Rules to follow when you attend a group ritual

Preparing for a ritual is extremely important. Especially when you are leading the ritual. Rituals do not just fall into place. Like at churches, the preacher goes through thick and thin in order to make sure his sermon is done well enough and coincides with what is currently going on in life. Well, we have to make sure everything from beginning to end coincides with the meaning of the sabbat.

Here is some key things you should remember when going to a ritual.
1.Potluck means there will be plenty of people there. You should ask what you need to bring, and stick to it. Don't change your mind at the last minute.
2.Usually it is bring your own drinks. That means have a cooler, and bring drinks for you and your family. Don't expect others to provide for you, even if you are friends. It's not fair to their pocketbook to have to provide drinks for everyone.
3. A group Coven/Grove meeting is not a place to try to pick up on people. It is not a Pagan Swingers Dating Club. It's a nice place to get together with people of similar beliefs and celebrate the sabbat or moon or whatever is being celebrated at the time. Flirting or sexual inuindos will not be tolerated. If you cannot help yourself, then you really should not be in a group worshipping setting. And not everybody in the coven and out of the coven needs to know your sexual preference.
4. I cannot stress this enough DO NOT TALK DURING THE RITUALS!!!! It is rude and disrespectful. Overall things should be quiet. Kids will make a little noise, but that can be taken care of by parents. If a certain kid seems to be causing trouble then they should be put by themselves at a distance in a time out to scream their heads off or whatever provided they are old enough to know better. (Over 3yo.) If there is a certain child who says everyone is doing stuff to them it's usually because they are being a pest to other people, and they should be separated from other children. There are many ways to deal with children. Other then that adults DO NOT TALK unless it is part of the ritual. It is disrespectful and may result in being thrown out of the circle if it cannot be controlled.

Overall be respectful is the biggest thing. Don't expect one person to bring almost everything. The leaders really do have alot on their plate as it is. And keep your hormones in check. And be respectful during the rituals. It's not so hard, please try, for the sake of worship. If you are not there to worship you do not need to be there.

Did Druids celebrate Summer Solstice?

When you read, you will find so many differences in what is right or wrong, so many different opinions. So how are we supposed to know what is the RIGHT way, what is the TRUE way for us to celebrate our festivals? Supposedly according to some, Druids did not celebrate Summer Solstice. But if you look at Stonehenge, dating back to that time and place, you will see they did indeed do some form of celebration, but what? We may never know for sure.

So how do we do this? How do we celebrate a holiday that we do not know for sure what they did? We take into consideration what do we know of the Druids that we do know meant something in the summer? The SUN, it meant so much to them. It meant the difference between food, living, and their Gods. It meant they were being watched over. They were alive, they would survive. Then what would make someone think they did not celebrate the longest day of the year?

So, what did they do to celebrate it? Well, what did Druids do best in their celebrations? Food, drink, fire, dancing, music, and of course, a ritual! Thanking the Sun God for providing them with a way to keep food, and keep from freezing to death. Mother Earth was thanked for provided fertility in their land, water to nourish it all, and that Green Man, for making it all Green, and keeping it that way so their homes were secure, they were secure in the knowledge that life was continuing, both human life, and that of the plants and animals!

I do not believe for a minute that they did not celebrate these holidays. Historically written down was done mostly by monks. Why would they deem holidays like this important? Oh yes, we can think of many reasons, but does it have to do with the Christian God or paying homage to their God? No, so why would it be included?

Now maybe instead of arguing over if they did or didn't, or how it was done. Instead we understand and know, there is no way they did not. Take from what we do know. And take our family and show them how we do it, similar to the way Druids may have done it. Enjoy our Summertime!