The Great Rite Ritual

The Great Rite is something that is shrouded in misconceptions and misinformation, which has led to many not truly understanding what the greater meaning is. However to truly understand how these misconceptions came about and how culture has evolved it is important to look at the deeper symbolic nature of the Great Rite. Simply put, it is a ritual that celebrates life and specifically fertility, and important part of the cycles of nature. This ritual may be preformed in many different ways all of which ultimately represent the union of the God and the Goddess. It is also an example of the polarities that exist in nature as well, as the ultimate oneness of everything. As noted in the Resource library it is a portion of the Beltane ritual, occurs …show more content…
A quote from Gardner makes it clear how he actually viewed the Great rite, “In the old days the High Priest and High Priestess actually celebrated the hieros gamos on the great ritual occasions.” He obviously was acknowledging that this is a symbolic representation in modern times, that originated from a practice no longer used. An article by Hermetic Samuel Wagar fully examines the ancient origins of hieros gamos as well as its implications on modern Wicca and actually traces the origins of the rite back to ancient Greek in the Western world and even earlier in the Eastern world. He asserts the Great Rite is a symbolic representation to acknowledge the scared marriage of the God and Goddess and shows similar usage throughout many religions, ending with the conclusion that in modern times this is represented most often by dipping the Athame in the …show more content…
I also am willing to consider that it is highly likely it has evolved from true ritual sex. Fertility symbolized by sex is an ancient concept as portrayed throughout India, other areas of Mesopotamia, Greece, in Rome, in fact nearly by every culture. One author states, “Linking magic and sex have long gone hand in hand. This is nothing new and contrary to 'moral' attitudes, it's not something that's done just to get laid. Linking the sexual act with divine forces was an easy leap for early humans.” This is undoubtedly true, however that is not to say that that this means the Great Rite is a ritual of sex. We have evolved to have different means to express this link of male and female union as a representation of fertility. I also feel it would be negligent not to mention that the misconception that the Great Rite is still commonly performed as actual ritual sex is propagated by the assertion of numerous authors, Wiccan and non Wiccan alike, that this is common practice in private. Although, I agree with the schools stance that this is simply not