Ring Bell.

Breath of the World:

Take Athame to East. Lower point towards ground, then raise towards sky, drawing power as you go. Lower point to East and scribe the circle, inhaling to SE, exhaling to S, inhaling to SW, exhaling to W, inhaling to NW, exhaling to N, inhaling to NE, exhaling to E. End

After scribing,

Face East:
"Sun Rise"
Raise Athame to 45@:
"Moon Rise"
Raise Athame to 90@:
"Sun High"
Lower Athame to 135@:
"Moon High"
Lower Athame to 180@:
"Sun Set"
Lower Athame to 225@:
"Moon Set"
Lower Athame to 270@:
"Sun Gone"
Raise Athame to 315@:
"Moon Gone"
Raise Athame to 360@:
"The Dance Begins Anew"
Face Center, Athame pointing up, moving to point down as you intone:
"The Dance Begins Anew!"

Return Athame to altar.

Take up Salt and Water.

Asperge partner and be asperged. Start in East. Offer at each Octant, then use 3 sprinkles starting middle, left, then right.

Return Cup to altar.

Light Incense from candle.

Blow out flame on incense.

Cense partner and be censed.

Cense the circle, sweeping up, then down at each Direction, like a pulse. On returning East, Turn to Center and draw a vertical circle clockwise. Face center. Draw a spiral above head, then one below knees, then a double interlocking one at the Center. Bell.

Face SE:

Face S:

Face SW:

Face W:

Face NW:

Face N:

Face NE:

Face E (Spread arms)

Face Centre(partner opposite, if you are group working):
(For even-numbered years, reverse God & Gidden)

"Aradia Ascends"
( Raise arms from sides to shoulder height, palms up.)

"Herne Descends"
(Lower arms from straight overhead to shoulder height, palm down.)

"And together we stand between"
(Hug partner, if you have one. Solo, wrap arms clockwise around yourself.)

End of Basic temple rite.

Brief Intro.:

I am Valire'brand of Spiral Ash. I stand Weardian to Stand Spiral Ash and have since 1985. My initial magickal training was just that: Magickal training. I was trained as a Magickian, not a Pagan or Witch. So, I'm inclined to be somewhat anal-retentive about ritual, hence this workshop.

Purpose:

Assumptions:

1 - You are familiar with ritual of some kind.
2 - You are interested in enhanced personal or group ritual.
3 - You couldn't care less about my personal techniques except for illustrating a point for yours.

Points to cover:

Gesture -
"motion to express or emphasis feeling" dic. def. not complete enough.
"motion with meaning, purpose, or intent; including but not limited to feeling" (mine)
illus. hand sign - hold on vs. stop!
muscle memory, works at an unconscious level. (humans can detect nonverbal cues as small as 1 mm. change in pupil dilation - w/o realizing it)
Symbolic
Repetitive
Related to style

Why?
Function as cues, particularly in group workings
Functions as demarcation from other techniques(this is how WE do this)
Serves to emphasis/reinforce the point in the ritual.
Increases familiarity and connectedness with godforms

Circle scribing

Breath of the World:

Take Athame to East. Lower point towards ground, then raise towards sky, drawing power as you go. Lower point to East and scribe the circle, inhaling to SE, exhaling to S, inhaling to SW, exhaling to W, inhaling to NW, exhaling to N, inhaling to NE, exhaling to E. Each octant is the station of a God or Gidden, the change in breathing is an acknowledgment of this. It also affirms that they are in the world with us and that we are consciously reaffirming the Sacredness of the world within which we stand.

Face East:
"Sun Rise"
Raise Athame to 45@:
"Moon Rise"
Raise Athame to 90@:
"Sun High"
Lower Athame to 135@:
"Moon High"
Lower Athame to 180@:
"Sun Set"
Lower Athame to 225@:
"Moon Set"
Lower Athame to 270@:
"Sun Gone"
Raise Athame to 315@:
"Moon Gone"
Raise Athame to 360@:
"The Dance Begins Anew"
Face Center, Athame pointing up, moving to point down as you intone:
"The Dance Begins Anew!"

