Set
�I am Set, Protector of my father Ra as he journeys through the long night. I am killer of the serpents of darkness. God of Chaos. God of Strength. God of Weather. For my own reasons and in my own time I slew my brother Osiris, son of Nuit. Now I am the favored Son and the Lord of Midnight. The Earth sleeps in a blanket of Ice and Snow - frozen tears fallen from the eyes of Isis as she mourns her dead mate.�

Isis
�Your rule nears its end, God of Storms�

Set
�Who dares speak to me so?�

Isis
�I do, brother. Isis, Goddess of Fertility, Wife to a murdered husband.�

Set
�Leave me be. Your time is past.�

Isis
�Time is but a circle. All things return to their beginnings. Your wheel has turned full circle. Osiris is restored�

Set
�Osiris lies still in the 14 pieces I carved him into and scattered throughout the world.�

Isis
�I found the pieces. Behold!�

Osiris rises from his slumber, and takes up his �sword�.

Set
�What is this my eyes see? A walking corpse?�

Osiris
�A living God! I am Osiris, restored by the ministrations of Isis. Now I travel between the world of life and the world of death at will. I am keeper of the Gates. I Guard the path between darkness and light. As Isis is the giver of Life, so do I watch over those who have passed beyond the veil. And having traversed the land of death, I am now returned, and restored. �

Set
�You would seek to usurp me?!�

Osiris
�Indeed! I challenge you, O Lord of Death!

Now let the two Gods engage in a mock struggle. The Gods can grapple with each other, or have a choreographed mock sword fight or they could use quarter staves, according or whatever works best for you. At length Osiris vanquishes Set, who falls to the floor.

Set
�I am wounded! I am struck! In the midst of my greatest power I am cast down!

Osiris
�It is even so. Now the longest night shall pass, and the days will lengthen, and the Sun climb high in the heavens. For behold! I am the Sun reborn! I am life renewed! I am Osiris, and in my time I shall rule the longest day! I shall grow with the plants and crops, and renew the life of Earth. I shall arise with the Ram, and melt the snows of Winter -for such was the vibrant life that Isis breathed back into me, I am filled with the heat which nurtures the seed and makes the blood run faster. I shall turn the Goddess� head to love, and all things will flower in my name. But that is yet to come. For now, the Lord of Darkness shall rule a little longer -but His end is begun. Days may grow colder for a time, but they will also grow longer and this dark Winter will pass away. All things in their turn are reborn: the day, the Earth, the soul. For the only constant is change, and spirit but changes its form. This longest night is the moment of Set�s greatest power, but also the beginning of his end. Go now into the long night with him.

What would you release with him as he passes away? What would you change as the days lengthen? Think of these things. Meditate upon them now, as we let the longest night come about us.�

Let Osiris now extinguish the altar lights so that the room is in complete darkness. Meditate upon all that you would change or release. Meditate for about a minute: maybe two. More will be too much if you have people not skilled in meditation.

Now let Isis take the lighter and light the candle. The candle should be held under the face so that she is eerily underlit. This will also provide light if Isis�s speech must be read.

Isis
�Behold, I am Isis, Queen of Fertility and I live in even in the midst of Winter. Though I have lived since the time before time, I am still strong and sure of purpose. Even in this darkest night, I see clearly.

�Once I wore the red veil of the Maiden, and danced among the flowers of Spring. The world was my playground and I rejoiced. The Sun�s rays warmed me, and moved me to love.

�Once too, I wore the white gown of the Mother, and walked among the growing fields. As with my child Horus, I nurtured the Earth and gave it sustenance.

�While my husband slept the sleep of death, I wore the black mantle of the Crone, and stood strong amidst the wind and snows of Winter. The world is as one asleep, and I shelter it with my protective snows. Yet all things return to their beginnings, and as I strengthen and restore Osiris, so do I strengthen and restore the Earth.

�I am Isis. I am Mother to the World and the Queen of Witches. I have been all things and learned all secrets. I know that if we do not find that which we seek within, we can never find it without. I know too, that perfection is a false goal: for it cannot exist. What is perceived as perfection is not an ending but a plateau which precedes new growth: no sooner is it reached than it must be moved beyond.

�When the rose is at its most fragrant, it has already begun to rot. No sooner is the fruit ripe, than it must fall. When the Sun has reached its greatest height at noonday or at Midsummer, then it must begin to decrease. So too this longest night: from this point of greatest power, the reign of night shall diminish and the powers of the Sun increase. The Old Lord dies will fade and Osiris is risen in his turn: All things shall be renewed.

�It is even so in the affairs of humankind. There is no greater surety than change and growth. The old must give way to the new, outmoded ideas and forms must be discarded that new and better ways may grow. It is the way of things.

�In token of growth and renewal, let us now light our own way.�

�As we light our candles, let us be mindful of the role of change in our lives. And let us consider the areas of our life where change and growth are needed. Even as the light increases, so too may we be renewed and reborn.