RCG Third Thursday Imbolc (January 20th)
Me through You, And you through me
Our magic Rises, Set it Free
Yesterday after work, I headed home, still a little ball of nervousness about my parts in the coming nights' ritual. I'd been assigned my parts, and agreed to them, without being part of the whole planning process, because the meeting had been during the first Runes Class. I worked through some stuff here and spent some time with the roomie.
Then I headed out to RCG arriving about half an hour into the chant work shop hour before hand. Getting to be instantly hugged by the Priestess running it, telling me I literally started to seriously worry her. I smiled, because there was no way I'd have let her down about it at all, and simply hugged her. Then there was chant workshop.
I'm realizing the more I get into chant, the more I really am going to need to buy the second chant cd RCG record/released during my year abroad. There was this intensely gorgeous Battle Maiden's chant which was chilling, but glorious. Not very me, but I was very moved by it. Maybe I'll set some money aside near February's potluck Thursday.
After a ten minute break, everyone started outside. We were called to the door by the priestess standing between the double doorways. She walked each of us in, talking about how once you passed through Brigid's forge, you are leaving behind the world that inhibits and doesn't recognize your magic. Then you were asked to walk through the fire, and an arch of long trailing ribbons.
It started by casting the circle with all the women in double circles. One group on the outside and one on the inside, facing each other, both going to the right, so they were opposite of each other. And we were to look at all of the women across from us in the eye as we made our circles about, chanting the above words Me through You,
And you through me
Our magic Rises,
Set it Free
The invocation of the elements started next, with Air, which I did. Talking about the cold blustery night air that had come during the last few hours, asking it come up inside of us, bringing with ideas, inspirations, and soul-deep knowledge. It was part of the night to invoke them all as being drawn into us. Which was followed by the whole circuit of them.
Then everyone backed into a large circle as I stepped into the middle, and explained that I'd been asked to read a special invocation. I asked them to close their eyes, and envision. The flame of light the exists within them always, and the eternal flame of Brigid still burning in every woman today. Which was followed by reading an edited version of Autumn Rose's "Invocation to Brigid."Brigid, o' fiery arrow bright
Bring your blessed healing light
Loving mother, hear my plea
Attend this circle of my sisters & me.
Blessed Brigid, who tends the flame
And hears her children calling Her name
Goddess of music, poetry, and art
Who brings inspiration and lifts our hearts.
Three Brigid's--Maiden, Mother, Crone
The loving light of every heart and home
Come and bless this sacred space
By your will, and through your grace
And as we merry meet, and as we merry start,
May we carry Your peace deep within our hearts.
The English major in me weeps a little for so altering someone else’s work, but the women loved it deeply. Which I'd find out afterwards, and this morning, which requests for copies of it.
After the invocation (and the first half of all my focus work was done, so I got to join everyone else) everyone was handed a sheet of colored paper and asked to write "My Magic Is....." at the top. Then to put it aside, because we moved into a mediation-trance. It was all about how you find your magic, how you see it or recognize, touch it or taste, what names it is called, how you express it in words or thought or deed. The subtle forms. We were asked to move however we felt fit.
I find myself free among these women, uncompromised and willing to move. This is the only place I dance, but dance I do. And it is such a glorious freedom in the moments that I can. To close my eyes and let my arms and wrists and knees and hips dictate where I go and to what. Letting go of so much, giving into music's hold on my heart.
And even more -- love's.
It was truly wonderful to me. At all levels. Watching the women around me, the voice of the priestess leading it, smiling from my lips all the way down in the deepest most center of my heart when I heard the words that named my soul among them. The way people moved, they way they didn't. The movement and the stillness. Beauty in all its forms.
At the end of the trance, the women were asked to pick up their colored sheets of paper again. From the stack of five different colors, they were handed out originally, and now the women had to create a group with all the people who had sheets of the same color. They were given a stack of white strips of paper, and asked to the finish the sentence.
Not for themselves, but for how they saw the magic in each other woman of their group. I wrote for lines and line, perhaps a little small, because words are such an intense medium for me. Once you were done, you gave all the white slip of paper to the women who you wrote them for. And everyone glued there to the original paper they'd gotten at the beginning. As we wrote and glued, we sang softly
We will never, never lose our way
To the well, of her Memory
And the power -- of Her Living Flame
It will rise, It will rise again.
At the end of this part we gathered back into a circle to hear about how this year was all going to be about recognizing our magic. And we were invited, if we felt inclined, to read the poem the papers put together, all the words and messages of all the women who'd gathered together with them there, and shared what they saw in each. Mine reads, as I read it last night My Magic Is...
The magic I see in you is the deep and electric energy you bring to any task. Or event. Goddess energy - you embody that.
...in my ability to see when others need reassurance and love
The magic I see in you is fiery.
I see magic in you! You lust after life. You thirst for experiences. You crave enjoyment. You create joy!
I'm still holding certain words in this one. Trying to keep myself simply open to the message and proactively away from reactions, just giving reception. So many women were so moved by it. Some of them who couldn't speak or read, but whose eyes never left retracing the words on their sheets
After it finished, I stood up and walked into the center to do the devocation of Brigid.
This one was more from my heart, in the sight of seeing every woman there, moved by the evening, asking them and their sisters and the universe to keep the light there. To remember what our sisters had shown us that they see in us, the things we miss every day, because they are already so much a part of us. The lights and the shadows cast by being seen through another's light. And so much more.
The quarters were all released each in turn.
I didn't think I'd stop to point this out, but doing so many openings and closings of air and nearly only air this year, has moved me in so many different directions. I closed Air this time, completely different from its opening. Thanking it for the ability to form and give words (inspirations, knowledge, truths) pulled together by communication to each other. As this year of air slowly fades closer and closer to its end I realize just how much one year with it has changed some view points.
We opened the circle singing the normal song most groups down here do, and then broke off into differing places. People stayed and cleaned the sanctuary, while other went and saw to the setting out of food and drink. There was much talking and hugging, about many different things.
I was reminded to how amazing my sisters are, those who I should see again, and the events coming so soon on the heels of this first Imbolc celebration. RCG's Path Planning for the year, which will pick the new theme for their monthly classes, is tomorrow. And the Runes Class is Sunday, and I decided to share my journal with another person. And some lingering sadness and confusion floating around in me connected to it.
Which was really hard, because I've taken, possibly too hard, to heart things that were said by the first two people I'd shown it to before this night. I'm carrying my journal for Runes around right now, but I'm not writing anything down anymore. Which isn't really RCG night topic-ed. But connected to it, was hearing someone who was interested but didn't want to foist themselves on this group they didn't know about, which two of us from the class smiled and said we'd look into it.
The night itself was really wonderful, and I'm truly, deeply, counting down the minutes to getting to show up and work hard on piecing together the Path Planning for the deep, wonderful, beautiful class work we'll end up doing as a group for 2012.