Hello! I was specifically requested by 'someone' to write on this. Don’t worry sweetheart, your identity is safe.

Hmmm. Ummm. Yes! You can continue reading, it’s something related to ‘The bird and the bees ’. Do I need to say, Enjoy?  *winks*

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The Great Rite-

From the beginnings of recorded history, we know that in Mesopotamia and Chaldea, sacred union was seen as holy and practitioners were providing a service of the Goddess to the cultures of their society. A man would go to the temple and with an offering; he would request service of a Priestess within. His purpose was to gain favor of the Goddess for more children back at home with his wife, or an extra bit of fertility for his fields, or herds of sheep, cattle or camels.

The myths of the Greeks, to a greater or lesser extent are concerned with  the union of Deities with the lowly humans they rule over. The Greek pantheons constantly sought out human partners whose conceived children often became revered demi-gods. These myths had both a good and bad side of their tale. On one hand, divine unions were seen as gifts from the Gods and often became ritualized. They became honored experiences even if they didn't yield a child, but still gained abundance in the fields or herds.

On the other hand some tribes such as the Samothraki, involved the sacrifice of young men at one point in their history. Some Priestess would lay with a young man and to ensure she would become pregnant, she carried a very sharp, leaf-shaped knife which she used to take the life of the man she lay with. Sacrificing his life would ensure his essence was transferred to her womb.

There is even evidence of union with the Goddess in Biblical Times. It is held by some historians that the Hebrew God Yaweh was originally a phallic deity. In fact it is an accepted historical belief that the Hebrews were not always a monotheistic society. Phallic pillars were set up for worship in many of those early Hebrew villages, along with images of the Goddess Anat or Anath.

Through many passages of the Bible we can see evidence of Goddess worship. In Judges V, the Song of Deborah is a clear example. The story of Susanna and the elders is another example.

 If you can find an early version of the bible, you can see the ritualistic venues and importance of women such as Queen Esther who is another 'goddess' symbol. If read with a perspective of the Great Rite, it becomes clear that this queen was also a priestess of the Goddess. Through his reign, her husband the king had to prove his virility and therefore his right. This is a very clear connection between the earliest Great Rite rituals and the bible. And don't forget the Songs of Solomon, which have been considered one of the most glorious love poems ever written.

The bible it is believed also provides one of the biggest examples of the reverence between the Divine and human coupling through the conception of Jesus. Early variations of the bible come right out and say "God lay with Mary and she conceived a son". That translation has changed over the years thanks to the French and the first use of the term "immaculate conception" (meaning without sin or blemish) in 1497.

The Great Rite is probably the most well known or heard about pagan rituals. Today it is a rite of union that pays homage to the polarity of male/female; god/goddess, priest/priestess.

This polarity exists in all things in and around the universe. The Great Rite therefore expresses the physical, mental, spiritual aspects of the Divine through the astral union between a man and woman as representations of the God and Goddess.  In other words, the energy created between a man and woman during the physical act of union is an expression of spiritual energy from the God and Goddess.

At times it has been used as an Initiation into a coven (such as 3rd degree initiations in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions). Representing the inner marriage of the soul and spirit, ego and self. It is the gateway to becoming a whole being. In these type of initiations, the Rite is performed between the initiant and the High Priest, or High Priestess. This was done either "In token", which is symbolically using ritual tools, such as an athame inserted into a chalice. Or "in true", which was the physical act.

When the rite was performed as a celebration of the season, it is often conducted "in true" form by a couple who are already intimate partners. The public display of the union varies between traditions. For instance, a portion of the rite was performed within the ritual circle in front of the coven, and the intimate union was performed in private.

Indonesia-

Seven times a year on a holiday called ‘Pon’, Indonesians make a pilgrimage to a sacred mountain on Java to get down and dirty with a person other than their spouse – if they sleep with that same person seven times, they believe their wishes and blessings will come true.

Haiti-

During the month of July, at the waterfalls of Saut d’Eauone, one may witness a quite risqué ritual. Voodoo practitioners make this journey each summer to worship the goddess of love.

Picture a bunch of buck-naked people twisting and wriggling around in mud mixed with the blood of sacrificed animals–cow and goat heads thrown into the mix. That’s what happens there.

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And that’s it. That is all my *innocent* mind can absorb.