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or Paths |
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Different paths suit different people. Some people need to work in different ways at different times. Some love working different ways at the same time! Many of our one day sessions can also be done on their own. |
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IN THIS CYLCH: CIRCLEWORK (homepage) A DIY practical ritual guide, FREE download) * THE BOWL: the art of personal purification or focusing * THE CRAFT overview, FREE download page 2 WEB OF LIFE * page 3 EARTH * page 4 |
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IN "THE CRAFT": page 1 Introduction, FREE download. * page 2 WEB OF LIFE * page 3 EARTH * page 4 CUSTOMS * page 5 SHARING * page 6 ANCESTORS * page 7 CHILDREN * page 8 LEADERS * page 9 CIRCLE * page 10 DIVINITY. |
THE CRAFT
by Shan Morgain, priestess of the Craft.
page 9
When small groups gather the natural way to do it is in a Circle.We know that our Celtic ancestors in Britain and northern Europe built their dwellings in Circle shapes: roundhouses.
In the same region there are circular henges of wood and stone which were healing centres, temples for ritual, tombs, or market gatherings. British traditions speak everywhere of faerie rings, circles of power that act as doorways.
Craft rituals or meetings, alone or together, are done in a Circle.
The Circle is a container for people, Land, and power.
The Circle does not reject what is outside it, but simply focuses our attention on what is inside it.
The Circle is there for you alone, or for you and those you care for, respect, or accept in trust.
Whatever is decided and agreed together for a Circle must have the consent of all. Where there is one who refuses anything beforehand, it is not argued, but dropped by all, without rancour.
There can be no witnesses to a Craft Circle, no observers or recorders. It is done for ourselves, not for others' benefit.
All who are there share the Circle and must be respected so as to go into sensitive places of themselves. That cannot be done while being watched or recorded.
The Circle is a place of trust where all who enter can feel at home. We enter as we are, as we really are, which may include illness, anger, grief, tiredness, frustration.
If two are in conflict they must not enter the Circle together or they will twist the Circle around the power of their pain.
The Circle needs us to prepare with meditation to let go of our personal preoccupations so as to focus as completely as possible on the present moment in the Circle, to be here now.
This takes time and cannot be rushed. It may take as long as the rest of a ritual put together. Giving this slow shedding or focusing ample time is the effort that makes a ritual work well.
This work is unavoidable, the most important part of a ritual.
Once the Circle begins, after the preparatory shedding or focusing work is done, none may leave it except in real emergency. Otherwise those within it will have their sensitive focus broken.
A child may leave the Circle freely providing there is a safe place to go outside it.
The classic age of the child becoming a Circle adult is 13.
Some Circles are better held without children as it is unfair to demand their concentration go further than they are able.
The Circle exists as we work in it.
It also exists everywhere it is honoured.
Yet it exists nowhere except in our hearts.
The Circle has a Centre where there is either fire, or a pot, or both.
The woman with the largest pot, or the woman who owns the house used, shares her pot for the purpose. It is filled with whatever is relevant to the ritual or meeting. That could be food, flowers, branches, earth, water, fire, or other things.
Craft ritual typically honours the powers of Nature, such as Air, Fire, Water and Earth.
A rite often speaks of the Mother Goddess and Guardian God, or of the Ancestors.
Speaking with words is not the main work, not the heart or the basis of a ritual.
That is found in action, which expresses and symbolises what we feel in simple ways. It’s important to find ways for the body to speak, not just the wordbound brain.
Simplicity is important for Craft ritual though at times elaboration may be preferred. Care needs to be taken that elaborate ritual, if chosen, is not too frequent. It should not dominate so it deters those in it from feeling the Circle belongs to them. It should be easy to join in without training or knowledge.
Some may like to meet their gods naked as a sign of freedom and honesty. If so ritual nakedness means the naked state of a baby, without anything to adorn or change the simple body. Not a special way of dressing up.
For many in these times, nakedness is painful so it cannot be a freedom. It must never be pushed or coaxed. It is a free choice which in a group, all must agree.
Sharing is important for Craft ritual so that people in it are not there as a passive audience expressing only the power of a few. There are many simple acts which can be shared.
The oldest form of ritual is the shared meal, so Craft ritual completes with food and drink. In a group this is shared together with everyone contributing food and drink to it.
As the Circle ends it is natural to give thanks, for the Circle, the feast, and for anything else we value in our personal lives. Again, the Circle is where we are who we are, not some idealised version of ourselves, but truthfully.
The Craft Circle also exists in the cycles of Moon and the Year.
Craft people celebrate these cycles of Moon and the Year with festivals. Festivals help us learn about cycles so we learn to think beyond straight lines.
Cycles are very important because they mean renewal. Without learning about cycles we can become stuck in pain, loneliness or despair, forgetting that change is the nature of all reality. Whatever shadow we live in, whatever deprivation, the cycle will turn, and renewal will happen.
The other side of cycle wisdom urges us to enjoy things fully for nothing stays the same forever.
The festivals stage our time for us, helping us to change and adapt to current circumstances. In an otherwise workaday world they provide essential times of liberation and fun!
Festivals are not necessarily big activities. In times of tiredness or busyness they may be brief acts, a bare nod to the custom. Where possible they are opportunities for planned events which aim at carefully, deeply, bringing out the meaning of the festival.
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IN "THE CRAFT": page 1 Introduction, FREE download. * page 2 WEB OF LIFE * page 3 EARTH * page 4 CUSTOMS * page 5 SHARING * page 6 ANCESTORS * page 7 CHILDREN * page 8 LEADERS * page 9 CIRCLE * page 10 DIVINITY. |
