Minor Rites

Minor Rites are a type of Rite from Werewolf: The Apocalypse. They were first introduced in the Second Edition Rulebook.

Overview

Minor Rites are the rituals that the Garou incorporate into daily living. Almost all Garou know and use at least a few such Minor Rites.

There are an almost infinite variety of Minor Rites available to the Garou. Many Garou develop their own unique Minor Rites to help them reaffirm their connection to Gaia, their totem spirit, or each other.

Minor rites are half the cost of the normal rites: a Garou character can learn 2 for the price of 1. Werewolves who practice these regularly gain a small benefit for 24 hours, or find it easier to achieve certain goals.

Anyone can learn the rite if they find a teacher; though usually auspice determines the ones they are expected to learn.

List of Minor Rites

  • Bone Rhythms
  • Breath of Gaia
  • Greet the Moon
  • Greet the Sun
  • Hunting Prayer
  • Prayer for the Prey
  • Croatan Song: Boat Song - As the name implies, this minor rite takes the form of a short song used to keep a boat from running aground or getting tossed in rapids while on its journey. No one aboard gets seasick, and the boar makes good time regardless of the weather.
  • Croatan Song: Confederacy - This rite is performed before peaceful meetings between different tribes. The Garou involved in the meeting must recite specific oaths as party of the rite; the oaths are short and simple and formed as a command. ("None here shall raise claw against another"; "Each swears to defend the honor of the other;" No lies shall pass our lips," and so on.)
  • Book of the City: Appease the Prey-Spirit - A city version of the Prayer for the Prey that thanks any spirit that has fed him. This may be a plant-spirit, a machine-spirit (if the food was machine-made) or the Bone Gnawer's favorite spirit, the Garbage Heap.
  • Book of the City: Greet the Lady of Justice - This rite thanks the spirit of Justice. The Garou must offer praises (in song, in prayer, in dance, etc) to Justice whenever she feels the presence of "the Lady."
  • Changing Ways: Calling the Directions - A mystic uses this ritual to reorient himself spiritually, affirming that he is in balance with all of Gaia. Beginning with the East, the Garou howls or sings in the language of the Wild to each of the four cardinal directions.
  • Changing Ways: Honoring the Ancestors - By paying respects to a beloved tribe ancestor at a caern shrine or memorial with a ritual howl and a few drops of her own blood, a werewolf gains the favor of that ancestor.
  • Changing Ways: Greet the North Star - This rite is similar to Greet the Moon, but is performed when the North Star first appears in the sky after sunset.

List of Tribal Minor Rites

  • Children of Gaia: Rite of the Teachers - This rite involves using the teacher plants of Gaia (hallucinogenic plants) which have had their spirits Awakened (using the Rite of Spirit Awakening). The ritemaster must prepare the plants carefully and then use them in the appropriate manner (such as smoking jimson weed or eating sacred mushrooms). Note that the use of the plants is forbidden in some cases by human law.
  • Children of Gaia: The Bowels of the Mother - This simple rite enables other rites to be performed in less than ideal circumstances. The Ragabash Soldier-of-Paradise developed it while serving in the US military. Rites requiring Gaia's physical presence (that is, that natural earth, air, water or fire be present) are difficult to perform while the ritemaster is in a setting where they do not exist, such as a ship at sea. The clever No-Moon reasoned that "there's wind in your lungs, water in your veins, fire in your heart and soil in your bowels."
  • Fianna: Twilight Song - The period between day and night is considered a magical time by the Fianna, a transitory time when the world grows still and the hidden dances almost within vision.
  • Silent Striders: Rite of Meeting and Parting - Two Striders meeting on the road is a rare occurrence, but often a pleasant one. each traveler greets the other with a traditional salutation in his or her native tongue. If time permits, they share food and water, and exchange news of their travels. On parting, they exchange blessings in the Garou tongue; the most common is "Gaia soft beneath your feet, Luna's light on your path." Even in emergencies, two Striders who recognize each other will howl out as much of the greeting and farewell as they can as they pass each other at full sprint. This rite is not usually performed on arrival at a caern, but Silent Strider caerns often have their own rituals to welcome travelers.
  • Stargazers: Tea Ceremony - The Stargazer tea ceremony is both a social occasion and a meditation practice. It allows a Stargazer to center herself, both through uncomplicated conversation and through the calming simplicity of drinking hot tea.
  • Stargazers: Ancestor Veneration - As has been stated, Stargazers are often closer to their forebears and spiritual ancestors than most other Garou. They tend to erect and maintain sometimes simple, other times elaborate shrines to their antecedents, hoping to gain favor from them and elevate them above their once-living stations. Many Stargazers sit at these constructed shrines and pray in an effort to venerate their ancestors, partially to honor them, and partially to gain a greater connection to them.
  • Wendigo: Offerings - This rite is a means by which the Garou becomes known to the spirits as a friend. It can affect the demeanor of summoned or encountered spirits by turning non-Wyrm hostile spirits into neutrals or friendlies. Various offerings, from tobacco to food, are required. Basically, the Garou must smoke a pipe of tobacco every morning or evening for an entire moon cycle, or provide a small offering from every meal he consumes during that cycle (by burying it nearby or leaving it in a place that animal spirits frequent).
  • White Howlers: Augury - By denying herself food, the Garou sharpens focus, allowing her insight into the world beyond the mundane.

