Craig came up for the weekend and it was great to see him again. It had been some time since he was here last. He participated in our Grok healing focus group and the ritual that followed it. We were working on the 2nd chakra this time. One of our members read the 2nd chakra meditation from Anodea Judith's Wheels of Life. Then we did several exercises from the Goddess Pose, pelvic rock, and leg lifts to hip circles and lifts to open and energize the chakra. This is the chakra that is related to pleasure so we moved into pairing off and giving a back massage, then sending energy to our partner's chakra before switching. And after the usual group attunement we drank various liquids (cherry, orange, grapefruit, apple, juices, beer, and V8) as this chakra relates to fluid.
We had hoped to go outside for the Spring Equinox ritual but it was 20 degrees and windy so we settled for doing the ritual indoors with a brief outdoor section. As Tom was down with a miserable cold he toddled off to bed while we circled. We did a brief dance movement that had come to me while meditating on this sabbat in bed one night. The idea was to have one hand pointing up and palm to palm with the person on one side and the other hand pointing down and palm to palm with the person on the other side. Then as we danced we would sway from side to side and move the up hand down and the down hand up in a kind of yin and yang, to demonstrate somatically the idea of dynamic balance as we stand at the cusp point between the dark inner work of winter and the light outer work of summer. We also chanted She Changes all She Touches.
We sang a lovely song written by one of my nest members to set the tone and prepare us for charging the eggs in the basket in the center. Prior to the ritual we wrote wishes and blessings on paper and put them in plastic eggs with a selection of candies. Many treats were brought for the circle from gummy sharks and frogs to hearts, candy necklaces, and licorice babies, to go with the chocolate malt eggs and M&M crispy candies. The eggs were stuffed with treasures, and well wishing. When the time was right we danced and charged up the eggs and sent off the cone of power.
Then the designated Sacred Bunny took the basket out into the orchard to hide the treasures. The rest of us remained inside meditating on what we were looking for in our lives. Finally we put on coats and warm hats and trooped outside. At first I didn't see any as I looked around the ground. Then bright colored spots began to appear in branches of trees and the search was on. Since Tom couldn't join us I chose one pocket for me, and one for him, then alternated so that I could find his treasures and blessings for him. It didn't take long to discover the eggs but it was chill enough outside for us to get quite cold in that short time. My ears were aching from the cold even under the hat. The sun was beginning to set and the day to gray but it was still good to get out.
We returned to the circle, redrew the boundary and shared our blessings and the wishes that we had been given, and ate some of our treats. I passed the StarGate deck for us each to take an oracle for the season. I find these interesting and will be thinking about the meaning of the one I drew. It was a handle - perhaps to indicate a door to open, a situation that needs handling, and opportunity…
I had a matter that I wanted to discuss. I have been feeling that the way we draw circle is not working for me. For a long time I have tried to do a kind of compromise ritual because we have people who come who may or may not have any kind of training and it has produced a sense of lowest common denominator for me. I was concerned about how people would feel about it but everyone agreed to discuss changing the ritual and we decided to do that the next day.
All of us but Tom went into the hot tub but the cold temperatures and wind made it very uncomfortable for some. The rest of us came in with winter caps on our heads but one woman had to make do with a large bath towel that promptly fell into the water. Soaked and freezing she finally had to retreat (this one of the women who rolled in the snow another time so you know it was very cold.) We are all looking forward to warmer temperatures.
Afterwards the water was too low in the hot tub. Everytime we have several people in, it overflows and has to be refilled. This time it was low enough that the filter was sucking air. I had to get dressed, bundle up, and go back out so I could attach the hose to an inside faucet and added water.
One of my nest mates walked into a twig in the dark. It got under his glasses and thwapped his eye. When he came in his eye was all red. We were worried about him. He washed it out. It seemed better in the morning though it still hurt him.
Copyright © 2001 Kyril Oakwind