So, my dear sisters and brethren,

We were in the most honorable position to be hosting this years PFI Austria´s Open Ritual at Beltaine. As you may know for us this is Calan Mai. Our Ritual was dedicated to the story of Blodeuwedd and Llew, taken straight from the Mabinogion. We told the complete story, although we honored her as the May Flower Queen, but we thought it only proper to tell it all. I took the written story from the book and turned it into a screenplay, which was then most wonderfully brought to live by our group with the most amazing costumes, masks and acting talents :). Yes, it was once again a ritual theatre where we related the story of their meeting and parting, in a nutshell. I hope that it touched peoples hearts once again, as we too poured some of our “hearts blood” into it, meaning that it takes time to write and learn the texts, to come up with the costumes and work on the detailled masks that were handmade - just for this occasion. You may ask - is this worth all the effort?
And the answer is yes. It is more than worth it. We honor the gods by relating their story in a way that it may reach other peoples hearts, which otherwise might not have known the story. We bring the gods to life in a way that brings ourselves closer to them. We go deeply into the story to understand it, to
understand what was really happening and then we ourselves are enriched by the fruits of all the effort that we put into our rituals.

And here I will relate part of the screenplay text for Blodeuwedd:
(yes, I wrote it in german !!)

Was ist geschehen?
Ward ich nicht soeben in meinem Reich,
Un-gebunden und un-erreicht,
Da hat mich ein Zauber aus meiner Welt gerissen,
Sprecht – ihr – was habt ihr auf dem Gewissen?

Copyright Hermilin 2010

And now, should you have gotten interested in the text by Lady Charlotte Guest:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/mab26.htm

Hermilin

So, I did it. I do get credit for that. It´s not easy to stand in front of a group of like 15 people and try to relate a concept that one had been working with. I prepared for quite some time, always looking here and there to find written sources from way back when, which would relate something about the Awen, where everyone could look and read up on it some more. We mainly sing and write about Awen in the form of poems which will then attempt to bring about the feelings in the reader, which the bard experienced. And that with a good reason. It is something that needs to be experienced, something that will nurture your life and you will feel it moving you - the Flow of the Awen. I told some of the old tales (no, nothing secret about those!!) and the Rays and the Cauldron in possession of the noble Lady known as Ceridwen. I am not sure if I was able to relate what I have experienced so far. But simply through the preparation of my talk, I was sent on a journey where I had not been before. Therefore I am convinced that it was good.

For all those who were not able to come - I started the Talk with a short meditation - because I found it hard to talk about something that has to be felt. I wanted to evoke the feeling in all those attending:
Guided Meditation:

Standing by the seashore, you can feel the sand beneath your feet, a beautiful blue sky above you and you are looking out upon the ocean. You see the waters playfully reaching the shore, bathing your feet and then drawing back into the sea. You feel the winds coming from afar who gently touch your face and then withdraw once again. You lift your head up and look towards the sky. You see the Sun but you can´t look directly at it, you squint your eyes just a bit and there you notice its light falling in the shape of three golden rays, all emanating from this being of light. And you can feel the warmth of the Sun, seemingly penetrating every pore of your being, entering into your third eye and spreading through your whole being. And you feel a moment of bliss, of happiness, of truth and a moment that has no time and does not pass. The flow of warmth from the Sun floods you and your are at peace. You take a deep breath and with this breath you consciously give yourself life, your draw it in, and it then travels through your body by the means of the red way/flow and your spirit awakens and then at this point, when all the daily stuff has seemingly washed out of your system, pictures and words emerge, a song comes to mind, a voice is heard and you don´t know where it is coming from, but it is there. And now you are aware that you took this breath, that it worked in you and now you are the one that will give it shape on this plane (earth). It is in your hands. Inspired by those who might have no name, by those who have gone before us, inspired by your very spirit, which is comprised of all of them, you are a vessel for the Awen. You carry this abundant and creative life energy in you, for otherwise you would not be here, the creative spark at the beginning of your life has given you a shape on this plane and now you have become a shaper of many things to come.
And you intone AAAA——UUUUU—–EEEEEE—–N
(copyright Hermilin 2009)

And now should you feel tickled to find out more about the Awen:
Intone it, feel it, be it.

