Dragon Trad and the Holy Grail

Cameron Mandrake

Recently we have discovered the significance of sharing water in our circles. This ritual should be warm and meaningful. This being the case it should only be shared by members of the coven and visitors should be excluded unless the visitor is VERY close to the group.

Someone reads the following poem or one that is written for the occasion.

Quest for the Grail

C. J. Mandrake

I have sailed the seven seas.
I have walked the deserts of this world,
searching for clues and kin;
always awed by the stories that they told.
Time my only enemy,
every stone my friend;
carried by myth's fluid words,
looking for a gold cup 'round every bend.

Mountains loom before me:
The path, all but lost behind.
Arthur's song plays deep within me!
The Merlin's words dance within my mind!
``The blessed cup that you seek,
it is the Mother's womb.
It has poured out all our world
and it will be your tomb.''
Grail of Love
Grail of Light
Grail of Truth
Grail of Might
carry me to the very Fount of life.

I threw a coin in a wishing well:
My wish, the Grail to see.
When the waters stilled again
I beheld the Mystery.
The Cup is made of flesh and blood.
The secret of deep peace it lends.
I drink from it every day
and I share it with my friends.

One and one and one is three:
Three by three is nine.
The heart of the world I see,
the secret of the Grail is mine.
The Cup, it is a lotus flower
deep within my soul,
flaming with the love of Her:
The Goddess and I made whole.

The reader takes the chalice of water and drinks and the cup is passed around the circle deosil, each person taking a drink in turn. Each person may offer a thought before they drink. This may be a thanks or an observation or anything that seems significant to the moment. When the cup makes it back to the reader, he/she again drinks of the cup and pours the remainder as a libation. With the libation is said...

I partake of the Cup of Abundance. I share this Cup with those around me. I return what is left to the earth. <pours water out onto the ground> And my Cup remains full. <holds cup to heart> Blessed Be.

This rite is very good for group binding. Last time we did this we drank water from the Chalice Well in Glastonbury that one of the coven members brought back from vacation.