Blessing Ritual

[FaeSpirit39]

Blessings,

I am not sure if this is the right placement for my request, however, I am looking to find a really good blessing ritual.

This past summer before my world came crashing down around my ankles, at our local expo, I had bought for my hubby a Native Arrowhead necklace at the Native exhibit of local Native treats and Talents. Hubby is Metis and tho he doesn't know much about his own Native heritage (it wasn't talked about much growing up), he feels very proud to have that heritage.

I would love to bless this necklace for him and give it to him as his Yule present this year. I just can't seem to find a well constructed blessing ritual that feels "right".

Any suggestions?

Thanks!


Blessed Be,
FaeSpirit

[FaeSpirit39]

Nobody???

[FaeSpirit39]

I don't know how really. I haven't done any type of blessing ritual before.

[Evinmeer]

Well, here's a little formula to get you started:

Who do you want to bless the necklace? (god, spirit, self?)
What elements are you comfortable working with? (Fire, earth, air, water)
What time of day is most sacred/powerful for you? (High noon? Dawn? Midnight?)

You can write out a formal prayer or spell to read during the ritual (or burn/bury/wash) or you can ad lib. If you want to stick with the theme of your husband's heritage, you could do some research on the deities/spirits of his ancestry and ask for their blessings - you might even find mention of a blessing ritual in that history.

[anomalous]

White sage is best for this, just give it a good smudging with white sage.

Even get the ashes on the arrow head and then wash them off, that'll balance and activate the spirit of he arrow head, plus Native American arrow head and white sage is Native American herb.. The spirits around you should know exactly whats going on :)

[Lunacie]

This could be adapted to bless the necklace:


USING SMUDGING FOR SPACE CLEARING

Smudging not only cleanses people: it can also clear a room or area of any old or stagnant energy. All rooms need cleansing - just as much as they need physical cleaning. If your life feels stuck or things just aren’t going according to plan, you may just find that simple space clearing solves the problem. Clearing the space around you is also an important part of most rituals and ceremonies.

YOU WILL NEED: smudge stick, bowl or shell, feather, matches.

INSTRUCTIONS:

To cleanse the space in which you are working, light your smudge stick as described above (Self-clearing) and smudge yourself and anyone with you.

Walk around the room wafting smoke into each corner. Call on the spirit of Sage as in the Self-clearing to drive away all negativity from the room. Then repeat, asking the spirit of Sweetgrass to bring harmony and balance to the room.

Come to the centre of the room and stand quietly for a few moments. Turn to the East of the room and fan smudge out into that direction four times, saying: "Spirit of the East, Great Spirit of Air, cleanse and inspire this space."

Turn to the South and smudge four times, saying: "Spirit of the South, Great Spirit of Water, strengthen and bring peace to this space."

Now turn to the West and smudge four times, saying: "Spirit of the West, Great Spirit of Fire, energize and protect this space."

Turn to the North and smudge four times, saying: "Spirit of the North, Great Spirit of Earth, ground and cleanse this space."

Return to your original position and look upwards, sending smudge up to the ceiling four times. Say: "Great Father Sky, guard this space from above."

Now finally squat towards the floor and send smudge down to the floor four times, saying, "Great Mother Earth, nurture this space from below."

Put down your smudge stick and stand quietly with your eyes shut. Visualize the great spirits you have summoned standing guard around your room. You could imagine them as the great archangels or the four animal spirit keepers of Native American tradition (Buffalo - North; Eagle - East; Coyote - South and Grizzly Bear - West.) Visualize the loving energy of the Mother and Father Spirits above and below you. Give thanks to all of them.

http://www.spiritualscents.com/incense/smudgedetail.htm

or this:



How to Smudge

Any action, undertaken with intention and belief can become a potent ritual so consider your intention before you smudge and hold it clearly in your mind. You may wish to invite the spirit of the herbs to join you and guide and assist with your intention.

