The Ramblings and Wanderings

Archive for April, 2009

Looks like we are going to have a good amount of people coming out.  Awesome!Between a vet bill for a horse and a vet bill for a dog we will not be roasting a pig, but a couple of chickens, wieners and some hamburgers instead.
For vegetarians we will have roast potatoes, carrots, and other veggies.
And probably some rice, along with what people bring.
I did make room in my refrigerator.

And plumbing will be cabin in the woods style lol

One of the horses hurt her leg spooked in a storm, and we had two new rescues come in for fostering yesterday. They are very scared and very fat. Locked in a little pen and just tossed treats and not socialized. So please do not head down to Mom’s place and bug the horses or the dogs while you are visiting, without me or mom.

Cheers!

This is the last you’ll see of me for a week I’d say.

Cheers!

I Love the Whole World

Feast and Fire
Feast and fire
Dance and desire
This Sacred Rite
Our great delight
Here we dine
And drink May wine
Now we toast
Who we love most
Green Oak King
To him we sing
Leaf and bud
Stag and stud
Sky and Earth
Brings rebirth
Seed of the field
Land be healed
Here we stand
To bless the Land
This our clan
Woman and man
Lovely lass
Raise your glass
The first of May
Its time to play
Feast and fire
Dance and desire
(Repeat last two lines X3)
~ Solaren & Juniper

Hedge & Grove
Tangled weeds and hawthorn grow
through the gap in old hedgerow
leading to a dark green grove
Tumbled stone and blackthorn grow
through the gap in green hedgerow
leading to a hearth of old
~ Juniper

Seed to Root
Seed to root, stem and leaf
Flower to fruit, grain and sheaf
Dark of earth, light of sky
Sown for birth, ripe for scythe
Grain and feed, bread and meat
Ale and mead, feast to eat
Seeds we lay, now to sprout
Blessed today, this we shout!
~ Solaren

A Wildcrafting Chant
This I gather with a grateful heart
For the Earth I will do my part
Thank you plant for giving this gift
In your honour my voice I lift
~ Juniper

Here’s everything you should need to know:

Click on the map for full size and to read directions

Friday we will have an opening ceremony around 4 or 5, and the Bell Branch workshop will start around 6.
Saturday we will start with games at noon followed by the Crowning of the May Queen and King. Then the ritual and Belfire dance around 4 or 5 and the feast after that.
Sunday we will have a leftover lunch around noon, followed by a ritual lead by Andrea with Maypole dance, and then a wildcrafting walk, before we have our closing ceremony.

Just a quick not on what to bring:

Camping gear
Food and drink
Potluck item for the feast
Flashlights

Suggested:
Offerings
Lantern for processional
Drums and rattle if you got them (there will be a bell branch workshop of Friday so you will be making one)
Blanket or towel or chair or something to sit on (seats are limited)
If you have a camp stove or some such thing, you may want to bring it
A broom, staff, stang or hobbyhorse for the race (loaners will be provided for those who do not bring one)

Optional:
Cup for the ritual
Items for trade and barter
Ribbon, bells etc for your bell branch

wild crafting items
A sharp knife or pruning shears (if you have them).
We will have a few hand saws and a spare pair of shears about as well.
A bag to carry collected material in (a backpack or burlap sack for example) paper bags are good to place and sort herbs into.
A camera if you wish to take pictures.
A field guide for plants or animals tracks, birds etc if you have one for this region.
Some people like to press their gathered herbs and plants (especially as collector specimens) if so you will need a press or a thick book and waxed paper. (optional)
Plastic bags come in handy for wet or dirty rocks and stones.
Digging tools if you like, some people have small shovel or trowels they use for roots or prying out a nice rock. There will be a few of these available as well.
A pencil and notepad for notes

Ritual garb or costume for processional and games
As Beltaine is the opposite of Samhain, we will be dressing up in the Morris Dancer Tradition, or in the Tradition of Guising (so think silly, funny, light hearted, like fairies and nature spirits)
If you do not have ritual garb or a costume, you could buy a masquerade mask (they can be bought at the dollar store, party store, walmart etc) or a silly hat, a feather boa, mardi gra beads, a gypsy skirt, belly dancer bells, or gather some flowers and leaves from the woods and make a garland.
Wearing or bringing bells and anything that jingles, chimes and makes noise would be great as well.
If you would prefer to just wear street clothes that is permitted as well, though you may get attacked by an organizer or other guest and be festooned with ribbon or sparkles or something … so watch out.

Some constume ideas (don’t have to go crazy, a dollar store mask is fine, a feather boa, leaves in your hair)

Robin Hood and crew, Jack in the Green, Oak King , Flower Bride, Greenman, Summer Queen, Fairies Nature spirits, ancestors, animals

We will be making offerings to: The spirits of the Land and Misty Acres itself, Mother Earth, the ancestors, totems (and other guides and guardians), various gods (the main ritual will be pan-Celtic), and any spirit of god (etc) you wish to make a personal offering.
When traveling I find the best offerings are those I can buy at the liquor store and pour out. Other good offerings are food, home made arts and crafts, write a poem or paint a picture and burn it, corn or cloth dollies, gathered herbs, coins, knifes and ritual items … anything that has some meaning to you.
There will be some birdseed or something along those lines for anyone with out an offering, they can use that and add some of their own energy to it.

