I’m back from the House of Danu Lughnasadh Gorsedd – a wonderful weekend.
The first thing I noticed was how much smaller it was than last year: perhaps half as many participants. The organizers blamed it on the California economy, and I’m sure that had a lot to do with it. But I also think the absence of “special guests” kept some people away.
Those people made a big mistake.
The people who came were there for spiritual reasons. The workshops were more participative and the comments and questions showed real depth. I expected to contribute to the workshop on spiritual practice – I ended up leading it solo. But all I had to do was present the outline – everyone else had examples from their own lives and practices.
The Lughnasadh ritual was one of the most intense I’ve ever experienced. Nowhere near as elaborate as last year’s beautiful Earth Healing Ritual, it focused on an invocation of Lugh and what the Master of All Arts could teach each of us, to empower our Great Work. And oh, was Lugh ever there!
I need some more time to process what I learned, but as with last year’s Gorsedd, I was struck with the importance of practice. Not just daily meditation and prayer (though that’s clearly critical) but more repetitions of writing and speaking and especially of leading ritual – until I know in my heart what I now know in my head.
I didn’t take pictures this year, partially because I was much busier and partially because it rarely seemed appropriate. A couple of the House of Danu folks did take pictures, and if any of them feel right I’ll post them here. But I may not – we worked hard this weekend, and then we played hard: even me.
And that may be the most miraculous event of the whole Gorsedd!
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