Homewood Friends Meeting House, Basement (Please use side door on porch)
3107 North Charles Street
Please arrive no earlier than 5:00 for a 5:30 ritual start.
Ritual Description:
Mystery speaks every language. Knows every path. Belongs to every being in every water, sky, and land. Mystery finds its way to and around and through and with us.
When we witches open to Mystery, we deepen our awareness, co-create, and bring what we will into being. Where are your Senses telling you to cast your Witch’s gaze and recognize the pattern of Mystery?
We are all day, every day, surrounded by sounds – beautiful birdsong, the cacophony of traffic, the drone of radio and television. Which ones catch your Witch’s ear, calling you into harmony with the music of Mystery?
We speak of the flavor of things – sometimes things that are edible, but other things that cannot be tasted with our physical tongues. Which flavors bring you back for more, again and again, for union with Mystery?
Mystery goes by many names. Some call Her: Godd. Others call Him: Nature, the Universe, the Unknown. Some call Them: the Shining Ones. Some call It: Life force. Others call It: I, whole unto myself, Witch. To some, Mystery can be found in old, traditional practices; for others, Mystery comes from the new, the as-yet-unnamed. Some hear the voice of Mystery speaking in community. Some hear Mystery only in privacy and silence.
Witches dwell at the edges, with one foot in the world of the mundane and the other planted in the world of the unexplainable. What power, what magic, what healing comes to us when we lean a little harder into the world of Mystery?
You are invited – yes, you! – to touch Mystery with your Witch’s body, physical or energetic or both. You are invited to bring your own unique sense of Mystery alive and speaking in languages perhaps only known to you. And if you haven’t yet become aware of Mystery at work below the surface? You are invited to enter the circle, to open your Witch’s senses and awaken to the ripples of Mystery.
You are invited to bring up to 3 representations of Mystery for our elemental altars. This can be as simple as a feather, or as complex as a devotional work of art.
There will be an opportunity for community drumming after the ritual, so please bring your drums and other instruments!
About Baltimore Reclaiming: Baltimore Reclaiming is a radically inclusive community of witches who use our magic to bring transformation, justice and healing to ourselves, Baltimore and the world. We are a group of witches, artists, pagans, healers, activists, queers, priestesses, anarchists, theater geeks, feminists, and other good humans. We see our work as teaching and making magic: the art of empowering ourselves and each other. In our classes, workshops, and public rituals, we train our voices, bodies, energy, intuition, and minds. We use the skills we learn to deepen our strength, both as individuals and as community, to voice our concerns about the world in which we live, and bring to birth a vision of a new culture. We gather, mostly on the Sabbats, to work magic, often for personal healing and also for the healing of our society and planet. We believe that the work we do together in our sacred circles really can change the world.
About Lammas: On Lammas we celebrate by turning our attention to what is around and within us. Summer is still glowing warm around us, leaving us languid with stoop stories and the music of cicadas. But we also feel it fading as the days shorten and the sun’s daily path moves further south. Traditionally, this time marks the beginning of the harvest festivals—the gathering of wheat for flour, and the seeds for the next growing season.
Location: Homewood Friends Meeting House is a wheelchair-accessible space with a wheelchair-accessible bathroom. If you will need to use the wheelchair-accessible entrance, please call or text (text preferred) 443-235-2007 at least an hour before arrival for a heads-up, and then when you arrive so we can come open the door.
We are requiring masks for our indoor rituals this year. There will be some available at the event that have a clear portion to make lip reading possible.
We will be in the basement, which is a space that has fans but no air conditioning. It may be a little warm in there, depending on Saturday’s weather. We may or may not have the fans on due to hearing accessibility concerns.
Please keep these things in mind, and gauge your comfort before coming to this one.
Cost: Baltimore Reclaiming does not charge for our events, but we do have considerable expenses which include renting the space and buying supplies for the ritual! We recommend a $10-$20 donation per person. You can bring cash or send money ahead of time via PayPal to ritual@baltimorereclaiming.org or via Venmo to 443-235-2007. No one is turned away for lack of funds. You are fully welcome regardless of your ability to financially donate.
Drugs & Alcohol: All Baltimore Reclaiming events are drug and alcohol free. We respectfully request that you do not use drugs or alcohol before or while attending our events.
Scent Policy: We strive to accommodate people who have chemical and scent sensitivities. Please keep these people in mind as you make choices about wearing scented personal hygiene products.
What to Expect: New to Baltimore Reclaiming? Visit our Rituals page to learn more about what to expect at an event.
Dress Code: Wear whatever you like! You are welcome to wear everything from jeans and a t-shirt to a tuxedo. Often, people like to wear something special for ritual which might mean a favorite dress, a special shawl, a flower crown, or something else. We encourage you to wear whatever you feel most comfortable in.