Ritual Types And Histories

Existence connection ritual originated as a fertility ritual in Wicca involving the God and Goddess.

The "Great Rite" Ritual originated as a fertility ritual in Wicca involving the God and Goddess. The masculine component is represented by the Athame (ritual dagger) and the feminine is represented by the Chalice. (image from http://www.insgrum.com/user/sarahjgoadphoto/1119603994/1277505884259249942_1119603994)

This ancient Athame was found at the port city of Malia. It dates to about 1700 BCE. Now at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion (Olmsted personal photo)

Fertility/Causality Ritual

(December 1, 2025) Causality has two complimentary components which are "flow" and "guidance." For example, fluid flow is guided by river banks or by pipes. Likewise the flow of electricity is guided by wires.

Significantly, these components of causality were recognized by the Neolithic Farmer Druid culture who incorporated them into their worldview. They identified flow as a masculine power and guidance as a feminine power. All life powers thus had their masculine and feminine components (deities).

The feminine life source powers seems to have been represented by a chalice since ancient times. The Indus-Valley Unicorn seals shows a chalice representing the feminine underdome in front of the unicorn bull (image below). The life network is pouring fluid into it and that looks like a dagger (athame).

In Sumerian times the life source goddess was named Erishkigal meaning "wise One of the Earth Chalice." Her later lordified name was Ningal meaning "Lady of the Chalice." (Gal means chalice, Nin means "lady" while ki means earth)

Gerald Gardiner who invented this ritual was apparently inspired by recent Sumerian and Indus Valley findings. He incorporated causality into it as "all the powers of the universe." The whole phrase is: "As the woman is to the chalice so is the man to the athame and in their union are all the powers of the universe."

Unicorn Bull Showing Life Network on Left

Unicorn Bull Showing Life Network Over a Chalice 2200 BCE

Unicorn bull seal (H97-3433/7617-01) dating to about 2200 BCE which is at the transition between Harappa Periods 3B and 3C.In front of the unicorn bull is an image of the life-growth network pouring fertility fluids into the under-dome (home of Kate/Hekate) as indicated by the stars surrounding it. The under-dome sits upon a pedestal such that together they form a chalice. In Sumerian Hekate corresponds to the goddess Erishkigal who after lordification was also called Ningal meaning “lady of the chalice” from NIN.GAL.https://www.harappa.com/indus4/5.html

Unicorn Bull with Two Sky Shells on Left

Unicorn Bull Showing Life Network Dome Over a Chalice 2300 BCE

This is a rare unicorn seal from Harappa has both the upper and lower sky-shells. This seal was found in the central area of Mound E and dates to Period 3B or early 3C, around 2450-2200 BC. The unicorn bull is the rain bringing storm form of the Druid deity Hu.Notice the stars around the lower sky-shell but not on the daytime top shell yet the top shell is the one with the net pattern.(http://old.harappa.com/indus2/133.html)

Zebu Bull on Indus Valley Seal

This zebu bull seal shows that the unicorn bulls are something unique and not some generic bull representation. The unicorn bull seals are always paired with the divine chalice unlike here.(https://www.harappa.com/indus/27.html)

Earliest Known Ritual Circle Having Corner Correspondences 1000 CE

(January 14, 2025)

This is a chart found in an early book justifying the Christian date of Easter. The date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as computus paschalis, or simply Computus. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the March equinox. The first full or new moon after the equinox was an important Pagan marker for planting crops in the spring.

The book is called the "Harmony of the Months and Elements" written by Byrhtferth of Ramsey (c. 970–c. 1020). He was a priest and monk who lived at Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire) in England. The original book is lost, but two independent ‘copies’ made in the early 12th century remain. This diagram aligns different aspects of time (solstice, equinox, months, seasons, ages of man), the zodiac, and the four elements, in order to introduces a number of key concepts relevant to the computus. In the Oxford manuscript, the diagram comes right at the end of a section (ff. 3r-7v) which contains a miscellaneous variety of short texts and visual designs related to the computus, and directly precedes another section (ff. 8r-15v) containing tables and texts on computus.

Notice the use of Ogham text in the center.

Ritual Element-Direction correspondences

These make sense for any European. The texts are in Latin.

East (Latin Oriens) = Earth (terra) as in the landmass of Russia
South (Latin Meridie) = Water (aqua) as in the Mediterranean
West (Latin Occidens) = Air (aer) as in the direction of the prevailing winds and weather
North (Latin Aquilo) = Fire (ignis) as in the direction of the northern lights

Corner Phrases on the Inside of the Connective Diamond

East Corner: Anathole a oriens = Anadole a oriens = Anatolia from the east
South Corner: Mesioi brios m meridie = I am at noon
West Corner: Disis o occidens = You are far away, O West
North Corner: Arcton a aquilo = Close to the north

Phrases on the Inner Diamond (blue) Shaped Connecting Lines

(Connecting earth and water from the south) Terra sicca a frigida = Dry earth from cold
(Connecting earth and fire from the north) Igni calu dus a siccus = The fire is hot and dry
(Connecting air and fire from the north) Ver humidus a calidu = Spring is humid and hot.
(Connecting air and water from the south) heims frigi da a humida = cold and humid

Reference

De concordia mensium atque elementorum (Byrhtferth’s diagram). Online at: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/De_concordia_mensium_atque_elementorum_(Byrhtferth's_diagram)

Book online at: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Oxford,_St_John%27s_College,_MS_17

Ogham in the center of the page. They have not been translated until now.

Translation of The Ogham in Center Above

(January 14, 2025)

Top Linear Ogham Translation in Druid Akkadian (Text Ogham 51.1)

(read left to right. Capital letters on stone. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Verbs in italic bold. Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words)

A' ' ṬeṢu DiPu Wa

In English

These emotion-powers (Awen) can eliminate the Big-Dipper's curse (of fate)

Center Circular (Star Sirius) Ogham Translation in Druid Akkadian (Text Ogham 51.2)

(starting at the top and read clockwise, then read out to in. Capital letters on stone. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Verbs in italic bold. Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words)

ᚒᚃ ᚃ ᚒ ᚒᚃ ᚃ ᚐᚁ
UṢu Ṣu U UṢu Ṣu ARu