Writing Group Ritual
I’m starting to think of myself as a “Ritual Script Doctor.” For years now I’ve been going over other people’s rituals (almost always at their behest), both adding and subtracting to them, all in an effort to build a better ritual mousetrap. I don’t think of myself as some great writer of ritual, but generally my rituals are pretty good, and I’m arrogant enough to think that they are probably “as good” or “better” than many of the ones you can find online or in books. (I’m still waiting for Llewellyn or Weiser to ask me to write a book of rituals, look around this website, it’s half done already!) Excuse me for a moment, I need to go stuff my ego back in the closet.
No matter where I’m at, I tend to see the same problems again and again when it comes to group ritual, especially large (over 15 people) rituals. Even people who have sold thousands of books occasionally stumble in public. Ritual is hard work, and it’s never easy. When you write ritual you are basically answering to three very different entities: yourself, the group you are writing for, and the gods/Earth. Satisfying all three of those things can be a challenge.
Answering to yourself means that the things in your ritual have to be true to what you believe. If you invoke the gods and don’t believe that it’s possible to invoke the gods it will show. Ritual should not be about empty and hollow gestures, everything you do should have purpose. In addition the things you (and those around you) say should represent your voice. If you aren’t a Druid and steal a bunch of verses from a Druidic ritual things aren’t going to feel right.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2013/10/writing-group-ritual/