For those, who would like to read some more about it, I put together a short reading list, where one can find a few bits and pieces !
*Book of Taliesin
*Hanes Taliesin
*Journey through Wales - by Gerald of Wales
*Barddas - by Iolo Morganwg
*Taliesin, the last Celtic Shaman - by John and Caitlin Matthews
*The Mabinogion and other medieval welsh Tales - by Patrick K. Ford
*Historia Brittonum - by Nennius
…and there are many more out there, but that should give you a head start !

Hermilin

..is something that you could do, should you wish to dive deeper into the myths and stories, poems and songs and the hidden treasures contained within these words…..
Here is a small list of books that you could start with:
I put it on a seperate page, so just follow the link below:
Further Reading

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Lesen, lesen und noch mehr lesen ist etwas, das man tun sollte, wenn man tiefer in die Geschichten und Mythen eintauchen möchte, sowie in die Gedichte und Lieder und der Schätze, die zwischen ihren Wörtern versteckt liegen.
Hier ist eine kleine Auswahl and Büchern, mit denen du starten könntest:
Ich habe es auf eine eigene Seite gestellt, also folge dem Link:

weiterführendes Lesen

Pob lwc!
Hermilin

So, I will be giving, to be best of my abilities, a talk about Awen on the 12 November 2009 during the PFI Pub Moot in Vienna.

Awen - the inspiration - but is it more than that?

..oh btw..have you noticed our Upcoming “Termine” or “Events” on the sidebar…so you´re always up to date !

Und so werde ich, unter Einsatz meiner besten Möglichkeiten, am 12. November 2009 einen Talk beim PFI Pub Moot in Wien abhalten - zum Thema Awen.

Awen - die Inspiration - aber ist es mehr als das?

…ja….und übrigens: Hast du schon die Upcoming “Termine” oder “Events” in der Sidebar gesehen? Damit bist du hoffentlich immer up to date!

Hermilin

Meet us at Andino´s, 1060 Vienna during the PFI Pub Moot, where I´ll be talking a little bit about the “Awen”.

See you there!
Hermilin

Twrch Trwyth at Cwmcarn Forest

For the Autumn Equinox, we did another Open Ritual together with the PFI Austria. This time, at the opposite point of the wheel from Alban Eiler - namely at Alban Elved or commonly known as “Mabon”.
And what would be better than to tell the story of the son of Modron, at this point of the wheel. We didn´t focus on him simply “vanishing” - no - even more important was the message, that Mabon would return. It´s that promise that sustains us through the winter times.

So when Mabon, only 3 nights old, was stolen by forces unknown from Modron, the world was ruled by one of the scariest creatures - the Twrch Trwyth (spoken “Turkh Trueeth”) - the great boar. And while the world didn´t know where Mabon was, he was kept imprisioned. But he was needed to defeat the wild boar, and Culwch (spoken “Kiluck”), Arthur and his man it is that we have to thank, to go on the quest to find Mabon, free him and drive the boar into the sea. And so the world was fruitful once again. Mabon had returned.

Now that was really just a short short version, we told a longer story in the ritual. Several ones of us played and slipped into the roles of Modron, Mabon, Arthur and the oldest animals that would finally guide them to Mabon. We had flute and drum music in the background. I don´t know what you felt, should you have been there, but speaking for me, I felt that it was one of these rituals, one of these times, when we are taken over by the age-old characters and the story begins to tells itself and . Isn´t that how it should be?

