Ever Changing...

I drove into Mount Franklin during the school holidays for a visit recently and found a great change to the area. The large Scots Pine that sits next to the clearing on the west of the crater, where the organisers and registration is situated, has been cut down. I've not tried to find out why, but I'm sure Parks Victoria had their reasons (and I am naturally assuming they are responsible). All the branches with its needles are now gone, but its large trunk sit forlornly nearby. The crater has changed so much over the years - trees being planted and others cut or fallen down, droughts, roads mended, fencing areas off for safety and preservation etc, so we should expect a bit of change now and again. A part of it may have broken or fallen, so cutting it down may have been the safest thing to do.

Still it's sad, not much we can do about it now, it will be strange to not have the pine there anymore. It was such a great tree!

 

 

 

 

Josie standing on the stump

Pic of the tree from Beltane 2012, only 6 months before.

 

Another one from 2012 Beltane - No more shade!

 

An Excellent Review of the MFAPG Blog Site!!

There is a great review and link to the site that has been posted on wildhunt at http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/11/pagan-community-notes-women-and-the-changing-face-of-paganism-pagan-health-mount-franklin-gathering-turns-30-and-more.html
Check it out!

Thanks to Cazz Tully for the link.

A New Thread in an Old Tapestry

As this site has so many active followers and has garnered some small amount of interest among Pagans around the world (yes folks, the world has been watching!) I thought that it may be constructive to begin a thread where we can all make a positive contribution. I would love to hear what all of you like most about Beltane, and other celebrations, at Mt. Franklin. What do you think are the essential events of the Beltane gathering? What kind of ceremony should there be? What elements of the ritual are the most vital, exciting, meaningful to you? What direction do you think that the Beltane celebrations should go in from here?

Leave a comment here or e-mail us at mountfranklinpagans@gmail.com and we'll get it posted for you.

Looking towards 2011 and the 30th Anniversary of Mount Franklin Annual Pagan Gatherings!!

Well, what can we say the excitement is already upon us as we stir the pot and conceive of some wonderful and innovative ideas for next years 30th anniversary! One of the ways in which we have decided to celebrate the unique place that the gathering holds in so many hearts is to expand this blog site to include great articles from both Traditional and Pagan streams of Craft. Here we hope that readers and followers of this blog will enjoy both contributing and indulging in information which is unique to the practices found in Australia.

Housekeeping!:
No inappropriate material will be permitted on this blog site. Any further inflammatory postings by persons indulging in pointless illogical attacks will be removed post haste. This is not the forum for your particular angsts either real or imagined.

What we do welcome is educated articles regarding Craft and Paganism, books, memories and discussions. If any out there are hogging those special Mount Franklin memories somewhere in pictorial form or deep in the cerebral vaults then please,  by all means dig them out, extract them and send them in for publishing!

That said, it is time to move forward. It is time for rising above that which would seek to bind us. Light well your lanterns! Proceed with all due care to illuminate the winding path,  the long walk that leads us home.

Blessed Be

Mods.

Cool Pic from 2002!

This photo of that appears to be hooded spirits was taken on the last Saturday of October in 2002, by my friends’ friend. It was a digital camera, and the picture appeared fine until it was uploaded, and appeared like this. This picture has not been doctored at all.
The location is campsite called Mt Franklin, a very beautiful volcanic crater in central Victoria near Daylesford, where an annual pagan ritual has occurred. At the time this picture was taken, the festival was in its 21st year. The picture faces the actual ritual site used every year. Other rituals are held by pagans in this campsite, all year round, but none as large as this annual event. This was taken the morning before the ritual. It’s a very sacred place to pagans of Victoria.

I have even had a strange mist appear before me in a photo at the mountain just before I was actually going to run the ritual as priestess, this occurring in 2003. Over the years other people have seen strange things – children-sized little people sitting cross-legged on tent roofs, and aboriginals ancestors watching over the gatherings. I also saw a child/faery in a tree for a split second as I was driving out of the mountain in 2002, only a few hours after this amazing photo had been taken.

I am not sure the picture can be enlarged any more than this.

TANIA

2010

More Great Shots from Tania

Great Photos of Beltane 2010 by Scarlett DeMasson

constructing the marquee

huddling under shelter

constructing the bonfire



& constructing the bonfire



lake franklin

before the ritual

more before the ritual

sunday morning before the maypole

Thanks to Scarlett DeMasson for these great photos- I especially like this last shot, it sums up the spirit of the weekend very nicely. Well done!

From the organisers of the Gathering :

You've got to love a La Nina year! All our prayers and workings for rain were answered in one hit on the weekend. We all gathered on the beloved mountain, cunningly armed with a large waterproof marquee, and sang, laughed, danced and cavorted for the feast of Beltane. Friday was warm and mild, but down it came on Saturday, as the heavans opened. But, as has happened before, the ritual circle was blessed with a cessation of the rain, for exactly as long as it took for the ritual to be completed. The spiral dance opened proceedings as the God was called to bring us the fire of the sun. We then called the Goddess who entered the circle escorted by her bird messengers. She danced with her sacred spouse and they both disappeared to the north as we passed a loving cup to bind us in love and amity. The participants then adjourned to the marquee where we all shared the lamb roast that had been sizzling all day over a hot fire of eucalyptus wood. Sunday saw much drying out of gear, good humoured comments on the sense of humour of the gods, and a lovely maypole dance . The Moot was called and we all agreed it was a wonderful Gathering, and are looking forward to next year - number thirty! It's going to be a ripper! Thanks so much to everyone who has helped and encouraged us, too numerous to mention, we couldn't have done it without you all. All the best, Blessed Be    The Organisers.

