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                                        MOON WEB 
                                 C/O Michael Harismides 
                      PO Box 4538, Sunnyside, New York  11104-4538 
                               Subscription $3.00 a year 
      
                 RITUAL FOR THE HEALING AND PRESERVATION OF RAINFORESTS 
      
                                     May 24th, 1988 
                                    8 pm local time 
      
     (Individual version): 
      
     Cast a circle 
      
     Invoke  elements by calling upon  them in protective  aspects (for example,
     you might invoke Watchfires or Beacons in the South).   
      
     Chant  the names  of  the  Earth  Goddess,  beginning  with  your  personal
     favorites, then naming as many as you can think of.   
      
     Take a piece of green string.  Begin to tie knots in it, while chanting:   
                         Tying the Cord, Renewing the Earth; 
                         We are Her Children, bringing Rebirth. 
      
     (The  knots may  be simple  or elaborate,  but leave  enough string  to tie
     together  at the  end.)   As  you  chant, see  the world  as  a network  of
     connected systems.   Breathe the air  that comes from the  jungles of South
     America.  Feel the living fire of an ocelot's power.  Taste the rain on the
     leaves at  the tops of the trees.  Feel  the delicate structure of the soil
     at the forest floor.)   
      
     Tie the cord  together in a loop; hold it up, strung around your two hands,
     and begin chanting:   
      
                         We are the Flow and we are the Ebb; 
                         We are the Weavers, we are the Web.   
                          
     As  you  chant,  see yourself  standing  guard  over  the  borders  of  the
     rainforest.  See yourself  with others, protecting rainforest as  you would
     protect yourself,_because that's what you're doing._   
      
     Bury  the cord in a container of earth.  Earth the power; thank the Deities
     and elements;  open  the circle.   Later  bury the  cord in  the forest  if
     possible.   
      














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                                                                             212

      
     (If circumstances make the above impossible): 
      
     Sit quietly and see:  the network of ecosystems that make up the world; the
     rainforests thriving;  plants and  animals breeding;  the Earth,  green and
     filled with life; yourself, standing guard.  Breathe, and know that the air
     comes  from the sea  and the jungles  of Brazil.   Drink and know  that the
     water has  been around the  world, and  circulates through you  as it  does
     through the air, land, and sea.  Stand up and stretch; the strength of your
     body is the Earth's strength.   
      
      
                                         RITUAL 
                            FOR THE HEALING AND PRESERVATION  
                                     OF RAINFORESTS 
      
     (Group version):   
      
     Facilitators give  each participant a slip of  paper containing the name of
     an Earth Goddess and a Nature God.   
      
     Facilitators invoke elements,  stressing protective/preservative aspects of
     each one and  ending with "Into this circle I call  the Element Air! (Fire,
     Water,   Earth.)"    After  each  such  invocation,  a  dancer  or  dancers
     representing the particular element  come into the circle from  outside and
     do an elemental dance.   
      
     A  facilitator says:   "We  now  call upon  the Earth  Goddess by  her many
     names!"   Participants call  out the Goddess  name on their  slip of paper,
     then  any other Goddess  names they wish.   This ends on  a signal from the
     drums.   
      
     A facilitator says: "We now call upon the God of Nature by his many Names!"
      
     The God is invoked in  the same fashion as the Goddess, ending  with a drum
     signal.   
      
     The elemental  dancers go to the  quarters and begin passing  out pieces of
     green   string,  while a  facilitator explains  that the  condition of  the
     rainforests  affects us all,  that all things  are connected,  and that the
     worldwide climate is changed every time another acre of rainforest is lost.
     S/he explains  that these  sections of  cord  represent parts  of the  Life
     Circle of Earth, and that they must be joined to protect her.   
      
     When the above speech has been made and all the cords have been passed out,
     a facilitator ties  the first knot, saying that tying  the cord is renewing
     the  Earth, that we are  her children, bringing  her rebirth.   This is the
     signal to begin the chant:   
      
                         Tying the Cord, Renewing the Earth; 
                         We are Her Children, bringing Rebirth. 
      







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                                                                             213


     Clockwise  around the circle,  one by one,  each cord is  tied to the next.
     When  the circle is complete, the elemental  dancers go to the quarters and
     hold  the cord  aloft (participants  should  not let  go yet).   The  chant
     continues until the facilitators begin a second chant:   
      
                         We are the Flow and we are the Ebb; 
                         We are the Weavers, we are the Web.   
      
     (Since  this  is to  the  same  tune, the  transition  should  be easy  and
     seamless.)  When  this chant begins, the elemental dancers  begin to gather
     in  the  cord, gently  pulling it  away from  the participants,  who gently
     release it.   The  elementals bury the cord in  a container of earth in the
     center  of the circle, then return to the outside to lead a spiral dance in
     to  the center  and back   out  (once) as  the chant  continues.   When the
     participants are standing in a circle once more, the chant builds to a cone
     of power and fires.   
      
     The  Deities and  Elements are thanked,  the power  is earthed,  the circle
     opened, hugs exchanged.  Later bury the cord in the woods.   
      






































                         Last amended June 11, 1989  --  Page NEXTRECORD 


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