Any ideas on a rose based ritual?

The Cauldron's server is expensive and requires monthly payments. Please become a Bronze, Silver or Gold Donor if you can. Donations are needed every month. Without member support, we can't afford the server.

Or donate directly via Paypal

This message board is The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's SMF Archive Board. It is closed to new memberships and to posting, but there are over 250,000 messages here that you can still search and read -- many full of interesting and useful information. (This board was open from February 2007 through June 2011).

Our new vBulletin discussion board is located at http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/ -- if you would like to participate in discussions like those you see here, please visit our new vBulletin message board, register an account and join in our discussions. We hope you will find the information in this message archive useful and will consider joining us on our new board.

[Rocquelaire]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on a ritual I saw in my mind but can't identify. A couple of weeks ago I was praying and I asked the Goddess and God for guidance in building a deeper relationship with them. An image came into my head immediately of myself performing a ritual. My circle was defined with rose petals, there were petals scattered on my alter and some more in a bowl. I was mixing these with charged water and something else. The problem is that I have no idea what sort of ritual this was. I've checked all of the books that I own and the only correspondence I have found for roses is love spells. I also checked online and found that roses are sometimes used as a symbol of the sacred feminine. I've also tried meditating on it but have gotten no further. I get the feeling that I'm supposed to work it out without further guidance lol. 

Does anyone have any idea what this image could mean? Have you ever done a similar ritual or do you know any other correspondences for roses that might help me figure this out?

And of course the other question that I'm struggling with is whether this image was in fact a hint from the Goddess and God or is it all just in my head?

Any advice or comments that any of you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

In love and light
Rocquelaire

[Ellen M.]

Roses represent love, but they can represent many kinds of love, not just romantic. I use rose oil for self-love, boosting self-esteem, and to be a more compassionate person. It could be that this ritual you've envisioned is meant to build the love between you and your gods, to sweeten your relationship, etc.

[Darkmoondog]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on a ritual I saw in my mind but can't identify. A couple of weeks ago I was praying and I asked the Goddess and God for guidance in building a deeper relationship with them. An image came into my head immediately of myself performing a ritual. My circle was defined with rose petals, there were petals scattered on my alter and some more in a bowl. I was mixing these with charged water and something else.

I think you answered your own question. You were asking to build a deeper relationship with your deities and they showed you a ritual to perform... Try not to be distracted by what you think roses mean just create the ritual in order to celebrate a deeper relationship with the God and Goddess.

It would be a beautiful way to show how much you love them.

[dragonfly_high]

Try not to be distracted by what you think roses mean just create the ritual in order to celebrate a deeper relationship with the God and Goddess.

I find this kinda disturbing.  Why would you do something without knowing or at least having an idea what or WHY you are using a certain item?  I think it would have a stronger effect if you know WHY you are using or doing something, not just doing it cause you were shown or told to. 

[Ellen M.]

I find this kinda disturbing.  Why would you do something without knowing or at least having an idea what or WHY you are using a certain item?  I think it would have a stronger effect if you know WHY you are using or doing something, not just doing it cause you were shown or told to. 

I don't. I know that in the past I've gotten hung up on color correspondences, what day of the week it was, what phase of the moon it was, trying to juggle dozens of things just to do a simple ritual. Sometimes you need to chuck other peoples' correspondences out the window and do your own thing. If I got the strong feeling that my deities were requesting something for a ritual, I'd include it - the same way I'd make sure to bring over a gift I'm sure my friend would enjoy when I visit their house, even if it seems like a strange request.

As for the why: because the deities asked, or because it feels right. To me, that's really the crux of personal ritual. Most other things are second.

[dragonfly_high]

I don't. I know that in the past I've gotten hung up on color correspondences, what day of the week it was, what phase of the moon it was, trying to juggle dozens of things just to do a simple ritual. Sometimes you need to chuck other peoples' correspondences out the window and do your own thing.

See, this isn't a problem for me.  I don't and never have worried about that stuff.  As for other people's correspondences, I may take them into consideration when I'm deciding on what to use, but in the end, unless I'm doing something like hoodoo or herbal/oils, I use what resigns with me.  And in this I'm talking colors or certain items, I've never gotten into the days or the wk/phase of the moon thing. 
 

If I got the strong feeling that my deities were requesting something for a ritual, I'd include it - the same way I'd make sure to bring over a gift I'm sure my friend would enjoy when I visit their house, even if it seems like a strange request.

As for the why: because the deities asked, or because it feels right. To me, that's really the crux of personal ritual. Most other things are second.

I agree with this for the most part, but FOR ME, I need to understand WHY I feel it's right or at least have an idea of why.  I don't like doing something just cause I was told to, be it a deity or human.  I need the WHY or it's not happening.  Now, I've been ASKED to do something or for something, that's a whole nother ballgame.  I will do something if asked, even if I don't understand why, but to be told...nah...ain't happenig.  As for the roses, I believe knowing the reason for using the roses would deepen the experience for the OP then to just do it and hope for the best. But that's just me.

[Waldfrau]

I'd explore the image of the rose for a while and look what other ideas come up when researching. There's also a ton of meaning to the rose in literature and other expressions of culture. Of the top of my head I can think of how the Rose is often employed as an image of beauty, sometimes also a metaphor for purity and something precious and noble. Often this comes in a relation to the thorns as a metaphor for there being a price to touch something of pure beauty.

'Rose without thorn' is a description of Mary in Christian themed poems.

There are Roses in fairy tales like in 'Sleeping Beauty'.

There are roses in well-known literature like 'The Little Prince'.

A famous quote from Gertrude Stein goes 'a rose is a rose is a rose' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_is_a_rose_is_a_rose_is_a_rose).

