Ritual Craft 1: Kavanah Ritual Intent

The intention is the guiding force; without its presence, a ritual becomes a shell of what it can be.
The Art of Ritual

Defining Ritual

Joseph Campbell A ritual can be defined as the enactment of a myth. By participating in a ritual, you are actually experiencing a mythological life. And it's out of that participation that one can learn to live spiritually. Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick This is the purpose of creative ritual--increasing balance and connection within ourselves, with each other, the world and with the larger rhythms and energies that bring stability and light to our lives.
The Art of Ritual, Pg 6

Four Elements of Ritual

1. 2. 3. 4.

Kavanah Aggadah Otot (Symbols) Peulot (Actions)

Zev ben Shimon Halevi The essence of ritual is that something done in the physical realm is related to the higher worlds...Ritual is the mode of formalizing action and giving it not only meaning, but creating a contact with other worlds. The Art of Ritual, Pg 6 Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions, Revised Edition by Catherine Bell o Ritual portrays the idealized way that things in this world should be organized, although participants are very aware that real life keeps threatening to collapse into chaos and meaninglessness. Ritual, he suggests, is an opportunity to reflect on the disjuncture between what is and what ought to be; it is a focusing lens through which people can attempt to see, or argue for, what is significant in real life o Ritual as the means for acting out social conflicts in a series of activities through which people experience the authority and flexibility of the social order, the liminality and bonds of egalitarian communitas, and the passage from an old place in the social order to a new status in a reconstituted order. o myth and ritual are the means by which people keep forging some sense of this unity of human experience. o rituals are designed to arouse a passionate intensity, feelings of effervescence, in which individuals experience something larger than themselves. These emotional responses cause people to identify their innermost selves with this sense of a larger reality, what is, in effect, the collective community in a disguised form.

Types of Ritual for Intent

Community Building Cycles (Seasonal, Physical) Transitions (Beginning/Ending/ Merging) Adjuration (Requests, Healings, etc.) Worship

Ritual Craft - Section 1: Intent Carly Lesser (Ketzirah) 2012 / 5772

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Ritual Craft 2: Aggadah Sacred Myths and Archetypes

A myth is a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humanity came to be in their present form.
Alan Dundes, Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth (pg 1)

Defining Myth by Function

Lauri Honko (1932-2002)
Finnish professor of folklore studies and comparative religion

Four Elements of Ritual

The ritual acting out of myth implies the defence of the world order; by imitating sacred exemplars the world is prevented from being brought to chaos.
-- The Problem of Defining Myth". Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth (pg49)

Mircea Eliade (1907-1986)

Romanian historian of religion, philosopher, writer and professor

1. 2. 3. 4.

Kavanah Aggadah Otot (Symbols) Peulot (Actions)

Myth is to establish models for behavior and that myths may also provide a religious experience. By telling or reenacting myths, members of traditional societies detach themselves from the present and return to the mythical age, thereby bringing themselves closer to the divine.
Myth and Reality, Mircea Eliade

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)

American mythologist, writer and lecturer

1. 2. 3. 4.

Mystical: experiencing the awe of the universe Cosmological: explaining the shape of the universe Sociological: supporting and validating a certain social order Pedagogical: how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances

The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell

Types of Myth
Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.
Joseph Campbell, Myths to Live By

Origin Eschatology / Destruction Messianic and Milleniarian Heroes Time and Eternity

Rebirth Renewal Transformation Memory and Forgetting High Beings and Celestial Gods

_________________ _________________ _________________ _________________

Mythic Archetypes
Ancient patterns that exist in human consciousness -- Caroline Myss Youth/ Maiden Damsel in Distress Hero Martyr Midwife Mother Great Mother Lover Weaver Trickster or Fox Devil or Satan Crone / Sage Mentor Warrior Prophet Seeker Fool _________________

Selected Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype, www.myss.com/library/contracts/determine.asp, www.kohenet.org

