I've always had a fascination with the ocean. And for me, the sight of the Sun rising out of the ocean at dawn is one of the most beautiful and magickal experiences a person can have. Every vacation as a kid, I would try to get up early enough (or stay up late enough) on at least one day just so I could see it. It's simply amazing. Witnessing that majestic sight, it's easy to understand how we came up with an idea like "god."
This year, my Temple was lucky enough to be able to host the IOT's North American section's annual national meeting at the beach. As soon as I found that out, I knew I had to present a Sun-rising-from-the-ocean ritual of some kind. When I found out that the meeting would fall during the Walpurgisnacht (MayEve)/May Day holiday, I had my idea.
Solar rituals are, kind of by definition, pretty hippie-dippie. And so's the beach; just something about being at the beach makes you want to light a campfire, grab a drum, and pass a doobie. So, almost by necessity, the ritual I wrote was pretty hippie-dippie, too. But I really, really fucking enjoyed it. Not all sorcery is about black robes, midnight, and demons, and it's good for us to remember that from time-to-time.
Normally, I'm not very happy with the rituals I bring to the national meetings, but this time I was so pleased with it, I felt I needed to share it with my you, my readers. Both of you. ;-)
I hope you enjoy reading it even 1/10th as much as I enjoyed performing it.
May Day Dawn Ritual. (Google Docs)
