Onward the seasons dance

Samhain has once more been an odd time for me personally.  A time of remembrance yes but also a time of strong emotions.

Members of Tuatha de Bridget gathered on Sunday 2nd November along with a few very welcome first time attendees.  It was a good gathering of people of many ages. At the start of the ritual my dad and the author of that days ritual, Piet Kennedy, walked round outside to offer a libation to the spirits of the place.  The rest of us were gathered in the roofed and part walled sheltered area next to the garden.  We were gathered in a circle waiting for his return and for the ceremony to continue when off to one side I noticed he had come back in and was staggering.

Whether it was the spirits talking with him or the effect of pushing himself too hard while not being very well we will never know but his vision had gone strange temporarily and he was not his usual self. I had been the first to reach him and with another we took him though to the fully indoor section to sit and recover from this strange experience.

The ceremony went on without Piet as elder and author of that particular ritual.  My mum stepped into the breach and called on others to assist. I choose to remain with my dad so although we were close we were not part of the ritual which from all accounts went very well. The social aspect of the gathering that took place after the ceremony was lovely too but gradually people left.

It is our practice at Samhain to welcome the return or awakening of  the Cailleach of this Land, whether She is the same as the Old Ones of other places is not for me to judge.  From what I can gather Her presence was felt and yet also seemed distanced as if She was not fully awake yet.  To me that would seem in keeping with the strangely mild weather we are having.  We still haven't had a proper frosty morning here and it seems the season is still hovering on the edge of dancing fully into winter.  Some trees are still clinging onto their yellowing leaves and while some rosehips are deep red there are also still some late blooming flowers in my garden,

Soon though the dance will move on towards winter.  The light part of the days is getting ever shorter with each dawn and dusk,  The Winter Solstice and another gathering of our spiritual tribe and family gradually moves towards us.

We will gather once more on Sunday 21st December at the Old Barn and this time we meet at noon to make the most of the daylight.  Details as always by contacting us directly or via our Facebook group.

Samhain approaches

This time of year has always been special to me for as long as I can remember.  As a girl I went to Catholic convent schools and in the Catholic calendar this is the time of All Hallows eve (which became known as halloween) All Saint's day on 1 November and All Soul's day on 2 November.  It has been, for as long as I can remember, a time of remembrance.  A time when I and those around me remember our beloved dead.

We have many reasons for remembering the dead.  Some are family members deeply loved and their physical presence missed. Some are friends, some people who have made deep impacts on our lives even if barely known. There are ancestors we know only the names of, ancestors whose names we have yet to discover. Ancestors of blood, ancestors of adoption, ancestors of spirit.  Not all are human, there are animal companions that we remember too.  We remember those that died young and those that died old, those whose deaths were painful and those whose deaths were gentle.

Tuatha de Bridget comes together with anyone of good heart who wishes to join us at this time at 1pm on Sunday 2nd November at the Old Barn, by Pollok Park.  Please contact us if you intend to join us either via this site or via our facebook group.

Autumn equinox, growth and development

After many happy years at Pollok Park, Tuatha de Bridget has made the decision to move to a new venue.  This is partly due to the changeable weather conditions (we've been rained off a couple of times in the last year and it takes a lot of rain to do that!) and partly due to the changing needs of members of the group.  We are blessed with a number of members with health conditions which on a bad day affect their mobility badly and even on a good day mean being out in the damp can result in long term detrimental effects to their health.

Our Autumn equinox ritual on Sunday 21st September was therefore the first to be held in our new venue, The Old Barn.  The Old Barn is on the outskirts of Pollok Park and you have to walk through the stables to get to it and it's a lovely flexible venue.  It has an outdoor area, covered and sheltered are and a fully indoor aspect.

Outdoors at The Old Barn

We were blessed with beautiful sunshine for our autumn equinox ritual which had a strong focus on peace as it was also the United Nations World Peace Day.  All present found it to be a lovely venue and a wonderful atmosphere. We look forward to many other rituals there and who knows, maybe workshops in the future too.

 Sheltered area at the Old Barn

Indoors at the Old Barn

After the ritual there was a meeting and food brought by those gathered shared in the indoor area of the Old Barn.  The meeting was to discuss putting the group onto a slightly more formal footing as with increased costs we would now need to open a bank account for the group.  The meeting went well and developments for our future are now well underway.

Our next meeting will be to celebrate the time of Samhain and will take place on Sunday 2 November at The Old Barn starting at 1 pm.  Hope to see you there.

Lughnasadh update

For several of the members of Tuatha de Bridget travel on 3rd August will be difficult due to the last day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  With this  in mind the decision has been made to move the ritual date to Sunday 10th August instead. Same time and place, 1pm Pollok Park.

From Summer Solstice to Lughnasadh

Many members of Tuatha de Bridget joined the Druids of Caledon ritual on Sunday 22 June at Rouken Glen park.  We were blessed with lovely weather, warm and sunny.

Already the days grow shorter.  Schools in the Glasgow area of Scotland have already broken up for the summer, others are just about to.  English and Welsh schools usually break up towards the end of July. It is that time when gardens are lush and colourful, trees are in full leaf, wildlife dances abundantly around us if we but take the time to notice it.  Slowly but surely crops begin to ripen in field, garden and allotment, even in windowsill planters.

The beginning of August is marked in many northern hemisphere Pagan communities as Lughnasadh, celebrating the grain harvest.  Tuatha de Bridget will be gathering once more on Sunday 3rd August at 1pm in Pollok Park ad we hope to see you there.

Please contact us for further details.

Moving on towards the summer solstice

The Beltane ritual seems like a long time ago now.  For the second year my mum, Siusaidh, was not well enough to attend Beltane.  Unlike the previous year though it was a rotten cold that prevented her from being there and not a hospital stay.  No mum also meant no dad (Piet) present either so I ended up coordinating an unscripted ritual with those who were able to be there.  All of us present talked about what we would like to include in the ritual, it was very much a group effort and I think  it went very well with some lovely healing energy raised for those we knew of in need.

The next week was the Druids of Caledon open Beltane ritual in Rouken Glen Park and my parents were well enough to be there.  I had the pleasure of being at that one too.

For me though it doesn't quiet feel like Beltane until the hawthorn blossoms nearby so my third Beltane celebration took place a couple of weeks later and was a quiet acknowledgement of the changing of seasons.

Now we move towards the Summer Solstice and the days get longer and warmer although not often drier!  Tuatha de Bridget will not be organising a Summer Solstice ritual this year.  Instead we will be once again encouraging members to join the lovely members of the Druids of Caledon for their ritual on Sunday 22nd June at Rouken Glen park.

Please contact us if you need further details of where to go and what time.

Towards Beltane

The Spring Equinox and baby naming ceremony went very well and a wonderful time was had by all present there.

Now the days gradually begin to lengthen although with the grey weather you'd be forgiven for not noticing much of a change in light levels yet.  Looking outside though the changes are much more obvious. The hawthorn trees are covered with fresh new young leaves, daffodils are still looking their best and being joined by tulips  and hyacinths in my garden. Birds can be seen with nesting materials and in the park close to me herons have been seen displaying.

The seasons continue to flow and now we move gently onwards towards Beltane.  This year we will be celebrating Beltane on Sunday 27 April. As usual we hope to be at Pollok Park but do keep in touch as if the weather is bad we may have to move to an indoor location.