FULL MOON RITUAL February 2000

Nym' discovered this place by chance the summer before. Having heard of the beauty and mystery of the reversing falls, nestled in the hidden wild, she had gone in search of them, not convenient to the casual tourist, but secreted away, out of the reach of the site-seeing hordes. For those that doubted the existence of enchantment, the wonder of unicorns, the majesty of dragons, those who were blind to the beauty of nature….this place was hidden. Here not only did one know these wonders existed…….they knew they were all that mattered.

Fairy forts were scattered upon the cliff, hidden by the tall pines; eagles nests protectively nestled in the arms of the trees above. Nym' climbed the small path to the cliff. The clearing was still covered in virgin snow, the fire ring only visible by the outline of stones. She remembered her discovery of this place and the large pieces of stone gathered from the river below…..the color of the riverbed itself …a soft sandy stone mixed with the red of the iron rich soil forming a gentle russet. Honeysuckle vines from summers past formed a natural archway from the path to the clearing. The trees still draped in ice from a recent storm… forming a crystalline palace.

Nym' sat for a while watching the falls below. These fall were a mystery…..When the moon tides were right they would reverse their flow. The change is the most dramatic during the full moon. This area is know for its tidal ranges….the nearby Bay of Fundy enables the tidal reverse to be easily visible.

An eagle swooped by to bring Nym' back to her purpose here. Gandolff was preparing the nearby cabin for the gathering after, Scottish mead…..shortcakes, homemade wheat bread with honey butter and a large pot of New England chowder should make all gathered feel warm and welcome.

Nym' cleared the snow from the fire ring, placing large bundles of oak and cedar for the fire in the center. After lighting the fire she was ready to prepare the circle………light and warmth where called for on this night of the Storm Moon. The warmth to hint of the season to come and the light to remind us of it's return.

Within the circle of pine and holly Nym' placed Hag's tapers…..made last autumn and hidden away for this night. The mound of snow beside the fire would serve as an altar…the warmth of the flames and the cold air where already glazing the mound with ice. A basket of white candle rested beside it. A tall white taper sat in the center, circled by pieces of jasper collected on these beaches last summer. A shell filled with sage and cedar smoldered on the icy mound. Nym' tied small finger wands of white sage to the vined archway, when lit they formed a sweet scented veil of smoke for all to pass through.

All was ready, voices echoing in the distance signaled it was time.

All had gathered side by side within the circle. Each, in his own way, stopping briefly within the veil of smoke. As the members entered Nym' handed each a white candle from the basket. Draped in a robe of midnight blue, her red hair contrasting the velvet hood, Nym' approached the altar and lit the single taper. Around the circle thrice she went…… proceeding Deosil. First with the taper in her hand she stops to light each hag's taper as she goes.

Replacing the taper in the center of the altar she lights the contents of the shell then withdraws a small parcel of salt from within her robe. Trancing the circle once again saying:

"Creature of Salt where thou art cast,
no spell or adverse purpose last.
Not in complete accord with me,
as I do will, so mote it be."
Before circling the third time Nym' looks at all gathered.

" We have just passed Imbolc and now celebrate the fullness of this moon, a time of quickening. It is the Feast of Gwyl o Danu a Cernunnos, a Festival of Love, of Danu and Cernunnos. We prepare light so that our goddess may find her way out of the darkness and return to us."

Once again taking the center candle from the altar she says, " I pass this flame for our Mother Danu, queen of light." Nym' walks the circle for the third time passing the light of the flame to the candle that each holds. Before returning to her place she approaches the lone Fairy Mound within the circle. Removing the ring of baby's breath from her hair she places it in the center.

""Fairy queen steals through the night,
silver wings aglow with dew,
Dance ye wee folk, in delight
drwy y nos canu,
drwy y nos canu."
The Fey are welcome and thanked.

Nym' withdraws to her place looking around… The night is glowing with shadows past long ago and gone. The fire shines of promises of time yet to come. The mist of the mix of ice and heat has created a web that weaves it's way from taper to tapers enveloping the circle now cast. The circle was cast if by the elements themselves, the mist created by the fire's warmth touching the glistening snow. Creating a place that was neither here nor there, transporting its occupants to another place & time.

Nym' step back to wait for the first Watchtower to be called………….

The beauty of Mother Nature surrounding her makes her pause and take a deep breath of cold clean air and listen to the enchanting music of the falls. Cailean smiles broadly at Nymue in thanks for having picked this beautiful spot and working so hard in the truly spectacular set-up. She looks upward, knowing that eagles rarely fly at night and just as surely knowing that at this moment three were in the air above them. A solitary feather floats from the sky and lands at her feet. Cailean bends to pick it up. Holding it gently, she whispers a heartfelt thanks to the eagles for their gift

Now she steps confidently forward to the unique altar and pauses to admire its beauty -- she had never seen one of snow and ice before. From her little pouch, she pulls a yellow candle and places it in the eastern corner of the altar. Next she pulls out a cone of incense she had purchased at the big Orange County powwow and was saving for just the right time -- the blend called "Eagles Breath" -- and places it near the candle. Always clumsy with matches and regular lighters, she pulls out her handy-dandy Bic Sure Start Aim & Flame gun and lights the candle and incense. She places the flame gun on the ground near the altar (just in case anyone else wishes to use it). She next takes a small jar of honey and places it on the ground as an offering to the Fey. Pausing for a moment with the eagle feather in both hands, she grounds and sends her spirit soaring upwards on wings of eagle feathers. For a few moments, she delights in her flight, the beauty of the land and the shining mingling auras below of loved ones gathered in this Circle. Then it changes and she is flitting through the woods and over the river with the winged ones of the fairies, giggling in delight and awe. Returning to the here and now, she places the feather gently on the altar. Standing tall, she faces the east and raises her arms and says:

"Hail to the Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East
Powers of Air Thought Intuition
We who gather here ask that you
Join us in our rites and grant us your protection
Welcome."

