Everywhere you go in witchy spaces, you have likely encountered someone that said Blessed Be! to you. You have maybe even said it yourself! But do you know where this phrase comes from and why it permeates witchy spaces? I might, and I want to share that theory with you. It is obviously a theory because we can’t know for sure where the phrase came into common use, but we do know where it was ritualized.
This phrase is usually associated with Wiccans, though some non-Wiccan witches say it, too. In online spaces, it seems to be a good way to set us apart from non-witchy folx, our own sort of greeting, if you will. This phrase, Blessed Be, does come from a Wiccan source. For that, we have to go back to Gerald Gardner and his Book of Shadows.
The Ritual - The Five-Fold Kiss
This ritual is said to come directly from Gerald Gardner’s Book of Shadows. Janet and Stewart Farrar also have a version in their Book of Shadows, and I will show you both of them. It is important to keep in mind that this ritual comes from two separate traditions in Wicca (Gardnerian and Alexandrian) and I am not sure if it is used in other traditions.
Gardner’s Five-Fold Kiss
High Priestess stands in front of Altar, assumes Goddess position (arms crossed). Magus, kneeling in front of her, draws pentacle on her body with Phallus-headed Wand, invokes, “I Invoke and beseech Thee, O mighty Mother of all life and fertility. By seed and root, by stem and bud, by leaf and flower and fruit, by Life and Love, do I invoke Thee to descend into the body of thy servant and High Priestess [name].”
The Moon having been drawn down, i.e., link established, Magus and other men give Fivefold Kiss:
(kissing feet) “Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways”;
(kissing knees) “Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar”;
(kissing womb) “Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be”;
(kissing breasts) “Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty and in strength”;
(kissing lips) “Blessed be thy lips, that shall speak the sacred names.”Women all bow.
If there be an initiation, then at this time the Magus and the High Priestess in Goddess position (Arms Crossed) says the Charge while the Initiate stands outside the circle.
Janet and Stewart Farrar’s Five-Fold Kiss
FIVE FOLD KISS FEMALE
The High Priest kneels before the High Priestess and gives her the Five Fold Kiss; that is, he kisses her on both feet, both knees, womb, both breasts, and the lips, starting with the right of each pair. He says, as he does this:
"Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be.
Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty.
Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names."For the kiss on the lips, they embrace, length-to-length, with their feet touching each others. When he reaches the womb, she spreads her arms wide, and the same after the kiss on the lips.
FIVE FOLD KISS MALE
The High Priestess kneels before the High Priest and gives him the Five Fold Kiss; that is, she kisses him on both feet, both knees, phallus, both breasts, and the lips, starting with the right of each pair. she says, as she does this:
"Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
Blessed be thy phallus, without which we would not be.
Blessed be thy breasts, formed in strength.
Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names."For the kiss on the lips, they embrace, length-to-length, with their feet touching each others. When she reaches the phallus, he spreads his arms wide, and the same after the kiss on the lips.
Farrar, Janet and Stewart; “Eight Sabbats For Witches”; Robert Hale 1983
You can see in each ritual that the phrase “Blessed Be” is used several times. The entire purpose of the Five-Fold Kiss in Wiccan ritual is to bless the other person, usually the High Priest blessing the High Priestess or vice versa. The five sacred parts of the body are kissed by the other person, blessing them as a sacred embodiment of the Divine. I am not sure if the blessing is done before or after Drawing Down the Moon, though it would make sense to do it before as the person is blessing the body as a vessel for the Divine.
The five sacred parts of the body are the feet, the knees, the phallus/womb, the breast, and the lips. The ritual clearly states why each of these parts is considered sacred in human form, and I think it’s a beautiful sentiment. I am not going to give my entire opinion on this ritual because I have feelings about it that are directly tied to some other personal experiences, but I have never witnessed the Five-Fold Kiss in person. I am not even sure if this is still performed in other covens today, though I believe it would just be Gardnerian and Alexandrian covens.
I would like to think that the phrase “Blessed Be” as a greeting came from this ritual. If we can say it to others mindfully and embody the magic and meaning from the ritual, we can surely bless those we meet as an embodiment of the Divine themselves, if they choose. Though I don’t use it myself, it would be nice to think that it came into modern language as a way for us to recognize the Divine in ourselves and those we meet.
As a Celtic Polytheist and non-Wiccan, I have no need to perform the Five-Fold Kiss nor see it performed. I do think I can adopt some of the idea behind it, though, in recognizing that my body is a sacred vessel that carries me to the Gods in the way I need. I wouldn’t necessarily be a vessel for the Gods, but a sacred vessel of myself for Them, if that makes sense.
Have you ever seen the Five-Fold Kiss performed? Have you ever performed it yourself during ritual with a coven? If you aren’t Wiccan, do what do you think about honoring the body as sacred for the Gods?
Sources
Gardnerian Book of Shadows
Janet and Stewart Farrar’s Book of Shadows
Continuing the discussion from 
Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - A Magickal Blessing
that the Garnerians Wiccans use during there initiation rights!
