The Great Rite, as we have seen, can truly been seen as “great” as it helps us to tap into and unlock some of the Great Mysteries within Wicca.  We touch on the power of birth and creation through this ritual act and have the ability to feel the power of the God and Goddess in union when we fully engage ourselves in the rite.  A problem that faces many practitioners today, especially those on a solitary path, is understanding the different ways the rite is done and understanding the deeper meanings of the rite itself.  In truth, because it’s a key to the Mysteries and the Mysteries cannot be taught and can only be experienced, there is only so much anyone can learn from another, be it from a blog, a book, or even another individual acting as a teacher.  This is why it becomes so important to truly live your path if you wish to experience and unlock those deeper spiritual elements that make Wicca what it truly is.  This is why it’s important to start with understanding what The Great Rite is (think of it as the “To Know” part of The Witch’s Pyramid in relation to this rite) but then you must come to experience it (“To Dare”) before you can go further.

So as we’ve talked about, The Great Rite is the union of the God and Goddess in the sacred marriage.  The ritual itself pulls from many ancient cultural and their various acts of sympathetic magick to honor the union of the God and Goddess to ensure fertility.  It is an act that can either be done in actuality (also called “in truth”) or in token, and is considered one of the most important and most sacred of Wiccan rituals as it truly does embody the core essence of Wicca, the joining of the God and Goddess.  The rite is often performed by the High Priest and High Priestess of the coven, or it can be enacted by another couple deemed fit by the group, and it is also part of the Third Degree initiation in many Wiccan traditions when the initiate is brought into the Mysteries of this degree by participating in this rite.  When performed in truth the rite is performed, in private sacred space, by the High Priest and High Priestess, while when done it token it is often performed with all members of the coven participating to lend their energy and blessings as well. This ritual, as we’ll be talking about today, is Wiccan in nature though it is thought its roots can be found in some of the OTO rituals and the Gnostic Mass.

First let’s look at the different ways that The Great Rite in token.  What this means is that the rite will be performed in a purely symbolic way; as this is an act of sex magick, rather than two people actually having intercourse, a receptive tool will be used to symbolize the womb and vagina while a phallic item will be used to represent the penis.  Most commonly this is done with a chalice and athame, however I have heard of it being performed with a wand or rod in place of the athame (this would be considered completely untraditional by many practitioners, but in the neo-Wiccan and solitary practice of “do what works”, it certainly could be one way of performing this rite).   Who holds which item is something that can go either way depending on the specific symbolism that you are going to work within your rite.  It is common for the High Priest/male participant to hold the athame and the High Priestess/female participant to hold the chalice.  However some will do the opposite in order to further work with the aspect of gender and energetic polarity through the rite.  As this is a ritual of bringing together two halves to create a whole, this is one way to work with it and to further create an inner balance of the two.  But again, it is more common for the female to work with the Goddess aspect and the male to work with the God aspect.

Beyond the decision of who is going to hold which ritual tool and perform which act, the truly important part of this rite is invoking the God and Goddess into one another.  It is important to keep in mind that as this ritual, whether in truth or in token, centers on the act of both embodying deity and connecting the polar energies of deity together for creation, both the Priest and Priestess need to draw into themselves the essence of the God and Goddess and then that energy is incorporated into the more simple act of plunging the athame into the chalice.  There are a few ways that this can be done; one way to work this is to have the male recite an invocation to the Goddess and then ritually direct that energy into the Priestess and then the Priestess does the same for the Priest, drawing the God into him.  There is a method that is commonly known and still used as part of The Great Rite in both forms, an invocation known as the Five Fold Kiss.

The Five Fold Kiss

The Five Fold Kiss is a blessing used before the actual and symbolic Great Rite as a way of acknowledging that the Priestess is the embodiment of beauty, femininity, and is Goddess.  This also helps to increase the level of spiritual awareness of the Priestess to help her tap into and truly feel the power of the Goddess flow through her, as well as to help those present truly see her as the embodiment of the Goddess for this rite.

While this is most commonly seen as being given from a male to a female there is a female to male version as well which I’ll include as well for the sake of giving more insight into it blessing.  In the case of The Great Rite however, the only version of the Five Fold Kiss commonly seen is that given to the Priestess from the Priest.