Blessings upon you. Gadael Hi Bod!
Hermilin

and for the bookworms: if you like, read the story:
Culwch and Olwen

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Zur Herbsttagundnachtgleiche haben wir ein weiteres Open Ritual im Rahmen der PFI Austria abgehalten. Diesmal am “gegenüberliegenden” Fest zu Alban Eiler im Jahresrad - genannt Alban Elved oder “Mabon”. Was wäre an diesem Tag passender, als die Geschichte von Modron´s Sohn zu erzählen? Wir haben uns nicht auf sein Verschwinden konzentriert - denn viel wichtiger ist die Botschaft, dass Mabon eines Tages zurückkommt. Es ist dieses Versprechen, das uns durch den Winter hilft.

Als dann Mabon, nur drei Nächte alt, von unbekannten Mächten seiner Mutter entrissen und entführt wurde, wurde die Welt von einer der grausamsten Kreaturen heimgesucht - dem Twrch Trwyth (gesprochen Turk truesch) - dem großen Eber. Während die Welt nicht wusste, wo Mabon war, wurde er gefangen gehalten. Doch er wurde gebraucht, um den wilden Eber zu besiegen und so ist es Culwch (”Kiluch”), Arthur und seinen Männern zu verdanken, die sich der Aufgabe stellten ihn zu finden, zu befreien und somit den Eber in das Meer zu treiben. Die Welt war wieder friedlich und fruchtbar. Mabon war zurückgekehrt.

Natürlich war das nur eine Kurzfassung der Geschichte, die wir im Ritual erzählt haben. Einige von uns nahmen die Rollen an und wurden zu Modron, Mabon, Arthur und den ältesten Tieren, die den Weg zu Mabon wiesen. Im Hintergrund die Musik von Flöte und Trommel. Ich weiß nicht, was ihr gespürt habt, falls ihr anwesend wart, aber für mich war es eins dieser Rituale, in dem die alten Charaktäre aus den Geschichten zum Leben erwachen und “übernehmen”. Die Geschichte erzählt sich selbst und…. Ist das nicht wie es sein sollte?

Seid gesegnet. Gadael Hi Bod!
Hermilin

und für alle Leseratten: wenn ihr wollt, lest hier die Geschichte:
Culwch and Olwen

..instead of ignoring their messages to us :). Coincidences and the fact that they don´t exist.

So, as it was, I was one time very desperate for a sign from the other side, from the spirit realm..again. Although I have worked with them for a few years, although they have left me little messages every now and then, it takes that little bit of extra faith and believe that things that we encounter are not just random events. It is so easy to ignore their hints and such, by just tossing them aside as being “coincidence” or sheer luck or just something funny. Weeeeellll, in my point of view, there are really no coincidences. We are all too interwoven, we are all too connected (we in being us humans with the world all around us) that anything could be a simple “whoopsies”. Too many steps and decisions from other entities and myself are involved for one little thing to happen.
Let´s see…there were two very specific “coincidences” alone this past week:
First of all, I had one of my “Spirits, please send me a sign that you hear my prayers, please send me a physical sign so that I know that you are really there” - type of doubting-everything-once-again moments…where I had sat down and talked with them, asking them for help. I placed something right outside my living room window - a few red cloth snippets btw - and waited. And then on Wednesday I came home. And on my way almost to the door of our house…there it was. My red cloth snippets were laying on the ground, where I could not miss them. And in between the snippets that I had left, there laid a Crow feather, perfectly positioned. Just there. I cannot describe the happiness I felt, when I saw that they had left me a physical “spirit” note. I could hold it, I can feel it and I can see it…it´s right here now.. next to me.
And then there was another situation: I was walking down the road deep in talk with the Elder of our Order, when we talked about a current situation. And I was getting kind of up-beat but also getting a bit of impatient. And then out of the blue…my eyes just looked down on the sidewalk and there laid a rose petal. No roses around..but there it was. And I immediately understood the necessity of it taking time, for giving it the time it needed to develop. Now, for you that probably just doesn´t make any sense right now - but let me enlighten you a bit how I came to that conclusion: just 2 days before we did an exercise on taking time. Involving a rose.

Wichtig ist, die Botschaften der Spirits lesen, ohne ihre Botschaften zu ignorieren. Zufälle und der Fakt, das Zufälle nicht existieren.

