Kyril's Journal -- June 3, 2005

1st Day of BelSummer

Friday June 3, 2005

My alarm didn’t go off but I woke up before Joyful left to get Faol. I got going pretty well and by the time I got out Kieara was ready to start her workshop on Chakras and the Elements. It started out well and I got a few new ideas from it. We had another arrival and I went to speak with her. Then shortly after that I looked up and saw Joyful and Faol walking along the path to his tent. I left the workshop and went to help get him settled in but one thing led to another and it was some time before we all got back to the Gather. By that time it was lunchtime.

The Cauldron Oracle rite was at 2 pm and we got organized, collecting materials, finding out who needed a ride to the site (which is about a 10 min walk from the camping area), and headed off to set up. I waited with a friend who needed to ride for the second trip. Faol was the Priest for the ritual and was just finishing the set up when we got there. He called the quarters in the style of the tradition he was trained in and each of us went up one by one to pull a salmon from the Cauldron of Knowledge. Joyful had printed out pictures of salmon and tarot cards. She glued them to the salmon for Faol to put into a bag of cedar shavings that was in the cauldron. (The cedar shavings were used because they were light and could be burned or used in some other way later) People rummaged around in the shavings until they found a card that they wanted to pull. They went to Faol who had a sheet of paper with the interpretation on it for them to share with the group. After that we went around and spoke a bit about how we saw the card fitting our lives.

The card I pulled was The Lovers. It seems unlikely to me that I am going to find a new love relationship this year (though a relationship that had ended has renewed again) since I don’t have a lot of room in my life for that but it spoke of being surprised. I could hope that it would be speaking of my current relationships and the working to improve them and grow closer that I have been doing. It also can indicate making a choice so could actually indicate a relationship breaking up or choosing between relationships. I would prefer though the interpretation that I am bringing elements into balance within myself.

I spent time organizing, talking with people who needed things or had questions, etc. At dinnertime we had a poetry reading and open mike (without the mike:) with Linda, and others shared their poetry or poetry they especially liked, like some of Rumi's. Andy wrote a poem inspired by his experiences of BelSummer and promised us a copy. I had missed his first reading so asked for it to be read again, which he was willing to oblige me with. I will be putting it up on the BelSummer site.

After more taking care of matters I finally made it to the dance being held after dinner. Joyful wasn’t feeling well so Faol spent some time with her. I went to the dance after she assured me that she was being taken care of and I should go. There were several people with her, one of whom is an EMT.

After a time Faol came out and he and I danced to a couple of songs together. It was very sweet and hot for me. There is something very bonding about the way we do it that gives me a sense of connection to him that I was very much needing at the time. He went to talk with a woman that he had spotted and was attracted to. I talked to someone experiencing some sadness. It turned out that she was having top drop but as an inexperienced one had not realized that it was essentially the drop in dopamine triggering it. So after a bit we went and danced.

Kris joined the dance and she and I danced together. That was fun. We haven’t had a chance to spend much time together in a long time. Later I went and “molested” (as in came on to) an old friend and we went off and had a lovely time reconnecting. Unfortunately I missed the labyrinth ritual, which I was very much looking forward to. Sigh… I am still very grateful to Ken for doing it. It is one of the special features of the festival.

Later Faol and I went in the hot tub and had a little time alone together before we were joined by others.