Calendar of the Sun
9 Hrethemonath

Day of Adonis

Colors: Red, dark red, burgundy - colors of blood
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a dark red cloth place a chalice of red wine, two red candles, a knife, a bowl of ashes, a wreath of some greenery that has been collected and forced to bud, and a pot of flower bulbs that have been forced to bloom.
Offering: Make some sacrifice for the good of others.
Daily Meal: Red wine. Vegetarian.

Invocation to Adonis

O Beautiful one at the height of your glory
Lover of Aphrodite
Cherished by all who see you
Destined to rise and destined to fall
Sacrificed youth who gives up life
That we all may live in turn,
You are every flower that is cut,
You are every green plant that is gathered,
You are every trembling leaf
We place in our mouths.
You make us remember
That all life feeds on all life
That there is nothing that will sustain us
That did not once breathe.
Hail Adonis, You whose blood
Is spilled in the fields
While the Lady mourns you
And we praise you with our tears.

(Let two who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual come forth, one with the bowl of ashes and one with the chalice of red wine. The first marks each person's forehead with ashes, saying, "Adonis is dead," and as it is done, they should think of some great loss that will never live again, and weep, and mourn. The second gives them a sip of the wine, and says, "Yet there is still joy in life." The rest of the wine is poured out as a libation for Adonis, and the rite ends with a chant of "Death has passed and Life still has her joy.")

[Pagan Book of Hours]