Sunday 13 November 2016

Ancient Voice

And she opened her mouth and sang.

An ancient voice rose up from deep within the heart of her.

A voice of old stories and well trodden paths, a voice that knew cold winds and hearth fires.

She sang of remembering, of honouring. She sang of old, old truths.

The souls who heard it, remembered it from before, and for a moment their hearts were warm and their spirits flew free.



Awen Clement - 2016 (c) 

Saturday 12 November 2016

Honouring the Blood: Call of the Morrigan

As dusk fell we closed the gates to the ordinary world, allowed the land to envelop and cradle us. Quietly we came, healers and priests, craftsmen and warriors, gathering in Her name. Raven Queen, Battle Crow, Morrigan.

We cast a circle of light and dark, of flame and blood and weaving.  We asked the land to hold us, we asked the ancestors to stand with us, to guide us and guard us. We called our Queen in rich voices of fire and honour.



We cleansed away the old versions of ourselves, prepared to step into new skins, new shapes of our souls.  One by one, turn by turn we submitted to the needle. Gave our blood and received her mark. Gave shape to our prayers, made promises in ink. Witnessed by our brothers and sisters, nurtured by the hearth fire.



We wove together a pattern of story and song, of prayer and devotion as the land and the ancestors looked on. Brave voice of the young spoke in honour and faith. Men cried tears of truth. Women wove prayer and flame in devotion. Some sang in voices not their own and the drum echoed the heartbeat of the world.



And the Great Queen heard us call. She came to us. Accepted our offerings of blood and flesh and honouring. Some trembled, some wept, but all held steadfast in the truth of her sight. Her voice like the gentle roar of the river, we were held out of time. She gave voice of both warning and blessing.

We gave thanks, we feasted and then one by one and two by two we slipped away, across land and sea. Returning home, forever changed, ready to face what is to come.

And so it was done. The ashes went cold and the land fell quiet.



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This writing is a reflection of my experience at Honouring the Blood: Call of the Morrigan Retreat 2016.

Awen Clement - 2016 (c)