This reconstruction of a standard ritual liturgy is based on the ancient Greek Sacrificial
Ritual, as described by Burkert and other scholars. This explanation below may be lengthy, but the actual ritual form itself is very organic and simple; it is not hard to commit to memory and perform. Read this through many times, till you understand it.
Some parts of this liturgy, such as the lighting of the fire and the cleansing of Miasma can be done as rites alone and by themselves, for many reasons. Take all together, it is the standard ritual as done for sacrifices to any God(s) or Divine Being(s).
Sacrifice is the division of an offering between Human Beings and the Gods- and this Ritual Form communicates the entire message of the act of Sacrifice: that each offering or sacrifice that is divided pre-supposes a whole to be divided, and that those who divide the whole (Man and the Gods) are united by a common bond- in short, any sacrifice or libation shows that Man is different from the Gods, but united to them as one thing, simultaneously.
The Sacrifice demonstrates, in physical, mental, and spiritual reality, that humans and Gods are united. It is the act of a two-way relationship between humans and the Gods; the true relationship between the mortal and the divine is one of honorable, friendly reciprocity. The sacrifice renews the relationship between the Mortal and the Divine world, but also renews relationships and bonds between mortals who participate.
The Preparation of the Altar and the Sacred Fire
Before any rite or devotion of any kind is done, an establishing meditation should be done- and the process is very simple.
Sit or stand with your back straight, and take ten steady breaths; do not force them to be too deep or shallow; just take steady, satisfying breaths, paying attention to the feeling of the breath itself. Imagine as you do that there is a balloon inflating with your in-breath, a balloon that is behind your navel. Then, as you breathe out, let the balloon deflate and the breath come out easy and count "one" in your mind. Repeat till you reach ten- do not let your thoughts wander; if they start, simply come back to your breath.
Be gentle and quiet in your mind; only breathe. Do not let yourself move or think quickly; just be gentle. This technique centers and calms you, and is the first sign to all levels of your being that you are to be moving into a state of purity and religious duty.
Now, turning all your thoughts calmly to the divine work at hand, you must see that the
Altar is arranged. If you are going to be working indoors, the altar will be an indoor shrine or a free standing table or surface of some kind. Outdoors, it will be a pile of
earth (a turf altar) a stone, an outdoors table or surface, or the like.
If you are making an outdoors sacrifice to the Chthonic Gods or to the Dead, a trench can be dug into the ground instead of an altar, and the sacred flame for the ritual (as mentioned below) can be a standing torch or torches- especially torches carried by the ritual participants. Candles work well too. Most Sacrifices to the dead or the Chthonoi will be done at night, at any rate.
The key to all altars, indoors or out, is simplicity. Images of the Gods or Beings to whom
the sacrifice will be done are fine, but especially in the case of outdoors altars, are not completely necessary. The altar is never to be crowded, for any reason. What any altar does need is a flame of some kind; normally a candle. An incense burner is also desirable, and a clean, empty bowl made of wood, some metal, or earth. Only include further decorations (like divine images) if they can be safely and tastefully included. Indoors, this is normally not a problem. Indoors, many people use altar cloths as well; this is good.
If you are arranging an outdoors altar, (and if you are, don't forget to use a shielded
candle-holder) you should get a stick and make a large circle in the ground around the area, if possible. If you cannot, mark the circle out with some natural things like stones or
leaves, as best you can. This marked out circle should be large enough to contain all the people who will be participating and leave room enough for ease of movement. Large turf altars can have an actual small fire built on them.
When you are done arranging, indoors or out, you must invoke the power of the Goddess Hekate. She must be invoked before all, for she is who allows for transitions between any two places, including the world of Gods and Mortals- She must be invoked before other prayers and invocations can be effective during rituals such as these. Here is a standard invocation to her, but naturally, any can be effective:
Hekate, Enodia, Great Carian Queen Who forever holds the Keys of the World:
Goddess who inspires Awe and protects all gateways and portals to sacred places
You are honored among the living and beloved among the dead!
Great King Zeus honored your ancient and noble lineage
With a portion of the Land, the Heavens, and the dark Underworld!
You are the Daughter of Night and the Honored Queen of the Three Ways.