A cool wind answers her by lifting her hair and the hem of her cloak. Cailean lowers her arms and steps back to her place, waiting for....

...Bundled in her plum wool cloak, warm woolen socks and gloves, and black leather snow boots, Topaz looks on in wonder at the beauty of the waterfall and with childlike delight at Nyms winter palace. What a perfect place for snow angels! Perhaps it was the spell of the glorious full moon or the strong enchantment of the Fey, but she felt at once unburdened of her cares and passed over the threshold of the fragrant archway with a lighter heart. Briefly, she leans down to gather a few stray deadfall branches from the honeysuckle and tucks them into the small woven basket at her arm.

The ritual soon begins and she stands attuning herself to the energies being stirred. Soon, at a nod from Nym, Topaz rests her lit taper in the snow and walks to the altar. From her basket she removes a loaf of fresh baked cinnamon bread wrapped in crisp white linen. With a whispered blessing, she lays it on the altar in offering to the God/dess. With a quick grin at Cailean, she takes the flame gun and walks to the south point of the circle.

From her basket she retrieves the honeysuckle and a charged blood-red pillar candle. Gently she weaves the branches into a circle and lays it on the snow, then pushes the pillar into the snow in its center. Standing to face South, she opens her arms skyward and calls out in a clear voice, "Hail good Guardians of the Watchtowers of the South - protectors of Fire and keepers of the noon day sun. Join us this night to witness our rites and guard our sacred circle. Merry met and be welcome!" With a quick wave of the flame gun she lights the pillar, watching the flame spring to life and dance merrily on the canvas of snow.

Her task complete, she stops at the altar to put the flame gun back, then walks back to her place in the circle and takes up her taper once again to wait for...

...Morrigan, who has been craning her neck to see the falls ever since she came to the circle. Nym said these falls reversed when the moon was full. That was something Morri wanted to see, the moment when two opposing flows of nature met, melded and merged into one flowing energy strong enough to climb backwards up the fall. As Topaz took her place within the circle, Morrigan turned in her own place at the western quarter. In her hand she holds a dark aqua blue ice candle she'd made in her front yard during the last good snow. For it's base she had placed a huge split abalone shell into the hole in the snow, then poured the wax, and watched as the molten liquid ate through the snow as if in victory, only to be slowed and hardened, forced to submit to it's new shape and form by the frozen snow. She placed this at the quarter and lifted her face to the West,

"Spirits of the West, I call You! Keeper of change, of flow, cleanse all who circle here, hold us and protect us in your embrace. I bid you welcome."

Tilting the small white taper Nym had given her in circle, she touches flame to wick and the ice candle sputters to life as the wax around the wick returns to it's liquid form. Morri turns and takes her place within the circle to await...

...Fairymoon pulls her hunter green cloak around her as the cold breeze moves about her. As she puts her candle down she moves to the North, the beauty of this place moves her as she takes a deep breath and smells the wondrous aromas in the brisk air. Standing at the northern point she takes out a large Green pillar candle, she puts it in the snow and looking at its green color against the white snow she realizes that she longs for spring to come. She brings out a basket filled to the brim with various kinds of seeds protected by 100 yards of plastic rap she places it next to the candle "Ye to the guardians of the watchtowers of the north, Protectors of the powers of the life giving earth come witness this rite and guard this circle"

She bends down and lights the candle sheltering the newborn flame with her hands for a moment .. she picks up the basket and places it on the altar Smiles that all her brothers and sisters here will take some home with them and the seeds from one basket will bloom across the nation and some parts of world. Taking out some she kept in her pouch and lays them in front of the fairy fort and hears some fluting coming from within the fort... She takes her place back in the circle and waits...

...Awkward and inadvertently - perhaps two of the most activating words in the English language. These words attached to a given situation bore the capacity to bring sudden awareness of one's true nature. In an instant, one was brought into the moment, shaken from a robot-like execution of routine and forced to respond to one's surroundings with clear sight and choice.

And, so, it was that Annie found herself with her head stuck in a hedge. She had spent much of the week chasing a pesky witch named Savannah, who had inadvertently spoken a phrase that froze Annie in her tracks. She had mentioned Annie's "one" eye. Such a bother when that happened.

Annie had been brought to a jolting halt as she was compelled to stand on one foot and put her thumb in her mouth in typical Shamanic fashion.

It was a curse from a teacher long ago, because Annie would NOT sit still for her lessons. When someone spoke of the "eye" it usually meant she needed to still and think... what were the words to stop it... uh... "when you take a step out of time, and use your mind, you can do anything that you want to do... thiiinkk... thiiinkk"... no that wasn't it!

"Darn it." Annie wanted to just stomp her little black witchy boots but it was very hard to do on one leg, and even when she tried, she would bite her thumb anyway... grrrrr...

"Okay... uh... be still... duh... no problem there... 'Fire in the head, Fire down below, if thought is so joined, your will shall be so'... hehe" she thought, "nope, but that's a good one... making a mental note for later... oh... okay... I'm obviously 'not' being 'still' enough..." and so she started to concentrate.

