Report from Green Man Grove- for Oak Leaves, August 1999

Green Man Grove’s Samhain Ritual was held November seventh through the eighth, the midpoint between the Equinox and the Solstice. We performed a special version of the ADF ritual: creating a liquid potion, a food ogham, adding in different ingredients at each of the invocations and stirring throughout the ritual. And then we divined omens from the effect on our own entrails. (Strangely, it turned out to be pretty good!) (And we also drew runes carved from apples floating in the ‘Punch of Potentialities’.) We had a nice crowd- about 30 people- but 30 very talented people. The praise offerings were amazing. We also had a special altar dedicated to the Ancestors, a group divination jam, a pooja at midnight to the maternal aspects of Kali, and a vigil to dawn.

We held a short business meeting in December.

Yule was held in Jersey City, in Susan’s house. This turned out to be a crazy, raucus Yule, with jazz musicians, artists and rainbow folk from all over North Jersey and Manhattan. A lot of people. These folks took our ritual to a whole ’nother level, musically. We ended it by tossing a ball of yellow yarn around the room, unravelling it and tangling everyone up. We got to meet Jody and Jennifer Kennedy, and there very cool son Falan, ADF Druids from Alberta, Canada. Jody flew into Newark that night, got off the plane and drove directly to the ritual! He invoked the Goddesses and Gods for us, and Jennifer, a natural storyteller, told the story of Phaeton to a rapt audience. It was very special to have little Falan there at Yule. We wish them much luck and happiness with their Grove in Alberta!

We visited a local Wiccan coven in January with a special ritual to Wassail their apple tree and bless their house. And our second Wassail was in Morristown, with White Horse Grove, to bless their apple tree.

Another Business Meeting, then Imbolc in New Brunswick. We blessed Ed & Norma’s new house with reeds, rushes and a ritual.

In February Norma and Ed represented ADF and Green Man Grove on a Pagan Panel Discussion run by the Rutgers University Pagan Students Association. Bard Dafydd of Red Oak Grove joined us on the panel, and we Druids had to work not to overwhelm the Norse and Wiccan representatives.

Another Business Meeting, and then the Spring Equinox- in which we travelled up to Nature Friends Farm, in Bloomingdale, NJ, and ran an ADF ritual in their fire circle, at the top of a lovely hill, a light rain falling gently from above. A Rainbow Tribe work council was in progress there, and we attracted a number of Rainbow folks.

We were at the Rutgers University Pagan Spring Thing in April, where Norma and Pattie dyed people with Henna, and our ’Obby ’Oss and Horned Man got to dance around the Rutgers Maypole.

We were up before the day-o on Beltane morn and travelled to Princeton to see Morris dancers ‘wake up the earth’ at dawn. Then we drove to Morristown for Beltane with White Horse Grove (an independent grove), where we held a well-attended ritual, maypole, flower-weave and labyrinth walk.

Our Horned Man and ’Obby ’Oss also got to go to a Wiccan Beltane the next week.

Another business meeting, and we were ready for the Free Spirit Festival, where we camped until Saturday morning. Then we drove home and got into New York in time for Bryan and Susan’s formal Jewish/Pagan wedding at the National Arts Club. Sunday we were back at Nature Friends Farm for our Summer Solstice ritual and Bryan and Susan’s Druid Handfasting. We had close to a hundred people, including Druids, Witches, assorted Pagans, rainbow tribe, artists, family, friends, and photographers and reporters.

We have workshops coming up in ‘Druidry 101’ and ‘How to Get the Most out of a Ritual’, and our Lughnasadh celebration will probably be up in Albany NY with Peggy Kaan and John Baumann.

-Edwin Chapman, Scribe, GMGADF