Posts Tagged ‘brigando’

Bringing the Light In: Imbolc 2010

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

As we have done for so many years, since our first Imbolc rite in Jenni’s apartment (where we drew a whopping 23 people!), 46 people came together to honour Brigando, read a poem, light 20 candles, and do work in preparation for the time ahead.

As we like to do, we mixed up the parts a bit, and brought new members and friends into the mix for this ritual. This ritual has not changed much since the first year we worked it, and many of the elements are exactly the same from that first year. This is a special rite to many of us, often marking an anniversary of first attendance for so many of our friends.

This evening’s ritual lasted a full hour and a half, which was a bit longer than usual. But, by the end, we had done much work and received many blessings. These are the omens from the rite:

Are our offerings accepted? – Ngetal, the broom: Cleansing and healing. The offerings are accepted indeed.

What do the Powers offer in return? – Oir, the spindle: Hearth and home. They offer us the blessings of fellowship with those close to us and the joy of family.

What further needs to the Powers have of us? – Emancoll, the witchhazel: Powerful magics. We are to work our will in the world through these blessings.

Taken together, these omens indicate that through cleansing and healing, we will find joy in one another and our families. Through this, we will work powerful magics as we move through the world.

These are good omens, indeed, and they played perfectly into the work of the evening.

We began our work by providing each person some time with a brideog, brought around the circle by two children in our midst. During this, we actually managed to sing a song that was done in rounds, something our Grove has actually never managed before. After that, we brought out the healing blanket that we had begun at last Imbolc: our Grove Artisan, Ravenna had led the final effort to put it together, and we re-blessed the blanket with the energy of those present. Following that, we presented a new book, created by Joe, to the folk, noting that the book we have been using since Yule of 2006 is now almost out of pages.

This rite was a beautiful synthesis between what we have done in the past and what we will do in the future. It spoke very much to the work we do today and the history we have yet to make.

Every ritual, I am more and more proud of this Grove. Tonight was certainly no exception.

Hail to the Cranes.
    -Rev. Michael J Dangler

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Anagantios, and Bringin’ the Ritual to the People

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

“This is [the Druid Moon] where we see if Michael sees his shadow (once he emerges), in which case there will be 6 more weeks of hot dog buns; or whether he doesn’t, in which case we move immediately to lumpy gravy…“
    -Shawneen

Never let it be said that we don’t have a real sense of humour regarding our rituals. . .

Today was two of my favourite holidays, all wrapped up into one: Imbolc and Anagantios.

Imbolc is one of our favourite rituals, barely changed a bit since Anne, Jenni, and I wrote it so many years ago. It’s special to me that this ritual has managed to stand as long as it has, particularly as the years have rolled by and the composition of the Grove has remained the same. There’s something about the dark room with the candles reflecting off the silver well, though, that gets me every time.

Anagantios is “Stay At Home Month,” and for this rite, that is exactly what our members do: they stay at home. During this ritual, I am privileged to travel to each Grove Member’s home carrying a flame from our Imbolc ritual. There, the house is blessed and cleansed, with the light of the fire being carried throughout the house, lighting every place where love, family, and guest may gather.

There’s something to be said for going to see people in their homes, bringing the ritual to them, and shedding the light of a goddess on their lives. I feel cleaner after I’ve done it, and I suspect that the houses all feel cleaner to the persons who have their homes blessed. In many ways, this is what my priesthood is about.

The idea of bringing the ritual to the folk is a special one to me: for a group so focused on public ritual (as ADF is), we can sometimes forget the individual and their needs. I found myself wondering today if I should make this part of my High Day routine, visiting members on all High Days in their homes, doing a different sort of blessing each time. Maybe one for each of the cross-quarters, where I could bless gardens at Beltaine and pets at Lughnassadh? I don’t know, but it bears some thought, I believe.

In a more long-term view of things, I know that one day we will have members who cannot come to ritual, and to whom I will need to bring the blessings of the Kindreds on a more regular basis. The day will come when this Grove has elderly members in nursing homes, or (more likely) contrary elderly members who refuse to go to nursing homes. At that time, it will be my job to visit until I find myself in a retirement home for old priests (the ones they don’t send to the glue factory, I hope).

And now I find myself wondering what sorts of rituals we might be able to bring to them: a sobering thought, I admit. We need rituals like this one for those who cannot come to our rituals. We need to be there for them, because they cannot come here to us.

But that sobering thought is tempered by a beautiful, radiant thought: today, I brought a goddess’ light to the homes of twenty people, all before lunch. And it was an amazing thing. No matter how daunting it may seem now, it is not impossible. We just need to get started sooner rather than later on the writing.


Our Imbolc Altar

    -Rev. Michael J Dangler

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The Fire from across the Ninth Wave is here

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

The Fire from the waters is here.
The Fire from the land is here.
The Fire from the heavens is here.
Born in the Waters, Kindled on the Earth,
and with a pillar of smoke that supports the Heavens,
this light is the Grove’s own Fire of Sacrifice.

February, on the Coligny Calendar, is Anagantios, which (loosely translated) means “stay-at-home-month.” That is just what our members did for a ritual that lasted all day.

