A Grove Blessing Rite

This Blessing Rite was performed by members of the Sonoran Sunrise Grove, ADF in early 2007. It follows the ADF Order of Ritual (OoR) and uses some extra non-OoR elements taken from the Grove’s standard rite, such as a Guardian Invocation, and the establishment of the Three Realms in addition to the Three Worlds.

This rite was performed using the Irish Celtic pantheon. There are a couple of phrases in the video that may need explanation:

1. Bíodh sé amhlaidh! – (Pronounced as: BEE-uh SHAY Ow-LEE). This means So be it! in Irish Gaelic.
2. *ghosti – (pronounced as: GOHS-tee). This is a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word that means, “someone with whom one has reciprocal duties of hospitality.” A common description of this concept is the phrase, “I give so that I may receive.” Much of ADF religion is based on this idea.

The 35 minute video was broken up into 7 sequences, of roughly 5-6 minutes in length each, with the contents of each sequence listed below. The title of each part of the video is my own, and does not reflect any standardized names.

There are two versions for each video – one for dial-up modems (56k) and one for cable/ISDN modems.

• Opening Sequence (Part 1) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. Procession
  2. Guardian Sacrifice
  3. Outdwellers Offering
  4. Purification
  5. Musical Signal
  6. Earth Mother
• Inspiration and Empowering (Part 2) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. Bardic Sacrifice to Brigit
  2. Purpose and Precedent
  3. The Two Powers (The Three Worlds)
• The Sacred Center (Part 3) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. The Three Realms
  2. Consecrating the Hallows (Well, Fire, Tree)
  3. Gatekeeper Invocation
  4. Opening the Gates to the Otherworlds
• The Three Kindreds (Part 4) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. Kindred Offerings
     • Ancestors
     • Nature Spirits
     • Deities
• Praise and Sacrifice (Part 5) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. Praise Offerings
     • Gwydion (Welsh)
     • Rhiannon (Welsh)
     • Turan (Iranian)
  2. Prayer of Sacrifice
     1. “Bull” Sacrifice/Shared Meal
  3. Piacular Sacrifice
• Receiving the Blessings (Part 6) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. The Omen
  2. The Blessings (Return Flow)
     • Calling for the Blessing
     • Hallowing the Blessing
     • Affirming the Blessing
• Closing the Rite (Part 7) – View Video [YouTube]
  1. Thanking the Beings
  2. Closing the Gates
  3. Thanking the Earth Mother
  4. Musical Signal
  5. Grounding and Centering
  6. Blessing and Ending