Ritual Craft - Section 2: Aggadah Carly Lesser (Ketzirah) 2012 / 5772

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Ritual Craft 3: Otot Symbols and Correspondences

[Symbols] serve as a cultures consciousness and conscience. They contain a peoples memory, its values, and its dreams.
Ellen Frankel, Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols (pg xiii)

Symbols
Symbols are a key to a deeper story, myth, or reality Elements of a Symbol 1. Character is cultural, not natural 2. Interpretation is inexhaustive 3. Significance is expressed within a social context 4. Content is both emotional and cognitive 5. Sum equals more than its parts
Ellen Frankel, Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols (pg xiV)

Four Elements of Ritual

1. 2. 3. 4.

Kavanah Aggadah Otot (Symbols) Peulot (Actions)

Correspondences
A relation between sets in which each member of one set is associated with one or more members of the other
Merriam Webster Dictionary

Elemental Correspondences from Zohar

Element Direction Archangel Aspect Patriarch Matriarch Metal Water South Michael Love Abraham Sarah Silver Fire North Gabriel Strength Isaac Rebekah Gold Air East Uriel Balance Jacob Leah Bronze Earth West Raphael Shekhinah David Rachel Iron

Source: http://telshemesh.org/earth/the_four_elements_and_the_four_seasons.html

Twelve Tribes Correspondences from Sefer Yetzirah (excerpted)

Month Nissan Iyyar Sivan Tamuz Av Elul Sign Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Tribe (Ex) Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulon Tribe (Num) Judah Issachar Zebulon Reuben Simeon Gad House Life Property Attraction Ancestors Descendents Health

Source: Sefir Yetzirah, Aryeh Kaplan translation

Psalm Correspondences from Traditional Sources: Communal distress: 20, 28, 85, 86, 102, 130, 142 Recovery from illness: 6, 30, 41, 88, 103 Healing (RN of Breslov): 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, and 150 Gratitude: 9, 18,21, 57,91, 95, 116,118, 138
Ritual Craft - Section 3: Symbols Carly Lesser (Ketzirah) 2012 / 5772

Grief: 13, 77, 88 Protection: 16, 23, 91 Pregnancy: 1, 4, 5, 8, 20, 35, 57, 93, 108 Labor and Birth: 20, 118, 12

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Jewish Elemental Symbols and Correspondences

Elements, (CC) Daryl Sim

The concept of the elements as building blocks for creation has a long-standing history in Judaism. It is found in the Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar, and even Maimomedes utilizes this concept. There are four bodies (gufim), and they are fire (eish), air (ruach), water (mayim), and earth (afar). They are the foundation of all that is created beneath the firmament.
Maimomedes as found on Telshemesh.org

We can take these elements at face value or we can dig deeper. These lists of correspondences are just a beginning to understanding the elements and how to work with them in our spiritual practices. For each element Ive assigned a season, a time of day, a form of the Divine, Patriarchs, Matriarchs, ritual actions, mythical beings, Kabbalistic world, form of being, level of the soul, and more. Many of these are compiled from traditional sources, and some are my own associations. Youll notice that Fire and Water have two options for directions; this is because their locations seem to vary depending on the Jewish source you read. Along with the four traditional elements, Ive also added a fifth center or void. This is common in many traditions, and I think has always been the unspoken element in Jewish tradition. All the correspondences for Aether (center) are my own.

FIRE ( :) South/North, Summer, Noon, Burning Bush / Pillar of Fire,

Strength, Issac, Rebekah, Candles (Sabbath, Havdalah, Yahrtzeit, Chanukiah, Menorah) Ner Tamid, Bonfire of Lag BOmer Burning Chametz, Sun, Gabriel, Gold, Priesthood, Divine Connection, Cooking, Aaron, Staves, Burnt Offerings, Letters on Parchment, Salamander, Myrtle, Phoenix ( Job 29:18), Snakes, Spiritual authority, Light, Atzilut, Existing, Chayah (level of the soul), Divine connection

