Cold and rainy at Loch Broom on the 2013
summer solstice
The summer
solstice at location Z: I was concerned about the weather. The
forecast for June 21st at Ullapool, a small town on the east shore
of Loch Broom and ferry port to the Isle of Lewis, was for a morning low of 55°
F with drizzle with a possible mid-day high of 61° F and overcast, but that was
for sea level and Loc Z is at 1500 feet or higher so my guess is that our temps
were at least 10° colder. We were in the clouds, it was drizzling and there was
a brisk wind across the site. Altogether it was miserable weather for an open
air celebration of a sunrise. It was like walking around in a wet muddy
refrigerator.
Not Dissing the
Gods: I asked how we were supposed to keep warm and dry during the
ceremony. Not for myself as much as for His Grace and the other men who were supposed
to ritually breed us. In my experience men have trouble with their erections in
cold temperatures even when using a performance enhancing medication. Before we
left home I had considered bringing a neoprene wetsuit with a relief zipper,
hood, gloves and booties, since I knew Loc Z was on a crag in the highlands.
However, on second thought being a fertility offering to the gods on an ancient
altar while wearing a modern wetsuit didn’t seem right… like something out of
science fiction, but worse it would show a lack of respect on my part.
I needn’t have worried. To walk the few yards from our tent
to the altar I was given a deerskin robe and hood and wooden clogs to walk
through the mud and gorse roots. The staff of the hunting lodge had a thick
pile of deer skin carriage blankets made from entire Red Deer skins sewn
together. They were so soft and warm, but quite heavy. I thought in missionary
and even when my legs were on my partner’s shoulders most of the weight would
be on him so I was ok with that. It turned out that I only had two of the
blankets doubled underneath me. In a surprise I wouldn’t have believed if you
had told me beforehand the rest were unneeded.
The summit:
Our party made the final ascent in the rain on Thursday the 20th
with a tracked ATV pulling a trailer with our camping supplies. The estate
staff must have been working all night to get the trail in condition that the
ATV could get up it. We had a large tent just off the site in which we all
slept, cooked (with bottled gas) and ate. Open fires are not a good idea around
gorse as it is quite flammable. Even in such soggy conditions if the gorse
catches fire no one knows where a wildfire will stop. The sleeping area was
divided by sheets between male and female areas. I don’t think anyone crossed
the linen barrier as we all seemed to want to save our lust for the solstice. With
the forecast no one really expected to see the sunrise through the
observatory’s sun portal.
Sacramental
brandy: His grace had brought
along five bottles of what he calls ‘estate mead’ brandy really which is
distilled from gorse wine to which is added gorse honey. It tastes like coconut
with a hint of vanilla and is extremely potent. Before Jack and I left the
dressing tent to walk to the altar in procession His Grace, acting as chief
priest (and doing an excellent job of it), privately administered the
sacramental wine from an ancient horn cup. I can usually hold my liquor pretty
well, but the gorse brandy/mead must be nearly lethal as far as alcohol content
is concerned. I almost immediately became far more in tune with our location
and was welcomed to the observatory by a nameless gray shape that seemed
reassuring. It was pleased that the old ways were being practiced there once
again. And with that knowledge my discomfort and trepidation disappeared and I
felt that regardless of what happened it was meant to be. I mentioned this
later to Jack who said that while he wasn’t visited by the gray eminence a
feeling of confidence and wellbeing came over him that allowed him to perform
in the cold rain while being watched by spectators.
Droit du
Seigneur: Just before sunrise it was solid clouds, fog really as we
were in the clouds and cold drizzle when His Grace led me to the altar. I
mounted the primary altar and lay on the folded deer skin robes a few minutes
before 6:04 BST when the sun should appear in the solar portal. His Grace
performed the purification ritual anointing my breasts and vulva with herbal
unguents in front of the rest of the party. Then, in an act of amazing
generosity (for him) he relinquished Droit du Seigneur (the right to first
penetration of brides, but which the old bull interprets broadly) to Jack who
mounted me.
Sunrise: Fully penetrated we refused the robes to
cover us. I think the temp must have been in the high 40s and I didn’t feel the
cold just the amazing completeness I have when Jack’s massive erection fills me.
I just seemed to glow and radiate warmth. Just after he entered me the clouds and fog
parted and sun shone briefly through the observatory portal bathing the altar
and us in its rays. Everyone cheered and suddenly the distinctive coconut scent of the yellow gorse blossoms seemed
overpowering. I took it as an omen and roughly ripple-gripped him to get
him off to splatter seed against the stretchy latex membrane of my Reflexions
while the sun still shone on us through the stones. The sun was with us for
nearly three minutes by the watch of a footman whose job it was to measure the
duration should it occur.
