Witches in the Woods - Friday the 13th Circle (Queen's Woods, London)

"Waken all Ye unto life, and Come ye as the Charm is made..!"

Real Witchcraft is not edited, censored or streamed online! And real Witches don't all look like they are Witches (you know what I mean!). ! While we don't live by stereotypical ideas, sometimes, for Magic-sake, its good to take a common idea and own it - make it a very thing of Power we can ride on! With that in mind , Come wearing capes and robes, witchy hats and cloaks, wield your wands and Staff - and `'Come dance ye about the Cauldorn of Cerridwen' in the Woods at night - as we gather for this one-off special night of all things Witchy!

We'll have a little ice-breaker pre-ritual social in the pubs; then get to the woods and set up altar with everyone's help.

What Witchy magic are we doing?

• Sacred space - consecrations, Magic circle & elements
• Cauldron of Cerridwen magic
• Men's empowerment- Invocation to Pan (from Dione Fortune's work)
• Women's empowerment- Call to Diana (from `Aradia Gospel of the Witches')

Note: The women will participate in the call to Pan, and `invoke' those energies on the men. And the men (mildly invoked) will call on the energies of Diana on the women.

The Ritual & Magic (7.30pm to 10pm+)

• Once at the ritual spot, we'll make a group effort to tidy up - any rubbish needs clearing; Some smaller logs may need moving; And an altar area by base of a Tree needs creating with twigs, foliage, lanterns, ritual tools, statues, etc.
• Also in the middle of the Ritual area, we need to set up space for a Cauldron! (we are not having any fires under it. However, we will have small candles under it for magical reasons! The Cauldron will house another food-safe pot inside it, where the `potion' will be created! (Don't panic - it may be just flavoured spring water!).
• The Ceremony involves - Opening Prayer, Consecrations, Circle casting & calling of Elemental quarters; There will be plenty of energy chants, God & Goddess chants, invocations and dancing around the Cauldron to imbuse it with magic.

Myth of Cauldron of Cerridwen & The Magic

In myths, the Goddess Cerridwen brewed a magical potion to give to her . She employed a servant boy to stir the Cauldron while she was busy! While the servant boy was stirring the Cauldorn, 2 drops spalshed on his hand, and innocently he licked the 2 drops. And all the powers and magic brewed in the cauldron went to the servant boy!

Cerridwen was furious and chased the boy. The boy took various animal forms to escape, but the Goddess also took animal forms and chased him. Finally when the boy turned into seeds, the Goddess shapeshifted into a Hen and pecked the seed and ate it!!

However, as the seed travelled within the body of the Goddess, she became Pregnant. Cerridwen eventually gave birth to another child. And now that being her own child, she could no longer be angry with him!
And he became a skilled poet called Taliesin (Welsh myth).

In our Magic, we humbly create a magical potion, such as Cerridwen did. We do this by charging the liquid in the Cauldron with much of our own magic, energies, chants.. and finally taking a few sips of it ! A few drops will be poured on to our palms, and we sip it from our palms.. as Taliesin did!

• Once we've each sipped, what remains will be poured onto the Earth for Eco-magic!.
• The Circle will be closed with thanks to the Goddess. And we can continue our witchy merriments!

Reverence & Mirth
Wiccans & Witches talk about `'Reverence & Mirth' - Both are powerful states of mind for magic!! Being Stillness of mind and seriously focused .. can take magical people into depths. But equally, there needs time and space to break tensions, fears, stgnations and the Ego - andl let light shine in and out,and we wrapped iin merriment and joy!
That means we can switch from fun-filled social mode to a serious deep magical focus in the blink of an eye, or vice versa! Knowing moderation, and how and when to shift between these 2 states is a skill and wisdom gained over time. If in doubt, observe the Facilitator and follow suit!

Venue:
Queen's Wood, HighGate. These events are held in a public Open woods, with rough terrain, and in natural weather conditions .
Meeting point
Gather at The entrance to Queen's Woods at 2pm. (Queen's wood Road, N6 5UU) .
Google map ref: 51.580240, -0.142252
Ritual Team member will come to collect you, and process into the woods, to our ritual space, where Ritual will commence.