This again affirms that you are present in the Sacred Space that is the world. That you are aware of the cycles of Life and a participant of them.

Blessing(Hallow with Salt&Water)

Bless partner and be blessed. Start in East. Offer at each Octant, then use 3 sprinkles starting middle, left, then right.

This cleanses the working space and affirms that we are stand in the balance point between the past and the future on the fulcrum of the present.

Saining

Cense the circle, sweeping up, then down at each Direction, like a pulse. On returning East, Turn to Center and draw a vertical circle clockwise. Face center. Draw a spiral above head, then one below knees, then a double interlocking one at the Center.

Aside from the cleansing aspects, this again acknowledges the Gods at their stations, reinforces the awareness of their separate energies and asserts our presence in the here-and-now.

2Handed Pentagram(Volkhvy of Rockhopper 1992)

Starting at the apex, at full extension over your head; draw arms diagonally down to your sides; diagonally up to shoulder height while crossing left-to-right/right-to-left. then recrossing horizontally to finish the pentagram. (Banishing) The invoking version is drawn the reverse of the banishing one. This is a powerful gesture that draws your whole body into it. It is great for group ritual since it is drawn in 3 broad, visible strokes.

Godforms

Lokin - hands clasped at chest, raise right hand above head palm-up as though giving something and at same time move left hand down by side palm-down. Lokin takes what Gruag has left behind and generates something new.

Ariana - Starts with wrists crossed like a bird, spread arms open and up, palm outward. The Maiden is like a flowering plant, delicate yet implacable as new growth.

Janir - hands together over head as though in prayer, lower, and spread hands to sides, palm-down. Janir is the explorer and Beastlord, this form shows him lifting himself as though clambering over a ledge.

Rheya - legs slightly bowed, hands in front, left hand facing up and right facing down as though supporting a heavy pregnancy. gently rotate hands and press out and down, straightening legs. Rheya, as the Mother, brings conceptions to manifestation.

Frelor - start hands at waist, then press down to full extension, hands at sides, pressing palm-down. Frelor, as the Father, stabilizes what is.

Morriwen - strong hand touch forehead, then lips, then move hand straight outward opening palm-up, as though giving something. Morriwen draws wisdom from the Past, and passes it on to the Future.

Hadin - start with hands at sides, palm forward. Sweep arms into God position closing hands into fists. Hadin is the Grim Father. Death is the first step towards rebirth.

Gruag - reach high with strong hand as though taking something, transfer to other hand and release it. Gruag is the Hag. She takes what is, digests it and breaks it down for reuse.

Symbolic Great Rite

There are 3 possible ways to perform the basic Great Rite:
athame lowered into chalice - this seems like necrophilia.
chalice raised to engulf athame - this seems like rape.
athame lowered as chalice is raised - now this seems like a true Great Rite, a joining of equals.

(090603 Valire'brand of Spiral Ash)

Now, it is vital to remember that this is not British Traditional Witchcraft I'm describing here. And it is certainly not Wicca as commonly understood. It is a modern syncretic practice rooted in my personal tradition and my understanding of the symbol set that is the Stang. And make no mistake, there is nothing simple about the Stang.

Just what the heck is a Stang? Stang - "past of sting(obsolete)" Am. Heritage 3rd Edition. Hmm, well, that raises more questions than it answers!

Hutton seemed to think it came from the Berbers (Triumph of the Moon), but this time he's off the mark. Kerr Cuhulain asserts it is from Anglo-Saxon "staenga or steng" meaning pole or rod. In Scandinavia, there is a word "stongen" and in Iceland "stanga" as in Maystanga or May Pole. This seems a more likely source for the term, after all, a Stang is a pole, a special one but still a pole.

OK, it's back to a dictionary, this time the Shorter OED. Stang - "a pole or stake"; derived from the Old High German "stanga". Interestingly, it comes from STING, v. "to pierce or goad". So, the Am. Heritage definition actually does apply, though it is woefully incomplete.

