chant,  see yourself  standing  guard  over  the  borders  of  the rainforest.  See yourself  with others, protecting rainforest as  you would protect yourself, because that's what you're doing.
     
Bury  the cord in a container of earth.  Earth the power; thank the Deities and elements;  open  the circle.   Later  bury the  cord in  the forest  if possible.  

     
(If circumstances make the above impossible):
   
Sit quietly and see:  the network of ecosystems that make up the world; the rainforests thriving;  plants and  animals breeding;  the Earth,  green and filled with life; yourself, standing guard.  Breathe, and know that the air comes  from the sea  and the jungles  of Brazil.   Drink and know  that the water has  been around the  world, and  circulates through you  as it  does through the air, land, and sea.  Stand up and stretch; the strength of your body is the Earth's strength.  
     
     
RITUAL FOR THE HEALING AND PRESERVATION OF RAINFORESTS
     
(Group version):  
     
Facilitators give  each participant a slip of  paper containing the name of an Earth Goddess and a Nature God.  
     
Facilitators invoke elements,  stressing protective/preservative aspects of each one and  ending with "Into this circle I call  the Element Air! (Fire, Water,   Earth.)"    After  each  such  invocation,  a  dancer  or  dancers representing the particular element  come into the circle from  outside and do an elemental dance.  
     
A  facilitator says:   "We  now  call upon  the Earth  Goddess by  her many names!"   Participants call  out the Goddess  name on their  slip of paper, then  any other Goddess  names they wish.   This ends on  a signal from the drums.  
     
A facilitator says: "We now call upon the God of Nature by his many Names!"
     
The God is invoked in  the same fashion as the Goddess, ending  with a drum signal.  
     
The elemental  dancers go to the  quarters and begin passing  out pieces of green   string,  while a  facilitator explains  that the  condition of  the rainforests  affects us all,  that all things  are connected,  and that the worldwide climate is changed every time another acre of rainforest is lost. S/he explains  that these  sections of  cord  represent parts  of the  Life Circle of Earth, and that they must be joined to protect her.  
     
When the above speech has been made and all the cords have been passed out, a facilitator ties  the first knot, saying that tying  the cord is renewing the  Earth, that we are  her children, bringing  her rebirth.   This is the signal to begin the chant:  
     
                         Tying the Cord, Renewing the Earth;
                         We are Her Children, bringing Rebirth.
     

Clockwise  around the circle,  one by one,  each cord is  tied to the next. When  the circle is complete, the elemental  dancers go to the quarters and hold  the cord  aloft (participants  should  not let  go yet).   The  chant continues until the facilitators begin a second chant:  
     
                         We are the Flow and we are the Ebb;
                         We are the Weavers, we are the Web.  
     
(Since  this  is to  the  same  tune, the  transition  should  be easy  and seamless.)  When  this chant begins, the elemental dancers  begin to gather in  the  cord, gently  pulling it  away from  the participants,  who gently release it.   The elementals bury the cord in  a container of earth in the center  of the circle, then return to the outside to lead a spiral dance in to  the center  and back   out  (once) as  the chant  continues. When the participants are standing in a circle once more, the chant builds to a cone of power and fires.  
     
The  Deities and  Elements are thanked,  the power  is earthed,  the circle opened, hugs exchanged.  Later bury the cord in the woods.