Sensuous Quarter Calls & Circle Casting - MoonDance - June 1998 <> Close your eyes and relax. Begin breathing slowly and deeply, letting your ribcage fill completely. With each breath in, feel it becoming full with life. As you breathe in, pull in pure, white, clean energy . Let it spread slowly out from your lungs, emanating throughout your entire body. As you breathe out, breath out all the tension and scattered energies of your day. With each breath in, breathe in relaxation. With each breath out, breathe out stress. Breathe in trust. Breathe out fear. Breathe in love. With each breath, fill yourself with the divine energy that connects us all. Continue to breath as we call in the energies of the directions and the energies of the Spirit. Feel free to let your physical body move within your space as we work, but keep your eyes closed so that you may more fully focus on each experience. [AIR] First, let your consciousness turn to the East. See yourself atop a mountain watching the bright yellow of the new sun rise in the distance. It is a crisp Spring morning and the cool, dampness in the air surrounds you. It caresses you softly... flowing through your hair, brushing against your skin. Feel the energy surrounding you as your clothes softly gather and swirl around you. It holds the newness of the dawn and all the infinite possibilities of the day head. As you watch, the day extends to become weeks....months....years... millennia...a vast expanse of pure potential. This is the land of East; the land of air; the land of thought and reason. The home of new beginnings, it is also where our imagination lies. Here we breath life into our dreams and start them on their way to reality. Here we find the truth and knowledge that we need to make them happen. Here we find the hope and happiness that we feel when they blossom in their fullness. Feel the wind blowing as its potential swirls around us. Gather it in, bringing it here into our circle today. East, Air, We welcome you to our circle. Blessed Be! [FIRE] Now we turn our thoughts to the South and the land of Fire. The vision in your mind’s eye slowly shifts and changes. You find yourself in Hawaii, surrounded by lushly beautiful flowers and plants. It is Summer and the sun is hot above you in the noonday sky. Far off in the distance, you see hot molten red of lava pouring down the side of a volcano. Even at this safe distance, you can feel the heat of its glow on your skin. You stand transfixed, watching as it flows ever forward, reshaping reality with its power. Without thought or preconceptions, it brings about change as it simply follows its own nature. Yes, it brings destruction, but without hate or malice. And in time, the opening which it creates will be filled by extraordinary beauty. This is the land of South; the land of fire; the land of passion and energy. Here, we find transmutation as the old is burned away to make room for the new to grow. Here lies the intense pain of death and intense pleasure of rebirth. Here’s lies the fires of our loins and the "little death" of orgasm. Fire consumes us. Fire transforms us. Fire drives us to grow...to create... to explode with ecstasy. The heat of fire radiates throughout our circle as we feel the warmth of it upon our skin and within our loins. Welcome it, knowing that it will take away the old fears and pains. Let it open you up to the sacred beauty of your own reborn passions. South, Fire, We welcome you to our circle. Blessed Be! [WATER] As the day winds onward toward dusk, we turn to the West. You find yourself walking down to a beach. The cool air swirls around you as it fills with the crispness of autumn. At the water’s edge, you welcome the cooling relief as you walk in the surf. The waves refresh and soothe you. So tranquil. The salt air buffets your clothes around you, stirring up memories of all that has gone before. The ocean stretches before you; the mother of all creation. As the sun sets, you gaze out over her clear blue expanse. She is the womb of the earth, from which all of us were born. She nurtures you. She nourishes you and all the children of her creation. Her vast calmness holds you, astounding you with her seemingly endless beauty. This is the same water that sailors have traveled for centuries; ever enduring. How many billion times have the drops of water she holds been evaporated to fall as rain or snow before slowly winding their way from creek to river to finally join together again in her comforting arms? This is the land of the West; the realm of Water. Here lies emotions and the release from them. Here lies tranquillity and peace. Here the Water softly soothes away even those things that Fire can not burn. It takes its own time and moves on it’s own schedule, as it slowly wears away layer after layer. Here disasters become peddles and problems become sand. Let the water wash over you, soothing you, holding you in the embrace of the Great Mother. Invite her