Today was one for the books. I am still processing all of what happened (or didn’t happen) during today’s performance of the Solstice ritual at William Blake Lodge, but I do feel like we have set something great in motion, and do consider it a success.
For my disclosure on this or any of my post or pages… please visit my Disclosure page.
We all arrived to Lodge early to rehearse a few times, and then broke down for Mass, then set up again, this time with everything in place. I had my iPhone, and this time actually had the wherewithal to snap a few (questionable) pictures before we began. Among other things, I’d brought my personal magickal journal (which is akin to a talismanic grimoire for me) and intended to use it to hold the few lines from the ritual I actually intended to read aloud. It seemed fitting, and the lines were all addresses to the spirits, so I didn’t want to get any part of them wrong.
Magick altar for Summer Solstice 2016 at William Blake Lodge, Baltimore MD
I think the altar set up and surrounding room looked pretty nice. Before the accoutrements were placed atop the altar’s surface, Wimsaur laid out a diagram in Tarot cards to generate a specific type of Solar energy beneath the glass. Check out his YouTube channel for more examples of him doing these types of card layouts. And pay particular attention to any orbs you see…
I also went ahead and labeled the objects on the altar, in case you were curious…
With the candles lit, and my custom smudge blend smoldering in the burner, Brother Alex awaited my return with the ritual’s participants, and the food and drink for the feast…
Did we perform every line perfectly and did everything go off without a hitch? No, of course not. Do I think that diminished from the final success of the ritual? Not at all. Wimsaur, Jack ‘o the Green, Brother Alex, Soror Queaseitor In Pace, and of course, my wife Jenny (Soror Mada Babalonda) were all wonderful. And the energy we generated together was really something.
I do feel it is worth noting that the Wealth candle had burned down to a nub by the time the ritual was over, and Brother Alex reported to me, that astonishingly to him, we had the perfect amount of water for the over two dozen participants, and not a single drop was wasted. And everyone I asked reported feeling an unmistakable “whomp” when ingesting the tea. I certainly did.
I know I’m going to need time to process everything that happened, but afterwards I received an encouraging amount of positive feedback from a number of people who’d been in attendance. There were also a few new faces there tonight, so I hope we really put forth a good face for the Lodge.
After we left, Brothers Alex and Rob came back with us to the house to hang out and spend the night, and we were up until the wee-ist hours of the morning talking on all manner of fascinating subjects… a few of which I’m now sworn to secrecy over.
When raiding the liquor cabinet for spoils, Alex came across the 60+ year old bottle of Sweet Vermouth that I’d inherited from my grandfather (who wasn’t a drinker himself, and had a whole bunch of liquor his sister gave him when she had to close her bar back in the late 50’s I think…). While I have no idea what the bottle might technically be worth to a collector, Alex absolutely loves sweet vermouth, and as a high-end chef himself, I doubt there are few people I could ever know who would appreciate it as much as he would.
While it was unclear if the liquor would survive all those decades, once sampled Alex reported it was the best vermouth he’d ever tasted. I tried a bit myself and found it to be quite complex and I can appreciate why people like it so much. But vermouth was never my thing, so really I was more than pleased to give him the bottle as his reward for participating in the ritual, and the only requirement was that he drink a toast to my grandfather… which he did (over and over) and damned if he didn’t polish off the entire bottle in one evening… enjoying every sip…
It already feels like the intention of the ritual, that is Infinite Fraternal Success is already in motion.
By the bonds of this Fraternity, our will be done – so mote it be!
Saturday 6/18/16-
Sun: Gemini-
Moon: Sagittarius-
For my disclosure on this or any of my post or pages… please visit my Disclosure page.