You were present when Great Deo was reunited with her Holy Daughter!
Your torches illuminate the Mystery of the Triple Secret which no man may utter.
We ask that you carry our words and prayers in these sacred rites to the Immortals
To whom our hearts incline.
It is by you that prayers and worship reach the Gods!
Bless us, Queen with the Yellow Veil, and honor our requests.
Now, reverently, you must light the Fire on the Altar and Honor Hestia, the Goddess of the Flame and Fire. As you light the fire, gaze into it and say:
Hestia, Mother of the Hearth,
Holy force in all our families,
Holy force of the Gods,
You who tends the living flame,
And warms the body and the world;
You whose hair is moist with sweet oil,
I honor you.
Bless this flame, your body,
Bless this flame, your holy presence.
Bless this flame, life, mother.
Let your power be here at this sacred place.
Other candles that may be at the shrine or altar, or about the area of the altar should be lit from this central fire.
With this, the preparation of the Temenos or holy place is done, and you may proceed with the Sacrifice or whatever else working will be done there. If you are going to do a sacrifice rite in this established Temenos, and have not performed the rite of Cleansing Miasma on yourself yet, you need to leave the Temenos space now and go to another location and do so. Instructions for that are next.
The Creation of the Lustral Water and the Cleansing of Miasma
Sometimes, an individual will need to be cleansed of Miasma, or ritual impurity, before they can take part in a sacred Rite. Bearing the taint of miasma can interfere with a person’s ability to meaningfully participate in religious life in general, or social life among others. Miasma is not just the force of a disquieted mind, in the modern sense of guilt, although it can manifest that way.
Miasma is a taint that comes from any contact with the most vibrant expressions of human mortality, such as blood, contact with dead animals or dead bodies, entry into rooms where dead bodies are, or where people have died recently, and contact with sexual fluids. Cleansing Miasma is done to remove as much mortality as possible from the worshippers, to make them as suitable as mortals can be to be “pure among the pure” or in the company of the immortals.
The worst form of Miasma is gained by murderers, when they kill- although unintentional killing can taint a person as well. Even killing in a just cause or in self defense carries with it the taint of miasma, although to a lesser degree than other forms of killing.
Blasphemies against the Gods can cause a kind of Miasma, as can participation in any sequence of events that cause harm to a great degree to others or to the environment. This is a more “moral” form of miasma, a more “spiritual” form, which is not discussed much in ancient records. It is something that we today treat as a form of “miasma” because in our estimation, anything which perturbs the mind so much that it interferes with a person’s ability to feel honest and clean before the gods or others is in need of being purified from that person’s mindstream.
Traditionally, miasma only comes from prolonged or strong contact with the dead, with the by products of the birthing process, with the bodily fluids of the ill, with blood, or sexual fluids. The causes of miasma described above that do not stem from these causes, that is, the more “moral” taints of unjust deeds and blasphemy, represent another kind of Miasma, but one that can still be cleansed just as the more traditional kind.
The common standards of cleanliness actually keep a person clean of most daily miasma- it is not necessary to have a full-blown rite of purification every day. The rite itself should only be performed or taken upon one’s self before a major religious undertaking or rite; or when a person truly has a high taint of Miasma, that they feel requires a ritual of cleansing. Before daily or weekly religious rites, leftover Lustral Water that was created and used in previous cleansing rituals can be kept around the home or shrine and used to anoint the hands, forehead and lips, and this normally suffices.
Still, it shows a kind of piety to not engage in sexual activity immediately before religious offerings or rites, regardless of how minor those offerings are.
Here is the whole ritual to cleanse yourself of Miasma; all participants in any Sacrifice should do this beforehand.
1. Mixing of the Lustral Water
Take a good sized bowl or vessel and put in some sea salt. The pour in some cold or room-temperature spring water, and swirl the water around inside seven times. If you happen to have clean sea water, use this instead.
2. Establishing Meditation or Breaths
Sit or stand comfortably before the vessel of seawater and do the "establishing meditation" of ten breaths as described above.
