The very basics of this ritual include a symbol of the spiral (which is like life, circulating on similar and circular turns but never quite the same) and the silver cord (which has been experienced in astral projection and near-death experiences as the cord that attaches the body to the spirit). For the ritual, you should have an altar decorated with reminders of the dead and anything he or she personally liked, such as favorite colors, or symbols, or a statue of his or her patron God or Goddess. The whole point is to honor the dead person, though somewhat sober colors and the colors of the Underworld (black and dark colors) are most appropriate. You will also want an easily breakable pottery bowl or cup, especially one you or the High Priest or Priestess made personally out of clay. It can be decorated with the person's name and favorite symbols, or runes spelling out his or her name, or whatever; it is a symbol of the person's earthly existence.

To start the ritual, cast the circle and call the elmentals as is normal for your coven or your own practice. The High Priestess then declares the purpose of the ritual:

"We meet today to mark the passing of our beloved sibling/sister/brother, [person's name], for whom this incarnation is ended. We meet to commend them to the care of the God and the Goddess, that they may rest, free from illusion or regret, until the time shall come for them to rebirth to this world. And knowing that this shall be so, we know, too, that the sadness is nothing and that the joy is all." (If you are alone doing this ritual for your own purposes, you may wish to speak directly TO the dead person, as if he or she were right there with you (and they may well be). You can make this much more personal when it is between you and the person you love who has passed on; feel free to talk to the person and use I/me instead of "we" in the above purpose declaration.)

Now is the time for a small spiral dance. The High Priestess should lead it, spiraling inwards in the widdershins direction (counterclockwise) to symbolize the journey back to the Mother's womb. The High Priest does not join, because now he speaks (slowly and with feeling) to the Goddess, who now holds the dead in Her arms:

"We call to thee, dark sterile Mother; thou to whom all manifested life must return, when its time has come; dark Mother of stillness and rest, before whom men tremble because they understand thee not. We call to thee, Goddess of the waning moon, dark Lady of wisdom, whom men fear because thy wisdom towers above their own. We, the hidden children of the Goddess, know that there is naught to fear in thine embrace, which none escape; that when we step into thy darkness, as all must, it is but to step again into the light. Therefore, in love and without fear, we commend to thee [person's name], our sibling/sister/brother. Take them, guide them; admit them to the peace of the Summerlands, which stand between life and life. And know, as thou knowest all things, that our love goes with them."

The dance stops at this point. (If alone, you might read this while circling in a very slow spiral, or you might forego the dance or the words altogether and simply meditate on energy and life circling back toward the Mother and then spiraling back out of Her womb as new life. You might simply chant something as you dance rather than reading, or memorize a poem, such as one of the ones listed in the tracts section.)

The High Priest gets the bowl and a silver cord, with a hammer and a cloth. The coveners part to let him through to the center, where he puts the bowl and cloth down and ties one end of the silver cord around the bowl. Then he hands the other end to the youngest woman in the coven.

The High Priest says:

"Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern; then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to the Goddess who gave it."

The High Priest unties the silver cord, and the maiden gathers it up and pulls it back to the world of life to symbolize the continued life of the spirit, leaving the bowl, or the body. The Priest wraps the bowl up in the cloth and breaks it with the hammer. Then the pieces are placed beside the altar, and the ritual moves on.

The young woman carries the silver cord around the circle deosil (clockwise) and offers it two of the quarters while the rest of the coven (led by the High Priestess) does a spiral dance deosil this time. (This unwinds the widdershins spiral, and symbolizes the dance toward life.) The maiden offers the cord to the west first, which is the land of death, but then she moves away and gives the cord to the east, the land of life. She lays it at the east quarter and then goes to the High Priest at the altar. As the dancers circle, the High Priest calls:

"We call to thee, bright fertile Mother; thou who art the womb of rebirth, from whom all manifested life proceeds, and at whose flowing breast all are nourished. We call to thee, who art also of the waxing moon, Lady of Springtime and of all things new. We commend to thee [person's name], our sibling/sister/brother. Take them, guard them, guide them; bring them in the fullness of time to a new birth and a new life. And grant that in new life they may be loved again, as we their siblings and brothers and sisters have loved them."

At this point the High Priest and maiden join the circling toward life, and the High Priestess begins to execute the Witches' Rune.

When the High Priestess decrees so, the coven sits in a ring. Then she chooses people to play out the Legend of the Descent of the Goddess, or the roles can be assigned beforehand. The story calls for a narrator, a woman to play the Goddess, a man to play the Lord of the Underworld, and a Guardian of the Portals. The Goddess should don a veil and jewelry and stand in the southeast of the circle. The Lord of the Underworld should put on a crown and hold a sword, and stand with his back to the altar. The Guardian of the Portals holds his athame and the red cord and stands facing the Goddess. Reading through the parts of the Legend of the Descent of the Goddess, everyone plays out the parts as decided beforehand. (Solitary practitioners need only read the Legend, and meditate on its meaning, possibly visualizing the departed going into the Goddess's arms.)

As the play-act ends, have the High Priestess or the Goddess-actress summarize it in the context:

"To be reborn, you must die, and be made ready for a new body. And to die, you must be born; and without love, you may not be born. And our Goddess ever inclineth to love, and mirth, and happiness; and she guardeth and cherisheth her hidden children in life, an din death she teacheth the way to her communion; and even in this world she teacheth them the mystery of the Magic Circle, which is placed between the worlds of men and of the Gods.

"Let us now, as the Goddess hath taught us, share the love-feast of the wine and the cakes; and as we do, let us remember our sibling/sister/brother [person's name], with whom we have so often shared it. And with this communion, we lovingly place our sibling/sister/brother in the hands of the Goddess."

And everyone agrees:

"So mote it be."

Everyone eats of consecrated cakes and wine, and after the ritual ends, the clay bits from the broken bowl are ritually thrown into a running stream or river, with the traditional command: "Return to the elements from which thou camest."

Source: The Farrars' A Witches' Bible, with minor original interpretations and original footnotes for solitary practice.