Opening Prayer – Mike gets to do his usual thing.

 

The musical signal will be given, as usual.

 

Chorus1: We are here to honour the Gods.

 

All: We are here to honour the Gods.

 

<People gather around the Tree, on one side. Do not form a circle. The
people gathered are incensed and asperged.>

 

Demeter: Here, in cultivated land, in heart of civilization, we gather. Air
and water purify this place, to keep away harm.

 

<Statement of Ritual Purpose and Intent>

 

Chorus2: In the long distant past, in Eleusis near Athens, people would
gather at this time of year for the most sacred of mysteries. The drama of the
fall of Kore, the descent of Persephone, daughter of Spring, was acted out. The
rage of Demeter, her mother, was made obvious. On this day, we pay honour to the
Gods by recreating these mysteries.

 

<Intro Meditation>

 

Chorus1: As we have done in the past, we gather in this sacred space
together, joining to honour the Gods. Relax, and let go of the cares of the
mundane world. Leave them behind for now – there will be time to deal with them
later. Breathe deeply… deeply … deeply. Relax your shoulders, and close your
eyes, and prepare to enter fully into sacred time and space. This time, however,
the scene is different than in the past. The center is no longer the World Tree,
but the giant mountain, Olympus. See the mountain in the distance – the wooded
groves, and prepare to climb, joining in the ongoing drama of the Gods

 

<Hermes Call>

 

Hermes: Hermes! Messenger, Winged Traveler, Master of the Hidden Paths! As we
play out this drama, as we play out this mystery, let me too server as
messenger. Let me lead these people, climbing up the crags and rocks of Olympus.
Let us follow up the winds, and climb to the top, to play out the act of the
Gods.

 

Chorus1: Let us follow Hermes, climbing to the top of the mountain.

 

<following Hermes, the people circle the tree three times, and end up on
the other side a while after the discussion with the Titan.>

 

Titan: Stop, Hermes. You should not be leading people this way. These lands
are dangerous, and not all who live here are even as kind as myself.

 

Hermes: Titans, Creatures, Gods of Old – we offer you nourishment in the grey
world you live in. <scatter offering of grain> Since a gift demands a
gift, let us pass freely.

 

<keep circling until the circle has been completed three times >

 

Chorus2: It is twilight in Olympus, at the time where day meets night
equally. And has been bound, it is time for a return. Persephone, Demeter’s
daughter, was long ago abducted by Hades, the Lord of the underworld. Having
eaten in his domain, she can never truly leave, and now must spend half of the
year as his silent Queen. And every year, the pattern is the same – Demeter, the
grieving mother, fights to prevent Persephone’s fate, fighting as best she can.
And every year it will be the same – Persephone will descend, and Persephone
will return.

 

Hermes: Persephone! Persephone! Where are you, girl? I have been searching
for you – North, South, East, and West. I have followed the winds, and listened
to the voices that fly upon them. And you are still hidden! The whisper of the
waves does not carry your voice, and you must know that the time is almost
here.

 

Chorus1: The time has come.

 

Demeter: The ways of the sky and wind may be yours, Hermes, but I am still
the grain mother, and there is much knowledge that is hidden between the corn
stalks, in the fields. I know why you have come, Hermes, and this time the girl
must not go. Every time that she descends, I must wait, hoping and praying that
she will return to me.

 

Chorus2: The child must descend.

 

Hermes: The choice is not mine, Demeter, and yet even if it were it would not
be different. It is the order of things, the way it has been, and the way it
must be. Had she not eaten of the fruit of death, it might have been different,
but even you know that now it is a part of her own nature. If she does not
descend, nothing will be the same.

 

Chorus1: The time has come.

 

Athena: Demeter, do not persist in this foolishness. You know the old ways
and the old rules as well as I do, and you know that to anger Zeus is
foolishness. While in creation you have power, in destruction he has his. Play
by the rules, live as you must, and your daughter will return to you.

 

Chorus2: The child must descend.

 

Demeter: And yet, every time that there is a descent to the underworld, there
is the risk of no return. In the dark realm of Hades, nothing is as it seems.
How can the sweet child of Springtime become the dark Queen?

 

Chorus1: The time will come again.

 

Athena: Demeter, cycles come and cycles go. In the South, across the Sea,
soon Osiris will be killed again, and be avenged by his son Horus. Nearby, the
Christ child will once again soon be born, to die again in the spring, sacrifice
for the harvest to come. In the North, the Holly King and the Oak King continue
their cycle. It will be as it must be.

 

Chorus2: The child will return.

 

Persephone: Athena is right, mother. Where I must go, you cannot understand.
When I am here, when I dance in the heat of the Sun, I am as I was before the
changes. But when I descend, I am also as I must be. Someone must be the veiled
silent Queen. Someone must rule the depths. Someone must watch, and I cannot
stay here. I will return, and I will play my role, and when the time is right I
will come and dance once again.

 

Chorus1: The time will come again.

 

Hermes: Follow, child. It is time to descend to the underworld.

 

Chorus2: The child will return.

 

<Hermes leads Persephone around to the other side of the tree, and returns
alone>

 

Demeter: It shall be as I warned � I will send pain on the Earth until my
daughter is returned to me. The grain will not bear, the flowers will not be
fruitful. Men shall go hungry, to show the depth of my sorrow. Do not say there
was no warning.

 

<Demeter, Hermes, and Athena return to the middle of the people
gathered>

 

Chorus1: The scene has gone as was necessary. Persephone has changed, from
the laughing girl of Spring to the silent Queen of Death. Demeter�s anger will
strike the land again, and we must prepare, waiting until Persephone rises once
again, and Demeter, in her joy, brings forth the grain again. Take heed, and
ready yourselves for the time to come.

 

Hermes: And now, it is time for you to return to the land you came from, to
take up the burdens of your own lives.

 

<The people follow Hermes three times around the tree once again, ending
on the side where Persephone is already waiting>

 

Chorus1: Breathe slowly again, and feel your body. Return slowly to it.
Remember where you came from, and remember the needs of the world. Keep this
time with you though, and remember that the Gods are alive and still walking.
Every time that we praise them, they become more aware of our needs, and our
connection with them becomes stronger. Walk out into the world, and be
blessed.

 

<process out from the circle, socialize, breathe a huge sigh of relief if
it even kinda worked>