Preparation
Assemble materials
Set the altar (working color candle: purple)
initiates should remove shoes

Introduction
Tonight, we will perform a very special final rite of initiation to the fifth degree for all those who have finished their formal degree training in the Sacred Order of Living Paganism. Those who will come before us have dedicated at least 15 years of their life to the intense study and practice that it takes to reach this last and most honored of all degrees. This is no small task and those who have completed it deserve the greatest of honor and respect of all others in this path. We invite all those gathered here to join in honoring these individuals today as they complete this final step of a long journey.

If you wish to take part in this ceremony, please gather around the altar in a circle and come close enough to take hands. Please introduce yourself by offering a blessing to all, stating your title (if you have one,) your public or ritual name, and your place of origin. After each introduction, we will welcome and honor you. For example, I would say: “Bright Blessings to you all. I am [ritual title and name] of [location].”
And you would respond: “Greetings [title and name]. We welcome and honor you.”
(Begin introductions, deosil. When done:)
Welcome one and all to this ritual of initiation. Please now take a large step backwards as I prepare our ritual circle.

State Intention
I will now state our intention and then light the working candle:
We gather here to honor those who have reached the level of fifth degree. We honor their commitment to the Order, to others, and to themselves in pursuit of this final degree. This is our intent. (light working candle)

Banish and Purify
I will now banish and purify this space.
If any ill intent here be, by these sounds I banish thee
Banish old energy, ring bell at altar quarters, widdershins)
By Air and Fire, sanctify
(Place athame in fire, draw point at circle quarters, deosil)
By Water and Earth, purify
(Place water in chalice, put dipping stone in water and draw circle, deosil)
Through the blessings of the Goddess and the God, we claim this space sacred.
(Place tip of athame into chalice)

Cast the Circle
I will now go around the circle and ask if each of you wish to be part of this rite. If you do not wish to be part of the circle, feel free to watch from just outside. You are welcome either way. When asked, how do you come to this circle, the traditional response is, in perfect love and in perfect trust, but you may respond however your heart desires. After the blessing, please step forward into the circle.

(Go around the circle of people clockwise and ask:)
Do you wish to be part of this circle?
How do you come to this circle?
Welcome to this circle of love and trust. Blessed Be
When done, say:
In this circle now we spin, let the magick rite begin.
May we feel safe and sure for the work we shall procure. So Mote It Be.
I invite you to take this wand and offer your energies and blessings to the circle.
(pass wand around circle)

Ground and Center
We will now ground and center. If you wish to participate, please close your eyes. Take a moment to ground yourself with Mother Earth and Father Sky. Center yourself. Clear your mind and focus your thoughts and energies on this circle. Put away all mundane concerns and allow this time to be a gift to yourself. If you wish, you may take this time to connect with your personal deities. We will use a soft humming sound to center. Begin now and continue until you hear the ringing of the bell.

Set The Four Quadrants
We will now create a sacred space within a magickal circle by calling on the four directions and the three deities. Then, we will fill this space with our energy. (May sing chant “Welcome Spirits”)

Guardians of the East, element of Air, realm of the mind, direction of the rising sun and new beginnings, come to us. We look to you to honor these elders who have made their way to the symbolic East in their journey to seek wisdom. Hail and welcome. Blessed Be!

Guardians of the South, element of Fire, realm of the heart, direction of the noonday sun and fortitude, come to us. We look to you to honor these elders who have made their way to the symbolic South in their journey to seek experience. Hail and welcome. Blessed Be!

Guardians of the West, element of Water, realm of the soul, direction of the setting sun and endings, come to us. We look to you honor these elders who have made their way to the symbolic West in their journey to seek the Spirit. Hail and welcome. Blessed Be!

Guardians of the North, element of Earth, realm of the physical, direction of the dark of night and renewal, come to us. We look to you to honor these elders who have made their way to the symbolic North in their journey to integrate their personal practice into a way of creating a better world. Hail and Welcome. Blessed Be!

Call the Deities
We will now honor the deities through the following litanies. If you wish to join in , please respond by saying “come to us” after each line:

O great Goddess, {come to us.}
Mother of us all, {come to us.}
Blessed Mother of the Earth, {come to us.}
She, whose face shines in the silver moon, {come to us.}
She, who wraps us in her arms of love, {come to us.}
Bless these elders of your ways, {come to us.}
Bless their souls that they may know experience greater love, {come to us.}
Bless their bodies that they may experience true joy, and happiness, {come to us.}
Join us now, O sweet Lady, {come to us.}
O Goddess of the Moon, great feminine one,
bless this circle of dedication and all work within it done. [light candle]

O Great God, {come to us.}
Father of us all, {come to us.}
Blessed Father of the sky, {come to us.}
He, whose face shines in the golden sun, {come to us.}
He, who fills us with sacred light, {come to us.}
Bless these elders of your ways, {come to us.}
Bless their minds that they may know greater wisdom and understanding, {come to us.}
Bless their hearts that they may know a greater love, {come to us.}
Join us now, O great Lord, {come to us.}
O God of the Sun, great masculine one,
bless this circle of dedication and all work within it done. [light candle]

For the next litany, please respond with the words “Let us be present.”
O sacred Child, {let us be present.}
Mystery of all, {let us be present.}
Great miracle of creation, {let us be present.}
You, whose face shines in the starlit heavens, {let us be present.}
You, who gives us the strength of life, {let us be present.}
Bless these elders of your ways, {let us be present.}
Bless them deep within that their true selves, {let us be present.}
Bless them in all ways so that they may experience deep mysteries, {let us be present.}
O Child of the Stars, great mysterious one,
bless this sacred circle and all work within it done. [light candle.]

