Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Course Four: Rites 171

changing bodies. You must learn your own bound-

aries, likes and dislikes, and about your right to say

yes or no when it comes to your body. Usually this

rite is performed by adult members of the child’s own

sex, and may involve an initiatory ordeal and the giv-

ing of a magickal use-name.

Adulthood

This rite can occur anytime between the ages of

16 and 21, depending on the individual and local laws

concerning legal maturity. This ceremony heralds the

beginning of the journey into adulthood, adding adult

attitudes, abilities, responsibilities, and maturity to our

best youthful attributes. The rite usually involves a

sacred/special place, a Vision Quest, and a rebirth into

the community of adult men and women. Some sym-

bol is gifted to the new adult and s/he is honored be-

fore all—often with a new magickal name.

Handfasting (Marriage)

Choosing to live with a mate or partner is a com-

mitment to that person, a joining of two independent

beings because they are more together than they are

apart. Handfastings are made “for as long as love shall

last” because even though a couple may stay together

for the rest of their lives, they also may not, and both

choices are honorable. This rite sends them off on a

joint adventure, with as much joy and passion as pos-

sible! And if they should someday decide to part, a

ceremony of handparting will allow them to do so

with honor and goodwill.

Parenthood

Although birth rites are centered on the baby, par-

enthood is marked by a ceremony for the new par-

ents. It is a time for honoring the mother and father

whose life journey has brought them to this place. We

bless the new parents with a baby shower and a circle

of love and support. This is a celebration, a party, a

time for giving gifts, and of saying “We’re here if

you need us—you don’t have to raise this kid alone!”

Elderhood (Crones & Sages)

Elders, like children, are priceless treasures of

our community. After the age of 50 or so, we acknowl-

edge and honor our elderfolk for their wisdom, knowl-

edge, skills, or whatever they have gained from their

years on Earth. Often it’s they who settle disputes,

bless babies, and speak with greatest authority in coun-

cils. At this rite, another symbol may be gifted to them

in recognition of their value.

Death/Rebirth

Near or at the time of death, we give comfort and

compassion in a Rite of Passing. Beloveds gather to

say goodbye, and to send the spirit out through the

Circle. We ask that they be blessed with peace, a time

of rest, and then a new journey, a new birth. After

death, we remember them with a gathering called a

wake. This is a farewell party where we share trea-

sured memories and stories. A funeral may follow, in

which a few chosen speakers may deliver a eulogy

(“good words”)—speaking of the impact of the de-

parted person’s life on theirs, and on the world.

A time of death is a sad time, but also one filled

with hope and joy, for Death is part of Life, and just

as the seasons turn, so we also will be reborn and

continue. It is a time to let go and move on. Perhaps

we may even have inherited a guardian angel in our

lives. The Great Cycle, the Spiral leading ever for-

ward, continues, one within the other: the moments

of a day, the seasons of our lives, our lives themselves,

generations, planets, stars, galaxies, and universes, all

turn in the great Circle of Life—one of which we are

proud to be a part, because fun, adventure, and growth

are among the greatest of treasures!

Lesson 8: Sacraments

(Liza Gabriel and I wrote this lesson together.)

A sacrament is something regarded as holy, or sa-

cred. Ordinary acts or substances may be elevated to

the status of Sacraments in a ritual context, thereby

becoming gateways into a greater awareness of the

beauty and power of the Cosmos and our part in it.

Sacraments may be grouped under two categories:

actions and substances. No one should ever be com-

pelled or coerced into partaking of any sacrament

without their full knowledge and consent.

Actions

Magick—We like to define Magick as “the art of

probability enhancement.” The study, practice, and

mastery of such arts is a lifelong quest, involving the

ability to formulate, embrace, and shift the very para-

digms that constitute our consensual “reality.”

Environmental action—As we are all children

of the Living Earth, we should regard Her mainte-

nance and protection as our most sacred duty. This

includes all forms of non-violent environmental ac-

tivism, including highway and park clean-up cam-

paigns, tree plantings, and demonstrations against

despoilers of Nature.

Sacred sexuality—The appropriate expression of

sexuality at each season of life is essential to a life

fully lived. Sex is a source of power, creative as well

as procreative. The giving and receiving of sexual

pleasure is an endlessly varied art. We are born out of

this act of pleasure. This miracle has been a source of

awe and a method of magick from the dawn of time.

We all have in us somewhere the primordial belief

that if sex can create us, sex can create anything. Out

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