Jack is not one troubled by premature ejaculation so when he
came after less than four minutes inside me he was upset until I told him I had
purposely forced him so he would fill me with sperm while the sun blessed us
with its rays. Only then was he reassured that he had performed
flawlessly. Afterward the other couples
were ritually purified by His Grace and performed w/o incident. Fortified by
the sacramental mead they were able to perform satisfactorily in the cold
drizzle and much pleasure was had by all concerned. We didn’t see the sun again that day, but the
sun temple is well and truly in use again.
Had the weather been sunnier and/or warmer, would you and Jack have gone on longer? You ever go for a long time (not quite like that one test you gave that German pilot) in one of these rituals? Have these ever turned into a full-blown orgy among the adepts? (Like you and Jack start and the others join in one couple by one couple until everyone's in the action.)
ReplyDeleteWe absolutely would have! I was aroused, but didn’t get off because I was working to have him plant his seed while we were in the first rays of the solstice. I’m not really interested in duration now it’s more about quality time.
DeleteThe sexual activity should be controlled. But I’m sure things sometimes get so frenzied that all control is lost. I think this usually happens mostly to men sometimes to the delight and other times to the sorrow of nearby women. Fortunately I haven’t been present during a recent Druid orgy as I think sexual control is a big part of the attractiveness of experienced Druid men.
It is a delight that an old, old site was reopened along with your reopening. Welcome to the far Northwest Highlands. Those of us who grew up there know too well the difficulty of getting laid in comfort. The homes are too small to hide there and the outside is mostly as you describe. We teens in the Hebrides looked forward to those several wonderful summer days when we could pull our boats across the beach and spend the afternoon on the many tiny islets along the Minch. All too infrequent. My father's sailboat, a Danish one built for the North Sea, was a handy refuge for my sister, first, and then for me. The few hiking huts in the mountains got some use year 'round but they were always open to the inclement, or normal, weather.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for those sites established by our Druidic, often referred by christians as Pagan, be used for proper rites. St Colombo, in bringing christianity to Scotland (then, mostly, Pictland) brought with him the taboos that have made the Hebrideans the most sexually repressed people of Europe. As they, as Presbyterians, broke away from the catholic church, all things sexual became even more evil. Refreshingly, sex was seen by our ancient forebears not as a shameful thing but as a beauty in itself to be celebrated.
Sitting here in Rwanda with no con-celebrants I simply daydreamed reliving many of my favorite times on the altars of the Highlands and Islands and then finished myself off quite satisfactorily. No proper celebration as the drainage is to be worshiped as well, but it was, at least, sexual release.
Perhaps we can someday share an altar where the Pictish and Druid rituals are combined.
Thank you Brenda! It must have been wonderful growing up on the west coast and the islands off Scotland!
DeleteHis Grace, the old bull, officiated to the best of his ability. At New Years he had insisted that Jack and all the women as well as himself get the pneumonia vaccine. At the time I thought he was not thinking clearly, but it’s best to humor him as he is very generous with his possessions and gifts and so I made certain that all the women at my end (Cyndi, Bea, Anya and myself) as well as Taryn and Fiona had our shots promptly. Given the weather on the Summer Solstice and the fact that we were nude in a cold rain during the ceremonies we were very fortunate that he insisted. None of us got even a sniffle!
As far as the family can tell there were no practitioners of the old ways left in the area after about the 15th century when the last of them were hunted down and butchered by Christians. His Grace considered bringing in a Druid Priest from outside the area, but thought better of it as, being an English aristocrat and noble, it’s taken him years to win the favor of the locals and to this day they are quick to take offence. But perhaps worse If a Druid was brought in the site would almost certainly become known to the rest of the community, which was something he wasn’t willing to risk.
Since I was the primary celebrant on the solstice and was luteal at the time His Grace wants Jack and me to re-consecrate the primary altar during my ‘seasons’, when I’m fertile and again when menstrual so my fertile mucus and blood and his heir’s seed can soak into the stone surface. With me using a cervical barrier for contraception I’m not sure yet just how I can discharge FCM and semen simultaneously and still remain protected, but we will work something out.
I’m sorry you were away from a Holy Site on the Summer Solstice. I hope by now you are safely back from Rwanda and are able to make a private pilgrimage to one of the nearby sites for spiritual renewal. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be purified and share an altar together sometime!