Annie became quiet and let the energy of the glade speak to her... as she settled she realized that the light in the Forest had changed, it was no longer bright day or even turning to night, but was the pale wash of light that ever shines in the place that is betwixt and between... "ah..." she thought... "there was a 'shifter' about... okay... so this tells me to be aware that what one sees may not be as it seems..." looking down she saw tiny little foot prints in the moist soil... a step with a bit of drag... step with a bit of drag... ah HA a "TURTLE"... water must be near by... yes she could hear the stream but she was separated from it by a long line of thick gorse. The yellow flowers were so bright that they glowed like tiny lanterns in this hazy twilight, and then up and over beyond her the hawk who was helping in the search had come to rest in the trees. His eyes fixed on one location, he had spotted the troublesome Savannah ... "heh heh heh..."

... ahhhhhhh... CRASH!...

With that realization Annie had tumbled from her fixed position landing face first into the scratchy brambles, she lifted her head and blew a blossom from her lip. She was met with the salty taste of blood as she reached with her tongue to check for further debris.

"I really need to work on that exit!"

Annie moved to get up, but realized her hair was inextricably tangled in the branches of the gorse and though she struggled to free herself she seemed - stuck. She was able to rise to her knees but not much else. Well, "this" was an awkward position to be in.

Usually so in charge of things, it was difficult to imagine that she was unable to change her situation, and, so, Annie began to think again. She thought about the events that had brought her here (it was a prank, but then a wish to ask Savannah to join her for the Full Moon) - she thought about what she knew of this plant, this Gorse also sometimes called Furze, blooms usually in the spring and summer but often there is never a time of the year that it doesn't have at least one bright yellow blossom on it's branches, seeming to almost capture the summer sun and hold it's promise throughout he year, she thought how it was connected to "gathering of sweetness and value" to bring the circumstances and things into your life to make things happen and that it didn't usually grow here that she knew of, that is just off the Atlantic Coast of Canada, and then she thought, "OH NO! Nym is waiting for me!"

With that she rose straight up nearly ripping her hair from her head, Savannah would have to wait!

Quickly assessing her situation she realized that it was not possible to go through or over the hedge, and so she decided to trek its length down until she found a spot to cross over. Annie pulled her heavy black coat around her with hood draped over her shoulders. The chill of night was slowly overtaking the winter sun.

As she coursed the straight row of brush what first came as a soft hush, like a intoning lullaby of repetition, coming and then retreating in an uninterrupted pattern, grew to an almost deafening crash of water upon rock. As she broke the hedge the view opened to her like opened drapes, and the vista beyond was both endless and immediate.

The ocean before her courted the rocky shore with incessant and passionate caresses. As the tide changed, morning and night, as was customary since time before time, the Bay of Fundy would return a portion of this ground to the hidden depths of the Mother, whisper the secrets of eternity and the land would return, sworn to secrecy, but forever changed.

Annie moved on to the Highway to hail a ride. MORRI! what luck. This friend she truly loved but had never met pulled to the side of the road as if she had been expecting Annie. "Going my way?" she asked.

"Yeppers!" answered the bedraggled Annie. As they drove they passed the Hopewell Rocks. Annie pointed them out to Morri standing with in solid structure looking out to sea, she promised to tell her more later.

When they arrived, Annie felt a bit tired from her adventures and when it came time to call the Goddess she thought to step out of tradition and do so as a poem that she'd not shared with many here:

"I would be the provender of your life
I am the smile that carries you forward
I am the dream that fills your night
That feeds your memory - time past,
And, alludes to what is to come.
I am the essence of the stars in the darkness
The light that smiles in the rain
I am the journey that embodies your dreamscape
The bread of your soul, the breath of your moment
The Betrothed of your invention.
I am the worth of humanity as it travels time
The fortune of thought as you aspire
I am the vision of the dance, the movement of privilege
The colors separate that blend to form light
The obscurity that defines.
I am the breast of the mother
Fluid and fulfilling, giving and subsuming As it seeks to connect
Complete and depleted, continuous and bound
Harmoniously diminished, recreates to provide.
I am love without challenge, manifest and accomplished
Visceral, instinctive - flowing to your mouth
The kiss that feeds and replenishes Honor indentured to remain, when
Those who do not believe have gone.
I am you reflected, the "negative" photographed
Where dark becomes light and reveals
Forged in night's glare the shadow cast in deepest black
I am The Truth housed in singing stones
My sand drifts with the tide, becomes, expands, recedes,
My hand reaches without return to sustain
And, my shore remains ever to be embraced"

"Most excellent Mother who is "all" of this, be with us to bless and protect this circle..."

There was a silence and a breathlessness that passed over the circle as if all air had withdrawn, the flames of the candles already lit seemed to extinguish into darkness, the Earth beneath them quaked and appeared to fall away, and the waters of the St. John seemed to thin to nothing as the Ocean recalled that which it had born, and then all flowed back over itself, with the power of water as strong as the flow of all the rivers of the world, the ocean revoked it's claim on the River beside the circle and herself lunged forward over the bounds of the bay - the level of her water rose and those present perceived the contradiction... each filled their lungs receiving that breath into their own depths, the candles returned as if ignited from an otherworldly fire, the Earth solid beneath their feet held firm although challenged by this heaving surge, and for a moment the falls appeared to "reverse" themselves...

Annie stepped to the altar leaving a single yellow blossom upon the pentacle. With the sweetness of honey and warmth of her bounty, the Goddess also awaits his return. She looked for her place in the circle next to Morri, but as she passed Cailean quietly said, "if they ask, tell them it's a dyed Turkey feather" ::wink::

Then waited for...

...Red Deer to return from his reverie. Standing among the circle of friends, he mentally retraced the steps which had brought him here from his cross-legged perch among the roots of Grandfather Oak earlier in the afternoon. In the early warmth, he'd have been content to wait there for this moon in all Her glory - surrounded as he was by those of his own magical environs. As he'd worked deep into the interlaced roots supporting him, a dozen doe had ambled unalarmedly through the front yard to his west, softly murmuring to each other and occasionally nibbling on the new blades of grass which early had appeared.