List of Black Spiral Dancer Minor Rites

  • Curse the Soul - A twisted version of Prayer for the Prey. The Dancer steps into the Umbra after killing an enemy and curses the spirit of her prey in the name of the Wyrm.
  • Greet the Wyrm - A twisted version of Greet the Sun/Moon. A Dancer howls an elaborate greeting to the Wyrm when night falls.
  • Hunting Prayer - The Dancer chooses an item associated with death and destruction (preferably a weapon) and prays over it in praise of the Wyrm. The Dancer is then able to track her enemies while hunting. If the Dancer loses the item or fails to take it with her when hunting, she must start the process over with a different item.
  • Respect the Totem - The Dancer meditates for at least 15 minutes, praying silently to his personal or pack totem during four consecutive sessions. Doing so gives the Dancer one free retest to be spent when performing any task that her totem mandates.

List of Werewolf: The Wild West Minor Rites

Spiritual creatures such as the Garou are constantly affirming their connection to the world at large, its cycles and currents. Almost every werewolf knows a few minor rites, small prayers to Gaia and other superstitions. Generally, these rites involve only one werewolf, who performs the ceremony in private.

  • Tear for the Prey - Although the spirit of the hunter is strong in the Garou, most try not to blindly skill, or slay for no reason. This rite allows a werewolf to make peace with the spirit of a being he has just slain, either in battle or in the hunt. The Garou must take time to kneel over the corpse and close his eyes, silently thanking the spirit as it departs the body. This rite is never performed over slain Wyrm-things.
  • Hunt Blessing - Before any hunt, the werewolf takes a moment to solicit Gaia's grace and to praise Her and all Her works, principally Her creatures. The Garou must choose a talisman to hold her prayers; it may be a trophy of combat or an item of clothing, but it must be carried on the hunt. This rite has almost as many different forms as there are individual Garou, but it's always performed immediately before the hunt, and in private.
  • Hail the Sun - The werewolf sings out a joyous welcome at dawn, following the sun's long journey through the darkness beneath the world. The werewolf howls an elaborate ululating greeting while squatting atop the nearest high ground. The tones, rhythms and duration vary with the season.
  • Welcome Luna - This greeting must be performed at Luna's zenith. When she reaches her peak, the Garou must howl as loudly as possible to attract her attention. The moon's phase determines the length of the howl; the fuller she is, the longer the howl.
  • Prayers for Rain - This rite can be enacted by a single werewolf or a pack. Dancing in circles and pleading to Gaia, the Garou tries to bring rain. Her pleas take whatever shape she thinks might bring rain. Her pleas take whatever shape she things might convince Gaia, from the ritualistic poetry of the Silver Fangs to the conversational supplications of the Bone Gnawers. Each Garou tends to have a personal theory about what works best.
  • Chant of the Run - This rite is used in the New World before any long journey. The werewolf stamps and shuffles on one spot while turning a slow circle, face toward the horizon. All the while, she chants to Gaia, entreating Her for guidance on the coming trek. Upon completing a full circle, the Garou steps through the Gauntlet. Glowing footprints across the Penumbra indicate the best path to take.

List of Werewolf: The Dark Ages Minor Rites

Most Garou not only pay homage to Gaia, but also to the ancient spirits or gods of their homeland. Fenrir may invoke Witan or Thor, while the Fianna praise the fae. Dark Ages Garou should show respect to Gaia and her spirits, but also to their human traditions. Spirituality played a large part in the loves of Dark Ages people - the Garou are, if anything, even more exemplary in their spiritualism.

List of Kinfolk Minor Rites

  • Rite of the Morning Song - The Kinfolk rises before dawn and prepares to greet the first rays of morning fire. Starting with the first true sun rays, the Kinfolk offers praise to Helios. She may sing, read or speak a poem, intone and chant syllables, or otherwise vocalize her greeting. If she does this for nine straight sunrises, like the Garou Rite Greet the Sun, the Kinfolk gains the ability to Sense Wyrm for the rest of the day as if she possessed the Garou Gift. If she misses even pone morning, she must begin again for the effect to take place.
  • Rite of Evening Chant - This rite requires the Kinfolk to sing Luna's praises through one entire phase of the moon. Songs, poetry, stories, and other verbalizations must be made for at least 15 minutes. After the Kinfolk has completed the requirement, he receives an additional die on all Social interactions with Garou of the same auspice as the moon was when the rite was performed. This rite is sometimes performed with other Kinfolk, but the results are separate for each Kinfolk. This effect lasts until that moon phase comes around again (either waxing or waning).

References

Werewolf: The Apocalypse Rites
Garou and Fera Rites Age Role Rites · Astrological Rites · Caern Rites · Dark Umbra Tribal Rites · Minor Rites · Mystic Rites · Punishment Rites · Rites of Accord · Rites of Death · Rites of the Frontier · Rites of the Pure Ones · Rites of Renown · Rites of the Wyld · Seasonal Rites
Kinfolk Rites Caern Rites · Minor Rites · Punishment Rites · Rites of Accord · Rites of the Homestead · Rites of the Milestones · Rites of Renown · Ritual of Sacred Rebirth
Unique Fera Rites Ananasi: First · Shared · Triumvirate · Viskr - Bastet: Kuasha Rites · Moon Rites · Rites of Need · Taghairm Rites - Corax - Gurahl - Kitsune - Mokolé - Nagah: Samskara - Nuwisha - Ratkin - Rokea
Mockery Breed Rites Carrion Crows - Histpah: Rite of the Unmaker's Song
Miscellaneous Rites 7th Generation: Rite of the Pentarch · Mold Clay - Fomori: The Rite of Making - Miscellaneous Rites
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