Dictionary aside, what is a Stang in the sense of a tool within Witchcraft, which is what I'm talking about? It is a tool derived from witchcraft, the technology; as opposed to the religion.

Physically, a Stang is a forked stick. It is usually (!) made of Ash or other sacred trees. Ash is most common, perhaps, because it is the most common wood used as tool handles and Stangs are frequently made from pitchforks or other farming implements.

However, Ash is also the symbolic World Tree with branches in the Upper World and roots in the Underworld and the trunk running through our Middle Earth. Other trees share these associations, but Ash seems to be predominantly cast as the World Tree. Maybe because ash trees are often struck by lightning (due to their height) making them the more touched by the Gods.

Why is this important? It means the Stang represents the channel between Sky and Earth. A shaft from the Sky to Earth. Moreover, it is a physical representation of the Gidden, the God and their Children, us. One fork, Gidden; one fork, God; and the shaft, their Children. This means the Stang can serve as an Icon without anything else commonly used on altars. This makes it highly desirable for outdoor workings.

But wait! There's more! The fork(yoni) represents the Gidden, while the God is represented by the shaft(lingam). So, the Stang also represents Their Union, a.k.a. the Great Rite within Wicca. It means that symbolically the Stang can replace the Chalice AND the Athame! It is physically a Staff, which means it functions as a Wand; and its base is often shod in iron to be thrust into the ground, which completes the list of Elemental Tools, the Paten/Shield/Pentacle. The fork is often made from sacred animal skulls, horns or antlers. Standing in or behind a cauldron, it is even richer symbolically: it reminds us that Life comes from Death and vice versa. Rebirth, Transformation, Union; the list goes on as long as you care to take it.

The Stang may be of differing sizes. The Greater Stang (my terminology!) stands about shoulder to head high, most often with a skull and horns/antlers. A Small Stang is roughly a meter long. At this length, a skull is unwieldy, so it may have antlers/horns or may just be a plain forked stick. Then, there is the Stanglet(my coinage). At a foot or less, it is used by an individual when space is an issue and/or as a centerpiece on an indoor altar. A Greater Stang may serve as a group or coven icon; while the Small or Stanglet serves the individual as a working tool.

The base or "root" of the Stang is often used as a focusing tool in ritual, the fork as a dispersing/concentrating tool. The Small Stang and the Stanglet do not have preferential direction, so mine have a Gidden and a God side assigned. Each has a small disc with God or Gidden colors on each side of the base of the fork. The God colors are yellow and red; the Gidden colors are white and black. This allows them to mark the progression of the Deities around the Circle of the Year. In invoking, it is a clear indicator of whether a God or Gidden is being invoked. It also serves as a reminder to the individual of which energies are currently in use.

However, this is starting to verge on decoration, a highly individual option. Many British Traditionalist Witches "dress" the Stang with garlands for various holidays and have crossed arrows set on the shaft. To them, these have special meaning(1); not being one of them I will not attempt to elaborate(2). All of my Stangs are bound in the colors of my system with black bases symbolic of the Underworld(3) that they pierce and little other overt symbolism. I feel piling more symbols on as rich a symbol set as a Stang is overkill. Interestingly, I have discovered that the reason I don't prefer the crossed arrows of the traditional stang is that I use the stang primarily as a tool rather than as an icon. The crossed arrows symbolize the middle world (i.e. here), used as a tool the hand grasp is a bit more elegant statement of here-and-now. Obviously, other people feel otherwise, so there is a great deal of variation in Stang decoration. I can tell you that I spent over 100 hours thinking about these tools before I constructed them -- actual build time about 1 or 2 hours per stang. Was it worth the effort? Oh, yes, for these tools are undoubtedly mine; and accurately reflect my particular tradition!