Health & Woodland safety---

• If you feel unwell (even if it's just cough/ cold) please stay at home. There will be plenty of other socials that you can attend in the future.
• The woodland terrain is unevent, at places quite steep, full of roots, fallen logs. We veer off the foot paths and into actual woods for ceremony. It is mostly unsuitable for anyone with breathing issues, heart conditions or mobility issues.
• Those attending with any mobility issues must being your own Carer/ support.
• There are no formal toilets nearby or cafe etc. (all are about 15-20minute walk).

Inclusivity:-----
Please be kind & compassionate to all at all times. We have a mixture of experienced & beginners at these rituals. Some people may have hidden difficulties, vulnerability and disabilities. We are inclusive of all race, pagan beliefs, genders, sexuality, LGBTQP+ We will not tolerate any form of bullying harassment or discrimination.

What to bring? ---

• Moon crowns, flower crowns, antler crowns ( real or artifical craft items).
• Ritual cloaks / capes, masks you may like to wear.
• Torch light for safe walking in woods/ riverside at night.
• Extra warm clothing & rain-coats/ outdoor shoes or boots (and ankle covered socks! ).
• Small ground sheet or blanket to sit on for social.
• Lanterns / candles
• Your own Cups/chalice to drink from.

Please bring food & drinks to share ----
Kindly bring some food or drinks to add to the feasting. It can be vegetarian, vegan or meat items. All are okay. Thank you.

• Bread / pitta bread, french bread; Humus, dips, butter, cheese, biscuits, crisps; egg bites, ham / chicken slices; fruits, nuts; Red/ white wine, soft drinks, fruit juice,

Tidying up:-----
Once ritual & socials are done, please be helpful. Take any rubbish out to bins on pavements (empty botles, wrappers, used paper cups. There are recycling bins for botles and cans. If there are unopened food items, please share thme out and take them home.

Our Policy on Drugs / photography :----
We aim to create a safe event for all, with some measure of ritual privacy - free from media intrusion / marketting or any politics & conflicts.

• NO Drugs, NO substances - before, during or after ritual.
• No filming during ritual !
• Some limited photos may be taken after Ritual , with altar and your own friends. But NO professional photos with DSLR/ No videos for any use in journalism/ publications etc.

Contacting Organiser:
Please send us a private message if you need any clarifications . I look forward to welcoming you into our Community & sharing our magic with you.
Bright Blessings
-Mani & London Woodland Witches .
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About Wicca:
Wicca, a moder form of Witchcraft religion, was established by Gerald Gardner in late 1950's in England (Gardnerian Wicca), then Alex Saunders (Alexandrian Wicca) with promient contributions from High Priestesses Doreen Valiente (mother of moder wicca) and Maxine Sanders. Wicca has a format of creating sacred space, consecrations, calling 4 elements, energy raising, then invoking Horned Good & moon Goddesses, followed by ritual magic! Wiccans celebrate the 13 full moons (esbats) and the 8-fold seasonal sabats - Imbolc, Spring, Beltane, Midsummer, Lammas, Autumn, Samhain, Yule.

About Mani (lead facilitator) :
Mani is an author, teacher, initiated Witch & High Priest, with nearly 30yrs of Wicca & magical experiences, has a Physics B.Sc degree, and some training in Transpersonal Psychology & counselling. He has been running Open rituals since 2001, and has had several Covens in the past. Some of his Initiates have gone on to form covens and groups of their own. Currently Mani is focusing on sharing his experiences & magical knowledge to wider pagans interested in Wicca &Y magical empowerment, and blends Hindu & Shamanic practices into Pagan rituals.

Our Social links

IG: www.instagram.com/Mani.WoodlandWitch
Facebook
www.facebook.com/groups/LondonWoodlandWitches
Woodland Witches meetup
www.meetup.com/LondonWoodlandWitches