The Priestess stands before the altar and the Priest begins by kneeling at her feet and then he will stand during the process, typically placing his hands on her hips. The Priest kisses the Priestess on both feet, both knees, the womb, both breasts and on the lips, starting with right of each pair.  As he does this the following invocation is used:

Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be.
Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty.
Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names.

The aforementioned Priestess to Priests version, which includes a kiss to both feet, both knees, phallus, both breasts, and lips, also starting with the right of each pair, uses the following invocation:

Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
Blessed be thy phallus, without which we would not be.
Blessed be thy breasts, formed in strength.
Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names.

The next steps will vary based on how the rite will be performed.  Will it be in long form or short form?  Will it be more traditional or less formal?

Traditional Great Rite

When performed in a more formal or traditional way, which is also a long version of the rite, the Priestess lays down and a veil is placed over her. The Priest kneels at her feet and a female circle member brings the athame from the altar and stands by the Priestess and a male member brings the chalice and stands on the opposite side of the Priestess.  This symbolizes woman as the altar, as the place where all magick and creation springs from.  The Priest then recites an invocation which begins with several lines which express this:

Assist me to erect the ancient altar, at which in days past all worshipped;
The altar of all things.
For in old time, Woman was the altar.
Thus was the altar made and placed,
And the sacred place was the point within the center of the Circle.

As we have of old been taught that the point within the centre is the origin of all things,
Therefore should we adore it;
Therefore whom we adore we also invoke.

After the full invocation, the Priest then removes the veil, handing it to the female who then hands him the athame.  The Priestess then rises to her knees so she is kneeling before the High Priest and she is given the chalice.  The Priest then continues the invocation:

Altar of mysteries manifold,
The sacred Circle’s secret point
Thus do I sign thee as of old,
With kisses of my lips anoint.

The Priest kisses the Priestess on the lips and continues:

Open for me the secret way,
The pathway of intelligence,
Beyond the gates of night and day,
Beyond the bounds of time and sense.
Behold the mystery aright
The five true points of fellowship.

The Priestess then holds up the chalice and the Priest lowers the point of the athame into the chalice which is commonly filled with red wine (different groups will use different liquids such as mead, while some will use water as it is considered to be one of the most sacred liquids of all).

The Priestess says:

Here where Lance and Grail unite,
And feet, and knees, and breast, and lip.

The Priest gives the athame to the female covener and then places both his hands around the hands of the Priestess as she holds the chalice and then kisses her and she sips from the cup.  In turn she kisses him and he then sips, all the while both keep their hands together holding the chalice.  The Priest then takes the chalice and they both stand.  Then the Priest will begin the passing of the chalice.  In a traditional coven, where all acts are done male to female and female to male, the Priest will start this by passing the chalice to the a female in circle with a kiss and then she to a male with a kiss and so on until the chalice comes back to the Priest.

Next the cakes or bread are consecrated, which is done by the male and female members who assisted in the wine blessing.  The woman takes the athame, the man the dish, and he kneels before her holding the dish up to her.  She then draw an earth invoking pentagram over the dish while the man says:

O Queen most secret, bless this food into our bodies;
bestowing health, wealth, strength, joy and peace,
and that fulfillment of love that is perfect happiness.

The athame is placed on the altar and the woman takes the dish and, with a kiss passes it to the man, then he passes it back with a kiss, and then the woman begins the passing of the cakes, by giving the dish to another male in the circle with a kiss.

Traditional Great Rite in Truth

The above is the rite in token.  The rite in truth changes at the point where the Priestess would rises to her knees.  After the invocation is said by the Priest, all other members will either leave the room, in some cases they simply turn their backs to give some privacy to the Priest and Priestess in the center of the circle and they face outward and the Priestess remains laying down.  The Priest recites another piece of the invocation and then kisses the Priestess in the sign of the Third Degree (according to the public Gardnerian version of the rite).  The next portion of invocation includes the following verse:

Foot to foot
Knee to knee
Lance to grail
Breast to breast
Lips to lips.

At the point where the Priest says “Lance to grail”, if this section is used in the rite in token, the athame would be placed in the chalice.  If the rite is being done in truth, this would be the point of physical union.

