The House of RavenStone celebrates the eight sacred days or sabbats which mark the changes in the seasons and nature’s cycles. These festivals, know also as the Wheel of the Year are marked by solar and agrarian observations.  We recognize Eostra and Mabon, the spring and fall equinoxes when day and night are equal in length as well as Yule and Midsummer, the winter and summer solstices when day and night are respectively at their zenith and nadir. We commemorate Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain when we revere the pattern of life and growth we see in the world around us and symbolically in our stories of the gods. We use these rituals to celebrate life, honor the gods, and come together as a family and community.

In order to best accommodate mundane schedules, our sabbats are observed on the Saturday evening closest to the actual day at 9 pm although participants usually come earlier to prepare themselves and the covenstead. Rituals are presented by experienced priests and priestess of the Craft in a properly cast and prepared temple space. Guests are welcome with the prior permission of the High Priest or High Priestess. After the circle, a communal potluck feast is shared and socializing and merriment usually continues late into the night.

The House of RavenStone also gathers to celebrate thirteen full moons each year. As witches, we consider the moon to be tremendously important. The moon has had an aura of mystery and magic about it since our earliest ancestors first looked up and saw it in the sky. Tied to the ebb and flows of oceanic tides the moon waxes and wanes yet remains constantly present. It lights our way in the dark of night and inspires our creativity. As with many traditions and mythologies, we consider the moon to be representative of the goddess who changes from maiden to mother to crone, but is always with us. While individuals are expected to recognize the influence of all of the moon’s phases in their lives, we come together as a group to celebrate the full moon considered to be an auspicious time for working magic specifically to protect, charge and manifest goals. We use these rituals as a time to teach and apply the lessons we have learned in our daily lives.

In order to best attune ourselves to the nature and energy of the moon’s stage, our full moon rituals are held on or just before the moon’s full waxing. As with Sabbats, these rituals commence at 9 pm, even when on a work night. Rituals are prepared and presented by various members of the RavenStone family including priests and priestess in training with the assistance of a more experienced partner. While full moon rituals are generally shorter than sabbats, out of respect for people’s work schedules there is no feast afterwards. Guests are welcome with the prior permission of the High Priest or High Priestess.

The eight Sabbats rituals and 13 full moons rituals are times when all members of the RavenStone family come together to grow and learn together.

Periodically, the House of RavenStone will also host new moon or dark moon rituals for initiates only. The dark moon is thought to be a time to eliminate unwanted influences while the new moon is a time of new beginnings and change. We use these times to further strengthen our bonds as a coven family and learn more of ourselves as students of the Old Ways.

All rituals follow a similar general pattern: the priest and priestess of the evening will guide the preparation of the temple space; participants are welcomed and anointed to set apart their mundane experiences; the god and goddess along with representations of air, fire, water, and earth elemental energies are honored; a meditation which may take various forms is presented; cakes and wine are shared to honor the bounty of life, energy is raised and released; participants are thanked in closing of the service.

If you would like to attend ritual with the House of RavenStone, please attend one of our Open House presentations to learn more.