Through the tangle of energies connecting one tree to the next and the next and the next, he'd sought to rise up among them, but was suddenly drawn by the form of the handsome white-tailed stag, watchfully sheltered by the copse at the yard's far end. "Testosterone," he'd thought amusedly to himself, the resigned to join the stag rather than the does. "As one seeks stillness with discord, so another may seek to enter feminine awareness." On this day, as the dark turn of the year was rapidly yielding to the growing light, Deer had decided that - rather than struggle to attain the goal he'd set for himself - he'd accept the flow of least resistance and thank the uncle rather than resent him. Up through the roots, to shallower soil, into the lichens and mosses that surrounded cloven hooves - he rose. Sensing another's energies between himself and the does, stag and tossed velvet-covered antlers thrice high in the air, snorted for the females' attention to possible danger and then stamped the warming earth with his hoof. As sparks emanated from hoof's contact with a rock in the moss, Deer merged briefly with the stag... and knew the power of muscles leaned from Winter's frequent fasts yet powerful, alive and ready to spring into action.

With a physical jolt which had sent the previously unalarmed coven scampering to cover in the deeper woods, Deer roused to the sensation of Myrlen pawing insistently at his arm, earnestly trying to communicate a message of some importance to the man who was becoming her familiar. Shocked by the instantaneous awareness of both charging full speed into the woods behind the dozen doe he watches and sitting in the shelter of the grandfather, Deer immediately leapt to one foot - thumb in mouth - with a certain sense of deja vu. In his mind's eye (the only one which truly sees) tiny yellow flowers floated before him, and he felt the pull and scrape of thorns against his scalp. After having regained a bit of his composure, Deer reached down and tousled Myrlen's ears. "Thank you my friend. You are right that, although the afternoon is young, we've a long journey to circle and the evening will come much earlier there."

Into the house they had gone - he to collect his heavy hooded cape, staff and bells, and she simply herding her Deer along in hope that they might not be (as was this most UNpunctual man's habit) late. As they'd traveled the long distance to circle, Deer had remained lost in thought. Something kept stirring him regarding the events of the afternoon - seeking feminine company and awareness but receiving and accepting, for an instant anyway, masculine. This was askew to his normal behavior, as the feminine had always been where Deer was most comfortable, while masculine was an effort to share with another male. Deer finally had resolved to accept that there was a lesson here which would require much further study, as they'd passed the Hopewell Rocks, and tried to bring himself more into the present. Again, counter to the grain of one who so assiduously lived for the moment.

In these stones he found a resonance with his beloved deserts of southeastern Utah - their enormous forms invariably becoming the glans of a mighty penis, the gentle arch of paired labia, the rounded breasts of the earth. And their presence a challenging counterpoint to those with which he was so familiar, poised at the very limn of earth and water, rather than in the parched sands. Both were places between, but in the dessert, such lithons' 'tweenness was best apperceived temporally, here geographically. Yet in both instances, the rocks assumed hues of russet, of blood. Another quandary balanced itself upon his thought, as Deer wondered where, when and why 'civilization' had led to such alteration of human consciousness that the color of blood was no longer perceived within its principle symbolism of sustenance, passion and birth - but had rather come to evoke for most images of mayhem, destruction and murder. "Much as truth, life will out," he'd thought to himself, while being led upon the path through the cliffs.

Moments before they'd approached the clearing, the sounds of friendship and merriment came into Deer's awareness. "Ah," he'd thought, "the circle is ready before my approach. A momentary shock, as Deer passed through the arch of woodbine and accepted the full power of Winter in this place - so different from his usual comfort in the South. Then he and Myrlen were surrounded by greetings and hugs, and so had circle begun, among the warmth of fire and the light of candles, all overlit by Mama Moon floating heavy and yet weightless in a starry sky. Through his reverie, Deer received collateral awareness of Nyms powerful casting and of the quarter calls. He'd felt more than known Annie's invocation, again moving suddenly into the moment as silence and breathlessness had closed about him. "Not late AGAIN," he thought... then becoming oriented to the situation briefly projected out, into the whirling stillness of the night and of the tides. Into the songs of unseen leviathans cavorting among the waves.

Myrlen was having no more of Deer's inattention to detail. With teeth to the hem of his heavy cloak, she pulled and shook until it lay upon the ground before her. Deer strode by her side toward the center of their circle, towards ice and fire, clothed only by his broad smile and the song of bells - more cacophonous than usual as his body-mind re-membered the path to warmth when suddenly confronted with the full force of Winter. Within the hemisphere of ice fog, Deer's hair became charged an floated about him, dancing upon each breath from those gathered and flickering with the silver of moonlight and the fire's gold. Pausing before the fire, Deer warmed himself - noting that Myrlen had no need of such - before moving to the dome of ice, where he inhaled the pungent smoke from the rising from the conch shell. Then beside it he laid a prayer stick and a silver spoon, and placed a braided candle of green, white and gold into the ice. Myrlen sat with her head cocked slightly to the left, as Deer slowly tipped the hag's taper Nym had placed in his hands towards the Lord's candle. Waiting for the flame to bridge the gap between his taper and the other while the wax slowly warmed and filled their space with the scent of patchouli, Deer began to chant...

"I have been a stag of seven tines,
running
I have been a flood across a wide plain,
Flowing
I have been a wind over a deep lake,
Whispering
I have been a tear from the brilliant sun,
Glistening
I have been a hawk in my nest above the cliff,
Watching
I have been a wonder among the loveliest flowers,
Blooming
I have been a god with smoke to fill the head,
Blazing
I have been a spear that roars for blood,
Flying
I have been a salmon in a clear pool,
Swimming
I have been a hill where poets walk,
Singing
I have been a boar upon the hills ruthless and red,
Roving
I have been a breaker from the winter sea,
Thundering
I have been a tide of the ocean,
delivering to death and returning... "

finishing, just as the braided candle burst forth with its own flame,

"Who, but I, knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen?"

