Finding the Sacred Grove in the midst of civilization

In the name of the Queen of Heaven, and in my own name,
I claim this circle as Sacred Space.  
Let all who enter be opened to the presence of God and Goddess.

When the village was an oasis of civilization in the midst of the untamed wilderness, it made sense to leave the domestic life behind and venture outward in search of the wild magic and the Unseen in the sacred places of groves, springs, stone circles, and mountaintops.

Now, with cities encroaching on cities, the groves turned to lumber for houses, and the springs tamed into water systems, we seek the Divine in another way.  Some build even grander edifices than their own, of wood and stone, in the midst of the village or city, to be a Divine home, and they visit their gods there.  For others, we invite them into our homes, our hearts, our lives.  Yet we seek the place where we may join with each other and our gods, where Seen and Unseen are at home.

We reverence the God and Goddess as the representations of the Divine Reality that is at once immanent and transcendent in and throughout all of the infinite creation. We celebrate the manifestations of the Divine Reality through Rites of Seasons and Rites of Passage.

The Covenant of Five Tenets

Our Tradition provides the cohesion and structure for our ventures. The Bhakti Wiccan Tradition was developed by the Fellowship of the Sacred Grove, which founded this community circle. We meet The Lord and The Lady — and in Their name, the Unseen and gods of many names who live in our hearts — between the worlds, in the Sacred Grove we build together in our hearts and minds and spirits.  The Sacred Grove is Their home, and we are Their children, returning where we are always welcome.

For our part, with intention and care, we join and step away from the Seen, including the faces we show the world, moving step-by-step within ourselves in the company of beloved and trusted companions, letting the truth of our Unseen spiritual selves light the way Home.

We gather tonight to open the veil between the worlds, to seek the Lord and Lady, and to experience the Mystery of Their Love.

Hear this warning: To be touched by the Lord and Lady is to be changed. If you open yourself to that touch you put at risk your comfortable view of the world. You risk experiencing a sense of awe to which worship is the natural response. You risk discovering Deity as your Lover and Beloved.

Let none remain who is unwilling to be changed by Their touch.