A Ritual Invocation of the Archangels as Guardians of the Four Directions.
This ceremony is designed to be part of a larger ritual, placed where you would normally call the Quarters. This ceremonial is written in a Christian context and you can combine it with daily prayer, a eucharistic celebration, or a holy day or feast day liturgy. I have also written an elemental greeting based on St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures. Check it out here.
Preparation
Set up as you normally would. Gather any seasonal decor, tools, and other supplies you may need for your rite. The suggested colors of the candles reflect the usage of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA). Of course, you should use whatever you are accustomed to.
Begin the ritual as you normally would. When you are ready to greet the directions or call the quarters, use these words.
Calling the quarters
From the center of the circle, face East and say:
All praise and honor are yours, O God. Angels and Archangels sing your praise, And all creation proclaims your glory. The four corners of the earth honor you And bring us your radiance and power.
Walk to the East Quarter, light the yellow candle and say:
With the blessing of the Hawk of Dawn soaring in the clear, pure AIR, We greet and offer welcome to the spirits of the EAST And we invite the Archangel GABRIEL, holy messenger, To bring wisdom and inspiration to our rite.
Walk sunwise to the South Quarter, light the red candle and say:
With the blessing of the great Stag in the heat of the chase,
And the inner FIRE of the Sun,
We greet and offer welcome to the spirits of the SOUTH
And we invite the Archangel MICHAEL, holy warrior,
To bring passion and courage to our rite.
Walk sunwise to the West Quarter, light the blue candle and say:
With the blessing of the Salmon of Wisdom who dwells in the sacred WATERS of the pool We greet and offer welcome to the spirits of the WEST, And we invite the Archangel RAPHAEL, holy angel of healing, To bring love and compassion to our rite.
Walk sunwise to the North Quarter, light the green candle and say:
With the blessing of the great Bear of the Starry Heavens And the deep and fruitful EARTH, We greet and offer welcome to the spirits of the NORTH And we invite the Archangel URIEL, holy angel of light, To bring strength and growth to our rite.
Walk sunwise to the East Quarter and then return to the Center. Turn to the East, light the orange candle and say:
We give honor and praise to the Most Holy Theotokos,
The Mother of Light through whom heaven is united to earth.
All creation rejoices in you, O full of grace, and we bless you.
Still facing East, light the purple candle and say:
We give honor and praise to Jesus Christ, our Lord,
the Word made flesh, God with us.
Most Holy Begotten One of God,
Receive our prayer.
Still facing East, light the white candle. Bow, make the Sign of the Cross and say:
All praise and honor to God, Eternal Spirit, Maker of all that is;
To Jesu, the Christ, Bearer of our humanity;
And to the Holy Spirit, Awen and Breath of life.
As it was in the Beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
So may it be.
AMEN.
Continue on with the rest of your ritual. Remember to release the quarters at the end as you normally would.
Bright Blessings!
Header Image: Congregation of Angels by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay (Image cropped from original)
I’ve been working on a set of quarter calls and releases, with the idea of singing them. Today, I’m posting calls for Ostara. You can find it at 
It’s been an interesting week. Last Sunday morning, I woke up not feeling well. I got up, got ready, and headed out to the Unitarian Universalist church where I direct music. By the time the service started, I really didn’t feel well. By the end of the service, I realized a trip to the ER was no longer optional. Turns out I had a wound on my foot that looked healed, but was in fact concealing an abscess, and needed surgery. Fortunately, the infection was superficial, and had not gotten into the underlying tissue or bone.
Earth my Body – Our bodies are made of the same stuff that makes up everything in the universe. When we leave this life, our bodies break down into their component materials and go back to the earth.
Water my Blood – Blood is mainly water, and water is a significant percentage of the mass of our bodies. Water played a very important part in my healing process while in the hospital, with all the physical water that was carrying medicine into my bloodstream through the IVs.