3. Attunement to Apollon
Now take ten more breaths in the same way, but this time as you breathe in steadily and deeply, either visualize the God Apollon, or take the breaths while fixing your gaze gently on an image of him. He can be visualized as an anthropomorphic God, or as a great light, a raven, a wolf, or a serpent. When you breathe out, let the breath emerge as a slight, long hiss. Sometimes it helps to allow the out breath to turn into his name or one of his epithets, at barely a whisper. At ten breaths, you will have attuned deeper levels of yourself to Him.
4. Prayer over the water
Bow your head once in reverence to the God, then take the Vessel, and say one of the following invocations to empower it:
"Great Apollon, Who Enlightens Mankind, Lord of the Far-North, Serpent-like, Far-shooter and Protector: Once, you were cleansed of the taint of Miasma; Thus Let your blessed power come upon this water, and endow it with the virtue to wash away the same from all who touch it."
"Bright Apollon, Ancestor, Averter of Evil, Healer: Hear this prayer from your worshiper with a needful heart: Great Divine One, you are the giver of Oracle and Wisdom, Peace and Purity. Bless this water and salt of the sea with the power to lift the taint of Miasma from all who bathe in it."
"Apollon, Lord of the Hyperborean Reaches, Bringer of Light to the Wide World, Wolf-Like, Serpent-Like, Ancestor and Slayer of the Python- From your Godly abode hear the prayer of your supplicant, and incline to this mystic rite: Let your force come upon this Lustral Water that it may have the power to purify all mortals of Miasma, that these pure ones can join in the sacred rites of the Gods. In your holy name and epithets, this I ask."
5. Sitting or kneeling on the dark cloth
Now kneel or sit on the dark cloth, with the vessel of Lustral Water before you.
6. Consideration and Washing
Consider precisely what Miasma you need cleansed from yourself. This is a brief soul-searching; in most cases, you need only "general" miasma taken from you- for most people, things like sexual contact and the like. Simply concentrate on the pure desire to be pure. If something else is on your conscience or mind, something that could or would stop you from turning all your thoughts and awareness to the Gods and the rite, bring it to the front of your mind and prepare yourself for the symbolic power of this process: This lustral water, and the power of a God, will spiritually and actually wash it away, making you pure in the eyes of the Gods.
Then, when you are ready, and you understand the power of pure intent and this actual and symbolic washing, say
“Hekas Hekas Este Bebeloi”
Then wash your hands and face seven times with the Lustral Water from the vessel.
7. Stepping off the Cloth and Donning the White Mantle
When you finish, take a deep breath, and step off the cloth. If there is another doing the rite with you, they should offer you a white cloth, which is long enough to be draped around your shoulders- a pure white mantle. They should offer it to you with the words:
"Take this mantle of spotless hue and be pure"
And you should accept it, and drape it around your shoulders. The rite is done; you are ritually and spiritually pure- so long as you approached the rite and every stage of it with pure and genuine intent.
If you are alone, simply drape a white mantle around your shoulders and it is done.
The Sacrifice: Procession and Beginning
At this point, if you are following the basic program of this Ritual Liturgy and intending to do a sacrifice, you should have the Temenos created, and be ritually pure. Now, as a pure devotee, you will ritually make a procession back to the Temenos, and make your sacrifice.
The sacrifice itself is going to be something that can be blessed, divided, and shared between the God or Gods or divine beings, and the human devotees. It can be a libational sacrifice, such as some liquid in a cup or vessel (like wine or milk or ale or honey) or it can be a cake, bread, meat, fruit, or the like, carried on a platter or in a bowl. Whatever it is, it should be of as high a quality as you can manage.
Now, several people can take part in a sacrifice rite, as long as they are all ritually pure. Sometimes, you may do them alone. That is fine, too. One person must be designated the Priest, Priestess or Invoker; the others are attendants. If you are alone, you will have to fulfill the task of Priest or Priestess.
All sacrifices begin with you making a steady ritual procession into the Temenos, and up to the Altar. The following items will be carried with you, all divided up between the people in the procession. (Note: If you are alone, Most of these items will be brought to the Temenos before the procession, and placed at the foot of the altar, and you will only carry the Vessel or Bowl containing the Sacrifice itself.)
-The Water Vessel should be full of the Lustral Water used to purify the ritual participants. It will be needed at the altar too. Either have it carried by someone, if you have more than one person in your procession, or have it waiting at the Altar.
