Wiccan/Pagan Naming Rite

The ceremony can be flexible, adapting to the desires of the parents.

THE TEMPLE IS MADE

The ushers encourage the guests to gather around the Circle. The child and their parents stand at the Circle’s edge. The priest bids everyone welcome giving an outline of the ceremony. The Spirits are called:

Let there be peace in the East. Let there be peace in the South. Let there be peace in the West. Let there be peace in the North. Let there be peace through all the Worlds. So let it be.

All present are guided to be fully present.

We gather here in peace for this joyful and sacred occasion that is the First Rite of Passage on the journey we each make upon this Earth. As our Circle is cast and consecrated, this moment in time and this place becomes blessed. Let each soul truly be here that the spirits of those gathered may be blended in one sacred space, with one purpose and one voice.

The Circle is cast, and consecrated by the priest, blessing the temple for the rite.

So do we call to the spirits of the Three Worlds, that this rite be blessed by the powers of all Creation.

Hail spirits of this sacred land, whose beauty and power inspires us.

Spirits of the high skies that guide us to stretch and grow.

Spirits of the dark earth that holds and feeds us.

Spirits of the open seas that wash and shape the shores of these lands.

You who offer us freedom, nourishment and rebirth. As our ancestors knew and honoured your power, so do we now. Honour this our rite, we ask you. Inspire and bless those gathered. Blessed be as blessed is.

Offerings are made to the Spirits of Place by the priest. She welcomes the parents and child into the Circle and, if they wish, they too give offereings to the Spirits of Place. The purpose of the rite is then declared.

We gather together on this the (date), on the (moon), in the year (year), in the eye of the Sun and upon this hallowed Earth, to witness this sacred Rite that is the Naming and Welcoming of your child. We come to give thanks for the wonder of new life, to honour the task of parenthood, to thank this child for entering our community.

THE ANCESTORS ARE HONOURED

To know where we have come, let us first honour what and whom have brought us to this place.

In the name of our gods and the gods of our ancestors, we give thanks for all those who have shared with us their lives, their wisdom and their love. On this sacred day of their First Rite, we give thanks especially for the blessings bequeathed to this child by their ancestors of blood and spirit, both those newly departed and those of old.

As a new child enters the world, they bring together, in blood, two families, creating a new seam. At this time, so we honour the grandparents of this child.

The parents give gifts to their own parents (and grandparents).

AFFIRMING THE UNION

It is usually best at this stage if the child is held by someone else at the edge of the Circle, leaving the couple time alone together.

(Names of parents), over the years of your relationship, you have explored and expressed your love together, questing inspiration and sharing your creativity. Yet now there is another soul whose energy plays around and between you, creating new and exquisite patterns, always changing the world you had before. For a moment, now, take each others hands and behold each other, as if for the first time.

The parents face each other, holding hands.

Through the changes of parenthood, you have grown, revealing new facets, new strengths, skills, depths of courage, new weaknesses and tenderness, yet through it all there is the opportunity for your love and your union to grow richer and stronger. Now, for a moment, see in each other the person they have become.

Witnessed by your families, your community, your ancestors and the spirits of this sacred land, do you again vow to each other your love, your loyalty and your commitment?

PARENTS : We do.

Then let it be so.

The parents make their personal vows to each other and the exchange of gifts.

THE COMMITMENT TO THE CHILD

The child is then brought back to the parents.

(Names of parents), you have brought your child to this place on the occasion of their First Rite. As their parents, you have principal responsibility for the wellbeing of their body and soul, throughout the journey of their childhood. Do you agree to hold this responsibility wholeheartedly, in freedom, with love and joy, with patience and with trust?

COUPLE : We do.

Then let it be so.

The parents make their personal vows to the child, presenting them with a gift that symbolize these vows. The gifts may be something the child will keep throughout her life, a family heirloom, or simply a symbol of the words they have spoken.

THE CHILD’S GUARDIANS

(Names of parents), you have chosen three people to act as guardians for your child.

The guardians step forward from the edge of the Circle.

Do you, (names of guardians), come here of your own free will, agreeing to take on this role as guardian to this child?

GUARDIANS : We do.

The parents may be asking the guardians for specific help, or may have a very clear idea about what the guardians role should be. These ideas can be spoken here. The words here are a guide:

According to the Old Traditions within which this rite is made, we do not offer the journey of the child’s life to one deity, nor do we bind them to one path, religious or mundane. Instead, our role is simply to honour and give thanks that they have come to our lives. As they reach adulthood, in many moons to come, well blessed by the holding of their family and friends, they will make their own decisions with pride and certainty. Until then, you have been asked by their parents to support to them, guide them to find love with trust, freedom in safety, peace with vitality, to live in a sacred manner. Do you agree to act as this child’s guardians?

