Denton CUUPS usually holds our circles on the Saturday closest to the actual date of the holiday, with occasional adjustments for members' schedules and competing events. We've learned not to schedule Beltane on the same weekend as Denton Arts & Jazz Fest, which is usually the last weekend of April. But when we were planning the 2012 calendar last year and saw that the Winter Solstice was on a Friday, we knew we had to go on the actual night this year. We've pushed our starting time back a half hour for Friday evening traffic, with gathering at 7:30 and ritual start at 8:00.
With all the hype about the end of the Mayan calendar I knew I wanted to be the one to lead the ritual. I asked Erin to co-lead, partially as a training exercise (although she did much of this year's Beltane by herself) and partially because I wanted as much of her skill and enthusiasm as I could get into the ritual. We had our first planning meeting in June and worked on the ritual regularly since then. The script was finalized yesterday.
I've made myself clear about the Mayan calendar – I don't think it represents the end of the world or the end of anything else. But there's a lot of anxiety (i.e. – energy) in the air surrounding it. Our ritual is designed to corral that energy, combine it with the energy of the Winter Solstice and its theme of rebirth, and channel it all into something useful.
Some people say the end of the Long Count calendar represents the end of an age and the beginning of a new aeon. It's rare – very rare – for major changes to come suddenly and definitively. More frequently they start with something that seems insignificant at the time and evolve at imperceptible rates. Only many years after the fact do they appear "inevitable."
I think we can jump-start that evolution. I think many people recognize the way we're living is not only unsustainable, it's not much fun. I think a lot of people are ready for a new aeon even if they have to start it themselves.
This ritual will be offered in service to three deities with whom we have formal relationships. I am pledged to Danu and Cernunnos; Erin is pledged to Morrigan. We have spent time in mediation and prayer asking not just for their help but also for their guidance. In this ritual we will ask for no oaths, but we will give everyone an opportunity to hear and respond to the call of these deities.
There will be a new aeon, because together with our gods and ancestors we will make it so.
As always, click on the image for a larger version of the flyer, and contact me directly if you have any questions.
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