Rituals of the Flame

A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, but not defined, by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance.

Rituals are a feature of all known human societies. They include not only the worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also rites of passage, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages, funerals and more. Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying “hello” may be termed as rituals.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Of course we have rituals.

“Okay, this is starting to sound like a cult. What do you mean rituals?”

We mean rituals. Religions have rituals; like attending Mass, or giving confession, chanting the sutras, or daily prayer. Ritual reinforces the ideas that we are seeking to embody. Rituals gives us structure. Ritual helps strengthen our commitment and will power as we deal with challenges. So yes, we have rituals.

And also, yes. We are a cult. We said that already.

Daily Rituals

Recitation of the Oath

Daily upon waking, the adherent recites the Ancestor’s Oath. Ideally this is done in a quiet formal setting. If the adherent has an altar, or a place where they meditate, that place would be ideal. The recitation is a simple ritual, unadorned by any extra flourishes. The Adherent simply centers themselves emotionally, and recites the oath out loud in a private space.

Weekly Rituals

Fill in here

Monthly Rituals

Opening the Way

The Opening of the Way is performed on the first day of the lunar month, before the sun has risen. The adherent must perform the ritual before the sun is fully up. They must find a wild spot out of sight of the adherent’s home. The location should be at least a five minute run away. The action of the ritual is an offering to the unborn elders followed by a recitation of the Oath of Ancestor.

  1. Make a circle of seven stones, inside a four stone square, inside a three triangle.
  2. Place a metal or ceramic offering bowl or place in the triangle
  3. Place the piece of cloth or paper or similar with the (1 to 3) promised good deeds to be done to honor the unborn elders for the month. 
  4. Light the offering on fire (highest honor to do so without the tools of the empire)
  5. Give the Oath of the Ancestor
  6. Wait for fire to burn out if it hasn’t already.
  7. Pour water onto plate/bowl to cool ashes and scatter water and ashes to the wind
  8. Bundle plate/bowl and return home in silence

Closing the Way

The Closing of the Way is performed after sunset on the last day of a lunar month. The ritual is not performed on a rest day, but on the last regular day of the lunar month. They must find a wild spot out of sight of the adherent’s home. The location should be at least a five minute run away.

  1. Make a circle of seven stones, inside a four stone square, inside a three triangle.
  2. Place a metal or ceramic offering bowl or place in the triangle
  3. Place the piece of cloth or paper or similar with the finished good deeds completed to honor the unborn elders that month.
  4. Light the offering on fire (highest honor to do so without the tools of the empire)
  5. Give the Oath of the Ancestor
  6. Wait for fire to burn out if it hasn’t already.
  7. Pour water onto plate/bowl to cool ashes and scatter water and ashes to the wind
  8. Bundle plate/bowl and return home in silence

Holiday Rituals

Holidays are a part of culture, and holidays are rituals. A holiday is a ritual, whether Christmas or Yom Kippur, whether Saint Patrick’s Day or Halloween, whether Spring Break or May Long Weekend. Holidays tell us about the history and values of a culture. This is true whether it is a religious story explaining faith and doctrine like Passover, or a civic holiday explaining national history and propaganda like the Fourth of July.

  • Celebration of the Hound
  • Festival of the Siege
  • Festival of Mystery
  • Weaver’s Day
  • Dragon’s Day
  • Celebration of the Poison Woods
  • Rite of Atonement
  • Solomonari
  • Harvest Festival
  • Day of the Elders of All
  • The Rite of the Inner Eye
  • The Founder’s Festival
  • The Rite of Darkness

Solar Rituals

Humans have built rituals around the solar year for as long as we have had culture. The Berlin Golden hat logs the solar and lunar calendar. Archaeoastronomy suggests that Stonehenge was aligned to solar holidays. And cultures have honored solstices and equinoxes all over the world.

  • Rising Equinox
  • Bonfire Day
  • Bright Solstice
  • Candle Day
  • Falling Equinox
  • Bonfire Night
  • Dark Solstice
  • Candle Night