Now, this is very much a traditional Wiccan method of doing this and is the publicly know version that is often said to be Gardnerian in nature.  This is not a version of The Great Rite that you are likely to see at your next community open Sabbat.  You’re more likely to see something one of these.  (The above version specifically comes from Janet and Stewart Farrar’s “The Witches’ Bible Complete”.)

Common Long and Short Form Rite

The difference between long and short from rites in a less traditional setting is the amount of wording used.  The intention and the act of calling the God and Goddess within one another is most often still there.  I do personally find that when it isn’t this portion of ritual is more of an act of blessing the wine and cakes than a true Great Rite.  Remember, this is about calling on and honoring the God and Goddess and the act of union and creation.  If this is missing, then this isn’t so much enacting The Great Rite, even in token, and is just more an act of asking for the ritual offerings to be blessed (and while this is fine, it’s just important to understand the difference, as this is one of the reasons that, beginners especially, can become confused by what is what in rituals).  Here are several different wordings, but notice how the essence remains the same as the traditional version, even with the shorter invocations.

The Priestess holds the athame and the Priest raises the chalice in offering to her (this can also be reversed or they can each place a hand on the chalice and a hand on the athame).  She inserts the point of the athame into the chalice and together they say:

As the athame is to the male, so the cup is to the female, and conjoined they bring blessedness.

Another version of the wording is:

HP: As the athame is to the male,
HPS: So the chalice is to the female,
Together they say: And conjoined they be one in truth, for there is no greater power In all the worlds, Than that of a man and a woman, Joined in the bounds of love, From which all life comes forth.

And another:

HP: Athame to Chalice
HPS: Spirit to Flesh
HP: Man to Woman
HPS: As the God and Goddess within.
Together (or all members in circle): Conjoined they bring blessedness to life.

For the sake of completeness, I’ll include here a cake blessing as you might see it in a public ritual as well.  The Priestess takes the athame and pierces the bread loaf or places it over the food on the plate which is being held by the Priest and says:

We break bread to share in fellowship
As our ancestors have done
Since the dawn of agriculture
Breathe in the spirit of the Earth,
The Sun, the Rain, and the Fire,
Bound together for our nourishment.

Once both the bread and wine are consecrated through The Great Rite in token they are passed around the Circle, often the wine carried by the Priest and the bread by the Priestess, though this varies from group to group, using the blessings “May you never  thirst” and “May you never hunger” upon presenting the items to each individual in the Circle.  In return they will reply “Nor you”.

When you’re doing ritual in a solitary setting, you shouldn’t feel as though you can’t work this rite.  As I talked about in the first part of this article yesterday, you need to remember that you hold within yourself both male and female energies regardless of what gender your physical body is, regardless of what your sexual preference is; you are an expression of both halves of the whole in a divine temple given to you by the Gods to house that spirit for a time.  Call up and draw on both of those polarities and draw them into the rite for yourself.

In the sense of how to perform the rite, you can do one of two things.  You can hold the chalice in your left hand and the athame in the right hand; the left side is the feminine side, the side where we place the Goddess on the altar, and the left is the masculine side and the side on the altar for the God.  Hold the chalice up in the right hand while speaking the invocations of the Goddess and the athame while speaking the invocations of the God and then joining them together can be a simple yet effective way for a solitary to work with this rite.  Again, it’s about your focus and intent.  Don’t just recite an invocation during this, truly feel it.  Feel the presence of the Goddess and the God and feel the power of their union when the tip of the athame goes into the chalice.

The other way you can do this, as a solitary is quite simple; place the chalice in the center of your altar and then use both hands on the athame.

Does it matter of the rite is done in token or actuality?  That would truly depend on who you ask, but if the intention is clear, if your focus is to honor the deity resident within yourself and your ritual partner, then you’re doing the right thing and in token the rite fulfills its purpose.   The biggest concern is that many people have started to move through the motions of The Great Rite as just a blessing for cakes and ale.  This is a rite to unlock the Mysteries, and regardless of whether you’re a solitary or training in a coven this can be a rite to truly aid you in elevating your spirituality and your connection to the Gods.

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