A candle flame is recommended to light the smudge stick as it may take a little time to get the stick smoking. Once there's a flame blow it out so that the smudge stick is smoldering, not burning. Blow or wave the flame with your hand to put out the fire. Allow the smudge stick to smolder, freeing the smoke to circle in the air.

Cleansing crystals or other objects

Hold the objects to be purified in the smoke or fan the smoke over them. If you are clearing your crystals prior to programming them thank both them and the smudge stick for helping you to realize your goals.

Extinguishing the smudge stick

Have ready a fireproof receptacle such as a shell or a glass or ceramic dish to put the smudge stick in when you've finished. It's ideal to damp the stick out in sand, or earth or you can just press it against the bottom of the receptacle. Always make sure that a smudge stick is out before leaving the room where you keep it.

http://trueanduseful.eponym.com/blog/TraditionalWisdom/_archives/2007/3/7/2774221.html

I found these using Google and looking for "Native American Blessing Ritual".

[FaeSpirit39]

Wow! Thanks for all the ideas and advice, it's very much appreciated!

[Simply Puzzled]

I would love to bless this necklace for him and give it to him as his Yule present this year. I just can't seem to find a well constructed blessing ritual that feels "right".


What exactly do you want the blessing to do? You can use sage, but that's really the beginning of a blessing, more of a cleansing. Until you say specifically what your goals are, it's really hard to know what to help you with.

[FaeSpirit39]

I am not sure, I think I always thought that if it was blessed that it would protect him, kind of like an amulet. I am just not sure, I have never done something like this before and it's a necklace that will be very special to him.

[Greybird]

1. Smudge the necklace. Any of the sages will work - white sage and desert sage (any of the North American salvias or artemesias will work.) If you don't have the North American herbs, culinary sage or mugwort will do the job, they'll just be a little less 'traditional'. Remember to visualize the smoke cleanising the necklace. The smoke won't do the work for you.

2. Pass the necklace through the smoke of cedar, juniper, or sweetgrass to bless it. If you don't have any of those, then another evergreen will work, or, failing that, frankincense.

3. Hold the necklace up to the four quarters, to the god (above), the goddess (below), and to spirit (hold it to your chest, focusing inward.) Say a prayer, asking the gods, the spirits of the quarters, and (if you choose), his ancestors to bless the necklace and to watch over and protect him.

4. Make an offering, preferably outside, preferably of tobacco (not a whole cigarette, just tobacco.) Offer it to the four quarters, above, below, and within, as with the prayer.

5. Wrap it in red and give it to him.

Here's the disclaimer: This isn't an actual Native American ceremony. It is a ceremony using non-tribe-specific techniques. It is inspired by certain Native practices, and a knowledgeable Native American would recognize the elements as being traditional ones. The intent is to honor his ancestry respectfully rather than try to yank a piece of his culture out of its traditional context.

[Greybird]

As an aside, here (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=158094) is some more detail on smudging (cleansing with smoke, as in this blessing) that I posted some time ago.

[Teresa]

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=158614

This thread may give you more information to help you determine what to use and how to do it.

[Lupabitch]

White sage is best for this, just give it a good smudging with white sage.

Even get the ashes on the arrow head and then wash them off, that'll balance and activate the spirit of he arrow head, plus Native American arrow head and white sage is Native American herb.. The spirits around you should know exactly whats going on :)

Using sage is fine; I use it quite a bit myself. Just please don't call it a "Native American herb". Sage is native only to specific areas in the U.S., and there are numerous tribes that never had any contact with it historically speaking. You may as well be telling the OP to do a Hellenic blessing on a piece of Celtic knotwork, since it's all European anyway, and the Fates and Sidhe will know what to do.

But in the practical sense, you're right--sage is good for purification and blessings, and I'd definitely agree with it as a recommendation for this ritual.

[FaeSpirit39]

Many Many Thanks to you all!

I have been writing all the suggestions down and I have a few things coming to mind on how I would like it done now.

Blessings Always,
Fae