Seasons of Wicca: The Essential Guide to Rituals and Rites to Enhance Your Spiritual Journey - Ambrosia Hawthorn 2020

Wiccaning
Wiccan Rites
Rituals to Enhance your Spiritual Journey

A Wiccaning is a ceremony in which an infant or child is welcomed into the Wiccan community. It’s often called a baby blessing, baby naming ceremony, or a saining, a Scottish word that means “to bless, consecrate, or protect.” A Wiccaning is similar to a baptism or christening, common in Christian faith, although a Wiccaning does not commit the child to any religion. The choice to become Wiccan is entirely up to the individual, so if a child has a Wiccaning, they can still choose whether to practice Wicca later in life. Wiccanings are sometimes performed by High Priests or Priestesses, and sometimes by the child’s parents.

WICCANING

Rite Setting

Altar or outdoors

Tools and Supplies

Wand or athame

Elemental representations

Deity representation

1 pillar candle—white

Fire-safe plate or candle holder

Lighter or matches

Bowl of full moon charged water (see here)

Offering of choice—bread, baked goods, crafted items, or foraged flowers and herbs

Cake and ale (optional)

PRIOR TO THE RITE

1.Choose an area, indoors or outdoors, to use as an altar for the ceremony.

2.All participants should take a purification bath or shower and prepare themselves for the ceremony. The parents and child should wear ritual robes or other special occasion clothing for the ceremony.

3.Cleanse the ceremony area.

PREPARING THE ALTAR

Place the tools and supplies on the altar. Place the elemental representations facing their respective cardinal directions. Place the deity representation at the top of the altar.

THE RITE

1.The parents should carry their child to the altar, and the rest of the coven and/or guests should form a circle around them.

2.A High Priest or Priestess (or the parents, if they are taking on the role of High Priest and Priestess) uses a wand or athame to cast a circle of protection silently or out loud and visualizes energy creating a wall around the area.

3.The leader of the ceremony, silently or out loud, calls upon the element of air for mental clarity, the element of fire for power, the element of water for fluidity, and the element of earth for stability.

4.They then invoke the chosen deity by saying something like: “Deity, we invite you to join this circle tonight. Lend us your guidance and grant us your blessings.”

5.The parents then light the candle on the fire-safe plate and say: “We stand at the altar to present our child, asking for the guidance and blessing of the Lord and Lady until the day he/she chooses their own path.”

6.The leader of the ceremony then anoints the child’s forehead with full moon charged water. The leader then says: “May you be blessed, loved, and cherished. May you carry joy and be in good health.”

7.Anyone else who wishes to give their blessings should do so.

8.The leader thanks the deity for their presence: “Deity, we thank you for your presence and assistance tonight. Accept our offering and go if you desire or stay if you’d like.”

9.The leader releases the elements in reverse order, beginning facing the north and ending east, thanking each element for their assistance and bidding them farewell. Then they open the circle by saying: “The circle is opened, and energy is released back into the earth.”

10.Extinguish the candle or allow it to burn out. Leave the offering on the altar until the ceremony is over.

11.If desired, have a celebratory reception with cake and ale.