Raise Energy
We will now fill this circle with our energies of love and sharing. To raise energy, I will ask that you take hands and begin chanting together. Allow this sound to stir the energy deep within you. Bring that loving energy to the circle. Let your inner self be free and open for you are safe here. We will end at the sound of the bell. Let us begin.
(May use “Within This Ring Of Power”)

Close the Circle
And now we all this circle enclose. Within its bonds let no troubles dispose.
With love and trust shall we hold fast. For now, at last, the circle is cast.” [ring bell]
(May sing “We Are A Circle”)

Ritual
Will those who wish to be initiated into the fifth degree please come before us?
(initiates come into circle before altar)

You have professed that you have followed this long journey of study and development and that you have completed the journey. You have learned and took on the yellow cord of the first degree. You have put that learning into practice and took on the red cord of the second degree. You have turned this experience into a practice that has benefitted yourself and others and took on the blue cord of the third degree. You have learned to go into the world and apply this practice for the betterment of all and took on the green cord of the fourth degree. Finally, you have continued to study for an additional ten years, living the life of an honored and respected Wiccan elder. Now you claim that you are ready to take on the most respected title of Wiccan Ancient. Is this so? (initiates respond)

As such, then we will prepare you to continue your journey but before doing so we must know: will you respect and observe the 13 Principles and the 5 Precepts of the Order and will you accept the responsibilities inherent in seeking a higher level of study by helping others both within and beyond this circle and by seeking help when it is needed?
(initiates respond)

I now ask the others here who are with us in this circle: will you honor and respect this individual recognizing the great work that they have done and seek them out when you are in need of guidance? (circle responds) and finally, I ask the spirits that are here with us to bless these elders as the ir long journey has come to an end (silence) Before recognizing you as new ancients, we offer this final challenge:

You have already been initiated to the First, Second, Third, and Fourth degrees by the elements of Air, Fire, and Water, and Earth. As the Fifth degree represents the spiritual journey from the four outward elements to the inward element of Spirit, I will now initiate you by the tool of that element. The tool of the element of Spirit is the Light of Love. I will pass around this clear crystal. Please hold it close to you and fill it with your energies of light and love. (pass around crystal) Please assume the form of the sacred pentagram so that you may be so initiated. By the element of Spirit, I initiate you to the fifth degree of this path. (Initiates stand with arms out and feet apart. Center touches with blessed crystal, the forehead, right foot, left hand, right hand, left foot, and forehead.)

All those here gathered in physical and spirit form join me in honoring you as venerable ancients in the Sacred Order of Living Paganism. As a token of your dedication to this path, you have been asked to take bring your pendant. The color of the degree of ancient is purple. We offer you this purple cord for your pendant to constantly remind you of your continuing dedication to this journey. If you wish to accept this gift, I will offer a blessing and then place the cord upon you. Let this cord be a daily reminder of this blessing and of the great work you are about to complete. (put pendant on purple cord. Place it in the hands of the initiant and say this blessing:)

With this purple cord and pendant,
May you always know wisdom,
may your always find love
May your soul always embrace peace
and may the work of your hands
forever bless others.
For the good of one and all, Blessed Be!

(When done:) Let us now welcome these ancients and offer them our congratulations. Each one will go around the circle. If you wish, please congratulate them and offer them any words of advice or encouragement you wish.

Sharing
Before we close this ritual, we will take a few moments to let you share your thoughts and feelings about this ritual or about anything you wish to express.
[allow participants to openly speak and share their experiences or other concerns.]

Completion
Now we will end this ritual:
Now this circle we undo, for the magick rite is through
Let this sacred work befall for the good of one and all. So Mote It Be.

Release Deities
O Child of the Stars, great mysterious one, with you our work here has now been done.
If you have come to bless this rite, we thank you now for your bright light.

O God of the Sun, great masculine one, with you our work here has now been done.
If you have come to bless this rite, we thank you now for your bright light.

O Goddess of the Moon, great feminine one, with you our work here has now been done.
If you have come to bless this rite, we thank you now for your bright light.

Release Quadrants
Guardians of the West depart, to your watery realm impart.
Bless all here gathered in true mind and heart. Hail and Farewell. Blessed Be!

Guardians of the South depart, to your fiery realm impart.
Bless all here gathered in true mind and heart. Hail and Farewell. Blessed Be!

Guardians of the East depart, to your airy realm impart.
Bless all here gathered in true mind and heart. Hail and Farewell. Blessed Be!

Guardians of the North depart, to your earthly realm impart.
Bless all here gathered in true mind and heart. Hail and Farewell. Blessed Be!

Ground
Before we bring this ritual to a close, I invite each of you to take a moment to ground your energy. You may do this by silently concentrating on returning your energy to the earth. One of the best ways to do this, however, is to give warm hugs to all who have participated here after the circle is open. (Ground.)

Open the Circle
Let these blessings we bestow like a seed, take root and grow.
For the circle now is open but let these bonds remain unbroken.
So Mote It Be. [ring bell]

Bow [place hands together]
From Mind [touch forehead] and Heart [touch center of chest]
and Body [cross hands across chest] and Soul [drop hands open in front of you],
let is now in love and peace grow.
And from the Spirit from which we all came, [bow]
Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet again! Blessed Be!
Cakes and Ale

NEEDS:
purple working candle
altar
altar cloth
altar tools
deity candles
quadrant candles
“cakes and ale”
purple cords