Great rite
{{Short description|Wiccan ritual}}
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The great rite is a Wiccan ritual involving symbolic sexual intercourse with the purpose of drawing energy from the powerful connection between a male and female. Both receive more power.Wagar, Samuel, "The Wiccan Great Rite — Hieros Gamos in the Modern West", Journal of Religion and Popular Culture (Volume 21, Issue 2, Summer 2009): pages 1-38. It is an uncommon ritual in a full coven, as it is used when the coven is in need of powerful spiritual intervention. Budapest, Zsuzsanna Emese. The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries. Berkeley, CA: Wingbow, 1989.
Most often it is performed by the high priest and priestess of a coven, but other participants can be selected to perform the rite.
Symbolic version of the great rite
In the symbolic version the high priestess plunges the athame, or ritual knife that represents the masculine, into a cup or chalice which represents the feminine. The chalice is filled with wine and is held by the high priest. The great rite symbolizes creation in the union of the maiden goddess with the lover god, and thus is also known as a fertility rite.{{cn|date=February 2022}}
Occasions for the great rite
A variety of ritual occasions call for the great rite to be performed, such as during the festival of Beltane on or about May 1 in the northern hemisphere and November 1 in the southern hemisphere.{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Dorothy |title=The Craft: A Witch's Book of Shadows |publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |year=2001 |page=153}}{{cite book |last=Hume |first=Lynne |title=Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia |location=Melbourne |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=1997}}