Samhain was held in a house in South London. It was good to get there and meet all the people in the group that I had not met yet – hi, again guys!
We went into the living room for a good Talking Stick session. The first time it went round we all talked about where we were in life, and I used this to introduce myself to members that I had not met yet but knew because we had communicated by email.
We had all been asked to bring something combustible to burn in the ritual to symbolise something we wanted to leave behind in our lives and so, the second time the stick went round, we talked about what we had brought and what they symbolised. Obviously these things were very personal so I will not go into them, but I think on the whole it was good for us all to share these things with others and I definitely felt us all bonding closer.
The third time we talked about what we wanted to leave behind about the old London Grove. But many, I sensed, were keen to establish a new group identity, so those of you of the old London Grove who might read this, do not worry as this was just a part of the process, giving a sense of closure to the past perhaps so that we can concentrate on what we want the group to become in the future (hopefully a Grove again!)
To be honest, I found I had good memories of the old Grove and was telling them some stories, like when at Samhain once, I was West and it was my job to call on the Ancestors from the west to be present. At the point where the ancestors arrived my lantern went out which was very spooky! I think memories like this are things that should not really be left behind. It was also suggested that forerunners of the London Grove were steeped in history that should not be lost, such as connections with William Blake et al, and these should also be remembered as part of the Grove’s history.
We decided then on the structure of the ritual and once again did it Ad Hoc with no script, which I am really beginning to like this way of doing it because it seems to have more meaning than reading words from a page. A fire was lit in a fire bowl and added an atmosphere to the ritual that is indescribable on the page. We did the opening and, like last time we were all experienced enough to do it without a script. I will never forget though, Mark playing a little tune on his whistle to open the East. As we all turned, the moon in Her full glory was shining down on us – so nice to do ritual in such a setting.
For the first part of the main body of the ritual we all threw our things into the fire one by one and said a few words as to what they signified. I have to say it was very cathartic to do this and I found myself with tears streaming down my face after. My offering was to symbolise baggage I still carried from old relationships, so it was nice to feel I was starting to let all that stuff go.
After that, we called on the ancestors to come at this time when the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest, and we all spoke the names of relatives, or friends who had passed on. We remembered those who died fighting for the environment and I mentioned those who had died in wars both just and unjust, which seemed appropriate with Remembrance Day just around the corner.
As always with Samhain, there were fireworks going off all over the place and some times one would go off and it was as though the ancestors were responding to us through them. We all drank to honour the ancestors with mead and shared cake and offered them to the ancestors as well as a libation.
And guess what! In the middle of all this the fire went out! A recurring theme, I think.
We then held hands until the fire died down and then we closed the ceremony and went into the house to share food and drink and chat. Then the lights were turned down while Mark treated us all to an excellently told ghost story about a vicar and a talking skull!
