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Last night I dusted off my little book that I write my gardening rituals and the like in to yank out this simple adaptation that I made a few years back of
The Consecration of the Seed found in Carmina Gadelica Vol. 1.
Traditionally "three days before being sown the seed is sprinkled with clear cold water, in the name of Father, and of Son, and of Spirit, the person sprinkling the seed walking sunwise the while."
So on the Tuesday before I plant seeds outside on Friday, I will do a little ritual like this. I will lay all my packages of seeds that will be planted at that time, and take one of each type of seed out as a "representative" and sprinkle spring water on them. {If I have any seedlings that will be going out at this time, I will add them to the ritual too.} Instead of doing this in the name of the Christian Trinity, I do it in the name of my Gods, Ancestors, and local Land Spirits.
I should mention that this is a ritual that was probably carried out mostly on cereal crops. I do this with all seeds that are being planted directly in the ground, so this is a ritual I generally do 3 times: the first time around the beginning of April, the second around the end of May, and the third time around mid August.
On the Friday before planting the seed, I will say the following incantation:
I will go out to sow the seed,
In names of Them who gave it growth;
I will place my front in the wind,
And spread a gracious amount on the ground.
Should a seed fall on a bare rock,
It shall have no soil in which to grow;
As much as falls into the earth,
The dew will make it to be full.Friday, day auspicious,
The dew will come down to welcome
Every seed that lay in sleep
Since the coming of cold without mercy;
Every seed will take root in the earth,
As the Rulers of the elements desired,
The braird will come forth with the dew,
It will inhale life from the soft wind.
I will come round with my step,
I will go rightways with the sun,
In name of the Gods that are mine,
In name of the Ancestors and the Nature Spirits kind.
Gods, Ancestors, and Nature Spirits
Be giving growth and kindly substance
To every thing that is in my ground,
Till the days of harvest shall come.
You can see the full original
Consecration of the Seed here.
Sláinte!
Laurel