Dropping to his left knee, with both arms upon his right, Deer has a distinct vision of Lady and Lord dancing within the ice and the fire, their stately turns growing wider and wider to encompass first all those gathered in circle and then beyond. As the dance turns and sways, he is one moment here at circle's center, another upon circle's limn giving the Lady her Lord's kiss, and another weaving round their space exchanging warmest hugs with all gathered for this moon. Again, Myrlen reminds him that, while there may be no time here, others are waiting... and he follows her back to his own place among the celebrants. Deer's head swirls, and his body shivers - not this time with cold, but with the gathering energies of the night. Knowing that Winter will soon remind him of Her presence, he dons the cloak lying upon the snow, and waits...

...Nymue' moves from her place in the circle once more, a place of comfort and new found strength. After a playful wink to Red Deer, and a knowing smile at Annie, she glances lovingly at all gathered.

Returning to the altar she takes a moment to observe the beauty surrounding them. The firelight dances with the shadows of what has been and what is yet to be. A wall of mist has been formed around the circle, transformed by the heat of the fire touching the frozen white ground, yet a cone of clarity exist within. The moonlight streams like a protective dome above.

Nym steps to the altar and reaches her hands above; "We welcome the spirits of those that have gone before and those yet to be."

From the folds of her robe Nym takes a book with a picture and a single red rose. The book is a treasured one, "What Witches Do," the picture is the author. Placing them on the altar with the rose in her hand she stands for a moment with a tear in her eye.

"Blessed Lady one of our dear Elders has passed to your arms.
He touched the lives of so many
He gave the gift of self,
Brightest Lady we thank you for the gift of his life.
My deepest sympathy and Brightest of Blessings to those at Herne's Cottage
The Circle Ends and Begins Again"

Placing the rose on the picture Nym bows her head in tribute to a wise man.

Nymue returns to her place in the circle and watches...

...as Deer moves back toward the altar. Heart heavy, Deer asks healing for the son of a coworker attacked by a gang at school and now in a coma. Then, from a hidden pocket within his cloak, Deer draws a blood red silk tied with a forest green ribbon - within, he has carefully prepared a mixture of rue, rosemary & eyebright; heliotrope, adder's tongue, cypress, lady's fern and flax. This he lays for a moment upon the frozen altar, while withdrawing a tiny vial of hand-blown glass. Glinting blackish-red in the combined lights of candles, fire and full moon, the powder of black hellebore flowers seems to float within its crystalline container, which Deer brandishes thrice above the altar. Retrieving the pouch from place in the cold, Deer turns to the fire and intones:

"Thoir eisd fhein, Mathair Aobhair agus Althair Allaidh agus thoir eisd comair as naoi lossa - ruigh, ros mhuire agus lus nean leac; beatha suthainn, lus na nathraith, craobh bhròin, raineach Mhuire, agus lin; meacan sleibhe."

Deer reaches far into dancing flames and consigns it to the heart of the fire. Finally, removing the crystal stopper from its vial, he scatters the contents about the pouch.

"Of theses magics do I stir and summon - mended mind, healed body and protected spirit. Take wing on this night's air, to the one in my thoughts who has need of thee. So mote it be."

Deer turns silently, retracing his steps to the circle of friends...

...Storme rises from her place in the circle and shyly approaches the alter. This is a new experience for her and her heart beats wildly. She had never thought a ritual could touch her so deeply. Annie's words to call the Goddess feel etched in her heart

I am the smile that carries you forward
I am the dream that fills your night
That feeds your memory.

As she feels the moonlight stream through her, centering her, grounding her and cleansing all doubt from her, Storme raises her arms and her voice.

I greet the Moon with thanks that much love and peace,
Did shine upon me this day.
I greet the elements of whom all things are made.
I greet Danu the Mother of all,
The Great Earth, the full Moon,
I greet Cernunnos, the Father of all
the Green Man, the Setting Sun.

Mother and Father, much has troubled me lately, and I feel small, and weak and alone. Yet you fill me with your love and peace. I ask that you give me strength to look at my troubles and to seek within them what lessons you would have me learn. I ask that you help me to be serene and calm in the face of my enemies, and lend me strength to protect those who need me. And help me ever to remember that as the seasons turn, so does the wheel of life and what I fail to learn in this life I must learn in another. I thank you for the gifts and the joy you have brought to me, and I thank all who have made my inclusion in this circle possible.

Taking the amulet from around her neck, Storme asks the Lady and Lord to bless it.

Mother Goddess and Father God
Fill me with your peace and love tonight
Let me see You in all that is, was, and ever will be,
Let me feel Your presence within me,
Let me feel my presence within You.
Let me remember you always.

Feeling cleansed, strengthened and profoundly moved Storme quietly resumes her place in the circle...

...and Jess steps forward, breathing the sage-scented air. She lets out her breath in a puff of white. She places a red-gold jade ring next to the yellow blossom. "Happy 53rd birthday, Dad. You know I could never remember if it was the 17th or the 19th! Bright Lady, keep him warm in the Summerlands, even though he never noticed the cold."

Jess returns to her place, looks up at her circle-mates, smiles wistfully, and waits for...

...Whisper steps forward from the shadows with his long black robe flowing gently in the breeze as he approaches the lovingly decorated altar, where he gently places a single white rose.

