Wood Sisters Spring Equinox

It was a pleasure to welcome both familiar and new faces at our Wood Sisters Spring Equinox celebration on Saturday. Sisters started to arrive at 9am and got the day underway with a fair quantity of tea drinking before we settled down to ‘stir our wisdom pot’ of seasonal reflections from 10. It was great to hear of various springy new beginnings, from new books to new boyfriends! At least two sisters were moving into the unknown having sold their homes, while another had moved into a cabin in a pine wood next door to her horse…go wild women!

Sue was our priestess into the Eleusinian Mysteries with a spirited telling of the sacred myth of Demeter and Persephone. I’ll leave her to tell more of this in her own post but the motif that most struck me was how Persephone was tempted towards the Underworld by a beautiful golden flower created by Zeus. Out in the garden I later saw a tulip open to the spring sun, its golden heart set with pure black, pollen dusted stamens. I thought of Persephone, whose desire for just such a fascinating flower (that was ‘not of her mother’s earthly garden’) cracked open the ground to release the dark, mysterious otherness of Hades.

In meditation, we made our own inner journeys into the Underworld and then spent silent time in nature. I’d love to share something of the rich insights that were then added to the wisdom pot…but in true mystery school style, each woman’s secrets must remain her own….

The ever delicious bring and share feast featured various cauldrons of remarkably green soup, from nettle, to wild garlic and water cress and there were many other treats, including Sue’s half light, half dark ‘equinox biscuits’. After yet more tea, we moved on to our natural craft time, taking it in turns as some moulded flower like floating candles from beeswax, while others of us created three wishing wells in the garden. It reminded me of how I used to create lenten gardens as a child, as we decorated our wells with moss, spring greenery and flowers and I enjoyed staggering back with Sarah with from the nearby brook, with my mop bucket full of river water to fill our muslin strewn bowls.

We then gathered altogether again by fire and water, while Ronnie spirited us away, this time to the Celtic Otherworld and into the presence of the Goddess Arianrhod. I especially appreciated hearing of her castle by the sea…that sometimes could be reached by a causeway, while at other times the way was closed by tumultuous waters…the ultimate ‘room of one’s own’!

The day ended with simple ritual as each of us lit our candles and floated them on the water and threw in our copper, silver and gold and made our wishes for ourselves, our friends and families and for the world. All that wanted to, then had a chance to share their own poems, stories and songs and I’ve been singing Cat’s “The dark days are over” ever since!