Go to:
Gryphon's Homepage
Pagan Pages Index
Chakra Information
Elements/Directions Information
This group is in its planning stage, its infancy. Ideas are just beginning to form, Women interested in this year long Working are finding each other. Although dates have been tentatively set, a place has not. These meetings may be at participants' houses or at a convenient, private place.
We will explore our wounds, how they came to be and what we need to do/accept/go beyond. How can we heal? Who are we after we heal? How will we live our new lives?
There will be only 8 meetings during the year, on the Friday before each of the Holidays. Please try to commit to being at all of them if you can be. Not everyone will be able to come to all of them, but we will form a comfortable, trusting group and this involves sharing ourselves and accepting each other as we are. This relationship can only be grown over time with plenty of love and compassion.
We will meet the Friday evening before each of the 8 holidays of the year from 6:30 PM-9:30 PM.
Keeping a journal (if you do not already have one) will be helpful during this period.
There will be additional activities that we can attend, such as a Women's Healing Sweat on Saturday, November 10 and a Workshop about Sacred Blood (Menstruation) TBA.
We have complied ideas and suggestions into a possible format. Please remember that so far these are just possibilities for the 8 meetings, nothing is written in stone. Your feelings and suggestions will be incorportated as well. Click on Year of Healing Details above for more detailed information,
If you are interested in helping to plan, heal and grow in this group, please contact Gryphon Rosemead at gryph@pobox.com
It turned out much different than the seed we planted. So many Women have been hurt in so many ways. There was not time for all of us to come forward with what we needed, and many went on and continued their healing processes in smaller groups. Here's a few of the details of our meetings...
As divination methods and ideas to work with during the times between meetings each
woman will choose 6 different omens at the beginning of each meeting. These will all
become part of her Power Necklace.
Chakra: ribbon (for information, click on Chakra Information above)
Direction/Element: Bead (for information, click on Direction/Element Information above)
Stone
Tarot
Rune (Nordic)
Medicine Animal card
The reason to have so many is because the rune she draws may speak to her one meeting
and a Chakra ribbon or directional bead the next. After a time has passed, she may
understand why a particular stone was drawn with a certain Medicine Animal. If you have a
particular tarot deck you use, please bring it. There will be a few there to use.
General procedure:
We will begin to gather at 6:00 in the evening. Near 6:30, when the time is right, the
Working will begin. One of us (whoever is moved to) will begin the chant:
Gathered here in one strong body.
Gathered here in the struggle and the power,
Spirit draw near.
We will form a circle and the chanting will stop. Whoever started the chant will begin to
cast the circle by giving her hand to the woman next to her and saying:
I give you my hand.
Together we form a strong circle.
Directions will be called, in keeping with the Working.
Ritual will vary with the Working to be done.
Ending chant:
Let me tell you how I feel,
You have given me your treasures,
I love you so.
Circle will be released in a traditional way:
By the Earth that is her body,
By the Waters of her living womb,
By the Fire of her bright Spirit,
By the Air that is her breath.
This circle is open, but unbroken.
May the peace of the Lady and Lord go in our hearts.
We merry meet, merry part,
And merry meet again!
Blessed be.
Lammas (Lughnasdh)
Traditional date: August 1
We will gather: July 27, 2001, in the Community Room at ERUUF at 6:30
Things you might want to bring for the alter: sheaves of wheat, barley, oats, fruit, bread,
bread shaped like a sun or man and corn dollies.
Foods traditional at this time include bread, blackberries, berries, acorns, crab apples,
grains, locally ripe produce, cakes and cider.
Themes for this time of the year center around First Harvest. At this time, the God begins to
lose his strength. We remember summer’s warmth and bounty in the food we eat and each
meal is an act of attunement with nature. Nothing in the universe is constant.
We will begin to gather at 6:30 in the evening. Near 7:00, when the time is right, the
Working will begin. One of us (whoever is moved to) will begin the chant:
We will form a circle and the chanting will stop. Whoever started the chant will begin to
cast the circle by giving her hand to the woman next to her and saying:
Directions will be called which may emphasize beginnings, story telling.
