Camlet Mote is pretty much the opposite end of London for us, but this year Daniel and I found a relatively traffic jam free route, ensuring that we turned up early. We met at the cafe as planned: some headed over to the site early to set up, while a few of us waited a while longer and walked over there. I was pleased when a feather drew my attention on the ground on the way. Last year I found a tiny bright blue jay feather at the Mote, this year it was the darker blue-black of a magpie feather which caught my eye.
I like Camlet Mote’s feeling of intimacy and enclosure: that sense of Watery energy all around. If there are onlookers, they don’t tend to register in the consciousness very much because you feel like you’re on a little island. It doesn’t feel like you have to try too hard to make a circle, much of it is already around you! This ritual was shared with Earthstars, and this time we also had people from Catuvellauni Grove who came along too.
Maureen had written a ritual which focused on healing. She had asked around beforehand if anyone wished to share ideas to the ritual, so there was some element of collective inmput which she added to her own ideas and shaped into a coherent whole. Daniel had contributed a short prayer and the idea of a flower pattern walk incorporating the four directions E, S, W, N, and I drew a small diagram to depict how it worked. If there were other contributions which helped to make up the ritual, apologies for not mentioning them. I know that Kestrel had mentioned the possibility of including some drumming, and he and Maureen had brought drums along, but the drums were not incorporated into the ritual in the end.
I had wondered if the flower pattern walk might be a little confusing in practice, but we very sensibly had a rehearsal beforehand, trying it out about three times, so there were no head-on collisions or lost druids! I was one of the walkers, and I’m sure I must have had an expression of intense concentration as I walked around! As there were plenty of us in attendance, the roles of directions and elements had been separated out, and after the flower pattern walk, it was the turn of those who represented the elements to move, walking a spiral inward to the centre while we cricled around them.
We had a large bowl of water in the centre of our circle for our healing pool. The water had been bought by Chris and Linda from a holy well in Willesden. I think the well is located in St Mary’s church, which once had a Black Madonna, destroyed under Cromwell’s orders. We placed tokens in the water, representing the loved ones we wished to bless and bring healing to. I’d forgotten to bring a token along and had borrowed an acorn from Maureen, but at the last minute, I found a small piece of truquoise in my pocket and used that instead. As we each stepped up in turn to place our tokens, speaking of our intention or making a silent wish, I found it to be a very emotional moment. The subsequent visualisation was interesting; I percieved the energy flowing upwards from the bowl, keeping its shape and spreading outward gradually, as if forming a cup or Grail shape.
I thought the ritual went really well, with a good balance between movement and stillness. Thanks again to Maureen for writing the ritual, and thanks to Neill from Catuvellauni for inviting us all to his Lughnasadh ritual.
Lorraine
(any typing errors by Hilde)
