Greek Rite Outline 1) Light the hearth fire, and say Homeric Hymn #24 to Hestia.

a) Hestia, you who tend the holy house of the lord Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks, come now into this place, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise -- draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my song. 2) Ritually declare that the space is pure a) This space has been set aside as a place of devotion and reflection. I declare this space as pure and acceptable for our rites. 3) Cleansing with Barley a) Scatter barley upon the altar and the sacrifice/offerings to cleanse and purify them. 4) Invocation of the God(desses) a) The meat of the ceremony, where you make your intentions known as to how and why you are holding this ritual for the god. 5) Sacrifice and/or Devotional Offerings a) We bring these gifts to outwardly express our devotion to the gods. We rely on the gods for our security and our blessings, but not solely, as we also intend to secure necessities for ourselves. We offer sacrifice and devotion to ease our mortal minds and hearts. In seeking out the attentions of the gods we acknowledge that there are things in our universe that are bigger than ourselves. We come to this altar with the understanding that the gods are metaphors for those things which are larger than mortal life. We come with the knowledge that the gods are made of the same atoms of which we are also made. We come knowing that we, too, are made of the same atoms. 6) Libations a) Wine, milk or honey. 7) Conclusion a) Thank the deity.