I decided to make an offering at the shore to Aradia, la padrona del' ocean. The moon rules the tides, thus Aradia, as a luner Goddess is associated with both the moon and the ocean.
I arrived at the public beach, clad in a regular sundress and water shoes, at about 5:15 a.m. The waning moon hung in the brightening pre-dawn sky in the south eastern quadrant.
Except for a couple way up the beach, I was largely alone. I invoked Aradia and explained I had brought an offering of purified water in a paper coffee cup and a spiral shell.
With my walking stick, I traced AVE ARADIA in the wet sand, and a wave washed over it. I tossed the shell into the waves. I murmured a blessing over the water and poured it into the ocean. I enjoyed the beauty of the scene for awhile. About this time, the sun began to crest the surface and I began singing:
Mezza luna, shinning bright,I wandered south along the shore singing to the moon and the water. I used the empty coffee cup to collect water polished stones and sea shells.
Sunrise on the water;
Oh A-ra-dia!
Diana's silver daughter!
Around 5:50 when the sun had appeared fully over the horsion, I headed back and returned for breakfast.
Myth's notes:
What I sang was adpted from a chant, Kenny Klein's Full Moon Shining Bright chant on the Faerie Queen tape. I have not put his chant (and music) on my Aradia website because I do not have a current address with which to contact him.
The Italian phrase mezza luna literally means "half moon," and refers to the moon phase which we call in English as the "quarter moon."
A lot of public beaches are posted "closed after dark." It truely isn't safe to swim after dark, and isn't a good idea to walk around on a closed beach after dark, either. However, it was quite light by the time I arrived in the early morning.
Most public beaches also do not allow glass containers, but plastic or paper are permited, provided one doesn't litter. Leave footprints, not trash.
Obivously this simple ritual can be adapted to any form of "beach magic" or "sea magic". Sundry names and symbols can be traced in the sand, etc. You will have to make note of the moon phases and rising and seting times of the moon and sun, but this information is easily available in a news paper.