tranquillity to join us here in the circle today, bringing her cleansing and peace. West, Water, We welcome you to our circle. Blessed Be! [EARTH] As the sun sets and the Earth moves on toward Winter, you seek sanctuary in the mountains, where you find yourself surrounded by a forest. Tired, you settle down near the base of a huge, gnarled oak. Leaning backwards against the trunk, the tree cradles you in a nook between its large roots... a custom fit that feels like "home". Stretching out above you, the branches of the tree offer you shelter and protection. Roots reach beneath you, offering sustenance and strength. Under you and all around you, the Mother Earth is alive with life. Even in the quiet darkness that falls as you near midnight, you feel comforted by her support. You know the Earth lives onward as birth, death and rebirth continue, carrying out cycle after cycle. Reach down and feel the sweetness of her stability; of knowing that she is always there. She has been here since before this ancient tree was but a tiny acorn, and she will be here long after these branches have one day rotted away. She holds true and steady to her course as all else moves and changes around her. Here you may rest a while in her safety and where will be the renewed energy you need when you are ready to move on. This is the land of the North; the home of Earth. Here lies strength and stability. Here the World is firm under you, creating a foundation upon which you may build and work. Here you find the endurance and the responsibility required to sustain creation. Here your dreams become cathedrals and your visions blossom into verdant gardens. Feel the earth firm under your feet. Invite her strength to flow up through you as she joins us in the circle today. May she bring security and stability to our work and to our lives. North, Earth, We welcome you to our circle. Blessed Be! [GOD/DESS WITHIN & WITHOUT] Now wrap your arms around yourself, holding yourself close. Hug yourself. Tell your hands slide slowly down your body as you love yourself. You are beautiful. You are sacred. You are divine. Thou art God. Thou art Goddess. And yes, both are within you. All of us contain both Yin and Yang, Feminine and Masculine, Dark and Light. Within us and around us they constantly blend. Feel the divine energy around you and within you. In today’s crazy, mixed up world, it is so easy to forget that we are all sacred. It is so easy not to treat each other with the honour that we would bestow on any divine being. It is so easy to forget that we should care for ourselves as we would serve a God and to act toward each other as we would a Goddess. Feel the grace and presence of the divinity within you. Remember how this place feels so that you can work in the ways of Spirit in our circle today. Remember always to speak from truth and act from love. Thou art God. Thou art Goddess. And We are One. [WEB OF LIFE] Now slowly join hands with the people beside you, momentarily opening your eyes a little if you need. Feel the energy flowing through us; feel that connection to each other. Envision a white circle of light flowing from hand to hand; heart to heart; body to body. Draw lines across the circle, to both those you love and to those you have only just met. Expand those lines out to other creatures and other places, and perhaps even other times. Spin in the earth and the stars, the trees and the birds, and all others, as the web of life forms around us, connecting us to the all. See the infiniteness of all creation. In this place you are whole. In this place you are never alone. You are always here, all you must do is remember. Open to trust each other and know that you are trusted. Send your love out and know that you are loved. [CREATING A SACRED CIRCLE] Now slowly...carefully...as you are ready, bring your energy back to our space today. Feel again the energy that flows through us, from hand to hand; from heart to heart. See that energy glowing white and pure as it circles around us. Let it begin to spin upward over us, and then down into the earth, turning on axis after axis as it forms a sphere. Slowly, expand it outward to enclose our entire working space. In this place and in this time, we are without place; we are without time. The energies of the Directions: East, South, West and North; the energy of the Spirit: God and Goddess; and our sacred connection to All That IS and All That Will Ever Be combine together within this space to create a sacred place for our working here today. This circle is cast and sealed. So mote it be. ************************************************************************* Please note that MoonDance (Laura Keen) retains the copywrite to these quarter calls for purposes of future publication. Feel free to use them as you wish in ritual and teaching, but please do not reprint them for business use or sale without permission from the author. She can be contacted at TheWebMoon@aol.com.