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

Games

[goroesi]

When Maera first sees the nets, she's immediately curious. Heading over to the area, she listens and pieces together from what she hears that a competition is going on - but though she knows of volleyball, she's never actually seen a game played out in front of her.

Judging by the look in her eyes, it's a great experience once the ball is served and gameplay begins. "Gosh, I had no idea volleyball was this intense!" she gasps to the girl near her, the one with the fantastic red hair.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy takes about half a step backwards to better turn to the girl who spoke, raising a hand up to keep her hat on from the warm breeze. "Yeah- especially with a bunch of over-excited witches on holiday. Just wait till everyone gets drunk."

She smiles over the top of her autumnal punch, tapping her bright red nails on the glass.

[goroesi]

"It's super exciting," Maera breathes, only transferring her attention from the game to the girl next to her after the next point has been made. "Are you a witch too, then?"

[stauncherhearted]

"The more into it you allow yourself to be, the more fun it is- Alright! Way to go!" She paused only briefly to turn her attention back to the game with a small jump in the air.

The petite girl landed, and she turned back to Maera. "Yeah, I am." No mention of the circles. She switched the hand that held her glass and extended the other one to Maera. "I'm Nancy."

[goroesi]

"Nancy? I'm Maera." She takes her offered hand immediately, shaking it with a wide smile. "I just have to say - I love your hair." Like all fae, Maera gets preoccupied by pretty things. She just tends towards finding beauty in humans and their features.

[stauncherhearted]

"beautiful name, Maera." she sipped on her drink.

with a smile, Nancy reached up to tug at her hair. "thanks- kept me inside for the first week of the Hunt, but thank you. I work hard to keep it nice." awkward. but.

[goroesi]

"Oh-- oh, that makes sense." The sympathetic look is clear on her face as she shakes her head. "That must be awful. The Hunt is one of the best times of the year."

... and now it's a little more obvious exactly where Maera's from.

[stauncherhearted]

So she was Fae. Interesting. She had friends amongst the fae. And enemies, just as well.

"Kind of hard to, when you're afraid for your life. But I suppose..." She shrugged. It's awful, hunting people. "I just wish it weren't people, necessarily."

[goroesi]

"We can't always help it, you know," she says apologetically. "The Hunt unlocks something within us. And some of us are more susceptible to it than others.

"But hey - you witches know how to throw a party. This is seriously amazing. I haven't been to the beach in way too long."

[stauncherhearted]

"I know." Luckily, she knew a few Fae that didn't want her hurt. Eames had kept a watch on her. Fagin had warned her in the first place. Not to mention, a few vampires and werewolves and one particular teenager with a lacrosse stick

But! Better topics! Nancy grins. "Oh thank you! I had nothing to do with it, it's all the family that owns this beach, but I'm glad you like it."

[goroesi]

"Party games, plenty of people with very little clothing on, and alcohol - you physically can't put together a bad party with a combination like this." Her grin is somewhat cheeky as she gazes around the beach. "Do you witches have a lot of... traditions like this, I guess?"

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy raised her free hand to her mouth, trying to block out her giggles. "I guess you really can't."

She lets her eyes follow Maera's, before turning back to her. "Good parties? Of course."

[goroesi]

She laughs at that, eyes crinkling at the edges. "That's good to know. But I meant more... do you have a lot of special witch holidays like Lammas?"

[stauncherhearted]

"I know- yes, we do. I'm sure the invitations will continue to be somewhat open. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been at a few fae celebrations." She was a trophy piece for her foster father.

[goroesi]

"You have? Really?" Maera seems surprised, her eyebrows raising high. "Wow - I'm pretty sure ours aren't nearly as open as this is."

[stauncherhearted]

"I have." She didn't know if she should be proud of that or not. "And they certainly aren't. I have a few contacts in both courts." Mostly unseelie.

[goroesi]

"Really," she echoes again, this time more thoughtfully than before. "It's a surprise we haven't run into each other before, then. And here I thought I knew most of the people who visit my Court. How long have you been around, then?"

[stauncherhearted]

"I'm eighteen," was the answer she'd receive. "So near that long." But she'd only recently started venturing out on her own. "I try not to make myself too well known."

[goroesi]

"Oh, you're young! That makes a lot more sense." Says Maera, the fae pushing ninety. "I can't imagine not loving the spotlight, but whatever works for you, I suppose."

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy nods. She did look her age, she had that going for her, she supposed. "I wish I could say the same." Every time she was in it, it was for something she didn't want. Something that was beyond her control. She'd rather stay in the background and get a bigger picture and keep some of her control.

[goroesi]

"What, you wish you were more used to the spotlight? It's not that hard. Just- as long as you do it in baby steps, you can get acclimated to it." It's something she learned to do when she was younger, after all.

[stauncherhearted]

"No, I mean- I wish I could say I liked it. I'm sorry, that was confusing." She smiled and took another sip of her drink. "But I'll take the advice, thank you."

[goroesi]

"Oh- oh, I'm sorry." Maera laughs a little, shaking her head. "That's me. Always trying to help even when I'm not asked for it."

[stauncherhearted]

"No, no! It's completely alright! I understand- I tend to do similar things." She was, for all intents and purposes, the mother to a large group of preteens and young teenagers.

[goroesi]

She nods quickly at her response. "See, you get it. Helping people out just makes me feel... worthwhile. Okay, that sounds a little weird, but you know what I mean."