Requiem for Jeff

Published with deep appreciation and love for all the members of CUUPS who help so much during this time of bereavement. Ed.

HPS - “I exorcise thee, O creature of water, that thou cast out from
thee all the impurities and uncleanness of the spirits of the world; in
the name of the Lord and Lady”

HP - “ I exorcise thee, O creature of salt, that thou cast out from
thee all the impurities and uncleanness of the spirits of the world; in
the name of the Lord and Lady”

HP - As the athame is to the male, so is the cup to the female; and
conjoined, they become one in truth.”

HPS - “O Lady, bless this food for our bodies; bestowing health,
wealth, strength, joy, and peace, and that fulfillment of love which is
perfect happiness.”

HPS -“I conjure thee, O Circle of Power, that you be a meeting place of
love and joy and truth; a boundary between the world of men and the
realms of the Mighty Ones; a place of protection that shall preserve and
contain the power that we shall raise within you. I bless and consecrate
you, in the names of the Lord and Lady.”

HPS - “How do you enter this circle?”
HP - “In perfect Love and Perfect Trust”

HP - “How do you enter this circle”
All - “In perfect love and perfect trust”
   
HPS - “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Spirits of Air; I
summon, stir and call you up, to witness our rites and to guard the
Circle.”?

HPS - “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the South, Spirits of Fire; I
summon, stir and call you up, to witness our rites and to guard the
Circle.”?

HPS - “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the West, Spirits of Water,
Lords of Death and Initiation; I summon, stir and call you up, to witness
our rites and to guard the Circle.”?

HPS - “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, Spirits of the
Earth, we do summon, stir and call you up, to witness our rites and to guard
the circle.”?
   
HP - “Listen to the words of the Great Mother; she who of old was also
called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite,
Cerridwen, Dana, Arianhod, Isis, Bride, and by many other names.”

HPS - “Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month, and
better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret
place and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all witches. There
shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn of all sorcery, yet have not
won its deepest secrets; to these will I teach things that are yet
unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye be really
free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast,
make music and love, all in my praise. For mine is the ecstasy of the
spirit, and mine also is joy on earth; for my law is love unto all
beings. Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it; let naught
stop you or turn you aside. For mine is the secret door which opens upon
the Land of Youth, and mine is the cup of the wine of life, and the
Cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of immortality. I am the
gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon
earth I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I
give peace and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor
do I demand sacrifice; for behold, I am the Mother of all living, and my
love is poured out upon the earth.”


HP - Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess, she in the dust of whose
feet are the hosts of heaven, and whose body encircles the universe.”

HPS - “I who am the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among
the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart
of man, call unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto me. For I am the soul
of nature, who gives life to the universe. From me all things proceed,
and unto me all things must return; and before my face, beloved of Gods
and men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of
the infinite. Let my worship be within the heart that rejoicest; for
behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let
be there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and
humility, mirth and reverence within you. And thou who thinkest to seek for
me, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou
knowest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within
thee, thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, I have been
with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end
of desire.”

HPS - Listen to the words of the God, who is the son, brother, lover,
and consort of the Lady:

HP - I am the fleet deer in the forest, I am the beach which receives
the waves,
I am the sun which warms the earth.
I am the Lord of the Spiral Dance of Life, Death and Rebirth, the
gentle reaper, the Winter stag and the Spring fawn. All things are of me,
for I am of the Goddess, opposite, yet not opposing.
I bring birth forth from the womb that is a tomb, for I am the seed
which fertilizes. I am abundant Life, for I am the grain that grows and I
am death, the harvest in the Fall. And I am rebirth after darkness, for
I am the seed that springs forth anew.
I am fertility, the spreader of Life, and I am the Lord of Death, which
adds value to life.
I am the Guardian of the gate between Life and Death.
I am King of the Underworld, where no living being may venture, but I
am also the King of Rebirth, turning the tomb into a womb.
I bring love and strength, peace and passion, hope and joy, for I am
the gentle lover in the night.


HPS - “We meet today in both sadness and joy. We are sad because a
chapter has closed; yet we are joyful, because, by the closing, a new
chapter may begin.

HPS - “We meet to mark the passing of our beloved brother, Jeff, for
whom this incarnation is ended. We meet to commend him to the care and
blessing of the Lord and Lady, that he may rest, free from illusion or
regret, until the time shall come for his rebirth to this world. All
knowing that this shall be so, we know, too, that the sadness is nothing
and that the joy is all.”

