The ritual suggested in the almanac was aimed at facing your shadows, but in the months running up to my re-dedication ritual at Lughnasadh I did more than enough of that kind of thing. Sure, more work needs to be done, doesn't it always? But I'm very content and happy right now largely because of that work, and have so much to be thankful for. I wanted this to be a celebration of the blessings I've received in recent months.
One thing that did leap out at me from that ritual however, was the use of tea. The author of the article, Stacy Porter, uses the imagery of having a doll's tea party to connect with your childhood. I like tea. I like tea a lot. So this seemed like a great basis for my Mabon ritual.
I've also been wanting to do the ritual outlined in chapter 3 of Phillip Carr-Gomm's Druidcraft in which you make contact with both the male and female deity within yourself and then contemplate the creative energy that results from their union. In particular I have found it a little difficult to relate to Bregans as much as I do Brigantia. Not least because he is known only from one inscription near Slack in Yorkshire so there's very little known about him. There are no lists of known imagery or correspondences and even the suggestion that he is a consort of Brigantia is little more than an educated guess. Carr-Gomm's ritual felt like a very good place to start getting to know him better. First find him within and then go out and meet him in the world around me!
And thus my ritual was decided! I would give thanks for my blessings while sharing fine tea with Brigantia and Bregans, combining the ritual seamlessly with Carr-Gomm's. It is the resulting ritual that I'd like to share with the community.
I began with my altar set with the 'flame in water' in the big iron wok that serves as my cauldron.
(If you want to know the significance of this imagery check out parts one and three of my previous blog).
When I was ready I lit the candle and poured hot water into the teapot. I used one of my tea flowers because they feel more special than just regular loose leaf tea, and I like the imagery of a flower slowly opening as though blooming in the pot, symbolising my goals coming to fruition. If you're not familiar with flowering teas, they are little balls of tea that when placed in hot water open up into a pretty flower. The one I used last night was made from silver needle tea, red amaranth and jasmine flowers.
If I do this ritual again, I would like to sit and watch the flower open while contemplating the goals I've achieved, but I didn't think of that at the time, so I instead turned my back to the altar and faced the deity statues that I'd now placed behind me to form a triangle with the altar. This is the arrangement Carr-Gomm suggests in his book, although he just uses candles instead of statues to represent Goddess and God, and he has you sit outside of the triangle like this;
I however, stayed sat within the triangle, facing the statues. I lit a candle that I had placed beside Brigantia and spoke to her, thanking her for all she has done for me and pouring with love for her. I then lit Bregans's candle and thanked him too, this time adding that I wish to know him better. As I did so I heard him in my mind, but very clearly. He told me to look up the god Belenus. He said that just as Brigantia can be found in the Goddess Brigid, he too can be found in Belenus (unverified personal gnosis of course, but I trust this message 100%). At that point I only knew Belenus by name. I couldn't even tell you what part of the Celtic world he came from.
By this time the tea was ready (paused the ritual to take a photo!). I poured a cup each for Brigantia and Bregans and placed them by their statues, then poured myself a cup. Holding the cup in both hands and facing the statues, I began reciting all the things I'm thankful for, taking a sip after each one. I got a bit tearful at this point (it's not a Jembru ritual unless I cry at least once!), I started feeling choked up when I heard Bregans speak to me and the tea ceremony just tipped me over the edge! ^^'
After a few moments of grounding to regain my composure, I returned to Brigantia's statue. I asked that I may drink her tea for her so that she can enjoy the tea through the part of her that lives within me. I'm really proud of this part of the ritual because this is where it ties the two ideas together!
There is a daily prayer I say to Brigantia that I adapted from a prayer by Francessca DeGrandis called 'the laws of nature' that includes the line, 'keep my mindful that I walk upon your body, with your feet..' So I recited part of that.
Then I did the same for Bregans, drinking the tea so that the part of him that exists within me might enjoy it. I felt a powerful rush at this point, and truly felt connected to him on a level I hadn't experienced previously.
I then just sat in that triangle, feeling amazingly happy and soaking up the atmosphere while I finished the rest of the tea.
JP had been making us ramen while I carried out my ritual so I got to enjoy lovely homemade food afterwards which was a great way to ground and continue to celebrate our personal harvest. It meant however, that I didn't get a chance to look up Belenus until much later. When I did however, I was quite impressed by what I found. It felt like a god had been created just for me.
Just like Brigantia herself, Belenus is one of the oldest Celtic deities and his worship was widespread covering all the territories that Brigantia's worship covered. Also in common with Brigantia, his name underwent numerous regional variations. While it is a stretch to imagine that Bregans is a variant form, it is not impossible, and at the very least, he may well have had characteristics in common with Belenus.
The main detail, the point at which I just new the advice was sound, was when I realised that along with the sun, the imagery most frequently associated with Belenus was the horse. If anyone reading this is familiar with the significance of the White Horse for me, than you'll surely understand why learning about the connection my god has with horses is very special. It just feels so right! I can totally get behind a god with horse symbolism! His sabbat is Beltane too ('Bel' being one of the variants of his name), and that just happens to be my favourite sabbat!
Best of all is that finally I have something to write about on that blank page of my BoS after my entry about Brigantia!
