(Written by Rich Allison)Wednesday July 26,
Paul, Holly, and I arrived at sunset and set up camp.
Thursday July 27,
We spent the day resting and adjusting to the altitude we went over to the groves pre built stone
circle and paid our respects. Clem (local sheep herder and friend of the grove)
showed up that morning and set his camp next to ours. In the afternoon Paul and Holly went back
into town to see a play while I stayed behind. While they were gone I took the two dogs
(Baily and Tara) for a walk and did a little exploring and spent the rest of the evening trying
to keep Baily and Tara out of trouble while talking to Clem. Paul and Holly arrived back to camp
around 3:00 am There trip didn't go as expected but they had a good time any way.
Friday July 28,
In the morning I took Baily and Tara for a walk so Paul and Holly could get some rest
after a long night. We spent the rest of the day exploring and driving around the valley.
After sunset the rest of the grove arrived set up their tents.
Saturday July 29,
we spent most of Saturday morning building the stone circle and preparing
for the Lughnasadh ritual. In the afternoon we lounged around, went down to the beaver pond
for a swim and a look at the wildlife, we did some horse back riding, basically had a good
time. After sunset we had an unexpected battled with the Fomor (They lost).
Sunday July 30,
After waking and eating breakfast we broke down camp and made ready for the ritual. At
12:30 p.m. we hiked over to the stone circle and had our Lughnasadh Rite.
During the ritual we dedicated Maria to the Grove, buried our offerings to the land, and as
always became more of a family.
Ritual
This ritual was a special ritual for the Grove. Not only did we celebrate Lughnasadh
but we built a permant stone stone circle for the grove. after building the circle we buried
offerings to the ancestors and our gods. I asked members of the Grove to write down
what they offered and why?
Christine - Grove Ardfaidh
My offering was various pieces of jewelry from childhood on. Each piece was
something special to me, like a talisman (even though I didn't know what a talisman
was back then), something that reminded me of my spiritual self. Each piece
I wore at a specific period of my life, and interestingly enough each one of those
pieces seemed to break on its own
as I would end that particular period. I tucked
the broken jewelry items away in a box, not exactly knowing why, but not wanting to
just simply throw them away. They each represent a part of a story line of my life and
my spiritual path--meandering as it has been--and they all meant a great deal to me.
Additionally, I offered the tools from my Wiccan initiation rite
held in May of 1997, also a representation of my path.
Why I offered these things is difficult to put into words. I wanted to offer
something of great value to me, something that had a lot of me in it. I wanted to
offer something that represented somehow the person I
am today and the direction
I am going. Many of the pieces of jewelry I offered never left my skin during the time
I wore them. And they went with me through grade school, jr. high, high school,
jr college, college, France, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and on today. I do not
surround myself with things that I have an emotional attachment to. I am more
attached to people, places, relationships, skills, and knowledge. These were
some of the few material objects that had great value to me.
Bright blessings,
Christine
Carrie - Grove Investigator
I had no trouble deciding what to sacrifice. I beaded a necklace
for my lady, Morrigu, nearly a year ago. It took me many hours to make,
and i wore it nearly always, in her honor. When i wasn't wearing it, I kept it on her altar
to honor her. When I heard we were to choose something to sacrifice in the ritual, I
thought of the necklace right away, as this was my chance to give it directly to Her.
(I asked my champion, Rich, if this was as appropriate sacrifice and he assured me that it
was). It gave me a very good feeling to give Her the necklace, and i had an
interesting experience that afternoon. After the ritual I drove back to Strawberry
where my family was. I took a walk in the hills, and as i was walking back along the
road, I heard the of a raven (or crow ...I couldn't tell which, but I think it was a raven
because of its size). I turned and saw two ravens in the next campground. I started walking
towards them, and one of them flew off. As I got closer I saw that there was another
one walking around on the ground. When I got close to them, they both flew off, But
I decided to walk over to where they had been. When i got to the spot where the one had
been walking around I spotted a feather lying in the grass. I consider this a very
special gift from Morrigu, one that i have wanted very much for a long time, in
return for the necklace.
Bright blessings,
Carrie
