Fall into Summer (OPEN)

[kleptofaeniac]

Some witch holidays were meant to be enjoyed by all, regardless of species, alliances or preference to magic. Holidays like Lammas! Think of it as witch Thanksgiving.

An old woman by the name of Agatha Chapman was of the personal opinion that there was just too much infighting between her fellow witches this year. Those Circle Midnight witches were practically children! Agatha had raised enough children to know they were just going through some rebellious phase. It would pass. But this wasn't the time for expressing such things. This was a time of togetherness! Which was why Agatha had, through her daughters and granddaughters, sent a very public invitation to the supernatural community:

~Lammas Day Celebration~

Come celebrate the great tradition of the first harvest and shorter days with a beach party and bonfire!
Food, fun, and sun! No limits on guests, bring your friends!

AUGUST 1^st 2015
12 PM - 2 AM
(public rituals @ 10 PM)

KINGSGATE CASTLE, JOSS GAP ROAD.
BROADSTAIRS.
KENT.

Transportation from the city will be provided from Victoria Station. Present this invitation at the ticket office.

You totally want to go right?


Like the invitation said, all guests transportation will be provided. The train happens to go directly from Victoria Station to the castle, which totals up to a two hour trip - giving plenty of time for people to run into one another on this train-ride. Let's get along everyone.

Upon the guests arrival everyone is greeted by the hostess; a very old, very cheerful lady who insists on being called Ms. Agatha. She introduces her daughters and their daughters. Hit on them at your own peril. After the brief introduction and delicately worded warning that no witch need reveal their coven to others, and no one need attempt to confront them about their choices, everyone is invited down the side of the slow incline of the cliffs to the beach. Time to have fun.

Lammas was traditionally a holiday to celebrate the last day of the wheat harvest. It seems like the witches hosting this party went all out in incorporating that. Golden colored canopies cover the tables that are set out for food. Along with them are large punch bowls filled with different colored liquids and a small bar for anyone who wants something a little stronger than fruit, both of which are abundant - after all this holiday was centered around a community feast. There seems to be a general theme following the decor; apples, cinnamon, and vanilla feature heavily in every dessert of pies, cakes, puddings and ice cream in very creative ways. The more savory foods, less so. But they all fall into the category of typical beach party foods.

There is a changing area towards the face of the cliffs along with bathrooms.

Another fun tradition of Lammas is competitive and athletic games! There are two volleyball nets set up, and what looks like an area for sandcastle building. The team that wins the most games, and the person who builds the best sandcastle wins a prize! The prize is a Maen Magl necklace. The stone is said to bring good luck and good health to the owner. Additionally, they can cure diseases of the eye if rubbed on one's eyelids.

If you're not interested in games, there's always the golden sand to relax and tan on and the water to swim in!

Later, after the sun sets a bonfire is constructed - you can help, but enough driftwood has been collected for the fire itself. As the sun sets, the women hosting the event let everyone know what the purpose of it is. The fire is meant to - while also help people make amazing smores, roasted corn, and apples wrapped in foil - allow the witches and everyone else in attendance to participate in the Lammas rituals. Everyone is encouraged to engage in the rituals, though no one is required to do so.

Nowadays, Lammas is the time to cast off bad habits, thoughts, and what is no longer needed in your life. This spiritual cleansing is represented by fire, and burning things. There are two that will be done tonight, but they won't take longer than thirty minutes when alls said and done. They maybe be performed in any order.

A ritual called 'Winnowing' is meant to cleanse, where everyone writes down negative emotions and bad habits they want to lose on a piece of paper. The witches in the group will all know the chant:

Blessing and curses
Come from the harvest
Return to the earth
To nourish next years

The paper is then thrown into the fire, where it will spark and disintegrate.

The second is highly encouraged for everyone to participate in, as the more people who do so, the more the blessings will be! Everyone is given nine sheaths of wheat, which they are to weave into a braid, and then attach a ribbon to the base of the braid. The witches in the circle around the bonfire should, as the braids are being done, chant:

We weave you and hail you
As queen of the corn
When all's gathered in and
When you are sown.

Once the braids are done, those that weaved them are meant to grab a piece of paper and write what blessing they wish for their friends to have, such as 'Friendship' or 'Mobility'. They must keep the blessing secret and secure it to the ribbon. The ribbons are meant to be kept till Imbolc - another witch holiday - and then be burned, while the ashes are meant to be kept on the individual until the next Lammas. Hope you'll attend that party wherever it is!

