SAMHAIN

Rite Recap: Spiral Spirit Protogrove, 11/3/07
Location: Oldwick, NJ

I made the two-hour drive up into central Jersey for Spiral Spirit's Samhain, and it was well worth the effort! We gathered in the house of two of our members beforehand, and went over the rite for the benefit especially of several people who had never done ADF ritual before, and practiced the chants for the ritual, all of which were favorites of mine. We'd all brought a potluck dish to be shared during and after the ritual; we'd been encouraged to bring a food that was reminiscent of our ancestors -- a family dish, or something similar. I'd made Sheep Dip, which was my family's name for a spinach-laden dip served in a hollow bread bowl; this was a frequent feature at the potlucks and holiday dinners of my youth.

Once we were ready to start, we filed onto the back porch and then processed into the grove with "We Approach the Sacred Grove". West offered coffee to the Outsiders and then we spent a bit of time contemplating our coming-togetherness before the purification rite. I asperged everyone while another druid censed the participants. An Earth Mother offering was made then, barley and oats, while we chanted the "Earth Mother" chant.

Sarah, who was leading the ritual, said a few words about the festival and about Donn, the patron of the rite, and then we sang the Portal Song while offerings were made to the Fire, Well and Tree. West then opened the Gates, praying to Manannan Mac Lir as the Gatekeeper.

We invited the Kindreds in next with offerings: seeds for the Nature Spirits, shortbread and whiskey for the Ancestors, and oil for the Gods. Donn and the Ancestors got special invocations as well as extra offerings.

Once we'd finished establishing the Grove and making the requisite offerings, we stood silently for a bit and then filed into the house for the Dumb Supper, which is becoming established as a Spiral Spirit Samhain tradition. Without speaking, we each put a bit of the food we'd brought onto a platter for the Ancestors, and then the platter was offered silently to them at the head of the table in the dining room. After that we all dished out plates for ourselves and sat in the dining room with the Ancestors and ate our meal in silence. (Well, mostly silence; West had a CD of some sort of Celtic music interspersed with digeridoo music that accompanied the meal.)

It was a little weird not talking at first, but as the meal progressed it started to feel very significant. Memories of my relations and friends who were no longer around here kept coming to mind, and overall it was a very moving experience. At the end of the meal, West broke the silence with an Irish blessing, and we went back out to the grove to finish our rite.

Sarah offered the Ancestors' platter of food into the Fire so it could be consumed, and then other offerings were made to specific Ancestors. Once that was finished, the Omen was taken. The runes were used this time, and Cat read them:

Spirits: gebo

Gods: berkanan

Ancestors: raido

Gebo was for Gift, which the Nature Spirits were giving us in return for our offerings, and also emphasized the reciprocal nature of our Druidry. Berkanan is for new birth, new growth, the gift of the Gods, and the Ancestors' gift of Raido symbolized journeying; Cat interpreted this as the Ancestors continuing on their way after our Samhain rite.

After such an auspicious omen, West passed the Waters of Life, a cup of whiskey and a cup of water. Once we thanked the Kindreds for their presence, and thanked the Earth mother, and closed the Gates, we stood together for a while and talked about the things we'd thought about and felt during the Dumb Supper. We then went back inside and socialized and ate more of the food, with a lot less silence.

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