Herding Cats - Practical ritual writing Part 1
by Blayze

It has often been said that organising any group of people is like herding cats. When dealing with pagans, with all of their various paths, insights, egos and spiritual understandings, this description is even more apt. There are many ways of dealing with this phenomena when it comes to writing and organising group ritual, but it does take a willingness to understand both the big picture of ritual outcomes and the intricate details of staging and performance that allow a ritual to flow. Just because those involved in a ritual are of the same generic path, does not mean that they will be able to work together, or share an understanding, enough to make a ritual a success.

Let me point out at the start that I am violently allergic to cats, so herding them is not a preferred pastime for me. If you, like myself, would rather see those metaphorical felines dancing in perfect spirals whilst attaining a spiritual epiphany, read on.

Most witches and Wiccans are solitary creatures; we have our own intimate communication with deity and our spiritual selves. That said, we also tend to work in groups rather a lot, coming together to worship, to celebrate, to learn and to create magic. However, even in a group ritual, with an almost perfect group mind, we also tend to keep that core of our own solitary natures at the forefront of any ritual practice. This, of course, adds a unique flavour to our rituals, but it can make organising one something of a nightmare.

So how do you deal with this? How do you create a ritual that can be enjoyed by many, that has a strong energy base and can be experienced and understood by all those attending? Well it is probably impossible, but you can get it to be a near thing. You just have to be aware that nothing is ever going to be perfect, (this is not a stage show, it’s a ritual) but that if you take all of the various aspects of practical ritual writing into consideration, you should end up with a result that pleases the majority of participants.

So first off, before you even start on things like form, structure, props, participants, venue, writing, casting, staging and presentation, you need to work out what the ritual is for. Why are you running this ritual in the first place? Is it for a celebration, a rite of passage, an act of magic, or even an ego massage? Defining this point will help you to work out everything else. 

In solitary work, we really don’t need to worry about the final outcome of a ritual, unless it involves spell work, as we have the ability to shape our ritual as it happens, to go with the flow and see where we end up. We only have to take responsibility for ourselves and, for the most part we are in touch with what is going on in our own heads. We don’t really have that luxury when we work with other people. 

By defining the goal of the ritual, we can shape our approach, and that of participants, in how the ritual is experienced and why. We can then work out the flavour of the ritual, as the goal will influence this. Is the ritual a gift of celebration to the group, a means of teaching or of understanding a mystery, is it an act of worship? All of these rituals will have a different form that naturally lends itself to a creative starting point.

Establishing the main idea or central theme gives you a place to work from. You may wish to have the ritual begin with an outline of the main theme, then, during the ritual, explore the many facets of this theme. You may also have the main idea as the end result of the ritual, and the ritual build to enhance the idea.

For example, a ritual that is intended as a celebration may begin with a story or background as to why participants are celebrating it in the first place, the participants may then begin to build up energy through various means and release it together, forming a rush of celebratory energy, wishes and magic.

However, a ritual to understand a mystery may take on the form of a journey; sometimes these rituals can be broken down into sections of individual journey and group journey, each round building an understanding, often with a period of meditation or visualisation thrown in to enhance the effect. Mystery rituals may also have some kind of barrier, whether physical, spiritual or mental, that needs to be broken through to gain the understanding.

The central idea may also have a certain theme to it - like light and happy or dark and mysterious, you may even wish to embrace the darker aspect of a light-hearted theme. This tone is also important to understand when creating ritual, as it can be manipulated to achieve the desired outcome and effect.

Sometimes we also gain inspiration from a song, a story or our environment and we will use this as our starting point and work from there… always trying to avoid ritual for ritual’s sake. Even a low-key teaching ritual has a purpose.

When we know what the ritual is for, we can begin to work on the more practical side. How many people is the ritual for? Does this determine things like venue or ritual space, or does the theme really lend itself to an outdoor or indoor setting as this may determine the number of people who can join in. 

So you can see how the central idea of a ritual may be used to determine the overall form and flavour of the ritual itself, however like the Wheel of the Year, ritual writing has a flow and a cycle - no one aspect stands alone and each issue impacts on the overall outcome of the ritual itself. Or, you can think of it like a mind-map with a central idea and veins or branches radiating out - linking with each other in multiple combinations.

From the overall form we move into structure itself. There are two ways to go from here. You may write all of the words that convey your theme and build a structure around those words, or you can come up with a structure of how you see the ritual being performed and write words to fit it. Both of these systems work well - it is a personal preference thing really.

We will start with structure first… since this is a ritual (usually religious in nature, and a not a stage play), you may wish to begin your ritual with the formation of sacred space by whichever methods you use - you can have the space already prepared and lead people into it - or you can have everyone inside the ritual space and form it around them. Whether you have just a small group creating the space or have all participants involved really is determined by your tradition, if you have one, and by the level and understanding of the participants themselves.

Sometimes it can give a good dramatic twist to start the ritual itself outside the sacred space or circle, something like sending people on an individual journey, having them met by guardians along the way, then if they have passed some kind of test or proof of understanding, they enter the sacred space and the ritual continues in more structured or even wilder form. This way participants are able to feel the difference in the various areas or sections of the ritual.

The sacred space can be formed by your usual circle cast or you may wish to create something unique that fits with the overall theme of the ritual, which may not require a full formal circle cast. Often this can be determined by where the ritual is being held - outside you can use a more earthy or unstructured formation, however an urban environment may require a formal protection and consecration before working in it.

Another factor that can determine structure is the size of the space itself. If the ritual is self-contained - within a small area - then you really don’t need to worry about moving the participants around - unless it is within the circle itself. For a large roaming ritual - outside - you may need to mark pathways or have set gateways to give people visual cues as to where they need to go. Alternatively you may wish to have guides assigned to the group. In very large roaming rituals we often break participants up into small groups and have the rituals structured as a form of round robin, that is, they move to different ritual sites but keep the same guides. We have even had sprites keeping the groups moving and creating mini-rituals along the paths. The sprites may end up harassing the participants in an elemental way if that is required. For example, a Summer elemental ritual of Water may have people dressed as water sprites that herd participants with water pistols to lighten the atmosphere and, if it is really hot, to keep people cool. This is practical, and fun as well. In a night ritual, we have utilised fire sprites who carry flaming torches and lead participants on a merry dance through the bush.

Structure also includes things like giving the ritual a starting point, a middle point or body, and an end point. The ending can be very important as it can determine the final state-of-being of participants. Are they grounded or full of energy? What is needed and what is safe? Are they going to end up at a feast which will ground them, or will they be dancing and fire twirling into the night? Do you want them to be able to go to sleep and maybe dream answers for themselves? This is where the manipulation of energy levels becomes part of the ritual structure.

Not only do you have the structure of the ritual to consider, you also need to take into account the feelings of the participants as well. For example, in a ritual such as a handfasting, you have pre-determined elements such as the binding of the couple and the jumping of the broom. How you incorporate these elements into your ritual is part of the skill of ritual writing. You also need to take into consideration the spiritual paths of the couple, as well as the presence of friends and family who may not be of the same path. These people may even be slightly hostile to the notions of a pagan ceremony - so putting them at ease and making an enjoyable ritual for all is another consideration and task of the writer.

If you know beforehand who your participants are going to be then you have the scope to incorporate their various skills into the ritual, they may be speaking lines, working with inspired utterance, leading group magic, leading a chant or playing music. If everyone is at a similar level or has an established group mind then you can use that to help build the structure of the ritual and keep the energy flowing in a desired way.

To be Continued...