Man is not greater than woman,
Nor is woman greater than man,
For what one lacks, the other may provide.
As the athame is to the man,
So is the chalice to the woman,
And when they are conjoined they become
One in Truth;
For there is no greater magic
In all the worlds
Than that of Love.
This is the simple version I was taught and have always used. There is a much longer, ritual version written by Stewart Farrar and can be found in his books. The Great Rite is performed with the priestess holding the chalice out to the priest, as he inserts the athame's point into the chalice to symbolize the union of the God and Goddess, the universal union of male and female, and the balance achieved when such occurs. The Rite is used traditionally as a blessing for cakes and ale, for the blessed liquid in the chalice is passed around so that participants may drink of it and share in the blessings of the Gods.
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