Materials Needed:

Scissors
Large knife
bricks
concrete blocks (2)
cord
rope
2 heavy belts
2 cloaks
sharpies

High Priestess
Maiden
2 BDs (brick draggers) (Jen & Dave)
4 Quarters:
East
West
North
South
(also designated minions for scissor duty & to help prompt singing)

(Before people are led to ritual area, have the 2 brick draggers at the opening of the circle with the bricks already attached to their belts and covered by their cloaks. The HP and MD are in center of circle with alter.)

(Have the people come and form a circle.)

Call Quarters:

East:
Blessed light of sun and fire of warmth,
Flames of guidance,
Give comfort, brightness, and strength,
And be with us here as we celebrate this night.

South:
Blessed mountains, meadows, and forests,
Earth of abundance,
Bring forth harmony, richness, and beauty,
And be with us here as we celebrate all life.

West:
Blessed oceans, lakes, and streams,
Waters of healing,
Wash clear, bright, and fresh
And be with us here as we cleanse all in light.

North:
Blessed winds of storm and flight,
Air of breath,
Blow clean and clear, sweeping through the skies,
And be with us here as we heal all lands from strife.

HPS:
"The circle is cast,
We are between the worlds,
Beyond the bounds of time,
Where night and day,
Birth and death,
Joy and sorrow,
Meet as one."

HPS:
"I am not here to do it for you. I am here to give you support and comfort as you walk the path. I am not here to be a guru. I am a human being like you are, on my path, doing the best I can. I come into the Sacred circle to fill my cup, to share my heart, to be reborn in the Mother Earth's healing energy. Join me."

HPS:
"The fire burns brightly tonight. It burns brightly within us all. The spark that is our soul speaks to us tonight of release. Release, relinquish, put aside, so that we may move on, be free, and grow."

"Why do we need to release things from our lives? The burdens that we carry are so heavy, but aren't they ours to carry? Aren't they our responsibilities, our problems?"

"If you find the bag of burdens on your shoulders getting too heavy to bear, its time to remove the bag and examine its contents. You must separate true responsibilities from the false ones."

"Many of the burdens we carry are not our burdens. Through a mistaken sense of duty, we assume other people's burdens usually because of guilt. We constantly do things we do not want to do and sometimes even hate to do."

"Your genuine responsibilities are those you choose to accept. They should never be demanded or expected of you by people that are undeserving. Do not sacrifice yourself for anyone or anything you do not wish to do."

"These are not the only things that can hold us back from achieving our true potential. We may have complexes, issues, that we have not dealt with. A truly happy childhood is a rarity... high school may have been traumatic; perhaps our relationship is not the best it can be. Many of us have suffered tragedies in our lives. These are all valid, and help define the person we have grown to be. But we must grow beyond these, integrate these experiences, and make them a positive part of our lives, rather than a negative part. These shadows live still within us, but they work for us now, not against us, and we will use their energies for positive things from now on."

"Look within yourself. Some of you have already placed your words on the bricks. Take a moment and think about the burdens you have taken on, and think about those you would like to let go of."

(The Brick Draggers begin to make their around each side of the circle)

"How do we release these burdens? We want to let go, so we can move ahead, but it is not as easy as just saying no. We know it is time but we don't know how to proceed."

"We drag our unnecessary and unhealthy burdens behind us like bricks. They weight us down, make heavy our steps. We are bound to these bricks by etheric cords, which can feel just as tangible as chains. We strain mightily with the heaviness of these burdens."

"These two people represent each one of us here tonight, for they are carrying our bricks of burden. They are showing us how we each struggle, wearing ourselves down, dragging the weight of all our excess baggage along with us every day."

"Tonight it is time to let go of whatever is hindering your progress. Now it is time to cut yourselves free. Time to say good bye to that which no longer serves your needs."

"Now it is time to free our friends. Time to lighten the load they are carrying. Now it is time to cut away the bricks of burden."

(By now the Draggers should be on the other side of the circle and stopped)

(The BD's begin to walk back around the inside of the circle to where they were at the start of the ritual. As the BD's pass, the people with scissors will cut the cords. When BD's get back to their original starting place they stop.)

(after a few of the cords are cut)

"See how much lighter their step is now, without so much excess weight? See how much easier they progress?"

(when Brick Draggers get back to starting point)

"But, wait.... see....they are still carrying the heaviest burden. Some of us want to carry not only our own burdens...we want to carry other peoples burden as well. It's like we don't have enough of our own problems to deal with, we want to drag around the weight of the world."

"But we cannot carry other people's burdens for them, any more than these two individuals can carry our burdens for us. What we can do is channel our energy and send it to the cosmos, to our higher selves, and trust in it and them to help relieve us of our worries and problems."

"Please join hands now. Let us raise a circle of energy. As the energy reaches its peak we will release the energy up and out into the universe, and in doing so we will free our friends and ourselves from our burdens."

(Do Brigid, while chanting:)

"Go...Good Riddance....Good Bye"
"Go...Good Riddance....Good Bye"
"Go...Good Riddance....Good Bye"

(As energy is raised, HP cuts ropes, finishing when energy peaks)

(The freed Brick Draggers will begin to "frolic" back across the circle (once) while shouting)
"Go...Good Riddance....Good Bye"
"Go...Good Riddance....Good Bye"
"Go...Good Riddance....Good Bye"

(Quarters will join in the chant)

DO FREDDIE HERE

(End with a huge shout "Go! ....Good Riddance!....Good Bye".)

(When Brick Draggers reach opposite side they will split off as before and go around inside of circle again.)

(When Brick Draggers reach original starting place they will exit circle and leave.)

(If mood is right, do the arm wave/"Nah, Nah, Nah, Good Bye" song/chant thingie. Quarters will take up the waving arms and singing)

(Quarters will follow, guiding the rest of the people to do the same, while continuing to sing until everyone disburses.)