“The Tree” is the basic liturgical and organizational writing and the basis for Seax-Wica, but it is a ‘base’. It provides the rituals as if being practiced by a coven, but nowadays most Wiccans, especially those of the Seax-Wica tradition, are solitary practitioners (they work alone). The following information on the Esbat Ceremony is adapted from “The Tree” and is only one way that a solitary can use these rituals in their own practice.
This is the general opening ceremony for any ritual other than the Sabbats (the seasonal festivals), which are all referred to as Esbats. They can be a Full-Moon Ritual or weekly devotion, and how often they are held is entirely up to you.
Set up your Altar as normal, and perform the Erecting the Temple ritual. Take up your Seax, kiss the blade, and return it to its sheath, then read or recite the following or something similar:
“I come here in worship of Woden and Freya. Let us give thanks for all that we have; for the love we enjoy; for the kinship we share.
Let me never forget what I owe to the Gods. Fore however my life is shaped, they are so shaped by My Lady and Her Lord. Theirs is the watch to keep; they are the ones who lead me on my path.
It is right that I thank them for what I have. Yet also may I ask them fore I feel I need.
So be it!”
Take a few minutes of silence, and in your own way give thanks or request the help of the Gods, then continue:
“When Man was but a child
Did the Gods watch over him.
My loving Freya, the Goddess, was Man’s mother;
Whilst stern, strong, God Woden was his father.
Man learned as he was taught,
With Patience and with Love.
Naught did he receive for naught.
But well was he rewarded for his pains.
‘As ye give, so shall it return;’
And this he learned well.
As I give of myself, my love, my life;
And so will I gain immeasurably.
Take that which is not mine to take,
And I may find it not what it seemed.
The Gods are just and they do with reason.
Work well with them and I will be rewarded
More than I might dream.
My Lady is Love; My Lord is Strength.
As I need them, they need me.
Let us live and love together
All in their sight.
Love is the Law, and Love is the Bond.
So be it!”
Continue with the rest of your ritual, such as the Full Moon Ritual. At the end of the ritual, continue with the Cakes and Ale Ceremony and then Clear the Temple.
seax-wica.org 
My daughter and I practice together, but we’re trying to finally do formal rituals together. I am still new to practicing Wicca seriously, as I have been on a spiritual search for about six years across several religions and spiritualities. But I love what you have here and what I am reading from Raymond Buckland’s book.
My daughter and I don’t really have a coven structure, how best do you think we could do these rituals? She’s an adult, just 19. Should it be done in more of a coven format or would these solitary versions work if we took turns performing the actions and saying the words (for example)?
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It’s wonderful to hear that you and your daughter are on this journey together!
Ultimately, the ‘best’ way to do these rituals would be to do what works best for the two of you. These solitary rituals can easily be split between two people just as you said.
If using the coven-based format makes more sense to you, and either one of you is comfortable with taking upon your the role the of Priest, then that works just as well, but by no means is that the way it “should” be done.
Beyond Raymond Buckland’s works, I’d also recommend taking a look at Ed Fitch’s “The Rites of Odin”. While most Wiccan traditions tend to have a clearly defined path for either Coven or Solitary practice, Ed Fitch also adds rites for the ‘Household’, or family unit, where the the Master and Lady of the House functionally replace the Priest and Priestess. They read the liturgy and then other family members perform the action. For example, you (as Lady of the House) would place the salt into the water and invoke the Lord and Lady to bless it, then hand the bowl of Salted Water to your daughter to walk around the room and sprinkle it. Again, this is just a suggestion, and I love your idea of taking turns between performing actions and saying the words.
Blessed Be!
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Thank you so much as always for the help and suggestions. I really love your Lady of the House idea. She tends to follow my lead as I have done far more research over the years, I figure it might evolve naturally to us taking turns after we get into a flow.
You’ve really inspired me, thank you!
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Have you ever done a death / crossing over ritual? For a person or a pet? We need to euthanize one of our pets today, he is suffering and very old. But I’d like to do a ritual / rite for him in his honor, and to help my daughter cope with her grief. We were both raised with the Christian view of death and funerals, so it’s still hard for us sometimes.
I have the Seax-Wica book borrowed from our library, I know he has a death rite in there but it’s more for coven members. I’m trying to alter it.
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I’m so sorry to hear that.
Yes, I have done them, for both people and pets, and adding an adapted Crossing the Bridge Ceremony to this site is on my list, but if you already have The Tree or it’s reprint, the liturgy will very much be the same.
Crossing the Bridge, like a the Handfasting Ceremony, is something I feel should be adapted to suite the individual, personalized as you see fit (if desired). If you feel moved to change certain things about it, whether words or actions, I strongly encourage you do so (and it’s quite clear in Buckland’s works that he would agree).
For instance, I dislike the phrase “Yet let us try ‘not’ to feel sad”, because the idea of being able to simply change how we feel is unrealistic and easily turns into something shame-based. You should never feel shamed or guilty for grieving. That being said, I understand this to mean that we should try not to ‘act’ sad, and instead we should focus on the joy our lost one has brought us, and rejoice in the thought of them returning in their next life to continue their Spiral of Rebirth. This joy can absolutely be experienced at the same time as our grief.
As such, I do leave the original wording in during my own rituals, but I ‘read’ it as I have said. In a ritual with another, such as your daughter, I would be careful with such phrasing without elaborating on it.
Blessed Be, Melissa, and may the Lord and Lady guard and guide your beloved pet as they prepare for their journey into their next life.
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Thank you very much for your reply. I agree with that phrase. I might write an optional change to it. I also found a lovely poem that I might include with the ritual.
He is gone now, he passed naturally after he was given a sedative, which we are grateful for. It was very peaceful. He relaxed completely and stopped breathing while my daughter was petting him. We cried of course, but it felt so peaceful to be able to give him love and be there during his transition.
Thank you for the help and the kind thoughts. We’ve both been praying to the Lord and Lady a lot today, and we both feel at peace.
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I meant to say I agree ‘with what you said’ about that phrase.
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