After the Ritual, there are plenty of smores to make and some lovely music to listen to while everyone gathers around the bonfire and relaxes until they want to leave. There is no curfew, but the witches hosting the party will be going back up to their flat in the castle around two in the morning.

Happy Lammas!

Comments

after the ritual;

[goroesi]

"They're good, milord," Maera insists, her eyes bright by the light of the fire. "I like the marshmallows on their own, but they can get pretty sugary. The graham cracker cuts the sweetness and makes it all delicious. Humans come up with the most interesting little things, don't you think?"

[entitles]

"Interesting, yes. They're getting creative nowadays. I wonder if they're bored," he said, taking a bite out of one of the corners, "It's good enough, I suppose."

[goroesi]

"Just good enough? If you don't like them, I'll be happy to take them off your hands." She laughs, so that he knows it's just a joke. "I think everything tastes better this close to the sea."

[entitles]

"I've got very high standards, but they are decent," he said, taking another bite, "The sea affects on some, I'v heard, but it's never done much for me."

[goroesi]

"The sea is to some people as the stars are to us, milord. That's all it is." She reaches for another marshmallow, poking it onto the end of her stick. "I only really like it because of pleasant memories."

[entitles]

"To us?" he said, "You are interested in the stars as well?"

[goroesi]

She nods eagerly, extending her stick out into the bonfire. "I was named after the stars. Well, the story of one star in particular. It's always made me fond of them."

[entitles]

"I was made from the flames of a distant star, many thousands of years ago," he said, "They speak with me."

[goroesi]

"My mother likes to say the stars speak to her, but I think that just sounds better than admitting she has voices in her head." She looks up into the sky, then back at Balem suddenly as she realizes how that sounds. "I mean- my mother is the Court Seer. She's not possessed or anything weird like that."

[entitles]

"They've spoken to people other than me, human and fae alike. But their community is on a scale much greater than ours, so they tend to speak without any regard for us at all. It's difficult to get anything useful out of them unless you can get their attention," he said, running one of his fingernails over the red moon on his collar, a thin sliver of light glinting inside.

[goroesi]

"It must be easy for you to get their attention, though," she offers casually, fiddling with the hem of her sleeves. "You live in the Observatory, after all. Don't you? The stars must appreciate your... respect for them."

[entitles]

"Yes, I do, and I can talk to them with relative ease, but..." he said with a sigh, "Even at my age, they don't take me all that seriously. Most of them are millions if not billions of years old, I really have to show them I mean business if I want anything from them."

Here he was a very old man, to the stars he was a mere child. He had no peers anywhere, it would seem.

[goroesi]

"Still, speaking to the stars is so much more than any of us lesser fae could even dream of," Maera emphasizes, her own eyes wide and innocent. "You must be very special."

[entitles]

That was right. Not all fae were born into a powerful family like he was. Perhaps he took his abilities a bit for granted.

"It's easier to hear them from my observatory," he said, "If the doors are open, you may come in."

[goroesi]

"Really?" There are practically stars in her eyes now as she beams up at him. "I'm- absolutely honored, milord. I'd just love to drop by sometime."

[entitles]

"Whenever the doors are open, guests are welcome," he said casually, "My home was built for many, but it's just me left."

[goroesi]

"-oh. I'm- sorry? That must be a lonely way to live." At least, that's what Maera's guessing.

[entitles]

"I don't get lonely much, anymore. My brother and sister are still around; they simply prefer to travel. I am the eldest, so I watch the family home," he said.

[goroesi]

"Oh. Are your parents not... around, then?" She asks her question hesitantly, curious for his answer but not wanting to dredge up bad memories. She still misses her father dearly, after all.

[entitles]

"Mother is gone, I'm afraid, and has been for quite a while," he said, and of course he wouldn't disclose that he was the one who killed her, "Father...well, he's a few light years away, and wouldn't fit in the house."

That awkward moment when one of your parents was a literal star.

[goroesi]

"I'm sorry." She rocks back and forth on her feet a little indecisively before saying, "my- my own father died a few years ago. I know how hard it can be."

[entitles]

"I've come to terms with it now, although it certainly took a while," he said, 'a while' meaning a good few centuries.