Ritual Veneration of the Cypress

Having set up the Altar as normal according to the tradition, add the following:

Small Cypress Bough and Bowl of Water (Center - Above Pentacle)
Offerings (Water and Bread, plus Incense)

After having Raised the Temple in the usual manner, sit before the Altar in a comfortable position. Then begin the ritual by lighting the offeratory Incense. As you watch the smoke rise, ground yourself. When you feel ready, say:

I call you forth, spirit of the Cypress, ancient and wise. May your energy fill this space and surround me.

Raise your arms back to the neutral position, and continue with the Statement Prayer:

Great Cypress, dweller-at-the-crossroads: You are the symbol of both end and beginning- the eternal cycle without cease; eternal Guardian of the realms who bears witness to the birth and death of all things. Blessed be your spirit, oh Cypress, who stands tall in the face of time. I honor you and your eternal journey through life, death, and rebirth.

Take the offering and place it on the ground at the base of the tree (or, if you are not performing the ritual at a Cypress, place it in the center of the Altar), saying:

Oh glorious Cypress, gracious and gentle spirit of immortality and death, you who hold the wisdom of the ages: The secrets of the past, and the promises of the future. I offer these gifts in reverence. May they nourish your Spirit, and may you bless me in return.

Finish by asperging the base of the tree (or, if you are not performing the ritual at a Cypress, asperg the Altar instead) with the Cypress Bough dipped in water. As you do so, say:

As water flows, so do the cycles of existence: From birth to death, and rebirth, into eternity. So mote it be until the end of time.

Raze the Temple in the traditional manner.