We have cleared the living room; there’s no fire on the hearth, it’s much too warm for that, but the ashes from Yule are still there, and the little trickle of water that washed on to the hearth and evaporated when we put the fire out marks the bricks. The floor is bare, and there are four candles, one of each color at the four poles, North is green, east is yellow, south is red, and west is blue. There is also a multi-colored candle of blue, yellow, and green in the center, which is the first candle to be lit. The leading Priestess lights it when everyone’s in position around the circle.

She lights East’s candle.

East: The air is gentle now, thick and warm,
And a trip outside is no longer a trial of winter.
The wind carries the scent of the trees,
And the sound of green leaves and rustling wheat.

HP: With the fires of Beltaine and the sunlight of May,
Our Lord claimed his manhood,
The sun’s gentle touch drove the winter to the North.

She lights South’s candle.

South: The sun is high above us now, blazing and bright,
And all around us we can feel his fierce heat.
There is no need to light fires of our own now,
And the trees taste the light to give strength to their growth.

HP: Tempestuous storms and water from heaven now
Striking the ground and the chaff from the kernel,
Against the oncoming storms, we gather our Lord’s gift to us.

She lights West’s candle.

West: There is water in the wind, trapping the sun’s heat
And everything grows rampant and green.
Soaking the land and the trees and the wheat
Everything drinks the fullness of life.

HP: The earth breaks back from all that has grown
Setting those things that will feed us free
And granting us leave to gather in what we need.

She lights North’s candle.

North: Sweating in the heat, we gather from the earth the fruits of the plow,
Those things that we have earned by our work.
With the oncoming autumn, we prepare for a time of inward focus,
And the retreating sun speaks of a long sleep to come.

We have earned what we have cultivated,
Now we make one last charge into the sun,
Then wait for the coming sleep of the Land.

East breaks the loaf of bread that has been brought into the circle, and says,

East: This is the beginning of harvesting;
Once, long ago, our ancestors went into the fields to gather
Corn and wheat, rustling in the wind.
The corn they garnered was a gift from the Lord to all folk,
And was shared among all who came to that feast as a gift.

West: Today, we celebrate also, and we acknowledge the gift of the Corn Lord
We remember all who have given and shared with us our work this year;
Our summer has been warm and wet, but we have reaped in abundance,
Both knowledge and strength have been our gifts from the Lady and the Lord.

The HP has moved to north during this, and is standing in front of North now.

HP: The days are getting shorter,
And we know that after the harvest is done
Autumn will be well advanced,
And with it, the change from fierce motion to equally fierce thought.
So the Lady changes from mother of Life to crone of Knowledge,
We come to the end of our toils, and join Her passage.

HP kneels, so that North isn’t blocked when his turn comes to speak.

South: The sun’s burning through this summer has given us a precious gift
We have had the time to strengthen what we need to last the winter
And share what is denied us by distance through the longer nights of the year.
As we face the oncoming darkness, we are stronger
And while we grieve for an ending,
We rejoice for our beginnings.

North: The moon wanes tonight, a token of the darkness that comes slowly
Guardian of summer, John Barleycorn, we thank you for your gift
Herne, the Lord of Holly stirs in his northern realm,
And wakens to gather the strength to bring the year to a close.
The oncoming coolness is a relief after the heat,
And each day brings us closer to the time when we leave this Year’s dance,
And join a new one.

HP: More now than ever, we know the pride that is life
As we face the coming winter and the changing of the Day to Night
The trees speak of it, bringing forth their fruit to give life next spring
Crying the rut through the forests, the stags lose their velvet and give battle
To bring new life into the world.
Birds begin their long flight south to fly the cold,
And we face the coming cold with the Lord’s sacrifice to see us through.
We live, we learn, and we grow as children of the Lady and Lord
And pass from night to day to night alive and changing as the Year.

At this point, everyone settles themselves comfortably, either on the floor or standing, and beginning with the previous Lughnasad, works slowly forward through the year, acknowledging the changing in the seasons and in themselves that have occurred through the year, and making their peace with those things that have changed and may not have been dealt with. When you reach the present, take a cookie from the plate in the center (or a piece of bread) and say softly, “Remember the Lord,” and then a drink of cider from the mug and say, “Thanks to the Lady.”

When everyone is returned to the present, HP says:

HP: So the Year has passed, and we look to the future.

North: The sound of the stags rings in the Trees,
Herne readies himself in his grove,
And the earth prepares for a long slumber.

West: The lakes whisper under the northern breeze,
And the Lady looks for the Barge to Avalon and her rest,
While the geese trumpet their cry southward.

South: The sun has begun to retire to the southern pastures
Where the cold cannot touch him,
And the Lord is cut down to sleep in the Earth.

East: The air blows cooler and brisker,
And the time of changes comes upon us,
The wind from the setting sun sends us on to the coming Autumn.