A Nature Ritual

Journey into Nature. Journey into Self. Journey into Divine 
Interconnectedness.

Find a place in Nature that feels special to you -- in the woods, in a meadow, 
by a lakeshore, by a bubbling brook, by the ocean, on a mountain, on a 
hilltop, in a rock shelter.  Find a place where you can be with plants, 
animals, and the Elements, yet away from human company.

Journey there to commune with Nature.  Journey there to shift your focus from 
being human centric to being Nature aware.  Journey there to remind yourself 
that you are part of the whole of Nature.  Journey there to nurture your inner 
Spirit and to strengthen your relationships with other lifeforms and the 
biosphere.

Arrive at the chosen place and then be still.  Be seated.  Relax in the place.  
Take deep slow breaths to aid in your relaxation.  Then become aware of 
yourself resting on this place on the planet.  Experience the planet as Mother 
Earth holding you lovingly to Her.  Feel the Sky caressing you. Feel the Earth 
and Sky energizing each other.  Express appreciation for the Planet and the 
Cosmos for nurturing you and other life forms.  Drink of Nature's life energy 
that surrounds you and let it bring into greater awareness Nature's life 
energy that is within you.  This is Divine Communion.

Become aware of the plants around you and their aliveness.  Focus your 
awareness on a particular tree or herb near you.  Do not just look at it -- 
instead, merge with it, touch it, become it.  Imagine you are that plant.  
Imagine experiencing the world as it experiences the world.  Then, as you 
focus on yourself being in your human form again, give thanks to the plant you 
have worked with as a friend, a teacher, a relative.  Reflect for a time on 
your experience.

Now, breathe deeply and shift your awareness from the specific plant to the 
general perception of the environment in which you now are.  Experience 
yourself as being part of this tapestry of Nature.  You are one of many forms 
on this Nature scene tapestry.  Increase your awareness of this tapestry.

Pay attention to Sound.  Listen to the Wind, to the Birds, to other sounds of 
Nature.

Pay attention to Sights.  See the Beauty of Nature in the shapes, colors, and 
patterns of the life forms around you.

Feel Nature's rhythms.  Smell, Taste, Touch Nature.  As you expand your 
awareness of your physical senses, allow yourself to experience this place 
with your sixth sense, your intuition, where there is neither space nor time, 
only Being.

Open your mouth and let a sacred sound vibration flow through you.  Let the 
sound be borne from deep within your being, not only from your throat, but 
also from your diaphragm, your heart, and your whole body.  Flow with your 
sound.  Become the sound, and then move with it.

Rise up and dance ecstatically with Nature. As you move, celebrate.  Celebrate 
Nature.  Celebrate Living.  Celebrate the spiraling Circle of Change and 
Transformation -- Release and Rebirth.

Then be quiet and still again.  Take the time you sense you need to reflect 
upon and assimilate your experience.  Then, before departing, give thanks to 
this place and to the Divine that flows through you and all of Nature.

In doing this rite, you connect with Wisdom -- the Wisdom that is within you 
and around you in all of Nature.  You connect with Spirit that is part of Self 
and more than Self.  You connect with Nature Spirituality.

1994, Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary Developed from earlier versions published in previous editions of the Circle 
Guide to Pagan Groups (1979, 1992).