ONLINE
Join us for our celebration of Alban Elfed, the Autumn Equinox!
For more information and to register to attend, see the Corr réisc Grove Meetup page for this event.
UPDATE: This event has been moved online.
Due to the recent government restrictions that limit gatherings to groups of no more than six people, this event has been moved online rather than in-person.
This may be come as a considerable disappointment after our having stayed away from our sacred space for so long. However, we simply cannot put you or ourselves at risk through contact.
As such, a Zoom link will be posted to this page in the next few days.
Please register on Meetup if you want to join us!
Preparing for the ceremony
You may wish to prepare the following for joining the Alban Elfed online celebration:
- A sacred space outdoors or indoors with your desired items and effects to mark the season and the focus of your intention.
- A central candle
- Items to mark the four directions and elements - North (Earth), South (Fire), East (Air) and West (Water)... And an understanding of where each direction lies from you.
- Incense
- A cup of water
- A metal or ceramic bowl in which paper can be burnt safely (please be aware of your risk of fire and have a cup of sand or other substance ready to put the fire out.) If in doubt, leave this part out!
- A piece of plain paper or card cut into the shape of a person. The design if your choice! The size of an outstretched hand should be fine for this.
- A knife
- A pen
- Spare paper or newspaper to maintain the fire in the bowl once lit.
- String or thread: enough to wind around your palm two or three times.
- One whole apple
- A number of apple pips
- A cloth, preferably of dark material
About Alban Elfed
"The Wheel turns and the time of balance returns. Alban Elfed marks the balance of day and night before the darkness overtakes the light. It is also the time of the second harvest, usually of the fruit which has stayed on the trees and plants that have ripened under the summer sun. It is this final harvest which can take the central theme of the Alban Elfed ceremony – thanking the Earth, in her full abundance as Mother and Giver, for the great harvest, as Autumn begins". (OBOD)
The months turn towards the element of water as the salmon spawn and rainfall nourishes the succulent fruit of this second harvest of the year: the festival of Alban Elfed, 'the Light on the Water', the Autumn Equinox.
At this time of the Autumn Equinox, days and nights are once again in balance as we contemplate our approach towards the colder half of the year and the reflective promptings of time spent indoors, preparing for the winter.
Apples remind us of Arthur and of the great, blessed isle of Avalon with its offering of the healing of the soul after the nurturing of the body that the previous festival of Lughnasadh brought, with its golden grain harvest.
General Information
How to find us (in-person ceremonies):
Meet outside the Cambridge Museum of Technology. We wait for around ten minutes before heading into Stourbridge Common. Join us there if you're running late (follow the path into the common, keep straight ahead as you enter and look for a grove of trees, to the left of the path, in the open field).
If you have never attended or taken part in a pagan/druidic/OBOD ceremony, worry not! Our ceremonies are flexible, open to whatever you would like to contribute and inclusive of all identities. There are simple roles to have a go at, with pre-prepared lines to read out if so desired but there is no obligation whatsoever to do so. If you'd like to have an idea of what's involved, please get in touch with us.
For online ceremonies in particular, details of what to prepare and bring to your personal ceremony space will be posted here and on our Meetup page, a day or two before the event takes place. For in-person ceremonies, you won't need to prepare as much but will be given notice of a few things to prepare/bring if needed: We usually set up the space on the day with everyone who wishes adding items, decoration and ritual tools.
Food and mead is usually brought (though currently not shared) after an outdoor ceremony but there is no need to bring such contributions for our online meetings unless you'd like to make it a part of the rite. Gifts of music, poetry and readings for a small Eisteddfod afterwards are always most welcome. There has usually been the option of visiting a nearby cafe or pub after the ceremony (provided such a gathering can be appropriately socially-distanced and safe), when we have previously met outdoors.
We are mindful of the weather and dress appropriately, when getting together in the open, bringing water, a hat, suntan cream, coat and waterproofs, etc.
Please get in touch with us if you have questions about access requirements or other queries, and please register your attendance via our Meetup page.
Comments