Basic Parameters of Ritual
By Robert Barton

 There are certain principles that underlie good ritual, these principles are generally common to religious and spiritual ceremonies. An understanding of these parameters is the starting point for the interpretation, performance and construction of liturgical exercises. Many acts that may not ordinarily be considered ritual, can be found to apply these principles, for instance, a good political speech often applies most or all of these parameters.
 In this essay, we will  discuss, ritual in general as a subject separate from any specific belief systems. The idea is to obtain an elementary grounding and knowledge in the generalities of good ritual. It is hoped that study of  this essay will allow the student to step with clear understanding into any ritual, no matter the ethnicity, religious context or spiritual symbology.  
Self- Our first parameter of ritual is self, which is the person or group performing the ritual.
It is here where we must decide how well the individual or group is prepared for this ritual. There are several ways in which we prepare ourselves for ritual.
 Our first level of preparation is training and experiences in general ritual. We must ask how well this person or group understands ritual as a general subject. How well established is the persona of the individual or the egregore (group mind) of the organization. We must find any weaknesses in general ritual knowledge, and endeavor to correct them through education and practice.
 Second, our preparation must be judged relative to “this” ritual. We ask if the individual or group has enough knowledge of the specifics of the particular ritual in question. Does everyone involved in this ritual understand the overall purpose for which this ritual is being performed?  Is everyone involved in this ritual adequately prepared to perform and understand his or her own specific duties in this ritual? If there are to be guests at this ritual, what measures have been taken to help these people understand what is happening?
 There are also special considerations when the ritual is being done by a group of people. Are there any personal relationships that will effect the ritual, if so how? Are there certain people who are a problem in ritual, or disrupt ritual often. What measures have been taken to develop a consistent egregore and identity within this group?
When performing rituals that are not part of the normal schedule of events, and may require certain knowledge abilities or training, we must consider a few more things. Does everyone concur with and support the goal of this ritual? If not would it be better to let that person abstain and not expect them to participate? Is there anyone who may not be adequately prepared or who could cause a disruption?  If so, should they be excluded from this ritual? 
Environment- Our second parameter of ritual is environment, which is the space and time set aside for the performance of the ritual. This is to make sure that there is adequate room and time for the projected ritual.
 Our first question is to ask where the ritual will be done, and if this place will provide enough available room to perform the ritual . Is this area secure, clean and clear of obstacles? What efforts are being made to prepare the site in order to facilitate the perception of this place as sacred. What are the perceptions of the intended site within the minds of the participants.
Now we must make sure that we have time considerations attended to. Have we allowed ample time to set-up, perform and clean up the ritual without being or feeling rushed? What measures have we taken to prevent interruptions? Are the phones, appliances, clocks and other mundane accoutrements of life turned off or put away so that they will not disturb the ritual  through their normal activities?
It is always best to have a special sacred location just for the purposes of ritual. Temples, churches even special sites in the forest or on the beach, are good examples of this. If a place must be used that has ordinary mundane connotations, effort must be made to alter this place so that it may be more readily perceived as sacred. If you must do the ritual in your living room, move the furniture out or away, hang a tapestry and use candles etc. Make all reasonable efforts to make this time and place become sacred in the minds of the participants.
Objective- Our third parameter is objective, which is why we do the ritual and what we hope to accomplish with this particular liturgical exercise. A ritual must have a reason or it can never be a success. We must establish a goal for a ritual, the reason could be as simple as celebration or as intense as war magic. This gives our ritual and attendees a sense of purpose.
So we ask what is our reason for being here and doing this? How clearly defined and represented is that goal? Is that goal in keeping with the general purposes of the individual or group involved? What measures are being taken to enable those present to better understand this goal?
Alignment- Our fourth  parameter of ritual is alignment, which is where we decide what Deities, spiritual forces, cultures etc. that our ritual will be aligned with. Great efforts should be made to keep the alignments as consistent and balanced as possible. For obvious reasons, monotheistic rituals are the most easily aligned, due to their tight focus and lack of options.
First we will consider cultural alignment, and consistency within the selected society. If a ritual is designed with a specific culture as inspiration, the ritual should be written to be as consistent with that culture as is reasonably possible.  The symbology used in the ritual, should reflect the symbology of that culture as far as available information allows.  Borrowing from other systems should be minimized as much as is possible. Ritual language, spiritual forces and personifications and Deities honored should also be chosen with consistency in mind.  Generally, the fewer the out of culture symbols and forces present in the ritual, the easier it is to maintain the focus on the appropriate culture. The exception to this is when a ritual is structured to be cross-cultural or pan-cultural for a specific desired effect.
The obvious extension to the above is cultural consistency among the Deities that are honored in a given ceremony. To honor Deities from the same Pantheon will always lead to a more consistent liturgical structure. The exemption again being, those instances when a specific cross-cultural effect is the goal.
