2:09 pm
[velvet512]
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samhain weekend 2005
samhain weekend 2005 With Samhain’s hand to guide me, I am refreshed and transformed. Now I take up my pen to give thanks. I drove north along the unwinding miles of the M6, feeling my way through the trafficking of the conurbations, breathing in once more the undulating glories of The Lakes in autumn. Then north again. North over the border with fond memories of Gretna. A short while further, my sat nav has done its work. I contemplate the portal fondly leading to The Funny Farm. Beki and Geoff are there with warm greetings. Others filter in at discrete intervals. I never did manage to count them all. We were a companionable crowd. Many recognised from times before. Others with new faces to add to the gallery. And the children grow up. Even in the timespan of thirteen successive moons, they grow up. Once we were a newsgroup. Names and addresses on multiple screens. We grew into a family. We are now almost a small tribe – in the best sense of that word, of course! I learn at length (tandem, may I say?) the mysteries of LARP. Part way, in this computer-linked company, to pathworkings on another plane. We leave as silently as we came. Food and drink there has been in abundance. Renewal of the spirit as well as the flesh. Hospitality freely offered. Freely received. Blessings, spoken and unspoken, in all directions. My sat nav does not recognise Drakelaw but there it is, in just one of my books of maps. On the quiet loop west of Abington towards Crawfordjohn. I see the changes since my last visit. The growing families of ducks and ducklings. The quietly faithful old dog who may not see another year. The loveliness of sapling leaves about to fall. The serenity of noon in the low slanting rays of a winter’s sun. On again. The voice at my ear guiding me. It is farther than I thought. The roads twist and turn. Tarmac over cattle tracks. This is hill country, south of the land and lochs of my ancestors. I have directions but distances are deceptive. Ahead I see a small cluster almost hidden behind smoke plumes from a lusty bonfire. ‘I know where I’m going.’ Oakleaf was at Lammas. Mabon interpolated. So very distant. So very close at hand. ‘Old friends to greet us.’ I have seen more summers than they. Sunset catches me unawares. There is venison for supper. The rain makes half-hearted attempts to draw attention to itself. The ritual bonfire glows in the sacred space. Silently we cast our outworn baggage into the embers. The horn-shaped chalice circulates widdershins to complete the action. Factus est. Omnes facta sunt. But not quite, for the night is still young and Carol is a fabulous witch. New life springs up. The better to go forward. Erecting fresh signposts along the way. There is great peace here. And surging magic for those who wish to savour it. ‘O temps suspend ton vol.’ But we cannot. It is ‘Hail and Farewell’. Inevitably. ‘I take again my homeward road.’ The everlong stretches of the M6. Light rain. Lashing showers. Twilight, dusk, and darkness. The voice at my ear guides me. I am returned. ‘Tomorrow is another day.’ ‘Amen to that.’ francis cameron oxford, 7 november 2005 |
12:06 pm
[velvet512]
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a fresh page The year was 1995. On May 1st we went to Avebury. Not for a ritual. Just because it was Beltane and Beltane was a good time to be among the stones. In the bookshop, under a small table, I spied a little pile of magazines. It was the new Beltane issue of Pagan Dawn. I bought a copy. My life turned to a fresh page. We joined the Federation. Studied the ads in that copy of Pagan Dawn. Picked up our cues. Followed their leads. Went to a District Conference at Stroud. Met Ronald Hutton for the first time. Dialogued with him about Catalhuyuk Marshak and the Kwakiutl. Met him again at Michael de Ward’s In the Presence II on the pagan-friendly Blackland Lakes campsite in Wiltshire. There we met Bobcat for the first time. And Prudence Jones. And Fred Lamond. Among others. It was as stimulating and just as demanding as a postgraduate weekend seminar. Then we went to our first Pagan summer camp. That one had advertised Lammas ceremony and celebration. There was no ceremony – and the celebration was no more than a communal meal one evening. Shades of ‘put it all in one pot’ – like the kitchen in a students’ house. The real thing was yet to come. We went to Oakleaf. At Bridlington. A wonderful experience. With an afterimage of the line of traders still there down the middle of the field a full twentyfour hours after all but we had left. We go on giving thanks to Brian and Val for Oakleaf. And thanks also to Steve and Norman and Carol and others whom we meet now and again and again as the years go by. There’s something special about Oakleaf. Long may it continue. Long may it prosper. francis cameron oxford, 22 september 2005 |
4:43 pm
[martinhazel]
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4:38 pm
[martinhazel]
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11:10 pm
[ex_kingdavey885] |
Non Pagan Oakleafer
Hi. I'm not a pagan. I was invited along to Oakleaf 2004 by  bekijane to help her and her partner to run the burger van. I had a great time with everyone I met, so invited myself to help them again for 2005. I have already talked them into including me in 2006. I have had a great time there both years. either as the naked chef 2004 or the wet chef 2005. Lets hope next years weather will be a lot kinder to us than this year. |
4:42 pm
[bekijane]
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Intro
Hi. Becca here. I'm the large 35 year old woman you last saw grinning at you when you were still asleep. I've camped for the last two camps and intend to be a regular blot on the Oakleaf landscape for as long as the disorganisers keep asking me back. Pagan for 19 years odd, my bio usually reads "mad Pagan Woman With Attitude". anyone who would like to know more is welcome to dig though my user info page. Current Mood:  chipper |
2:15 pm
[martinhazel]
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An Intro
Hi Everyone, If I met you at Oakleaf you know Who I am if not here is my Intro. I am Martin Hazel, I am 32 years old, and a practicing Chaos Magician. I have been a practicing CM for 17 years. My other interests include Druidry, all forms of high Magic and circle magic. I am disabled with Myalgic Encepholmyalitus which I have had since I was 13. My working name though rarely used these days is MoonOak. Please feel free to add me to your friends page if you wish, email me, message me or whatever ;) I am currently also in the Process of setting up an East Lancashire / west Yorksire Moot, that I have a venue for in Burnley. As soon as details are confirmed I will post them here :) Most eventful thing that happened at Oakleaf this year for me: I conducted the Ceremony for Stephen and Racheal's Handfasting :) Love and Light Martin oh btw I had red hair at oakleaf this year Current Mood: amused |