"Blessed be well, my friend." He says softly, his voice a bittersweet mixture of pain and hope for the future. He bends down to light the candle from the sacred flame, which he then places on the altar. Sprinkling a pinch of frankincense and rose petals on the burning coals, he stands facing the altar and raises his arms skyward holding up a small piece of obsidian. He then raises his face to the shining moon, his long dark hair glowing in the firelight as he calls out:

"Hail O Shining Lady of Many Names As the first glow of a new dawn shines over the horizon of my life, I offer you my thanks for your help and ask that ye shall continue to grant me your strength, your guidance, and protection as I continue on the long road that lies ahead. Thank you."

He lowers his head and arms, then places the obsidian upon the altar.

He turns, smiling to greet his friends gathered around, and steps back into his place in the circle and waits...

...wren, who traveled far to be here with this circle of people who are relatively unknown to her, stands quietly in circle. Arriving at this place, she thought surely there were no other with such beauty! Her life being spent amongst water and trees, there was an instant kinship to the land, and she spent her first moments setting crystals from Washington at the base of a few of the trees and bushes, honoring the wood spirits. Now that she stands amongst these new friends, experiencing the beauty of their hearts and souls, she realizes that there is more beauty here than first seen... sacred spirit beauty... Truth. What was exhaustion has become fullness of life; keen awareness of all senses; interconnectedness absolute. 'So mote it be', she says, knowing that the one whom Deer has lain at the feet of the Mother and Father will be set right. 'So mote it be', she quietly whispers, as Storme's profile shines with Luna's kiss. "So mote it be', she mouths, thinking... 'and to us all,' as Whisper's silhouette moves with grace. As she lifts her face to the moon, her long silver and white hair blowing softly, the crescent and ivy tattoo on her forehead begins to glow. With a soft, steady voice, she begins to sing;

"Ana, Danu, Mother, Don
Holy Earth we walk upon
Lead us Lady of Rebirth
Bless us holy Mother Earth... " *

...Snow Flame hesitantly comes forward, the candle in her hand trembling, its flame wavering in the pine scented breeze. This is her first circle ever and she wants to make sure she doesn't trip or stumble when she steps forward. She pushes the hood of her cloak off of her head and the loose tendrils of her blonde hair tickle her face. She stops and looks around at all the wonderful people she has met over the past few months, friends who have accepted her and who make her feel like she need never be ashamed of herself. She smiles and gains confidence as she feels the love and warmth emanating from the circle. She walks to the ice alter, thinking she has never seen anything so beautiful, nor anything more appropriate in this setting. The flame from Morrigan's candle reflecting in the ice, throwing a mystical shimmer on everything around her.

On the alter, Snow Flame first places a spring of rosemary tied to a sprig of catnip, both homegrown. "My Lady, My Lord, and Blessed Goddess Bast - I place this gift upon the alter in remembrance of my kitten Callie. She was in my life such a short time, yet she filled those few months with such love. You must have had another plan for her to allow her to go to Summerland so soon. I just wanted to thank you for letting me know her when I did." Snow Flame wipes the tears that flow down her face at this point.

She then takes out of her deep pocket a green candle that has been rubbed with frankincense and has a picture sketched on it of a house. She lights it. "Lord, Lady -- I came here with an entirely different petition in mind, but something happened this day of the Full Moon -- I found my dream home for sale. It's everything I have ever wanted. It's in the right neighborhood, it's the right size, the neighbors are nice, and has plenty of room for my gardens. This house has spoken to me through my dreams since I was a child. I ask for your help and blessing in helping me acquire this home which I need and which needs me. " Having said that, Snow Flame places a branch of a rhododendron plant that grows on the property on the alter. She looks to the Full Moon and whispers "Help me, please."

She takes her place in the circle, relieved that she made it through without messing up too badly, and waits...

...EarthChild steps forward, being careful not to slip. She looks around at the frozen beauty of the place and is in awe. She wraps her cloak around herself tighter in the cold breeze, and then steps to the altar.

"Lord and Lady, my family and I have so much to be thankful for. April, who is both friend and Family, has had a literally miraculous disappearance of the cancer that was killing her. We want to thank all who have sent their thoughts, energies, and support to her and us." upon saying this, EarthChild lays a rose down on the altar.

"Also, we have found a place that we all can live. If all goes well, we can be in there by the end of March. It is in a good location, has the room we are looking for, and is in our price range. I would ask that it all goes smoothly." EarthChild now lays down a blue stone on the altar.

"We have so much to be thankful for. For once, my requests are few. My husband is trying to get a different job within the company he works for, and if he gets it... it would set him up to work anywhere. If it is thy will and in our best interests, help this to come through for him.

Lastly, Greg is looking into his options for going to college. All of our future's are dependant on his choices. Help him to make the choice(s) and find what will be best for us all in the long run." In so asking, EarthChild lays down a tumbled piece of clear quartz. She looks around...

"Oh! Please look after Susan as she comes up to her handfasting. She has been a great friend to many of us here, and I know that with college and her handfasting, she is probably very busy and rather harried. Let her handfasting be everything she has ever wanted it to be, and to let her enjoy the beauty of her bond with her beloved. Let her know that I send her my best wishes and all of my happiest energies in this wonderful time for her!" Embarrassed that she almost forgot that last part (and looking a bit red-faced)... EarthChild pulls out a bit of rose quart to lay on the altar for Susan. She steps back, letting the cold air ruffle her short, black hair. Once more being very careful not to slip, she heads back to her spot in the circle and waits as...

