Star and Stone Druid Fellowship

So...Another Festival of Lugh in the books.  It was a windy, cold and wet Gathering, but it is one that I will never forget.  We had an amazing time of fellowship, discussion and workshops; all of which will broaden my spiritual understanding and practice.  Thank you for allowing me the honor of writing this year's ritual. It was well worth the two weeks of research and writing that it took to put it together.  For those new to our group, there may have been some aspects that you haven't seen as of yet.  A lot of this years ritual came not only from the Order's current Lughnasadh ritual book and the Book of Ritual itself, but also from the Order's "Alternative" and Original Rituals.  The original Ritual of Lughnasadh is by far the oldest of the 8 seasonal festival and can be traced to a time before the creation of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and to that of the Ancient Druid Order, which developed during the early years of the last century out of the Druid Revival which began over three hundred years ago by a man named John Little in 1711.  The actual date this ritual was written is unclear, but utilizing roles such as the Ovate of the Festival, Ovate of the Host, and of course the Pendragon, was a real pleasure; it took me back to the early days of our order and our more recent ancestors.

A huge shout out and thank you to Mike and Nicole for putting this hole thing together.  Without all your hard work and tireless effort, our Gathering would not have happened.  So, thank you.  For me, a big Druid THANK YOU to Elizabeth for agreeing to take on the role of the Festival's Pendragon; you performed your role with grace, wisdom and a whole lot of style.  And of course, Dawn; taking on the role of Ovate of the Festival, which is just an old term for what we now in our fellowship call the M.C.  

With that said, I want to thank all who attended this Gathering.  Without each and every one of you, this Gathering would have been just a windy, cold and wet experience.  Instead, it was a wonderfully windy, cold and wet experience...There is a difference.  

For those who were planning on initiating into the Order and the Bardic grade...the Goddess moves in mysterious ways and the weather was simply not cooperating, but I'm sure we can take care of this at Alban Elfed in September at the Autumn Equinox.  I and all the other  Keepers are looking forward to performing this once in a lifetime ritual; one that you will remember for the rest of your life.  At last count, it seemed that there were 8 of you wishing to be officially initiated into the Order and into the Bardic Grade.  I for one, cannot wait!!!

Thanks again to all of you...my Sisters and Brothers of the Star and Stone Druid Fellowship.  May the Goddess shine down her grace and blessings upon this Fellowship of Druids.

Brightest of Blessings at this time of High Summer,

Lughaidh

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