GUARDIANS : We do.

Then let it be so.

The guardians make their statements of commitment or give their vows, presenting the child with a gift that symbolizes that commitment. They may do this together, reading or reciting one vow that they all share, or individual guardians may make their own offering of commitment.

The parents may then give gifts to the guardians, in thanks for the commitment offered and for the support that this in turn gives to them.

THE BLESSING OF THE CHILD

Honouring the power of nature, within us and around us, [deity/deities], our ancestors, we bring this child for your blessings.

The parents then take the child to the four cardinal directions, where they are laid upon the ground.

(north) Spirits of the North, powers of winter, guardians of earth and stone, Lady of the sacred womb, the rich soil of creation, bless this child with your gifts : true stability, security, nourishment, certainty, the source of rich and fertile creativity.

The child is blessed with a symbol of earth. The parents or priest may make the blessing, or a guardian, another guest or family member whom the parents feel is appropriate for such a role.

In the east, the child is held up to the skies.

(east) Spirits of the East, powers of spring, of conception, regeneration, Lord of the rising sun and all new life, bless this child with your gifts : freedom, clarity, open hearted wisdom, pure inspiration, the power of listening, knowledge awakening, the magic of song.

The child is blessed with a symbol of air. As with earth, the blessing can be made by whoever is felt to be appropriate.

In the south, the child is in the father’s arms.

(south) Spirits of the South, powers of summer, you who teach us of courage and the power of truth, bless this child with your gifts : strength, vitality, clear vision, passion, the courage to be who she can truly be.

The child is blessed with a symbol of fire, again by an appropriate person, the priest or parents.

In the west, the child is held in the arms of the mother.

(west) Spirits of the West, powers of autumn, tides of being, bless this child with your gifts: flexibility, direction, love in perfect trust, flow of emotion, rich creativity.

The child is blessed with symbol of water.

They return to the altar and thanks are given.

THE NAMING OF THE CHILD

Blessed by the powers of creation, this child begins their journey of life, and for their path, they are offered a name. As they grow and chooses their own way, they may accept or take another name for themselves, but they are yet at the beginning of their journey. There is power in a name. It is an invocation and a prayer. (couple), what is the name that you now offer to your child?

PARENTS : (name).

Here the parents may like to explain to those gathered why such a name was chosen. The stories that are relevant may be told. Something may be given to the child that they may know why their name was chosen.

Witnessed by their families, community, ancestors in body and those in spirit, the gods of their ancestors and those of the land, this child is given their name. (name). Let us welcome them, by their name:

The child is held up as all those gathered call the welcome.

ALL : Welcome (name)!

THE CELEBRATION

In order to know in certainty that the flow of this rite is done, we share, while still in the sanctity of the Circle, a celebratory drink.

It is traditional in Druidic rites to celebrate within the sacred space of the ritual, sharing with the spirits of place, ancestors and the gods, declaring a ritual done. Bread and mead are usually used, but cake and champagne can be substituted, or any other drink and food. The priest blesses the feast, the first of both being given back to the land as an offering. The parents may then like to give some to each other and to the child (symbolically if the child is still too young). If the parents wish, they can then move around the Circle, sharing the feast with each, a sip of mead and a chunk of bread. If a toast is to be made during the rite, glasses may be filled and this is the time, with speeches made by those who wish to make them.

Everyone then returns to the edge of the Circle.

THANKSGIVING

This may be done as fully or simply as required. The following is a simple form:

On behalf of (names of parents), and (name of child), I give thanks to all those who have gathered here this day, in body and in spirit, seen and unseen. To the ancestors who have come to witness this rite, those of (child)’s bloodline, of the land and our heritage, we give you thanks for your presence, your blessings and your teachings. From this Circle, we bid you hail and farewell.

To the spirits of the four directions and the elements of creation, earth, air, fire, water, we give you thanks for the blessings gifted to (child) this day. From this Circle, we bid you hail and farewell.

To the spirits of this place, those of the high skies, of the fertile earth beneath us and the seas that hold us, we give you thanks for accepting and inspiring this our rite. From this Circle, we bid you hail and farewell.

Before our rite comes to its end, the Circle opened, let us take a moment in silence to feel what has been gained, that when we leave this place we take with us its gifts, memories rich and real, so honouring fully that which inspires us, and the beautiful child who has brought us together, (child).

The Circle is unwoven or uncast, final words spoken of thanks, affirming peace, and inviting all those gathered to move onto the celebratory feast or whatever is planned.