Wood Sisters Autumn Equinox gathering
The Equinox is a point of balance, but it can often bring turbulent storms to our early autumn skies and our inner worlds. The group of women who came together for the Wood Sisters gathering on Sunday 25th October, brought with them times of trial in their life as well as great insight into ways of coping with the cycle of our lives. There was rich and deep sharing around the circle and more than a few tears.
As the initial circle of seasonal sharing into the central Wisdom Pot had spilled over in its generosity, Sue set off at a fairly galloping pace through the story of Scheherazade and the the Thousand and One Nights. Tales woven within tales, within other tales, all set in the frame story of betrayal and revenge being balanced by love and trust. It gave the circle quite a lot to talk about.
Sam then led a guided meditation into the grove, followed by time to walk into the fragile and glorious splendour of the Indian summer out in nature. Images that were offered to the wisdom pot after this inner session included meetings with toads and Robin Hood, with West Indian Bogey men and giant alder trees delivering messages with their roots; old hags offered baskets of apples; rooms were hung with pictures and lined with books, some read through at such a rush that their pages were scattered; there were huge diamonds and peaty still black lakes; toddlers with baskets of flowers and hippy couples offering unconditional love. Our inner landscapes are every bit as remarkable, labyrinthine and magical as Scheherazade’s stories, capable of healing us and offering us insight into this moment in our lives.
After a scrumptious lunch, more women joined (and some had to go) and we re-gathered around the hearth to hear Ronnie tell the concluding part of the story she started at the Spring Equinox, introducing us to Blodeuwedd, the women conjured up from woodland flowers. This was a spell-binding tale of enchantment, love, death and transformation and Ronnie brought goose-bumps to the backs of our necks with a haunting Welsh melody, a mask seen two ways and poetry from the Mabinogian, the Welsh story cycle where the story originates. Inspired by the tale we went out again into the sunshine to gather natural materials to each make our masks, half sunny, half shade, as we chatted.
To round the day off we presented our masks and everyone had a chance if they wished to light a candle, lay something on the autumn hearth and offer a song or a poem, a prayer or an insight. This felt like a fitting end to our year cycle which started at Samhain last October. Thanks you to all of you who have shared the path with us over the last year. We hope to see you again as we prepare to begin again at Samhain on Sunday 30th October.
Wood Sisters, masked!
Sue and Sam