...Windwalker walks up to the altar with her candle flickering slowly in the gentle breeze. She stops and drinks in the glow of the light of the mother moon. The beauty of the area calms her soul and she removes from an inner pocket of her green cape an article that this weekend has become dear to her. It is a beanie buddy of Humphrey the camel . Also she places in a shell a smudge stick of sweetgrass and lights it. As the smoke is lifted over her body in hand gestures, she slowly feels the negativity of the past few nights drift upwards with the smoke. "Mother, please welcome into your presence the spirit of a brave child, who will surely find the peace and joy in Summerland that she lost here with us. Please accept this gift for her, one of her favorites and I would wish that she not miss it when she wakes in your arms.

Also Mother I wish to ask for your guidance in a major decision I need to make and ask that you could possibly make clear the path I need now to follow.

Lastly I wish to thank you for the joy I have in my life in the simple tasks and my animal friends, including my new puppy Jake." As Windwalker finishes her offering she pulls from another pocket some honey, pumpkin muffins she has made and leaves it for the little spirits who have come to watch or join the circle. Then she takes her place in the circle, taking comfort in the strength of those around her and waits for...

...Susan steps forward, pulling her cloak around her and feeling her ears turn pink. She stops and hugs Earthchild, whispering, "Thank you for remembering me" in her ear. Then she steps up to the altar.

"Lord, Lady, thank you for all the blessings you have sent my way this last cycle. Thank you for helping those dearest to me find a way to come to Texas to share in my handfasting. Thank you for the forces of inspiration that make my schoolwork go a little easier. Thank you for my friends here, who have been so supportive of me during this crazy time."

Susan produces from her pocket a velvet jewelers box. From the box she pulls two golden rings of intertwined knot-work that terminates in a heron's head.

"I ask that you bless these rings that my beloved and I will exchange in a week and a half's time. Infuse them with love and the spirit of our union, so that we may feel your presence in our lives always."

Susan places the rings on the altar and steps back to wait for...

...Morgan, who, after smiling in greeting at the others assembled, walks toward the altar, her long woolen cloak rippling in the slight breeze, which also makes the flame on her candle flicker a little. How wonderful it is to see such a winter wonderland after enduring the warmest and driest winter Arizona has ever seen!

She pulls a stick of incense and a lighter from one of the inner folds of her cloak and lights the stick, whose scent is called "Rain", and stands it upright in the snow. Raising her arms and face to the moon, she says:

"Hail, great Mother Goddess and Father God. With this incense, I offer special thanks for the rain we have had in Arizona this weekend. I am so happy to have replenished my supply of rainwater, and look forward to seeing the desert come to life again!

Thank you so, so much for the progress in my legal matter since the last Moon. Now do I feel that I can relax a little and follow the proceedings. I continue to feel the same confidence and support from You that I have felt since I made the decision to go ahead with it. Justice will be served!

I ask only one thing further: please help make it possible for me to bring my plans for the summer into fruition, and to keep my promise to my daughter. I pray that I am successful this time!

Thank you again, Mother and Father, for all blessings... " Morgan bows her head for a moment, then steps back to her place in the circle and waits for...

...Heather scurries through the cold, so sorry to be late she whispers to the others. With a glance and a smile to mother moon she steps to the alter, placing a small bundle of beautiful miniature roses from her window garden as an offering. From her cloak she produces and lights a tiny red candle, placing it among all the others, the flame is barely noticeable but still is shines in honor of the Mother Goddess. "My Mother, I'm afraid I have nothing more to offer on this night except my love and devotion and these sweet flowers that symbolize my love for you. I honor you on this night for all of the gifts you give me everyday of my life but I also have something more to ask of you. You know the pain my heart is in. I have spent many nights this past cycle crying with you and talking to you and praying for you to ease the pain I'm feeling. My heart is breaking because a dear friend doesn't see in me the love and kindness and goodness you have given me and that I in turn want to give him. I'm afraid not so much any more of losing my heart to him, as I already have, but of losing my friendship with him. He already has my heart, I ask you on this night to bid him treat it kindly and lovingly, to hopefully realize what a gift I have to offer and I pray he wants it. If this is not meant to be, I then ask of you the strength to bow out gracefully, to learn the lesson I am met to learn and still hold on to a piece of my dignity and all of his friendship. Thank you for hearing me this night mother, I know that in your arms all will be well and my heart will be soothed."

Heather quietly steps away from the alter and into the circle of friend, brushing a few tears off of her cheeks...

...Fairymoon steps out of the circle. And walks to the alter. The melting ice upon the alter glistens and sparkles from all the candles and from the amazingly bright moon.. she steps up to the alter and places a crystal that is clear with a top layer of brown ..she places it on the alter and know that the secrets of the mother earth is an ongoing quest.. She puts down her candle that Nymue gave her and places it in the snow.. She lifts up her arms to embrace the moon and says" Great lady and lord, Thank you for letting me gain my strength on this last cycle and for letting me see that the body mind and spirit some times needs a rest.. and now that I have rested may I continue on my quest that you have given me.. On this alter is placed a crystal that I don't know but think it is beautiful. when I look upon it it reminds me that knowledge is good but looking upon its beauty is enough... I would like to ask for your assistance this moon cycle to help me get my home in order so that I may find a house for me and my little maiden Kelly so that we may find a house we can fill with love... I would like to ask for your guidance in my endeavor to play the harp for I have found one with your help and would like to ask for your help in letting me learn and to be patient with myself and never to give up on learning. thank you for the many blessings you have given to me .. " Fairymoon takes in a deep breath lowers her arms she takes out a small flask filled with pomegranate mead and pours it in to a small dish and places it next to the fairy house. Smiles at her friends inside to let them know she will be out to play with them soon.. She walks back to the circle and waits...

...Sunspider leaves her place in the circle, her charcoal grey cloak pulled tightly to her, not even sure what she will say. The air is filled with little glints of fairy light, and she remembers how they were lighters of her path, along with the gentle trees spirits who guard this place. She smiles at the memories, but carries sadness also, for she knows the road ahead is long, with too many hard lessons yet to learn.