Personality of Deities and or spiritual forces, should also be given consideration. Do these two or more individual Deities get along well in the Mythos structure or is their tension between them for whatever reason? Midir and Bodb Dearg might not be a good selection for the same ritual since they had a war with each other. The same could be said of tensions between Gwydion and Arianhrod. A ritual with Lugh, Ruadan, Brighid and Gobhnui could present some real problems. A general rule here is that the Deities should get along with one another well, in order to provide a smooth directed ritual that will minimize disruption. The exception of course would be if the tension between two adversarial Deities would lend to the desired effect.
Balance between the perceptions of Deities by the participants of the ritual should also be addressed. The question here is not which Deity is stronger. The issue is which Deity is better understood and perceived  by the participants. If one God is better understood by or more familiar to the group, there will be a tendency for the focus of the ritual to shift in the direction of familiarity. This is a simple fact of the way in which the human mind works. Constancy must also be kept between ambiguity and definition, all forces or Deities invited to or honoured during the ritual, should be equally defined or ambiguous. We tend to automatically shift toward those things that are better known or understood by us.
There are a few ways to prevent this unbalancing shift taking place. The first and foremost is to educate the people involved in the ritual. If a new deity is being introduced to this group, study the Myths and tales surrounding this individual, so that each person will have a clearer knowledge and mental image of who this is. We also can lend some help to the perceptions of a Deity through clear descriptive invitations, which will help form a clear image within the minds present. Anther tool to use for this is adding symbols of the Deity with less name recognition. The idea of these and other solutions being to facilitate a clear and easily held identification with each spiritual force involved in the ritual, thus allowing the exercise to remain focused in the appropriate structural balance.
Focus Techniques- Our fifth parameter is focus techniques, which are the methods of symbolizing and accomplishing the objective. These are the details of how we do the ritual. And how we set about realizing the successful completion of the intended work.
The first area to be addressed is worldview or cosmological paradigm on which the performance of the ritual will be based. Effort must be made to keep the symbology and structural systems employed as consistent with this worldview as possible. Internal constancy of the symbology system should also be maintained.
Next we consider how the spiritual forces and Deities are symbolized in the ritual, this should be judged on method and effectiveness. Are the identities and personas being addressed clearly defined and represented? What can we do to make the invitations and symbolizations more vivid and effective. .
Energy- Our sixth parameter of ritual is energy, which is the emotional and intellectual aspect of the ritual. We must try to focus the minds and emotions of the participants upon the type of feelings and thoughts that are most conducive to the goal of the ritual.
    Dancing, singing, drumming, oratory, chanting and breath control are among the methods of raising the emotional energy to a higher level and reaching an ecstatic state of focus upon the goal. There are many techniques for accomplishing this. Chose your techniques as to appropriateness to the symbology and goal in the ritual. The function of the act chosen being to raise and focus the emotional and spiritual energy most in tune with the expressed purpose of the ritual.
 Spoken parts of the ritual should use a ritual language or vividly descriptive terminology in order to inspire and excite those present into lending their energy to the performance of the ritual and the realization of the goal. How may we best direct the minds present to the purpose at hand? By what means may we produce as much emotional and spiritual involvement by the people attending as possible?
 Insight- Our seventh parameter of ritual is insight, which is where we judge the success or failure of the ritual. We must study the ritual before, during and after in order to assess the effectiveness of the exercise.
 By clear objective study of the liturgical project we can judge the power. For our purposes here we define power as the measured effect of the spiritual exercise. Power is not equated with energy, a ritual may produce a high level of energy and still not have power. Some rituals manifest a great deal of power by effectively using a small amount of energy. What one feels during a ritual is the energy, not the power.
 The first of our primary methods of obtaining insight into the effectiveness or power of a ritual is divination. During the ritual we perform some type of reading or omen study. One ritual may end up presenting us with multiple omens, during the performance of the ritual. Each of these is studied independently of the others and then all of them are studied as a group.
 Next we move into to the area of ritual debriefing, in which we discuss and record our impressions of the ritual. These impressions and perceptions are recorded in a journal, that we may use for future referral. Journal entries should for this reason, contain as much information as possible about the exercise.
Periodic review is the final area that we will discuss relative to insight. It is by the regular review of our journals that we are able to finally judge the power of a given act. We often will not know if we have achieved our desired goal for some time. Only by recording our actions and the eventual results, whether successful or not, can we finally judge our ritual for the power that it manifests. Furthermore, only these records allow us to compare many of our rituals with one another in order to assess our overall effectiveness in the general area of liturgical exercise.
 In summary, it is seen that there are many specific areas of ritual that are common to the subject devoid of the context of application. As mathematical study is a basic requirement to all types of engineering, or physiology is required for all medical specialties; the understanding of these basic parameters  for general ritual will improve liturgical abilities no matter the venue of application.