WATER ( :)North/South, Winter, Midnight, Well of Miriam, Love, Sarah, Abraham,

Silver, Michael, Mikvah, Washing, Dipping Greens in Salt Water at Passover, Tashlich, Bat Yah, Moses, The Whale, Water libation, Willow Branches, Reeds, Sea of Reeds, Wine, Miriam, Joseph, Noah, Annointing oil, Divination, Intuition, Dreams, Willow Branches, Lotus flowers, Water lillies, Emotions, Leviathin,Darkness, Yetzirah, Feeling, Ruach (level of soul), Creativity

EARTH ( :)West, Autumn, Sunset, Ten Commandments, Raphael, Shekhinah, Rachel, David, Iron,
Challah, Salt, Lulav, Etrog, Fruit, Flowers on Shavuot, Trees and tree planting, burying foreskin, earth in coffin, burying sacred texts, shoveling earth on grave, building of stone altars (cairns), bones, gardens, fields, Ruth, Boaz, the Shofar (not blown), Stones, Behomot, Life, Assiyah, Doing, Nefesh (level of soul), Resources we Consume

AIR ( :)East, Spring, Dawn, Cloud of Glory, Balance, Leah, Jacob, Bronze/Copper, Uriel, Scent,
Incense, Blowing of Shofar, Besamin, Sukkah, Greggors, Singing, Chanting, Speech, Spoken Prayer, Dancing, Breath, Blades/Knives (air feeds fire), Tzipporah, Inspiration, Imagination, Bells on Priestly garmets, Keturah, Tzovah, Ziz (aka Renanim, Sekewi), Cloud of Glory, Judith, Solomon, Joshua,Wisdom, Briah, Thinking, Neshamah (level of soul), Community

AETHER/AKASHAH ( :) Center, Void, Sabbath, Mt. Sinai, Wilderness, Liminal Space,

Transformation, Gestation, Calendars, Mishkan, Temple, Passover Table, Seder Plate, Garden of Eden, Mystery, Sheol, Shamayim, HaSatan, Lilith, Sound of the Shofar, Baalot Ov, Circles, Shamir Worm , Foundation Stone , Moon, Torah, Talit and Tzittzit, Magen David, Tamei/Tahor, Menorah (6 branched), Containers, Vessels, Tohu v Vohu, Yechidah (level of soul)

Carly Lesser (Ketzirah) 2012 / 5772 http://www.peelapom.com/spiritual-practices/elements-of-judaism

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Ritual Craft 4: Peulot Actions & Halakhah

Ritual can be fertile ground to explore, embody and effect change.
Rahel Musleah, The Arts: Timeless and Fresh Rituals, Hadassah Magazine

Ritual Actions
The actions that take place within a larger ritual that engage and physicalize the experience for participants Types of Ritual Actions Sacralizing / Marking o Immersing o Washing o Incense or Sage o Lighting Candles o Drawing Circles Ingesting of food or drink o Individual o Group o Sharing of Food/Drink Movement o Dancing o Processional o Walking Sound o Speaking o Intoning o Chanting o Singing Offering o Burnt Offering o Libation o Burying o Submerging

Four Elements of Ritual

1. Kavanah 2. Aggadah 3. Otot (Symbols) 4. Peulot (Actions)

Creation o Cooking o Altar building o Object / Totem creating o Writing Destruction o Burning o Tearing o Smashing Oracular o Divination o Aspecting o Meditation ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

Halakhah
What are the halakhic requirments for this ritual? What are the traditional expectations for this ritual?

Logistical Considerations
Is this a public or private ritual? Are all participants from same religion, denomination, and community? Will the ritual take place in a public or private location? Will the ritual take place inside or outside? Is the location big enough to do the actions you want? Will it accommodate the actions you wish to perform? Are children invited or allowed to participate? Can all attendees physically accomplish the desired activities, and if not how will they be accommodated? Do the attendees have the skills to perform this ritual and do you have access to any and all ritual objects required?
Ritual Craft - Section 4: Actions Carly Lesser (Ketzirah) 2012 / 5772

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