She approaches the glowing ice altar, and pauses to gather her thoughts. She takes from her pocket a collection of small things and places them on the altar. A small pouch of dried mint leaves, for prosperity. An tumbled amethyst to symbolize the things going on in her life right now. The Temperance trump card from her old Tarot deck. Holding her arms up to let the moons energies warm her, thoughts gathered enough to finally speak, she starts... Lady, you have given me so many blessings, Lord you have given me strength... I don't know where this path is taking me, you've given me so many signs to know its part of my journey. I know the circle is becoming complete, and that I need to have faith in You and in myself. Help me to find joy in the little things, baby kisses and kitty cat purrs, and to let the bigger issues run their course.

Lord and Lady, grant me the serenity to change the things I can, the courage to accept the things I cannot, and the ability to know the difference... and I know that's not the way that prayer goes, but its what I need to do.

She holds a small spiders-web amulet, a gift from a dear friend up into the moons silver light. Please fill this with your love and strength, Great Mother and Father. I wear it near my heart to remember that we are all connected, that we are all a part of each other, and that in patience, one of my more difficult lessons, is beauty... She tucks the amulet back next to her skin, feeling it's renewed warmth. She thanks the Spirits for their presence, returns to her circle of friends and waits for...

...Nym silently steps toward the altar again. "Brightest Lady, Blessed Lord I have faced a challenge of late. There are some who mistakenly, ... or perhaps misguided in their thoughts, feel I have wronged them. They choose to take steps directed at me. While I mean them no disrespect, I am hurt and wronged by their actions. Blessed Mother Danu... I thank you my Mother for reminding me to deal in compassion and gentleness. You led me to the tool I needed."

Nym removes a dazzling hand mirror from her robe. Something on a recent trip to town lured her into an antiquity shop. The sunlight reflecting off the silver mirror drew her attention away from troubling thoughts... Why she wondered had these few chosen to direct such ill toward her? Should she send it back in anger? The answer from her patron had been "NO ... Compassion and kindness are called for. Do not accept, simply return it."

The mirror was exquisite, a Victorian hand mirror that felt at home in her hand, it startled Nym to discover the engraving on the back; "To N with Love and Guidance" ... That the mirror was hers was of no doubt. Now on this night, she felt the new strength that had become hers.

Placing the mirror on the altar she looked to the radiant moon... "Danu, brightest of Lights... Allow the shimmer of your light to carry back these energies, away from me, and disperse, as you will If it be your will My Mother ... So Mote It Be"

Stirred from lurking, both on list and in life, Dierna slowly makes her way from the edge of the circle that so captures the beauty and life that one can find in winter's still embrace. She had been forgetting the calm this part of the cycle brought, hearing only the whirlwind of her mind, where "to do lists" and that busy, stressful feeling seem to reside, hindering one in so many ways. Here, it all seemed to drop away. A serenity washed over her as the waves washed over the shore, so strongly, strongly enough to somehow reverse the water falls direction. Feeling at peace and centered, Dierna steps towards the crystalline altar of shimmering ice refracting the candle and moonlight, she asks, much more boldly than she feels,

"Mother, Father, I ask to "feel/see" your guidance more clearly. I know it's always there, but I sometimes need that extra push to take notice of even the most obvious. Also, healing for Dorothy, would be greatly appreciated. She helps so many, is there for so many when they need a hand."

From her pocket, she places a quartz point and a cluster of amethyst, and smiling at warmth you can't help but feel, she adds a heartfelt "thank you" as she slips back into the circle...

Nymue' approaches the center of the circle for the final time this moon. Stopping at the altar she glances back at Suz with a smile and places a small figurine of a house on the altar of ice. Mother for my sister I ask your assistance... may her dreams be fulfilled, her heart warm with laughter and her life joyful in her new home.

Nymue' takes in the beauty around her, from above appears a white crow, the symbol of Branwen, sister of Bran. A messenger to the spirit world; an omen of change. Calling her message clearly "Kore, Kore" the call of the crow... a reminder of Persephone. We are in the time between the moon of Brigid and that of Persephone. A hint to all that spring is near.

The appearance of the crow causes Nym to pause and recall a prayer from Celtic Antiquity;

"Deep Peace of the running wave to you
Deep Peace of the flowing air to you
Deep Peace of the shining star to you
Deep Peace of the quiet earth to you"

This is a time and place of peace.

Taking the tall center taper from it's place on the altar Nym walks deosil around the circle stopping at each person gathered. Each member touches their flame to that of the taper then extinguishes it, to carry home with them the light of this night.

Returning to the center she says;

"Brightest Lady, Blessed Lord
We thank you for being with us this night.
Guardians of the Watchtowers we bid you thanks.
We thank the Fey for their hospitality and the ancestors for their guidance.
Go if you must... or stay if it's your will."

As she extinguishes the taper,

"By the flame, this circle disappears and can be found no more.
All things are as they were from the beginning of time
except the Magick worked herein by ritual and rhyme."

The others returned to the cabin where Gandolff, along with the playful assistance of Morgan, has prepared a feast. Nym moved to the edge of the cliff. This place held such power she thought as she looked to Deer Island in the distance. Between here and the island, in Passamaquoddy Bay lay Old Sow, the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. It was thought to be the earth's most powerful and dangerous whirlpool. Capable of tipping over a tanker, chewing smaller craft to bits. It's seemed to Nym to be Gaia's heart. Who had named it? Had they made the connection of the Goddess and Sow?

* chant from the Druid Worship Ceremony of the Primitive Celtic Church