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Thank you to everyone who attended what has come to be known as the second annual Candlemas event on January 31st, 2004. There were some precious, almost excruciating moments of connectedness, sharing, and community of a degree that many of us so rarely, if ever, feel. On balance, a spirit of raucous celebration, joy, giddiness, playfulness, and sauciness was also clearly in abundance. Deep conversations, free-form jam sessions, and barefoot dancing occurred as well. It was so good it was almost scary, and I'm deeply grateful to eveyone who made their own unique contributions to the evening's pleasures.
Here are some notes I received in the days following the party:
"Thanks again for the wonderful evening (uh...and morning). I had been ignoring my spiritual self for a time before the party... not realizing that I had done so. Your generosity helped me center my energies. I came away from my experience with the Oracle calm, quiet and reassured. I was not aware until that night how much I needed the reminder... that inner peace is always there for you.
I feel I have a lot of new friends now. These very kind and passionate
people made me feel like I'd known them forever. And then there was the music...wonderful, beautiful music. Many thanks to all the musicians who shared their talents with us 'til nearly dawn!
Thank you, Scott, for your generous spirit and for the obvious love you have for your friends. Thanks also to Joe and Amber for their commitments to the experience."
"Everyone there seemed to have some sort of spiritual need that they had not been able to fulfill for quite some time. But something about the group of people, the warm environment, the shared moment -- it brought a deep sense of belonging. Even at 4:30 am, no one wanted to leave the music room. We had been joined by the Oracle himself and by our magical host, and were all ready to soak up any bits of wisdom, poetry, song, conversation, laughter, and even tears. Even in the moments of silence in that tiny window of time, we were all drinking up what we had been longing to find for a painfully long time. We each received a tiny glimpse of healing and hope within ourselves.
Part of the mystery of the oracle is that we all experienced something intensely personal and uniquely individual, yet we all knew that everyone else had a similarly powerful encounter. So while it was different for each of us, it was the same for all of us. We were all in on a kind of secret, and we all felt special and somehow worthy for even having been invited. We didn't need to hear the details of someone else's encounter, we simply nodded in understanding if they answered “Yes” to the big question of the night, “Have you been up yet?” That's all that needed to be said.
I was concerned that there would be no way to re-create the magic from last year's party. Everyone now knew what to expect, didn't they? We already knew the visual secrets of the altar room, but were still hoping and praying that we would be able to do it again this year. But would it have the same effect, since we already sort of knew what it might be like in there? And I myself had been in on the preparations this year, which I feared would take away from the mystery even more. Well, I'm delighted to say that my fears were unfounded. We didn't have to re-create anything. We simply had to enter the evocative space that was provided for us by our host (the master wizard!). The magic and the energy entered with us, and built up feverishly without us even noticing. Scott had told me many times that he didn't want to specifically “do” anything, but simply provide a space. Well, he provided a beautiful space, and we filled it beautifully."
"I must say, Scott, you are something else. I want to thank you for the most enchanting Imbolc I have attended. You surely out did your self with attention to detail and ambiance. The results of your efforts with the creative endeavors far surpassed all expectations. The Bride, Bridget, the Triple altar room, were all just bigger than life. I was equally intrigued by your approach to the events of the celebration. I loved the idea of people proceeding at their leisure, one at a time, being able to have an individual experience. And then there was the Oracle. What a fabulous idea and an equally fine choice to portray such. Joe out did himself with his presence and lived up to the masterpiece you created for him to play in. I was impressed with the flow of the evening and the pure delight that was present. The feasting, dancing, music and laughter were enough to please any Goddess. Thank you again for such a spectacular event. I look forward to next year!"
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The fair Bride in splendid array
with her White Wand
breathes life into the mouth
of the dead winter
to bring him to open his eyes
to the tears and the smiles, the sighs
and the laughter of Spring.
Poem reprinted from http://www.celticspirit.org/imbolc.htm
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