We were blessed with a beautiful spring day for our Alban Eilir ceremony at Rock Well. Due to covid there were fewer of us than planned, but many thanks to Nick, Shane and Carl for attending. Special thanks to Shane for bringing along the flowers and his very seasonal cuddly hare!
As before, we carried out a litter pick of the site beforehand and laid out our altar on the very convenient drain covering! Despite there being only four of us it was a lovely ceremony. We included a peace ritual for Ukraine and Shane then read his meditation for the time of Alban Eiler, the Light of the Earth. This was followed by reading of poetry, including The Peace Poem written by John Denver:
The Peace Poem
There’s a name for war and killing
there’s a name for giving in
when you know another answer
for me the name is sin
but there’s still time to turn around
and make all hatred cease
and give another name to living
and we could call it peace
And peace would be the road we walk
each step along the way
and peace would be the way we work
and peace the way we play
And in all we see that’s different
and in all the things we know
peace would be the way we look
and peace the way we grow
There’s a name for separation
there’s a name for first and last
when it’s all for us or nothing
for me the name is past
but there’s still time to turn around
and make all hatred cease
and give a name to all the future
and we could call it peace
And if peace is what we pray for
and peace is what we give
then peace will be the way we are
and peace the way we live
Yes there still is the time to turn around
and make all hatred cease
and give another name to living
and we can call it peace
and I watched a Blackbird by Thomas Hardy:
I Watched A Blackbird
I watched a blackbird on a budding sycamore
One Easter Day, when sap was stirring twigs to the core;
I saw his tongue, and crocus-coloured bill
Parting and closing as he turned his trill;
Then he flew down, seized on a stem of hay,
And upped to where his building scheme was under way,
As if so sure a nest were never shaped on spray.
The Elderflower mead made by Gordon and Ann who run the excellent Lancashire Mead Company went down very well, as did the vegan cup cakes (sadly not home baked but Sainsbury’s finest!). We were joined by some curious and polite children as we were tidying up, who were intrigued about what we were doing. We explained that we were celebrating the changing of the season to Spring and that we celebrated here as it was a special place. They nodded solemnly and we finished clearing away, scattered some bird seed as a little offering, and left ‘The Lion’s Den’ to them.
by Liz