Our Major Sabbats are performed in an eclectic wiccan ritual format. This year’s ceremony was held in honor of the Greek Goddess Hekate. She is the dark mother who comforts the dead, knows all the secrets of the world, bears the torch of illumination for us in times of darkness and devours our fears that we may be free to live life fully. She is the queen of all Witches, mistress of magick and is older than the Gods themselves.
As the nature of this ceremony was very personal and powerful, we held it in the privacy of one of our members’ homes. We invoked the Dark Lady, invited in the ancestors to bid them one final farewell before they passed to land of renewal. And we did some fire magic to transform our worries and fears into love and blessings.
Tim and Ed
Gwynn
Viola and his latest brewing masterpiece
Yemaya – dressed to the nines
Caledonia and Yemaya
Hyperion and Yemaya – pre-ritual
Yemaya and Morrigan
Morrigan and Gwynn
The Ancestral Altar – where the departed are honored and propitiated
The Main Altar – The deer skull with lit candle atop is used to summon the ancestors into our space to lend us their wisdom and love before they finally cross over to the Lands of Renewal.
The Ancestral Skull was given to me in a shamanic journey by the ancestors themselves. The horns of the deer represent the God who lives, dies and is reborn every day like the shedding of antlers. He is the God of the Hunt, and the guardian of the dead. The black candle, lit atop the skull acts not only as an offering of light to the departed to assist them in their transition, but also as a portal through which they can be summoned and through which they can cross back into the Lands of Renewal.
A Hekate Statue depicting her as torch-bearer, guiding us through the darkness. The opened pomegranite is an offering to her, and the keys are one of her sacred symbols.
Preparing for the Ritual
Hyperion and Yemaya officiate the Samhain Rite
Samhain Feast followed the Rite. Greek food to honor Hekate.
Vicky and Danny
Cheers! Happy Samhain!
Mmmm! Mead!
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December 1, 2009 at 11:12 pm
macmorrighan
Hey, how did you guys manage to snag Tim?! I know that boy! Actually, what was so weird is that I was performing a random google search that led me to this page. At first glance I was all, like, “*I* think I know that guy!” Then when I saw his name, it confirmed it! If you should see him, tell him that Wade says, “Hi”, okay?