When you are ready to start writing your own rituals, look at the rituals written by other people, and work out the different symbolism they used, and work off those as a guide. I think of a ritual as the whole celebration, which includes the circle casting, ceremony (eg. Sabbat), spell etc.  When writing a ritual, think of the following:

• Why – Why are you preforming the ritual?  Sabbat, to cast a spell, to thank the Gods?  Don’t perform a ritual if you feel you "have"  to, you should “want” to.
• What – What do you want to achieve?  Asking the Goddess for something? Celebrate Spring?  More power for your spell?
• Elaborate or simple – Will the ritual be elaborate, with lots of tools, colourful robes, complicated chants, or will it be simple, with a few tools, street clothes and a simple chant?
• When – When will you perform it?  Day or night, a specific day or month?
• Where – Inside? Outside?  In a park?  In the backyard?  Think of the weather, too cold, too hot, windy, raining, a fire hazard, too dark and scary outside at night?
• Tools – which tools do you NEED and which do you have?  Do you need any special tools that you don’t have?  Will you have the right candles and herbs?  If not, will you buy them, pick them etc. You may have to work out your ritual based on what items you already have, or which ones you can get easily.  There is no point writing a spell using tonka beans if you can’t get them anywhere.
• Time – How long will it be? Do you have enough time to be able to perform the ritual?  You must not hurry, and if you only have a limited time, you will either have to write a short one, or arrange another time to do it.
• Deity – which deity/s will you invoke?  A Goddess and God or just a Goddess, or just a God.  Which deity do you feel comfortable with, which would work best for the spell/ritual you are performing.  Will you have both Celtic deities, or a Celtic Goddess and a Greek God?
• Raise power? – will you raise the power?  How?  Chanting, singing, dancing, drumming…
• Preparation – Will you need any special oils, incense or other potions for the ritual?  Will you have to make these in advance?  How long in advance, do the oils need to sit under the moonlight for a few days first?
• Clothing – Will you wear robes, Special clothes or street clothes?  a particular colour?  Will you go “skyclad”
• Bath – will you have a ritual bath to cleanse before the ritual, or will you just smudge yourself (or not bother about cleansing at all).  If you are having a bath, do you need to make any oils or bath salts?
• Feast – what will you have for the simple feast?  Cakes and ale?  wine and bread?  Coke and tim tams?  Etc. Do you need to buy these, or make them.
• Altar – where will you face the altar?  What will you put on the altar.. like leaves for the autumn equinox
• Order – what order will you perform all the parts of he ritual?
• Plan - The hardest bit, working out (if it is a sabbat or Esbat)  what you are going to do in the ritual.  Work out the symbols for the festival/Moon and work out the best way to incorporate them into your ritual.  Using colours, foods, symbolism etc.

To answer these questions, work out which feels right for you, there are no “correct” ways to perform a ritual, the best way is to do what you feel is best.  Here is an example:

• Why – full moon ritual
• What – celebrate full moon, make holy water, charge my new wand, charge anointing oil for future rituals.
• Elaborate/simple – Very simple
• When – Night (want to see the moon)
• Where – Outside, or if rains, inside beside a window where I can see the moon
• Tools – Athame, wand, chalice, bowl (for holy water), salt, oil to be charged, frankincense incense
• Time – 1 ½ hours spare… which will be plenty of time
• Deity – Diana  (Roman Moon Goddess) and Thoth (Egyptian Moon God)
• Raise power – no… although I will sing a little.
• Preparation – need to prepare oil for charging.
• Clothing – black dress, and cape, crescent moon headband, pentacle necklace.
• Bath – ritual bath, with white flowers, jasmine oil and some milk
• Feast – moon shaped cookies and milk…make the cookies
• Altar – face the moon
• Order – cast circle, full moon rite, charge wand, charge oil, make holy water.
• Plan - For the Full moon ritr I'll simply look at moon, ask for the blessings of the moon Goddess, say the charge of the goddess and sing to her.

This information is taken from  "Obsidian's Book Of Shadows". Available from:.