How then did I make them? Well, the shafts were the easy part. My Great Stang shaft is a cutdown spare ash spearshaft I had on hand(how many people can say that!?): my Small Stang shaft is an old ash weed sticker with a ground down digging tip. The Stanglet, I went with an oak dowel, since I was unable to acquire a dowel in ash. Still a sacred tree, please note! The Great Stang and Stanglet required some work to clad the base in mild steel to properly earth them. The Stanglet has a ground off screw-in hook in the base to support it outdoors. The Great Stang has a rubber tip, for use in processionals; however, it has a slip-on point to support it outdoors as well. The Small Stang was easiest; the design of the weed digger already has steel cladding as well as a ground piercing point. All the bases were painted black, partly to protect from rust, partly to link to earth.

The fork on the Stanglet is deer antler, on the Small, elk antler, and on the Great a deer skull with antlers. The Great's skull is removable; the rest are fixed. To affix the antler, first I matched the pieces to make a fork, grinding their bases flat. Second, I cut flat spots on either side of the shafts. Third, I hot glued the antler in place and held it until it cooled. Fourth, I bound the joins with black linen thread. Fifth, I applied varnish over the thread. This serves to bind it firmly in place, much like fiberglass.

I used colored cord to wrap the Deity colors on all the Stangs. After wrapping, I coated the cord with white glue (dries transparent), again, to bond it in place, just like the linen/varnish combination. So, you see it really isn't that hard to make them! The only real difficulty was prepping the skull. And that only required boiling the icky bits off, a lo-ong but very effective process. Oh, yeah, and cutting open the brain pan (10 minutes with a dremel) for inserting the shaft. Determining what you want is still the major consideration; construction is pretty simple.

OOPS, nearly forgot! Why do I have so many? I find that I prefer doing many group workings with the Small Stang as a tool. I like the Great Stang w/cauldron as icon or altar centerpiece. The Stanglet I use for solitary work. Working with Stangs proves they are extremely versatile. While traveling, I had occasion to use the Stanglet and I think that it will become part of my regular kit.

Why? It carries the symbolism of Twyern in a compact, convenient form. It is multi-functional in ritual use. Though this is not normally a virtue, for the informed Twyern this allows great flexibility; enabling a more fluid mode of working.

For example, the circle can be cast using the "root" (shod end) of the Stanglet; without returning to the altar, the fork can be used for invoking even allowing the subtle reminder of presiding influence through use of the color emblems, including shifts in influence by rotating the Stanglet; then the root can strike the bell (bells should never be rung, only struck for pure tones!)(YMMV). All these can be accomplished with simple handling adjustments. Although these can be done with Stangs as well, for personal use, the Stanglet allows one-handed convenient use as a tool while the Stang retains its original use as icon. It's also very portable for travel when the larger tools are hard to pack.

So, there you have my very personal take on the Stang -- an oft neglected, poorly understood, yet richly complex and quintessentially Witch tool. A tool for the Witch that symbolically combines the 4 elemental tools(assuming you still use them), representations of the Lady and Lord, the functions of an altar and the structure of the universe into a single object, etc. Truly, a "Witch Army Knife" if ever there was one!

Addendum: Over time, it has become apparent that the best choice for antler or horn is the top prey for your region. Thus, my Great Stang has lost it's deer skull to be replaced by elk antler. The deer skull has joined with my cauldron to form an altar icon that is truly awesome. On the other hand, my Stanglet keeps it's deer antler, though this is less because of preference and more due to sheer practicality. Elk antler on the Stanglet is just ridiculously large, and deer were important, if secondary, prey animals in this area.

Valire'brand of Spiral Ash 102703, rev.111203, 111403, 120703, 041804, 092005, 122505, 082607

(1) pgs. 61-67 The Roebuck and the Thicket, Evan John Jones, Capall Bann, 2001
pg. 87, 91-2 Call of the Horned Piper, Nigel A. Jackson, Capall Bann, 1994
pgs. 109-110 Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance, Evan John Jones, Llewellyn 1997
pg. 142 The Robert Cochrane Letters, Robert Cochrane, with Evan John Jones, Capall Bann, 2002

(2)ibid. On the other hand, these folks are them. Fascinating site, and informative as well.
http://www.robinartisson.com/scarespite/hallpage.htm

(3)Thanks to Volkhvy of Rockhopper for pointing this out to me at the 11-17-03 lecture.