There's 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco...

etc.

But of course as others have said, what's important is what the Rose means to you in this specific situation. So some of those references may just be irrelevant. Reading about the image often helps me to come closer to what it means for me because I often get a light bulb when I come across the right quote.

[Waldfrau]

Nearly missed this...

There's also stuff about roses in ritual/spiritual exercises in 'The Twelve wild Swans' by Starhaw/Valentine because they work with imagenery from fairy tales and the heroine featured in the whole book is named 'Rose'. If you can work with Reclaiming stuff maybe that can give you some inspirations? I could be way off with that because I don't know what the Roses mean to you of course, so this is just a possibility.

[dragonfly_high]

But of course as others have said, what's important is what the Rose means to you in this specific situation. So some of those references may just be irrelevant. Reading about the image often helps me to come closer to what it means for me because I often get a light bulb when I come across the right quote.

I like this.

[Nimue]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on a ritual I saw in my mind but can't identify. A couple of weeks ago I was praying and I asked the Goddess and God for guidance in building a deeper relationship with them. An image came into my head immediately of myself performing a ritual. My circle was defined with rose petals, there were petals scattered on my alter and some more in a bowl. I was mixing these with charged water and something else. The problem is that I have no idea what sort of ritual this was. I've checked all of the books that I own and the only correspondence I have found for roses is love spells. I also checked online and found that roses are sometimes used as a symbol of the sacred feminine. I've also tried meditating on it but have gotten no further. I get the feeling that I'm supposed to work it out without further guidance lol. 

Does anyone have any idea what this image could mean? Have you ever done a similar ritual or do you know any other correspondences for roses that might help me figure this out?

And of course the other question that I'm struggling with is whether this image was in fact a hint from the Goddess and God or is it all just in my head?

Any advice or comments that any of you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

In love and light
Rocquelaire

The color of the roses can also make a difference in symbolism.  For example, yellow is supposed to represent friendship while a red would be more of a romantic nature.

[Rocquelaire]

The color of the roses can also make a difference in symbolism.  For example, yellow is supposed to represent friendship while a red would be more of a romantic nature.

The petals were red and white.

[Rocquelaire]

A famous quote from Gertrude Stein goes 'a rose is a rose is a rose' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_is_a_rose_is_a_rose_is_a_rose).

There's 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco...

The quote that popped into my head when I read this was from Romeo and Juliet "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Don't know what relevance that might have though lol

[Waldfrau]

The petals were red and white.

Love and purity? True love?

[Garnet]

Have you ever done a similar ritual or do you know any other correspondences for roses that might help me figure this out?

I like this discussion of rose correspondences on this site. Roses are a favorite symbol of mine for some of the reasons discussed on that page. For me personally, a single red rose is a symbol of a true heart, and I drawn a rose flower at the center of compass roses, adding that symbolism into the mix.

[Nimue]

I like this discussion of rose correspondences on this site. Roses are a favorite symbol of mine for some of the reasons discussed on that page. For me personally, a single red rose is a symbol of a true heart, and I drawn a rose flower at the center of compass roses, adding that symbolism into the mix.

There is a ingredient in hoodoo called rose water.  It is basically made by infusing rose petals with spring water, though there are different methods.  It is used as an offering, as to make yourself more attractive to the gods, so to speak.  I don't know if this helps, but it may be a place to investigate.

[Tags:]

Jump to: Please select a destination: ----------------------------- About The Cauldron ----------------------------- => Rules and Regulations => Cauldron Announcements ===> Volunteers Needed: Site Assistants and Projects => Introductions => Board Questions, Suggestions, and Feedback => Chat and CauldronMUX Support => Test Board ----------------------------- Religion and Philosophy ----------------------------- => Paganism For Beginners => Books and Other Resources => Pagan Religions => Pagan Spirituality => Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology => Worship and Ritual => Holidays and Festivals => History and Religion => Faith in Everyday Life => Philosophy and Metaphysics => Non-Pagan Religions and Interfaith Discussions => Miscellaneous Religious Discussions ----------------------------- Magic and the Occult ----------------------------- => Magic and the Occult for Beginners => Witchcraft, Hoodoo, and Folk Magic => The Western Magical Tradition => Chaos Magic => Lodges and Other Magic Organizations => Miscellaneous Magical Discussions ----------------------------- Special Interest Groups & Special Discussions ----------------------------- => Special Topic Discussions => Chavi Memorial Chronic Illness SIG => General SIGS ===> College Pagans SIG ===> Cooking SIG ===> Divination SIG ===> Home and Garden SIG ===> Pagan Parents SIG ===> Teen Pagans SIG => Religious SIGS ===> Asatru and Heathenry SIG ===> Cauldron Cill ===> FlameKeeping SIG ===> Hazel and Oak: A Celtic Polytheism SIG ===> Neo-Druidry SIG ===> Reformed Kemeticism SIG ===> Ta Hiera Hellenic Polytheism SIG => Book/Media Discussion Boards ===> Academic Book Discussions ===> Pagan Religion Book Discussions ===> Magick Book Discussions ===> Fiction Book Discussions ===> DVD/Video Discussions ----------------------------- Life, the Universe, and Everything Else ----------------------------- => Pagan Announcements => Prayer and Energy Requests => News and Politics ===> Religious News ===> Non-Religious News ===> Political Discussions => Social Discussion Boards ===> Art, Poetry and Writing ===> Books ===> Computers and the Internet ===> Crafts and Hobbies ===> Family Life ===> Gaming ===> Health and Medicine ===> Humor and Quizzes ===> Music, Television, and Film ===> Pets ===> Science and Technology ===> Sports and Recreation