Altar Girls: Planning for the Autumnal Equinox

Autumn foliage in Scotland

The 2013 Autumnal equinox: Returning readers will recall that in my post for June 19, 2013 “Summer solstice – location Z” I was a guest and concelebrant at a ceremony celebrating the summer solstice at an ancient holy site on property belonging to His Grace in the mountains over looking Loch Broom and the Minch with the Isle of Lewis in the distance.

Now John, Lord Sandbach, and His Grace have asked me back to reprise my role as a concelebrant at location Z on the occasion of the Autumnal equinox, Sunday September 22^nd. I was delighted to be asked and plan to go, but they want me to bring along Bea, Cyndi and the Swan twins. Cyndi and Bea were out of school for the Summer solstice. However, now all the girls will be in school. So the question is: Is it worth having them cut classes for two days, the Friday before and the Monday after so they can learn about and celebrate the gods of a religion almost older than time. It’s the twins I’m thinking about as Bea and Cyndi, who has the blood of the people of the old ways flowing in her veins, are quite at home with celebrating their sexuality by ritually offering their bodies as substitute for the Goddess during the planting of seed.

As I mentioned before the girls are very smart so their studies shouldn’t suffer and professors are typically tolerant of students taking time away from class to attend family celebrations, which I consider celebrating the seasons as being, so I think they should be fine. Is it worth their time away from class? Certainly it is! They will be able to tell their daughters about being ritually penetrated as the Earth Goddess uses our bodies on the altar to bring new male DNA into the congregation of the old ways! What girl wouldn’t want to experience that? They can study on the plane and take any exams they miss when they return.

Holy site access: His Grace and Jack (John, Viscount Sandbach, his son) who is the archeologist in the family, have been improving access to location Z w/o disturbing artifacts, a process that is taking a good bit of time. Even so Jack says getting up the mountain will be much easier now that mules are being used.  Returning readers will recall that motorized vehicles were used to help get to the site for the Summer Solstice and the weather was less than ideal and that seemed to happen with distressing regularity except when a local worker brought workmen to the site in a mule cart. On those days the weather at the site was relatively clear. Himself wondered if the motors were disturbing the spirits and began using mule carts for access and on days the workers used mules the weather at the site improved considerably.  Other than improving access Jack has just tidied up a bit using natural fall from the surrounding forest floor to smooth the area around the principal and lesser altars.  He has trimmed a bit of the Gorse so the celebrants can see the tops of the surrounding stones, but has left the rest of the site wild as it must have been for hundreds of years.

Wailing stones: Jack said after he trimmed the Gorse around the stones in the circle the frequency and volume of wailing noises at the site increased. It turns out that there are holes in some of the vertical stones all around the circle – except to the north where the cliff top has fallen into the valley taking several of the northern stones with it – and the wind, which is almost constant across the mountain top blowing through the holes causes the moaning sounds that have contributed to the locals fear of the place as being haunted for as long as Himself can remember. Jack thinks the holes were intentionally placed because there are too many and are in the same location on the stones.

The Earth Goddess: Jack also thinks that location Z is a holy site a sort of open early astrological temple, to an Earth Goddess because there are a lot of beds in the brambles just below the site where doe have come to give birth. But more surprising is that the few female servants – other than the pregnant ones - who came only to the lower level of the site to work in field kitchens or deliver the workmen’s meals, have all started their periods while on the site regardless of where they were in their cycles. So now no female servant will go near the place. And, on September 22, when I will be the first offering on the principal altar for the ritual planting of seed for fall crop,. I will be CD3, one of my heaviest days. I’m taking that as a good omen.

Cyndi, Bea, and the swan twin’s participation:  Cyndi and Bea did not bleed during the Summer Solstice celebration, when they were taken during the ritual planting of seed for summer crops, but they were celebrants on several of the secondary altars so perhaps the cycles of participating women aren’t affected.  That’s something to consider and watch for. With the four secondary altars now available on the North, South, East and West of the principal altar all my girls will be major participants. The North altar is a bit too close to the cliff edge for my liking but Jack says the rock it’s on is quite solid so while it looks dangerous if the wind isn’t blowing from the South the celebrant and her partner(s) on the North altar should be quite safe. Cyndi, as the Duke’s granddaughter, had first choice and chose to offer herself on the Eastern altar because it’s closest to the rising sun. Bea chose the South, Odette picked the Western altar leaving the Northern one for Odile as she is the risk taker and wanted the scary one because the sheer drop is just a few feet away.

Fiona and Major Tree were recalled by the embassy to DC after the Washington Navy Yard shooting. His Grace and Jack will be returning to the UK with us and we leave for Scotland early in the morning this coming Saturday.