Und so begab es sich, dass ich mich eines Tages stark nach einem Zeichen von der anderen Seite gesehnt habe. …wieder. Obwohl ich schon einige Jahre mit den Spirits arbeite, obwohl sie mir immer wieder Zeichen und Botschaften schicken, braucht es hin und wieder doch ein bisschen mehr Vertrauen und Glauben daran, dass die Dinge, die wir täglich erleben, nicht nur Zufall sind. Es ist so einfach die Hinweise zu ignorieren, indem man sie als Zufall, Glück oder Kurioses abstempelt und beiseite stellt. Jedenfalls, bin ich davon überzeugt, dass es keine Zufälle gibt. Wir sind alle zu sehr miteinander verbunden, zu sehr vernetzt und verwandt (wir Menschen untereinander aber natürlich auch mit der Welt um uns) als dass es sich bei allem um einfache “Hoppalas” handeln könnte. Es sind zu viele Schritte und Entscheidungen zu treffen, von Menschen, Wesenheiten und mir selbst - um nur etwas kleines geschehen zu lassen.

Wenn ich auf die letzte Woche zurückblicke, fallen mir schon zwei bestimmte “Zufälle” ein: Erstens habe nich einen meiner Spirits um ein Zeichen gebeten, dass er meine Gebete erhört. Ich habe um ein physisches zeichen gebeten, um mir sicher sein zu können, dass es wirklich da ist. Die üblichen Momente des Zweifels. Ich habe also etwas vor mein Wohnzimmerfenster gelegt - ein paar Schnipsel eines roten Stoffs - , dort, wo ich normalerweise mit meinem Spirit spreche - und hab gewartet. Am Mittwoch kam ich dann abends nach Hause und sehe schon von der Tür aus, dass dort etwas ist. Meine roten Stoffschnippsel lagen im Wohnzimmer am Boden, dort wo ich sie unmöglich übersehen konnte. Und zwischen den Schnippseln - eine Krähenfeder, perfekt positioniert. Einfach da. Ich kann das Glück nicht beschreiben, dass ich in diesem Moment gefühlt habe, als ich das physische Zeichen erhalten habe. Ich kann es halten, spüren und fühlen, das Zeichen ist da.

Und dann - eine andere Situation: Ich ging die Straße entlang und sprach mit dem Elder unserer Order über eine bestimmte Situation. Dabei wurde ich sehr aufgeregt und etwas ungeduldig. Plötzlich sehe ich nach unten auf den gehsteig und dort liegt das Blütenblatt einer Rose. Keine Rosen irgendwo, aber hier ein einzelnes Blütenblatt. Ich verstand die Botschaft sofort - es ist wichtig Dingen ihre Zeit zu lassen, damit sie sich von selbst entwickeln können. Für euch macht das jetzt vielleicht gerade alles keinen Sinn - ich kläre euch mal ein bisschen auf, wieso mir gerade dieser Gedanke kam: Nur zwei Tage zuvor hatten wir eine Lektion, die das “sich Zeit lassen” betraf. Unter Zuhilfenahme einer Rose.

BB
Hermilin

Update: new date for our Open Alban Elved: 01. Oct 2009 in Vienna !
contact us for more info !
BB
Hermilin
**********************************************
Hi there….well it seems our Open Ritual will be rescheduled to take place in about 2 weeks time. So just in case you were planning to come, please wait until we can announce the new date and time !

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Hallo…es sieht ganz so aus als würde unser OpenRitual 2 Wochen nach hinten verschoben. Wenn ihr also plant daran teilzunehmen, wartet bitte etwas ab, bis wir das neue Datum und die neue Zeit bekannt geben können.

See you there
Hermilin

We found a channel on youtube, which is charming in a way ! Check it out if you like: The stories…oh the stories !!!

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Wir haben einen YouTube Channel gefunden, der auf seine Weise bezaubert. Schaut mal hinein, wenn ihr mögt: Die Geschichten…ach die Geschichten !!!

UKwebcast

Blessings, Hermilin