Ritual

My circle of women is the only one that I know of where all members take turns planning, leading, and conducting rituals. No high priestesses for us! I can't imagine doing the kind of rituals many do -- reading out words that someone else wrote, generally in badly-imagined "archaic" language. Ask me to listen to "thee" and "thy" and "Lady Petunia Fire" and I'll ruin everything by getting the giggles.

Planning a meaningful ritual, organizing serious, deep magic is a skill. It can be learned, but it takes time. What's most important, to my mind, is to know your audience and your objective. Too many pagan rituals fail because it's not clear what they're FOR. And, the larger the group, the more difficult it becomes to conduct a ritual that will be meaningful for everyone. After that, I find my grandma's rule for getting dressed is awfully effective. Grandma always said that after you were all dressed, accessorized, and made-up, you should look at yourself in the mirror and take one thing off. The neclace and the earrings, but not the brooche or the hat and the gloves but not the scarf. Many of the most effective rituals are the simplest. Because I know that I'm going to have to plan rituals myself, I'm always on the lookout for elements of ritual that will "work."

Here's a beautiful description of a lovely ritual that obviously "worked." When the magic happens, you just know it.