Scorpio New Moon
CyberRitual
You may plan to join us
at the hour of the New Moon, but suddenly find yourself surrounded by others,
unable to light a candle or set aside a special place. At such moments,
clearing sacred space can be as quiet as breathing, and finding your center
yet possible even when all is commotion around you. If you've familiarized
yourself with the flow of imagery ahead of time, you may still be able
to add your spirit to our circle. Otherwise it's perfectly fine to
postpone your ceremony for another time. (It will still work!)
Preparation
Before the exact hour of
the CyberRitual, find a quiet place where you can protect yourself from
intrusion. Then, as the Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan recommends,
take steps to "surround yourself with a zone of silence." Light candles
and incense, or play a piece of contemplative music to help shift attention
from the periphery, to the quiet center within. You may wish to recite
a prayer or sacred phrase, repeat the New Moon invocation to calm your
spirit, or practice the Scorpio Moon Meditations. Watching the breath -
inhaling in, exhaling out - further deepens the energy.
As you do any of these contemplative
techniques, you may begin to feel yourself deepening your awareness of
another realm. Use this sensation as a kind of "rabbit hole" or shamanic
entrance to a heightened Scorpio space. Imagine yourself walking
down a winding stairway into a spacious underground cave, lit with lanterns
to guide you forward. You approach a wide cavern; immersed in silent
medition, a circle of figures sits around an altar decorated in honor of
the moon. You notice that, incredibly, the ceiling of this cavern
holds what appears to be a living image of the night sky, with winking
stars and all.
Raising the Energy
As you join the meditation,
you feel linked by the love encircling the group. At the altar sits a teacher
who holds what looks like a hologram -- a brilliant bird hovering above
this wise being's hands. "The Scorpio New Moon draws us into the
practice of transformation, reenacted through the death and rebirth
of the great mythic bird, the Phoenix." Beside the teacher is an
open hearth fire that is already beginning to crackle and blaze, shooting
sparks into the air.
As the embodiment of the
universal spirit of guidance, the teacher appears before each person in
the guise of their own spirit guide. Everyone in the circle is asked
by their guiding spirit to reflect on the part of themselves that is in
need of purification and regeneration. As you go deeper into yourself,
plumbing the layers of your psyche, the atmosphere of the circle deepens.
The feeling quality pervading the circle is one of depth and truth, as
each person engages in an authentic soul-evaluation.
The Heart of the Ritual
Now, your spirit guide appeals
to you to sacrifice the "dead wood" of an outworn part of yourself on the
altar fire. He, or she, asks you to rise and symbolically cast that onto
the funeral pyre -- along with a prayer of thanks for how this offering
has helped you in the past. As each person rises to do this, the fire begins
to burn brighter and higher. Even within yourself you begin to feel as
if all the dross of useless behaviors and traits are being burned away,
as well as the sorrows and losses of life, leaving only what is most essential.
Suddenly, in the center of
the circle, the mythic Phoenix appears through the flames of the funeral
pyre. Resplendent with glory, a bright star glowing on its chest, the Phoenix
is that part of each person in the circle who has emerged wholly reformed
after the journey through the fires of transformation. Joined together
in this spiritual act of resurrection, each person becomes like a feather
on the plumed Phoenix, rising into the air like a bright, winged creature
circling the earth with its message of hope reborn.
Closing
As the fires burn low, and
the mythic Phoenix soars off on his mission, carrying with him a part of
each participant. Your spirit guide signals that the circle should rise.
Everyone bows to the center of the circle, then turns and bows to the person
on either side. Turning completely around, the circle bows to the
world beyond the circle, vowing to offer the promise of hope through transformation
to humanity. Rising, give thanks for your participation in this ritual,
then walk back through the lantern-lit path to the shamanic entrance of
the cave. Come back to yourself in contemplation, and, finally, come
back to your home and life.
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