Beltane 2010

The Mount Franklin Annual Pagan Gathering was held to celebrate Beltane on the weekend of the 29^th-31^st October 2010, making this the 29^th consecutive year of the festival.

Friday morning Central Victoria was bathed in warm sunshine as the Pagan folk assembled at the mountain and set up their campsite in the north-west corner of the park, making a neat little village for the weekend’s social activities.

After weeks of fretting over the Eclectic Witches coming up and repeating the bad behavior of past years, in the end only a small, quiet group of them actually came to the mountain this year and, after a bit of quarrelling amongst themselves and meeting the Daylesford constabulary late on Friday night, they proved to b less than an annoyance and the Mount Franklin Annual Pagan Gathering camp reveled happily into the night in spite of the inclement weather that had blown in on Friday evening.

Saturday rained all day, which kept the numbers of visitors to Beltane down, but by late afternoon sixty or so hardy Pagans had gathered to celebrate Beltane and in fine Mt. Franklin tradition the heavens cleared as the crowd was called by the sound of a drum for the ceremony.

To begin the ceremony we all were faced outwards in the circle, joined hands and did the Spiral Dance which ended in us all facing inwards. The High Priest circumambulated and then the High Priestess called the Elements, the Wind, Fire, Waves and Stone, to attend the rite.

Next, the High Priest faced the south and invoked the Horned God who entered our circle dancing, accompanied by his attendants, and carrying a torch that he used to light the Bonfire. As the flames took hold the congregation chanted to “Fire” before the High Priestess called to the Triple Goddess who entered the circle from the west as a flock of birds, come to consummate the yearly union with her consort and to beget the bounty and fertility of the summer season.

Following this, the wine was blessed by the High Priest and Priestess in the north, who then passed the brimful horn of wine around the circle for us each to take a sip and receive and then give the blessing as we passed it on, all the while singing the songs of Beltane. Finally, when the congregation had all partaken the High Priestess refilled the horn and made with it the offering of wine to the Mother Earth before announcing that we had successfully celebrated the Sabbat of Beltane and giving us all the charge to depart in peace.

With the ceremony done, the good Pagan folk gathered around the Bonfire and began the Beltane revelry in earnest with wine and a song for Bacchus, and later with a lamb on a spit as the centre of a fine Pagan feast along with the enjoyment of the good company, ensuring that the celebration went on for the remainder of the night. As in years past, the Pagans of Mt. Franklin didn’t allow the weather to dampen their spirits and Beltane 2010 was a genuine celebration of the new summer season once again.

David G Mattichak jr

On the Eve of Beltane

So we have come to the eve of Beltane again this year and all of the preparations are in place for a great celebration. Tomorrow afternoon the good Pagan folk will begin arriving at Mt. Franklin and the crater will be full of life for another celebration of Summer. From all of the responses and RSVPs this year it is shaping up to be a Sabbat that we will remember for years to come.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has contributed to this blog with photos and stories of their time on the mountain. I have re-connected with many long cherished friends and made many new friends to enjoy in the future. Without your help this forum would be filled with only my meagre offerings. I hope that you have all enjoyed this blog and that we can all use it to continue to make Beltane at Mount Franklin better and better with the passing years.

See you all at the mountain!

Blessings

David G Mattichak

Permit Details for Beltane 2010

Just to clear up a few queries, the situation re the permits for Mt Franklin is as follows: We-the Organisers of the Gathering, have a permit for 80 people. Brian Head ("darkwolf") has a permit for 30. Both lots of permit holders have to be clean and tidy, bring our own toilet paper and firewood, and clean up the mountain after our camping is over. Brian and his followers have to stay at least 30 metres away from our folk. What Brian unaccountably failed to mention was that we, the Organisers of the Gathering, have exclusive access to the ritual area from 12.30pm on Friday, to 12.30 pm on Sunday. We also have a permit for a ritual fire.

Over the years we have shared the mountain with an amazing variety of folks who have all been lovely in their own ways. The Daylesford Baptist church 100 year reunion, Scouts, Girl Guides, a busload of geology students,a wedding with horsedrawn carriages, the Winnebago group (boy can they party). The only exception has been the group calling itself the "trolls". Everyone knows about their anti social behaviour, so I don't have to go into details. If they had been as pleasant and co operative as all the other groups, and genuinely dedicated to Pagan ways, rather than their own egos, they would be as welcome as anyone. Sadly this has not been the case.

We are greatly looking forward to this weekend, to positive Pagan networking and planning for next year, a happy ritual and a good time to be had by all. We welcome all good pagan folk to this Sacred Mountain. Blessed Be, The Organisers.