Ritual may include remembering the past; us before our wounds. We will make and bake
bread together and begin to know each other’s stories and get used to speaking our own.
While mixing the bread we will chant, as we feel like it (this chant may be woven around the
stories Women wish to tell):
As the bread is baking, we will welcome and honor each of us into the group by chanting:
We will sing the verse as above once, then repeat it, substituting each person’s name for
“friend.” The last time it will be sang as above. As we wait for the bread to bake, we may
disscuss the business that is needed to keep our group healthy and alive.
When the bread is ready, we will feast together.
We will join together in a circle, hand in hand, near the end of our meeting. We will do a
VERY slow spiral, looking into each of our Sister's eyes as we pass and chant:
Directions will be released
Circle will be released in a traditional way:
By the Earth that is her body,
By the Waters of her living womb,
By the Fire of her bright Spirit,
By the Air that is her breath.
This circle is open, but unbroken.
May the peace of the Goddess go in our hearts.
We merry meet, merry part,
And merry meet again!
Blessed be.
Mabon (Autumn Eq)
Traditional date: September 21
We will gather: September 14, 2001
Wearing my long wing feathers as I fly,
I circle around,
I circle around,
The boundaries of the earth,
The boundless universe.
Alters are often decorated with acorns, oak sprigs, pine, cypress cones, ears of corn
wheat stalks, fruit, nuts and dried leaves of various colors and kinds.
Foods traditional at this time include grains, fruits, vegetables, especially corn,
beans and baked squash.
Calls may emphasize entities, beings, Goddesses, Gods, Spirits, etc.
Ritual may include walking wild places such as woods and gathering seed pods and
dried plants. We will sit on the ground (weather permitting) and chant:
Holy is the ground,
Forest, mountain, river,
Listen to the sound.
Great Spirit circle all around me.
Samhain, Feast of the Dead, All Hallos Eve
Traditional date: October 31
We will gather: October 26, 2001
Dark Mother come to us,
Hecate, Cerridwen,
Let us be reborn.
Themes for this time of the year include a farewell to the God who falls to ensure
continued existence. Sacrifice is emphasized as is looking back and coming to terms with
the past. Ancestors and all those who have come before are remembered. Scrying and
other forms of divination are popular. Burning a candle in the window is also traditional.
Alters are often decorated with apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, squash, marigolds
and chrysanthemums.
Foods traditional at this time include beets, turnips, apples, corn, nuts, ginger
bread, cider, mulled wines, pumpkin dishes and meat dishes.
Calls may emphasize recognizing and accepting our hurts, identifying and
sacrificing that part of our self that needs to be, courage, discernment.
Ritual may include two main parts. First, what part of yourself has died or been
harmed by your wound? We will decorate a picture frame for a photo of our self (maybe a
child photo) in honor of who we were before we were damaged. We will travel in time to
our past selves and rewrite the Well of Urd, placing our own runes deep into the well.
And everything She touches changes.
Yule, Winter Solstice
Traditional Date: December 21
We will gather: December 14, 2001
Fire transforms us,
Water shapes,
Earth heals us.
And the balance of the wheel goes round and round,
And the balance of the wheel goes round.
Alters are often decorated with evergreens such as pine, rosemary, bay, juniper and
cedar.
Foods traditional at this time of the year include nuts, fruits, such as apple and pea
and pork dishes.
Calls may emphasize finding our own strengths, calling on them, trusting that we
DO have that which we need, calling forth our raw power and deep wisdom.
Ritual may include going within on the darkest day. We have the strength and
resilience to heal and go beyond our wounds inside us already. We will call on the
personal Guide or Path contacted at Mabon to help us tap into what we already have.