-The Vessel or Bowl containing the Sacrifice should be carried to the Temenos, no matter what.
-The Sacrificing Knife or Blade- the thing that will divide the sacrifice, (and a blade will be used no matter the type of sacrifice- liquid or solid) should be carried to the Temenos, or be waiting there at the foot of the altar for the procession.
-Fresh Incense should either be carried into the Temenos or be waiting there at the foot of the altar.
-Books or Papers containing the invocations needed for the Sacrifice should be carried in, or be waiting there at the Altar; it is better to have these things memorized, or be prepared to make high quality spontaneous prayers and invocations, to eliminate the need for this item to be carried.
-A Small Bowl of Flour or Wheat Grains is needed for the most traditional form of any sacrifice ritual; this is optional today, but you may decide to use it. Its use will be explained below. If you are using it, have it waiting at the foot of the Altar, or carry it in your procession.
-A Drum or Flute is traditional too- a person in the procession should be drumming or piping as the procession moves steadily to the Temenos. If you are alone doing the sacrifice, you will not use a musical instrument. If you are in a procession, you may, and this instrument will be used at other dramatic moments in the sacrifice itself, especially at the moment of the "killing" of the sacrifice. The musical instrument is the least necessary of all the ritual elements, so do not worry over much if you do not or cannot use one.
The instrument should be used as you wish during the ritual itself; We find it useful to allow the piper or drummer to steadily drum or pipe before each of the main steps of the sacrifice ritual.
Now that you are ready, the Sacrifice begins:
1. Procession
You make an easy, steady procession to the Temenos, into it, and up to the Altar. During this procession, fix your mind on the knowledge that you are going into the presence of the Divine.
2. The Circular Walk with the Lustral Water
When you reach the Altar, everything except the vessel holding the water (and the instrument, if you are using one) is placed at the foot of the altar. If the water was already there, it should be picked up by someone, and carried in a big circle AROUND the Temenos- a circle encompassing all the participants, and all the ritual items that were carried into the Temenos, or which were waiting there. This should be a clockwise circle.
As the circle is walked, the words "Hekas Hekas Este Bebeloi" should be chanted by the person carrying the water.
If the Temenos is indoors, just be as circular as you can be, and be certain that the bowl or vessel of water moves AROUND all the people and things that will be participating or used. This is a further purification rite.
Obviously, you can't walk around the altar itself if it happens to be a mantle or a shelf; just pass the bowl or vessel over it if this is the case. Outdoors, this is a simple purification; the bowl simply follows the circular marking on the ground, encompassing all the people and objects in the Temenos, including the altar.
3. Hand Washing
After the circular walk with the Lustral Water, everyone participating in the rite takes a few steps away from the altar (but does not leave the perimeter of the circle that was just walked!) and has a little of the water poured over their hands. If you are alone, or indoors, just dip hands. This concludes all the purifications. The Sacrifice can now formally begin. (If you have several people and are using an instrument, it can be retrieved now and used as you planned during the rest of the ritual.)
4. The Giving of Incense
The incense is taken and lit from the central fire, and placed on the altar to consecrate it and all who smell it and who are touched by the smoke.
5. First Invocation
The Priest, Priestess, or Invoker stands before the Altar and makes an invocation to the God/s or Divine beings that the Sacrifice is intended for. If invoking the Olympian Gods, or the Gods above, the hands should be raised (if possible) to the Sky; if invoking Chthonic Gods, the Hands should be held out, palms down, facing the earth. Sacrifices to the Olympians really should happen as early in the day after dawn as possible; the Chthonic Gods can be sacrificed to in the evening or at night. But don't let these rules limit you; do what you can, when you can.
6. Presentation
The Vessel or Bowl Containing the Sacrifice is now presented before the Altar; it is held up and placed in a central position before the Altar or on it (in the case of an indoors shrine) in preparation for the Sacrifice.
7. Second Invocation and Prayer- An invocation, a prayer, a wish, and a vow
Now the main Prayer/Invocation is made. Another invocation is made to the Divine Beings that the Sacrifice is intended for, followed by a prayer that mentions either help or aid they have given to you before, or which mentions some aspect of the mythology of these beings, which is in sympathy with your working.
