Last night, I had a very nice time indeed at the open circle for Imbolc that the Covenant of Brighid’s Haven had at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie. Because this holiday deals with the light returning, the ritual involved lighting small candles from a central candle that was in a tray filled with sand. They were being sure to be safe. Sometimes, there have been variations of this at Samhain, and folks light a candle for a loved one. It can be very moving, but my internal unofficial term for this is the Kitty Litter Ritual, since the first time I saw it done, the base was filled with kitty litter.
However, part of the way through the ritual, the central candle sort of melted and lost over. Ruth, Jaeme and I sort of giggled and I said something about “Spirits of viagra and cialis, be with us now.” The candle hadn’t started out looking phallic, but towards the end, my first thought was “It’s okay. This sort of thing happens to ritual objects all the time. Maybe you’re just tired.”
And yeah, when the circle was closed, we did end with “Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again!” and the usual suffix of “Oh Mary!” Because it’s a tradition, damn it! It may be silly, but it makes me feel happy.
There was a very nice feast afterward, and I had a great time. The Covenant of Brighid’s Haven also now has a Facebook page. Cool for them.
I loved this post - it made me laugh out loud! My first spiritual mentor taught me that we can't take ourselves and our rituals/ceremonies so seriously that we forget the power of laughter, especially when things don't go as planned. Thanks for sharing this!
Bright Blessings,
Jerome