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Autumnfest 2k3 part 2
Sep. 18th, 2003 03:38 pmI woke up Saturday feeling pretty well-rested. There was plenty of time to stretch and yawn before the first workshop of the day, called 'Wisdom of the Crone'. The theme of the festival was wisdom, so they all had similar titles. Anyway, it was Lady Branwen basically giving us things to think about and advice, with Lady G and Judy Harrow chiming in. The main things I wrote down, just in case you're wanting to know:
After that I went to look at the vendors. I saw a gorgeous little quartz goddess- a very simple seated figure shaped like a crescent, with the bottom part widened out to form a lap that would be suitable for small offerings. I waited for the vendor to show up, but he never did. So I went back down the hill after leaving money and a note and caught the last 2 minutes of Lord Myrddin's Wisdom of the Stones workshop. It should have been a no-brainer that the vendor with the cool rocks was at this workshop, so I told him about the money and pestered Lord M about stones. We walked up to where he was vending, and I asked after his amethyst bucket. You've seen those massive tubes or cathedrals lined with crystals, right? Well, imagining the end of a tube- if you cut around it, you get a bucket-shape hunk o' stone lined with crystals. In this case, dark purple amethysts that are really clear. He gave me an amazing price, and agreed to let me put it on layaway. After I handed him the first payment, he then told me I could take it home with me, since that was easier than shipping later and he knew where I lived. Rock! Rock on! Big pretty rock! Rock rock rock!
Next was Judy Harrow's class, which was titled 'Service to the Gods' but would have been more appropriately titled 'How to hang out with the Gods and not be a jerk' or 'Mrs. Manner's guide to being a good friend to a deity'. I sat through most of it, but got an awful feeling towards the end... I bolted, and sure enough, my period had started. The messy part of it was unpleasant enough, but it was one of those where the pain is just excruciating. I took some Aleve, but I could tell I had waited too long and it had settled in for a long, unpleasant stay. Someone suggested I ask Lady G for help, and she sat me down in her cabin and went hunting. Lady Branwen had these Canadian M&Ms that were pain killers and muscle relaxers, so she gave me 2 and we sat around and chatted while they kicked in. They worked splendidly- the pain faded away but I was still awake enough to be coherent. I sat at my campsite and Brenda and I chatted with various people as they walked by.
We feasted that evening, and then the raffle was held. I'd bought 13 tickets and so did Brenda. Hundreds of tickets were sold, so we were both pleased when she won a wand made of oak and crystal, and I won a wand made of copper, black suede and crystal and a small green velvet altar cloth. I told her I bet we were the only grove who attended where 100% of the members won something. Then we cleaned up, and I headed up for the main ritual. Brenda wasn't feeling so well so she stayed behind.
It was another Celtic based ritual, this time involving a cauldron of water. People brought water from all sorts of different places to put there, including some of my contribution of Texas' finest eau. We all blessed it, and took a little for scrying, luck, what have you. I wandered down, and saw an amazing thing. A campsite on the side of the hill had a bright lantern, and between the light and the path was a bush where a spider about the size of my thumb was spinning a web about a yard across- lit up by the lantern. I stood there and watched until she finally got to the center, chatting with the campers and admiring the creature's work. Then I headed down, chatted with Brenda who was feeling better, begged some more Canadian M&M's from Lady B since I was not, and went to bed early. It was another bright night, and I soaked up some more silver rays.
- Make lists- write stuff down, and be sure it's in a medium that will last.
- Find out what you most want to do in life, then do it.
- Teach what you know to someone else.
- Those old books that tell you how to do things by hand? Hang on to them. Pick them up at garage sales. Keep them, in case.
- Take care of the planet and of your body.
- Enjoy life now. Tomorrow is not to be presumed.
- Write letters to loved ones. Write them to politicians (1 letter = 20 phone calls = a fuckload of emails)
- Everything tastes like chicken when you're hungry enough. In other words, be willing to improvise if the situation warrants it.
- Look after your family's future, however you define family.
- Delegate, delegate, delegate! Let the young'uns get their hands on stuff and do it so they'll learn.
- Plan for your succession, if you're in a position that would have it.
- Keep on dancing as if you'll live forever.
- Lists of ten are dangerous. Life seldom arranges itself in tens. :)
After that I went to look at the vendors. I saw a gorgeous little quartz goddess- a very simple seated figure shaped like a crescent, with the bottom part widened out to form a lap that would be suitable for small offerings. I waited for the vendor to show up, but he never did. So I went back down the hill after leaving money and a note and caught the last 2 minutes of Lord Myrddin's Wisdom of the Stones workshop. It should have been a no-brainer that the vendor with the cool rocks was at this workshop, so I told him about the money and pestered Lord M about stones. We walked up to where he was vending, and I asked after his amethyst bucket. You've seen those massive tubes or cathedrals lined with crystals, right? Well, imagining the end of a tube- if you cut around it, you get a bucket-shape hunk o' stone lined with crystals. In this case, dark purple amethysts that are really clear. He gave me an amazing price, and agreed to let me put it on layaway. After I handed him the first payment, he then told me I could take it home with me, since that was easier than shipping later and he knew where I lived. Rock! Rock on! Big pretty rock! Rock rock rock!
Next was Judy Harrow's class, which was titled 'Service to the Gods' but would have been more appropriately titled 'How to hang out with the Gods and not be a jerk' or 'Mrs. Manner's guide to being a good friend to a deity'. I sat through most of it, but got an awful feeling towards the end... I bolted, and sure enough, my period had started. The messy part of it was unpleasant enough, but it was one of those where the pain is just excruciating. I took some Aleve, but I could tell I had waited too long and it had settled in for a long, unpleasant stay. Someone suggested I ask Lady G for help, and she sat me down in her cabin and went hunting. Lady Branwen had these Canadian M&Ms that were pain killers and muscle relaxers, so she gave me 2 and we sat around and chatted while they kicked in. They worked splendidly- the pain faded away but I was still awake enough to be coherent. I sat at my campsite and Brenda and I chatted with various people as they walked by.
We feasted that evening, and then the raffle was held. I'd bought 13 tickets and so did Brenda. Hundreds of tickets were sold, so we were both pleased when she won a wand made of oak and crystal, and I won a wand made of copper, black suede and crystal and a small green velvet altar cloth. I told her I bet we were the only grove who attended where 100% of the members won something. Then we cleaned up, and I headed up for the main ritual. Brenda wasn't feeling so well so she stayed behind.
It was another Celtic based ritual, this time involving a cauldron of water. People brought water from all sorts of different places to put there, including some of my contribution of Texas' finest eau. We all blessed it, and took a little for scrying, luck, what have you. I wandered down, and saw an amazing thing. A campsite on the side of the hill had a bright lantern, and between the light and the path was a bush where a spider about the size of my thumb was spinning a web about a yard across- lit up by the lantern. I stood there and watched until she finally got to the center, chatting with the campers and admiring the creature's work. Then I headed down, chatted with Brenda who was feeling better, begged some more Canadian M&M's from Lady B since I was not, and went to bed early. It was another bright night, and I soaked up some more silver rays.
