Summertime Sorcery
Sitting in the mid-September sun, which appears to be summertime starkly tardy, it's difficult to imagine how soggy some of the last few months have been; much easier however to recall all of the magical adventures along the way, so I present you with a whistle-stop tour of our Open Rituals and appearances since our last blog.
Honouring the Sun at the height of its power
Celebrating the Midsummer victory of Sol
After Soror O.F. and I returned from France, we spent June preparing for our Initiations and our Summer Solstice Open Ritual to Sol Invictus under the auspices of Mithras. This syncretic ritual brings together elements of the Mithraic Liturgy and Roman Solar worship, with the ritual changing each Quarter representing a station on the Passion of Sol through the Wheel of the Year. We conclude with a Eucharist to empower our attendees as they go on to achieve their intentions for the next season and finish with our Open Ritual Mantra & Affirmations.
For the Solstice, our magical colleague from France joined us and took the part of Sol, who was bestowed with his elemental weaponry and invoked as Sol Invictus. Our sage friend treated us to a rendition of his interpretation of the Headless Rite as it was also the Feast of St John the Baptist, a key figure in the Christian mysteries. Then, robed and armed, Sol Invictus distributed boons and the sacrament to all in attendance, and we retired to feast at our usual social.
Our next chapter in this cycle will be at our upcoming meeting, where we will perform the Autumn Equinox chapter of the ritual after a wonderful lecture on Egyptian magical technology from Dr Robert Plimer - you can read more about the event here, and all of our open rituals are uploaded to our Members Area for those further afield to practice in local groups.
Withnail & Awen
At the end of July we took to mid-Wales to spend a week with the Druids, our very fine magical colleagues and experts in Natural Magic. Reuniting with old friends and hanging out with Halo and one of our arboreally-focused initiates, along with Soror O.F. and my kids, we had a great time joining rituals and workshops - Star Club also pitched in, with Halo leading a group in developing storytelling skills, and I offered to teach my Minor Arcana on the Tree of Life workshop.
You can read Halo’s thoughts here, but I’ll offer my own (belated) take in short. While in my youth I was a Viking re-enactor - shorthand for Norse Pagan Camp With Pointy Sticks - it’s been some time since I was really embedded in the Pagan community, and it was absolutely lovely. The rain was persistent, and quite Welsh, but it was great to see my two boys running around and making friends with other kids who were also free-range (and similarly feral), and seeing them experience the joy of getting to be absolutely themselves for a week.
I actually intended to keep a low profile, but on the first day we arrived and I immediately put the car in the wrong place, leading to me being called out by name at the end of morning meeting - not exactly subtle! I felt rather Richard E. Grant - “We’ve come to Druid Camp by accident, we’re not occultists!” - but all was well and by lunchtime I was offering my tarot workshop and helping out with the lighting and sound for the evening performances.
Direct transmission from the Archangel Uriel
My main highlights were undertaking a Sound Bath journey, being part of an Astro-Drama, and contributing to the Closing Ritual of the weekend. I had absolutely no expectations of the Sound Bath, just keeping Soror O.F. company really and looking to relax, but instead I had an intense visionary experience leading me up through the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life. It was very much linked to my current magical development, and quite the surprise - when an Archangel wanders past and does a double take you know it’s going to be a weird trip. The Astro-Drama was then an incredibly emotive and challenging experience, taking someone’s natal chart and creating characters based on those planets in their signs. I went through three different positions over the course of the two hour workshop, and it gave me plenty of magical food for thought which I hope to bring to Star Club in due course.
The final day was intense and joyful. The whole camp was divided into groups by pteromancy, and then given a section of the story of Taliesin. Our group demonstrated his birth and being sewn into the coracle, then being washed out to sea where he was finally crowned by the Prince as Taliesin. The camp came together in the afternoon and, in turn, the tale was told from start to finish, and the great magic of storytelling theatre wove our groups with some help from the most practised Druids. Afterwards we enjoyed the Aestedfodd, including a performance of the Epic of Gilgamesh in Five Minutes by Halo and a bardic companion, and then the last band of the week was Seize the Day whom I haven’t seen since they played for the Occult Conference in 2017.
We went home happy (if soggy) and full of magical zeal, and I’m looking forward to further Druidic adventures in the future. Thank you Druid Camp from all at Star Club.
Aphrodisia and Inner Mysteries
We returned to the Divine Feminine for our next ritual at Lammas, where Dr Quin led us in an act of Aphrodisia, celebrating Aphrodite and then honouring Adonis as the grain is harvested. Our second Red Goddess-oriented ritual for the Cross Quarters saw us embodying the elements, accepting what needed to die for our better natures to live, and giving away something cherished as Adonis was slain to feed the Earth. As mentioned you will find our Open Rituals in our Members’ Area and these will continue to build as we go through the Wheel of the Year.
Once our Open Ritual festivities were complete, we took part in a very special ritual - the Star Club Initiation. Once per year, when the Training Cycle is complete and we have Practitioners who have demonstrated that they are ready and able to lead our rituals when required, we invite them as Candidates to take part in a formal Initiation where they will be tested to prove themselves Magicians. We are delighted to say that 4 of the Cycle 3 Practitioners successfully became Initiate, and two of our previous Initiates attained further towards their Officer status. Furthermore, we held a Recognition ceremony for Soror O.F. as a Priestess within Star Club, given her work supporting the group, celebrating our rituals, and the role she volunteered to take when I performed the Oath of the Abyss. Richly deserved congratulations to all.
Ye ſaga Continueth…
September is halfway through, and we’ve had a heatwave and thunderstorms in just the last week. At the height of solar recurrence, we spent the day helping out at the Bristol Alternative Market and held an information stall - Hello to our new readers and Members!
No rest for the wicked however as we are full speed ahead into the teaching year, with our new Star Club Cycle admitting students to become Practitioners as of this Saturday, 23rd September, which begins with our Foundational Workshop - you can book this as a one-off to learn our Framework and take a leading part in Open Rituals, or put towards your full Cycle membership.
Dr Plimer arriving from another dimension
We’re incredibly pleased to host Dr Robert A. Plimer to give a workshop Dislimning for the Duat which will be especially relevant to those looking to learn the Star Club system, so you can still book a ticket here. Dr Plimer will also sit in on our Foundational Workshop to peer-review our magical teaching, which we’re always excited to have feedback on. After the workshop we will celebrate Sol Invictus as he descends towards Winter for our Autumn Equinox Open Ritual, and head to the pub for refreshments thereafter.
October will see our new trainee magicians and returning Practitioners commence Cycle 4 of Star Club, a fresh challenge and our first truly mixed-level Cycle as Star Club begins to be self-sustaining. To help understand more about our courses, I’ve re-organised the website and added some pages including more about me and Halo, and what you can expect from training with us.
It’s been a fantastic Summer peppered with magical trips and results, and I look forward to seeing you soon. Stay tuned for the final part of our French adventure (at last!) and news of our Samhain and Yuletide Open Rituals.
Until next time.