I think of rituals as being the Whole celebration, the Casting of a Circle, performing Sabbat ceremonies or Spells, Having a Simple feast and then closing the Circle.

There is no set way to perform a Ritual.

Some examples of rituals:

• Full Moon
• Dark Moon
• Waning Moon
• Waxing Moon
• Sabbats (Litha, Yule, Imbolc, Lammas etc.)
• To do a Spell
• To honour the Goddess and/or God
• To Protect you while you cleanse a house

You can use rituals you find online, in books, in someone else's BOS... wherever, but it is important to change anything that doesn't feel right for you.

Although it doesn't matter what you do in a ritual there are some steps you should do (not neccessarily in this order).

• Cast the Circle
• Invoke Elements/Goddess/God
• State why you are there
• Perform Sabbat ritual/Spells etc.
• Raise Power
• Ground
• Have Simple Feast
• Farewell Elements/Goddess/God
• Open Circle

You don't need to state why you are there if you don't want to, but it might help you focus on why you are there.  You can say something like "I am gathering here tonight to celebrate and Honour the Moon Goddess"

I think it is best to perform spells at the end of the ritual, after any Sabbat celebrations, as it is important to ground yourself after you have raised energy.  Grounding is where you send any excess energy that was not released from the circle (and is lingering in you) back into the ground.  This is done becuase you can sometimes get headaches or feel ill from this extra energy.  Eating is a great way to ground, which is part of the reason for the simple feast.  Placing your palms and forehead to the ground and visualising that excess energy draining into the ground is another good way.

The simple feast can be anything from a few nuts to a big feast.  But be aware that keeping a circle "up" takes energy and while you are feasting (if it is long) you might notice it begins to wane.

More details can be found on my writing rituals page