Worship
Opening and closing
How a rite begins and, more importantly, how it ends so you can sleep.
Unclosed rites are how people lie awake convinced they have left a door open in the universe. Usually they have left a candle lit or a feeling unnamed. Closing is courtesy. It is also fire safety.
Opening
A household opening
- 1Wash your hands. This is practical and it is the rite.
- 2Check the room: pets, sleeves, papers near flame, a way to put the flame out.
- 3Light the lamp. Say: “I open this practice. I am not opening my whole life to whoever is passing.”
- 4State the purpose in one sentence. If you cannot, you are not ready to add tools. Sit instead.
- 5If you are casting a circle, do it now, using that chapter. It is optional.
Closing
A household closing
- 1Say what you did, in one sentence, past tense: “I asked for courage. I wrote the email.”
- 2Thank whoever you addressed, including yourself.
- 3If a circle was cast, walk it backward or simply say “the boundary is down.” Both are valid here.
- 4Deal with water and food. Extinguish flame. Turn the tray if it must be hidden.
- 5Wash your hands again. Eat something ordinary if you feel floaty. Text nobody in a prophetic tone.
What was opened is closed. The room is a room. I am a person with a bedtime.
If you are interrupted
Answer the door. Move the candle. Say “closed for now” and mean it. A god who cannot survive a delivery driver is a god you have invented out of anxiety.