HP - “We call to thee, dark sterile Mother; thou to whom all
manifestations must return, when its time has come; dark Mother of stillness and
rest, before whom men tremble because they understand thee not. We call
to thee, who art also Hecate of the waning moon, dark Lady of Wisdom,
whom men fear because thy wisdom towers above our own. We, the hidden
children of the Goddess, know there is naught to fear in thine embrace,
which none escape; that when we step into thy darkness, as all must, it
is but to step again into the light. Therefore in Love and without
fear, we commend him to thee, our brother, Jeff. Take him, guard him, guide
him; admit him to the peace of the Summerland, which stand between life
and life. And know, as thou knowest all things, that our love goes with
him.

[dance stops]

HPS “Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken,
or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the
cistern; then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the
spirit shall return to the Goddess who gave it.”

HP “We call to thee, bright and fertile Mother; thou who art the womb
of rebirth, from whom all manifested life proceeds, and at whose flowing
breast all are nourished. We call to thee, who art also Persephone of
the waxing moon, Lady of Springtime and of all things new. We commend to
thee Jeff, our brother. Take him, guard him, guide him; bring him in
the fullness of time to a new birth and a new life. And grant that in
that new life he may be loved again, as we, his brothers and sisters have
loved him.

N - “In ancient times, Our Lord, the Hornéd One, was (as He still is)
the Consoler, the Comforter. But men knew Him as the dread Lord of
Shadows, lonely, stern and just. But our Lady, the Goddess would solve all
mysteries, even the mystery of death; and so she journeyed to the
Underworld. The Guardian of the Portals challenged Her ... “

Guardian - “Strip off thy garments, lay aside thy jewels; for naught
mayest thou bring with thee into this, our land.”

N – “So She laid down Her garments and Her jewels and was bound, as all
living must be who seek to enter the realms of Death, the Mighty One.”

N – “Such was Her beauty that Death Himself knelt, and laid His sword
and crown at Her feet ...”
... and kissed Her feet ... and said”

L - “Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways. Abide
with me; but let me place my cold hands on thy heart.”

N – “and she replied ...

G - “I love Thee not. Why dost thou cause all things that I love, and
take delight in, to fade and die?”

L - “Lady, it is age and fate, against which I am helpless. Age causes
all things to wither; but when men die at the end of time, I give them
peace and strength, so that they may return. But Thou, Thou art lovely;
return not, abide with me.”

N - “But she answered...”
G - “I love Thee not.”

N - “Then said Death: ...

L - “An Thou receivest not my hands on thy heart, Thou must kneel to
Death’s scourge.

G - It is fate — better so”

N – And she cried:
G – “I know the pangs of love.”

N – “An Death raised Her and said: ‘Blessed Be” And He gave Her the
Fivefold Kiss, saying: “Thus mayest thou attain to joy and knowledge.”
...
N – “And He taught Her all His mysteries and gave Her the necklace
which is the circle of rebirth.”
...
N – “And She taught Him the mystery of the sacred cup, which is the
cauldron of rebirth.”
...
N – They loved, and were one, for there be three great mysteries in the
life of man, and magic controls them all. To fulfill love, you must
return again at the same time and at the same place as the loved ones; and
you must meet, and know, and remember, and love them again.”

N – “To be reborn, you must die, and be made ready for a new body. And
to die, you must be born; and without love, you may not be born. And
our Goddess ever inclines to love, and mirth, and happiness; and she
guards and cherishes her hidden children in life, and in death she teaches
the way to her communion; and even in this world she teaches them the
mystery of the Magic Circle, which is placed between the worlds of men
and of the Gods.”

HP - “Let us now, as the Goddess hath taught us, share in the love
feast of the wine and the cakes; and as we do so, let us remember our
brother, Jeff. And with this communion, we lovingly place our brother in the
hands of the Goddess.

All - “So mote it be”

(Talk about Jeff. Share loving memories and thoughts about Jeff and his life. Share snacks.)

HPS - “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Spirits of Air; we
thank you for attending our rites; and ere ye depart to your pleasant and
lovely realms, we bid you Hail and Farewell. ?

Response - “Hail and Farewell”

HPS - “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the South, Spirits of Fire; we
thank you for attending our rites; and ere ye depart to your pleasant
and lovely realms, we bid you Hail and Farewell.” ?

Response - “Hail and Farewell”.”

HPS “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the West, Spirits of Water, ye
Lords of Death and Initiation; we thank you for attending our rites; and
ere ye depart to your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you Hail and
Farewell.?

Response - “Hail and Farewell”

HPS “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, Spirits of the Earth,
we thank you for attending our rites; and ere ye depart to your
pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you Hail and Farewell.?

Response - “Hail and Farewell”