Jose ATID LEIIA STEVENS 195
- Invoking the power of smell by burning incense, sage, salt
crystals and the like.
- Invoking the power of location by being performed in tra-
ditionally sacred spots or actively giving a location power
through its performance there.
- Invoking the power of the guardians, allies, and power an-
imals by inviting their presence, participation, and assis-
tance.
- Invoking the power of all those physically present by re-
questing their prayers and joint focus of attention.
In addition, both rituals and ceremonies are:
- Performed on significant dates and times such as the equi-
nox, solstice, new moon, full moon, day of the dead, mid-
summer, or arrival of monsoons and the like.
- Performed at significant rites of passage such as birth, pu-
berty, marriage, death, or initiation into lodges or posi-
tions of authority.
- Performed to open or close important meetings. They sig-
nal the sacred time of focus, as when a council meets to
form new agreements or laws.
- Performed to signal a transfer to a different state of con-
sciousness, such as the beginning of a journey, or a trance
state.
- Performed to celebrate or commemorate important events
such as peace treaties and agreements, the birth or death
of a great leader, the liberation from oppression, or a suc-
cessful hunt.
- Performed in connection with a profound event such as the
healing of a disease or an emotional or physical wounding.
In Marian's tale, you see how sage can be burned ritually
to clean a room or space and the people in it before or after
an important event. Often in rituals such as these, several
ingredients are brought together or used in conjunction with
one another. Invoking the four (or six) directions and the
Sky and Earth, for example, is a common way of starting a
journey or beginning a meeting of any kind. Invoking the six
directions grounds an event and gives it a central location of
importance in the cosmos. The six directions are also used in
