Stand in the ritual area. Still your thoughts. Breathe deeply for half
a minute or so until composed and calm. Turn your mind to our Deities.
Face North. Lift both hands to waist height, palms down. Press your
fingers together, creating two solid, flat planes. Sense solidity, foundation,
fertility. Invoke the powers of Earth through the gesture.
Moments later, turn toward the East. Raise your hands a foot higher,
your palms facing away from you (no longer parallel with the ground), and
elbows slightly bent. Spread your fingers and hold this position, sensing
movement and communication. Invoke the forces of Air through the
gesture.
Face South. Lift your hands fully above your head. Keeping the elbows
straight, grasp your fingers into tight fists. Feel force, power, creation,
and destruction. Invoke the forces of Fire through the gesture.
Turn to the West. Lower your hands a foot or so. Bend the elbows, turn
your palms upward and cup them, pressing the thumbs against the forefingers.
Sense fluidity, the ocean, liquidity. Invoke the forces of Water
through the gesture.
Face North again. Throw your head back and raise both hands to the sky,
palms up, fingers spread. Drink in the essence of The One, the unknowable,
unapproachable ultimate source of all. Sense the mysteries within the Universe.
Lower your projective hand but keep your receptive hand high. Pressing
the third, fourth and fifth fingers against the palm, lift the forefinger
and thumb to create a rough crescent shape. Sense the reality of the Goddess.
Sense her love, her fertility, her compassion. Sense the powers of the
Moon in the gesture; the force of the eternal seas -- the presence of the
Goddess.
Lower your receptive hand; lift your projective hand. Bend down the
middle and fourth fingers toward the palm. and trap them with the thumb.
Lift the forefinger and the little finger up to the sky, creating a horned
image. Sense the reality of the God. Sense the power of the Sun in the
gesture; the untamed energies of the woodlands -- the presence of the God.
Lower your projective hand. Lay down flat. Spread your legs and arms
until you've created the pattern of a pentagram. Sense the powers of the
elements running through you; merging and coalescing into your being. Sense
them as emanations from The One, the Goddess and God.
Meditate. Commune. Communicate.
When finished, simply stand up. Your rite of gestures is over.
Source: "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner"
by Scott Cunningham
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