Any sort of Offering will be welcome (except animals of course hehehehe). We will have compost heaps, a pond, fires, and shrines for the placing of different offerings.

A couple more notes:

There will be a pig roast or BBQ, as well as some rice and veggies and roast potatoes; Pancakes may be served  for brunch, but the rest is up to you to bring.

Both rituals are not “true” Wiccan rituals FYI  Juniper’s is Hedgecraft and Andrea’s rituals tend to have Reclaimming elements.

If you arrive Saturday, there will be time to make a Bell Branch before the ritual if you like.

Witchvox has some great articles for the first time festival goer, a few are linked on the Hedge’s forum

Head over to the Hedge’s forum for more discussion

You stupid dog

I will walk to the ends of the earth
Just so you could follow me
Dance with reverence and with mirth
In the sprinklers of summer lawns
I will let you eat my hamburger with cheese
Ride in the front seat of the truck
I will say “it’s ok” and stroke your head
When you vomit all over my lap
Because I love you
You stupid dog

*
I will wade through knee deep snow
Through the dark and in the cold
In naught but slippers and a robe
To save you from the frozen drifts
I will drive you to the vet
When you shouldn’t have eaten that
Spend my grocery money on the bill
And never once complain about it
Because I love you
You stupid dog

*
I will chase you down the street
And stop traffic to save your ass
I will not give a second date to any man
Who doesn’t love dogs or cats
I will smile when you howl
My hearts lifts when you bay
The neighbours might not like it
But I don’t care of they complain
Because I love you
You stupid dog

*
I will run and play with you
While you are still spry and young
And try to take good care of you
As you slowly age and grey
To you I will always give my best
And always try my damnedest
To keep you happy and healthy
And sneak you table scraps
Because you love me
You stupid dog
Because you love me

~ Juniper 2009

We need a pagan monastery or seminary or retreat in Canada, how come all those Americans and UKers get them and we don’t? Well folks, I have the land. Come and make it yours! Yep yep. But more on that after Beltaine folks.

 
I am crazy, crazy busy with Beltaine preparations. I spent about 3 hours yesterday up at the grove, moving rather large rocks around. I need a big strapping man or farm-hand to come help with these freaking rocks.
Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to try to pry a big stone out of its resting place with a stick? Very. I almost impaled myself yesterday. The stone was victorious and will not circle round the grove but stay where it is. The bastard.
I decided to make the fire pit in the grove as small as I dare. No sense in encouraging folks to try to build a massive fire in the middle of the forest after all. Plus I figure a smaller pit will be easier to jump. I wouldn’t want to land IN the belfire ouchies!

 

 
The horses got out the other night as a big storm passed through. I politely asked Taranis and Thor to stop scaring my horses with their thunder and the storm moved on. But not before Morgan scraped her leg in fright. Poor little girls, things are so new and scary to them.
After a lifetime around dogs, its interesting to switch gears and deal with prey animals. You handle a prey animal a lot differently than and hunter or scavenger that’s for sure. These girls are not large dogs!

Fortunately, the whole property is livestock fenced, so even though the girls got out of their pasture, they were still safely on the property. I’m glad I have gotten in the habit of closing the gate at the hiway though. We weren’t doing that before the horses came. As when I went to round up the girls in the morning, there was horse tracks all the way down the drive to the gate and back.
Come morning the girls were waiting by the gate to their pasture, wanting their grain and fresh hay and happily followed me back into their pasture. Then I had to have a look at Morgan’s leg (no easy feat with a barely harness broke yearling) and off to fix the fencing where they broke through.

After their adventure though, Magick seems to have come around. She is a very bossy horse and wants to be lead mare. You gotta watch her as she will bite and kick and charge you if she can. I’ve been swotting up on my horse body language, to better deal with her. But after their night out in the storm, she seemed to decide to try to make a bit of a change. Or maybe I’m doing something better now.
As rather than approaching me with ears back, head high, bum ready to spin and kick, she stood there staring at me for a minute. And I “ignored” her while she did so.
Then I swear I felt something between us shift. She turned so that she was completely facing me (no butt out), put her ears forward and her head down. Then slowly walked towards me in a proper respectful manner. She stopped just short of pressing her nose against my sternum and just stood there, waiting. I slowly raised my hand and let it rest in her vision by her head. Slowly, slowly, she leaned towards it until I was touching the side of her face. Suddenly she relaxed and I then scratched along her jaw line. She leaned into the touch and actually closed her eyes for a moment. Then I walked away from her. I’m lead mare I say when we are done.
But of course, when the next feeding time came around she was back to her old tricks, trying to get me to spill the bucket and pulling the hay from my hands. She got a flick of the rope for that. Back to square one again lol