For example: A farmer who would want good crops, and was doing a sacrifice for Demeter, would mention not only the many fruits that she has given before, but also that, as the Goddess of the Fruit of the Earth, Demeter is the giver of all abundance. If a sacrifice is being made for a sick child, and the Goddess being invoked is Artemis, it would be mentioned that she "as the nourisher and protector of youth, is asked to lend her aid."
Then a wish is made- if some aid is needed, the wishes of the ritual participant(s) are spoken now. If the sacrifice is for purely worshipful purposes, the wish should be that the Gods or Divine Beings bestow their power on the sacrifice, making it holy and pure. Also, if the sacrifice is for purely worshipful purposes, the wish should be that the mortals participating can be united with the Holy and Pure powers of the Divine Beings/Immortal Gods through the Sacrifice, and gain many blessings of wisdom and strength.
The Vow is the final portion of this Invocation: if something is needed from the Gods or Divine Beings, the vow is what the humans involved will give back or do for the Gods if their wish is answered. If the people need nothing in particular, the Vow is only that they will continue to honor the Gods or Divine Beings with further Sacrifices and Prayers and other devotions.
7b. The Oracle Option
At this point, if an oracle or divination is being asked from the Divine Being(s) invoked, it is done.
The Division of the Sacrifice or the Sacrifice Proper
Now the main part of the Sacrifice can proceed.
1. Tossing Flour or grains
If you chose to use the bowl of flour or grains, you should take a small handful or pinch of them, and toss them at the offering bowl or vessel. All gathered can do the same.
2. The Killing of the Sacrifice
Holding the Bowl or Vessel up to the Altar, the Sacrificing Knife or Blade is slid over the mouth of the cup or vessel, or actually used to cut into the solid offering, slicing away the portion that will be given to the Gods.
If you are "sacrificing" a cup of some liquid, as soon as you make this "cut", a little should be allowed to spill out onto the ground or into a waiting bowl on the floor, if you are indoors. This symbolizes the first spurt of blood falling from the victim. If you are cutting a solid offering, you don't have to worry about this.
Whichever you are doing, At the point of the cut, (if you are using an instrument like a drum or pipe) the pipe should be used to make a shrill, rapid wailing, or the drum should be beaten loudly and rapidly. This marks the transition of the "slain" offering.
3. The Sharing
Everyone should now take a small portion of the part of the sacrifice. The Vessel of liquid should be passed around to be sipped, or some of the solid offering should be eaten by everyone. If you are doing a sacrifice specifically for the Dead or for the Gods of the Underworld in their function as the Gods of the Dead, do NOT sip or share in the sacrifice. This is the one occasion when the sacrifice is not drunk or eaten by mortals. It is given entirely to the trench in the earth or to the bowl on the altar.
4. The Giving
The rest of the Sacrifice should be placed into the bowl that was already on the Altar.
5. Staining the Altar
If you used a liquid sacrifice, some of it should be sprinkled or poured from the bowl on the Altar, onto the altar itself, and then sprinkled a bit onto each participant. A solid offering should have some of its internal liquids used for the same, or just bits of it (like crumbs if it is a cake or bread) sprinkled on the altar, and touched to the foreheads of the participants.
6. Feeding the Fire
Last, a bit of the liquid or a tiny bit of the solid sacrifice should be tossed into the altar fire; if you are using a candle, just flick a bit of liquid from your fingers into the flame, or toss a tiny crumb into the flame.
The Invoker then says:
“May the Deathless Gods (or the names of the specific beings sacrificed to) look with Favor on this Sacrifice and Offering, and bring us peace and many blessings.” (Or whatever you asked for).
This concludes the Sacrifice Proper.
The Second Procession
At this point, all the members bow their heads once and gather up whatever they carried in, leaving behind the smoldering incense and the part of the sacrifice that was intended for the Divine Beings, and slowly make a procession away from the Altar. The Rite is over, but should end with a shared meal and music. Sacrifices left in bowls in indoor shrines should be carried outside later and left on the earth, burned in fires, or put into bodies of water. No matter what, the portion that was left for the Gods (unless it otherwise disappears) should be carried out and given to earth, water, or fire in this way, later on.