As the weather in February is noticeably worse than it is at other times throughout the year, it made sense that with a chance of ice, snow, and all manner of other nasty weather, a bunch of people getting on the road to converge in a single ritual space was not a good idea. Instead, we decided to have our Grove Priest (myself) travel to each Grove Member’s house and bring a blessed flame to warm the dwellings of our members.

And wouldn’t you know it, the weather cooperated wonderfully by making the roads amazingly unsafe and icy just in time for me to drive from one end of Columbus to the other, and back again.

At the Imbolc ritual, our Grove took the flame brought across the ocean from Kildare with the intent of making use of the flame in this Druid Moon Rite. As I went from house to house with this light, we lit the house with the fires from Kildare, speaking a blessing over each room in the dwelling and over the house as a whole. I did entire houses, one room apartments, and dorm rooms. Roommates I had never met joined in the blessing. I received excellent hospitality from the Grove on this cold day.

And with each of them, I left a candle that held the Grove’s flame.

The rite was a wonderful experience, and being welcomed into so many homes and hearts was the best part of the trip for me. I must extend a hearty thanks to the members of Three Cranes Grove, ADF, for their welcome and the warmth of their ghosti.

A copy of the ritual will be posted to the ADF-Liturgists list, and will appear in our forthcoming devotional book.
    -Rev. Michael J Dangler

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Doing what we intend

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

It’s often said that the most important part of ritual is intent. When someone mentions this, most everyone in the room will nod sagely and say, “Yes, that’s truly the measure of a good ritual: how it fulfills its intent!”

The thing is, no one ever discusses how you should discover your intent or how you should phrase it ritually.

When I begin planning a ritual, I start with by thinking about what the Cosmos looks like at this time of year. For Imbolc, we were seeing the first glimmer of light flickering in the darkness of the winter night. Also, many of us were seeking things such as healing, growth in our work or seeds for new work, and creativity.

I sometimes like to phrase the ritual in terms of a verbal phrase, too: “We bring forth the light!” is a good phrase for Imbolc, because we are actively doing something, and (since this is a time of growth) the whole phrase speaks to increase and growth.

I also like the place we do this ritual, because the lighting set-up allows us to begin our ritual with the altar dimly illuminated, with candles all around. As the rite progresses, the lights on the altar increase, and the room lightens. This rite is heavy on ritual action that mirrors the verbal phrasing of our intent above.

I think that this is part of why our Imbolc rite is so powerful to so many people within the Grove and the community.

Something I would very much like us to do in our liturgy meetings is look at our next ritual and say, “Okay, what is it that we’re trying to do? How do we want to do it? Is there a central symbol we can use for this?” I think that these three questions can really enhance the Grove’s rituals, if we learn to answer them properly.

Our intent should be central to everything we do, from how we lay out the altar to how we light it; from how we deal with the Outdwellers to how we invoke the Kindreds.
    -Rev. Michael J Dangler

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Blessings from Brigando and the Kindreds this Imbolc

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

This evening, the Druids in Columbus, Ohio (and the surrounding area) gathered together to offer sacrifice to the Three Kindreds, and especially to Brigando.

The Three Cranes Imbolc ritual has been done unchanged for five straight years. While even our anniversary ritual has been done differently, this rite has remained the same. The ritual didn’t even go back for changes when ADF approved a new Core Order of Ritual.

There is also no more popular rite that our Grove does. While I always thought that this was because everyone likes Imbolc, and our space is nice, and we really do have a killer rite that’s well-written and enjoyable, I realized while I was discussing our purpose and precedent for this rite that it’s not about the ritual, but about the central goddess it celebrates.

As I spoke about who Brigando was, beginning with calling her “lady of fire” and continuing on with “midwife of the year, and all of us,” and describing how she is a goddess of smithcraft, fertility, and healing, I realized why so many people come out to Imbolc.

Everyone, it seems, needs Brigando for something.

Those who need fertility, whether it’s physical or creative, will come to worship her. Those who need guidance in obtaining a new job, holding their existing one, or meeting challenges in the workplace will call out to her. Those who are in need of healing, or thankful for healing provided, will bring her sacrifice and honour.

As Grove Priest, I have been listening to my Grove’s needs. They center very much around these things right now. Many people are dealing with situations at work that frighten them, or are seeking new jobs. Many people, both within the Grove and attending our rites, are in need of healing. Nearly all of us are involved in something creative and difficult that needs clarity and inspiration.

Each of us came together tonight and made offerings, if not as individuals, as a Grove. In doing so, we shared our wishes for healing, fertility, and work that would take us where we wanted to go. We blessed our tools and found inspiration and support all around us.

Our omens have been reflective of our work in this direction, too. New beginnings have been promised in two rituals now, and fertility and cleansing are given as our course. It seems that the Kindreds are offering us new chances, and opening new avenues for us on a daily basis. We are leaving behind old shells and emerging, newly formed into the world around us, a world full of potential and the chance to make it what we need it to be.

Brigando and the Kindreds have indeed blessed us this night, as they do every day of our lives. Let us take these blessings and ensure that we use them to their fullest extent, to their fullest potential, and let us never forget to thank the Kindreds for all they do for us.
    -Rev. Michael J Dangler

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