We will make strings of dried rosebuds, cinnamon sticks, popcorn and cranberries and make
bags of fragrant spices to hang on our beds and accompany us to the dream world. We will
charge these items by chanting, while walking around in a circle;
You are a circle, you are healing me.
Unite us, be one
Unite us, be as one.
Imbolc, Feast of Torches, Feast of Pan, Brigid's day
Traditional date: February 2
We will gather: February 1, 2002
Fire I am,
Water, Earth and Spirit
I am!
Themes for this time of the year include the God as a young, lusty boy and warmth
fertilizing the Earth (Goddesses). Purification after winter shut in and life blossoming with
creativity, renewal energy & strength is emphasized. It is traditionally a time for self
dedication and initiation into covens. Often, burn every light in the house is burned at
sunset or just after Ritual, or there is a candle in each room.
Alters are often decorated with snowflake representations, white flowers, orange
candle with musk, cinnamon, frankenscence and rosemary oil
Foods traditional at this time include dairy products, sour cream, peppers, onions,
leaks, shallots, garlic, chives, spiced wine and raisons.
We will begin to gather at 6:30 in the evening. Near 7:00, when the time is right, the
Working will begin. One of us (whoever is moved to) will begin the chant:
We will form a circle and the chanting will stop. Whoever started the chant will begin to
cast the circle by giving her hand to the woman next to her and saying:
Calls may emphasize defining our goals and our Path to our goals and developing
dedication.
Ritual may include purification and dedication. Some issues in our lives have a
tendency of coming up again and again, and this is not necessarily a set back, just a sign
that we must continuously let go. We will decide how we will implement changes in our
lives--what we will do day to day to grow; make our plan. Daily purification and dedication
rites will be committed to. We may make masks.
Ostara, Spring (Vernal) Equinox, Rites of Spring
Traditional date: March 21
We will gather: March 15, 2002
The Earth is a Woman and she will rise.
And we will live in her.
And we will live in her.
Alters are often decorated with flowers and potted plants.
Foods traditional at this time include seeds, pine nuts, sprouts and leafy green
vegetables.
Ritual may include creating art to reflect our Path and ourselves--this may include
sculpting, painting or other art forms. We will choose a selection of flowers to reveal our
inner thoughts and visions.
Beltaine, May Day
Traditional date: April 30
We will gather: April 26, 2002
Themes for this time of the year reflect the young God reaching adulthood. We
celebrate sex with abandonment symbolized with may poles and cauldrons. The return
of vitality and passion is celebrated and hopes are consummated. Creativity runs ramped.
Foods traditional at this time include dairy, custard, vanilla ice cream and oatmeal
cakes.
Alters are often decorated with flowers and green branches collected at dawn.
Calls may emphasize blending and balancing.
Ritual may include wedding our past (honoring it, but realizing that it is past) to
our present to create our future. We will create a small token or charm in honor
of God/Goddess wedding and our own by weaving and plaiting a crown.
Midsummer, Litha, Summer Solstice
Traditional date: June 21
We will gather: June 14, 2002
Water my blood,
Air my breath and
Fire my Spirit.
Foods traditional at this time include fresh fruits.
Calls may emphasize the sacredness of each direction and that they are all a
part of us.
Ritual will be a celebration at Kumasi Hill (Orange County/Durham line on Guess
Road) with song, dance and chant, leaping the fire, good food, hedonistic gluttony, fancy
Ritual dress of soft and sensual fabrics, lots of glitter and sparkle. We will banish negatives,
hurts and pain by burning symbols of our wounds and our negative responses to it (herb
bags we made earlier, weavings and plaitings if we decide we want to burn these things).
In the Fire,
Give it up to Kali,
Give it up to Kali,
Give it up!
In the Fire,
Gonna burn my burdens in the Fire.
Just before releasing the Directions and opening the circle for this last time, all take hands
and do a very slow spiral, looking deeply into each other's eyes. We will have come to
know each other very well by this time, and more, we will have told our stories and been
heard.
Let me tell you how I feel.
You have given me your treasures,
I love you so.
