Autumn Equinox is 3CG’s anniversary rite — this year marks our nineteenth anniversary as a grove! At this rite we swear in new officers, we recite our grove’s epic poem “Clutiā Trion Garanonon,” and we praise Teutates, the Gaulish god of the tribe. Teutates is a multi-faceted figure, more a title than an identity, and (as we often sing) he is “known to each of us in our own way” — some 3CG members see Teutates as the god Esus, others as our beloved Crane-spirit Garanus, yet others as various deities and spirits from across the Indo-European cultures. No matter how we see Teutates, our understandings and our praise are bound together by our appreciation for the way he shelters and nurtures our communities.
This rite will be held hybrid — Grove members will be present together in the ritual space, while guests will join us via Zoom. We strive to weave all attendees into our magic, no matter how they join us. We invite all guest participants to pray at their home shrines along with us if they have them, or in the shrine of their heart if they do not, and to join with us in offering.
3:00 — Zoom meeting begins
3:15 — Pre-ritual briefing
3:30 — Ritual begins
What you absolutely need:
- a computer, tablet, or phone with an Internet connection
- a beverage (of any sort): we’ll be blessing the Waters of Life with the blessings we receive, and each person’s beverage will receive those blessings.
Other things you may want, but are not required:
- Representations of the ADF-style Hallows: the Fire, the Well, and the Tree, about which we create our Sacred Center. These can be physical objects, or even representations that allow you to focus upon the mythic Hallows.
- Offerings for the spirits. As is customary in Three Cranes rituals, there will be time for the folk to give offerings to the spirits that are dear to them, and also to Teutates himself.
- A copy of the generic script. We run this ritual with a chance element — none of our ritual parts are pre-assigned — and so our ritualists may use the script, or not. The intent will still be the same, even if the words differ!
How to use Zoom:
- If you already know about Zoom you just need this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/337362382?pwd=VE9nU1FDWDZRMHMrUjA2WUFCdlIyQT09
- New folks, you basically just need to click the link. If you’ve never Zoomed before, there’ll be a quick app download, but then you’re basically set!
- Our Zoom account has Live Captions enabled: to turn them on, click on Live Transcription (desktop) or go to the Settings (Android/iOS). More details at Zoom’s support article, “Viewing closed captioning and live transcription.”
- You are more than welcome to turn on your video so we can all see each other’s faces in community, but the meeting’s set to have all participants muted, to avoid overwhelming background noise. Unless you’re asked to unmute, we ask you to leave your mic muted.
- There’s a chat function in Zoom, and you’re very welcome to use it, both to participate in a textual way, and as a troubleshooting venue. For troubleshooting, we’ll have a couple tech folks there, though they may also be performing ritual parts — we’ll do our best!
- Chat isn’t open by default. On a computer click “Chat” at the bottom of the Zoom window to display it. On mobile, click “Participants,” then click “Chat.”
