After 12 months of solid organising the Gathering was here and kicked off with the Marquee up as a hub for the Organisers and Friends of MFAPG. With such a bunch of artistic people it was fantastic to see everyone add their LED lights through the trees and around campsites and give the Mount a real feel of welcome and celebration. So many added amazing decorations to the Marquee, from lanterns and lights to Hawthorn, Ribbons, Obby Oss, skulls and Stangs.
The beginning decor :)
So great to see so many friends we've not seen for such a long time. And, how amazing to meet new friends and greet those who were around right at the very first one :)
Tan, Clivey & Chappy
Oi Dave flip me the bird while you chat with Caroline eh?
Crown amongst the hawthorn
Although it rained somewhat late Friday night, Saturday was a glorious Spring Day with gorgeous sunshine and the first hints of summer drifting across the crater. Meeting so many great people, including the wonderfully obliging ladies from the Coven of the Eternal Goddess being flung into roles they least expected, and young Corey a newcomer to the Gathering diligently attending to his new role as the Beltane Lord of the Dance. Lou our gorgeous and beautiful Maiden looked stunning in her majestic floral crown made by Mel. As people prepared for ritual thanks must go to in particular to Tania for her outstanding costume creations that added an insight of Myth to the Sabbat ritual. Julie arranged a sound ritual from various sources-a number of people have asked for access to the material and we will place this up in another posting. The outfits were to be believed...Obby Oss, The Raven, The Nightmares, The Faceless Men, The Firebirds and Our Teaser complete with Bladder :)) To PM, Des & Nick for the musical accompaniment both during the ritual and the Maypole.
Our Maiden
Our God
Our Teaser and Des
Teaser , well teasing :P
The Nightmares, The Nightmares!!!
The Raven
Clivey & Raven-old mates :P
Awwww whats the matter Josie Jo? Raven gotcha??
Faceless Men
What is your deepest nightmare?
The ritual was fantastic, with a large drum created by friends of Linda & Michels' to enable us to continue our balefire tradition.
Obby Oss!!
Another imposing Faceless Man
Obby lovingly designed and created by Tan.....
Sooo many great folk enjoying the sunshine, great food and company. With a very special Irish stew bubbling away in the Cauldron for feasting after the ritual, everyone was laughing and preparing for what looked like one of the largest and most inclusive rituals seen a couple of years. The normal camping folk unconnected with the Gathering or paganism looked on slightly concerned, slightly bemused. However all but a couple refused the Sabbat cake offerings. From the non-pagans came questions, laughter, inclusion and curiosity. Almost all, remarked how joyous and intriguing our Gathering was. One woman said her children enjoyed the care and the thoughtfulness extended to her children with the pinata bashing at the end-pics to follow!
Guitar Des
Where? Over there? Yeah......K...Mick and Tan talk over the details...
Doug & our beautiful Lynnie
Our gorgeous baker extraordinaire Miss Ska- Mel's new muse from whom all luxurious desserts shall cometh..
This Tanny always looks lovely!
Linda doing (just) one of the many many things she does best!
Prepared and ready for ritual the procession left Gathering HQ calling out to all to come to the ritual in a grand procession circling the crater. With Obby and Teaser leading and goading, followed by our Maiden and all other particpants. And what a circle!! We estimated approximately 80 people in the circle with another 40 standing around outside. Perfect weather and no rain who could have asked for more!! After the conclusion of the ritual, it was so heartwarming to see kids pagan and non pagan running around playing together and people from all backgrounds and beliefs chatting, laughing and coming together in the true spirit of humanity.
Michel doing one of the many many things he does best!!!
Mel & Des doing one of the many many things they do best!!!
Oh ho ho-whats this Dave did I capture you again??? Awwww
Balefire remanants!
The elder and the new-gorgeous young man playing bodhran
Keep a look out! More photos to come!!
What a great post! Love the photos- they really caught the atmosphere of the Sabbat. The costumes were absolutely great. Love the colour. What a great Beltane!
ReplyDeleteJust posting an excerpt from a lovely attendee who emailed (snipped for brevity):
ReplyDelete"We just returned from the Beltane Festival at Mt. Franklin today. We enjoyed seeing our friends and the ceremony. It was certainly cold enough, but it was lovely. We didn’t actually camp there, but we joined in our group’s bbq. Your group did a great job. We also enjoyed the drumming." Suzanne.
I'm still tired!
ReplyDeleteHappily exhausted over here :P
ReplyDelete