Schedule
This year’s Fall Harvest Rite will be September 17th, 2022.
- 1-3:00 PM: Ritual team may arrive at CedarLight Center
- 4:00PM: Guests may arrive at Grove, Feast Begins
- 5:30 PM: Zoom room will open and link will be posted
- 6:00 PM: Pre-ritual brief
- 7:00 PM: Harvest Home ritual begins
- Cost: $20.00 suggested donation
Times are subject to change, please check our website blog, our Event Calendar or our Fall Equinox Facebook event for the most up-to-date information on the ritual. All High Rites are open to the public, so feel free to bring a friend 🙂
Times are subject to change, please check before you leave.
We are still complying with all Baltimore City and state of Maryland rules for COVID-19. Right now, that means masking is optional. The rite is open to the public, however, we are still requiring all persons attending events at the grove to be fully vaccinated or have a current negative test result. If you don’t want to flash your card, you can send a picture to officers@cedarlightgrove.org, we will check you off on our spreadsheet. None of these files will be saved other than the tracking spreadsheet.
Zoom Info
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 468 067 1478
Lore of the Season & Ritual Information
Prayer: Protection
Deities of the Occasion
Berehynia; Ukrainian guardian goddess of home, hearth and the country.
Baba Yaha: Gatekeeper goddess of initiation and transformation
What to Bring
Other than what was discussed above, you may want snacks and something to drink with the folk after the rite. ** We have folks with severe allergies and food sensitivities so a list the ingredients if available is much appreciated.**
Suggested Seasonal Food:
- Chilis
- Stews and Soups
- Fall Harvest related dishes
- Anything Seasonal! Apples! Breads!
There are cans of sodas and bottled water available at the Grove for $1.00 each. Feel free to contribute beverages to the Grove!
Dress for the Weather if you are joining us from an outside location. The High Rite will be done outdoors, and it may be chilly and/or there may be mosquitos. So be prepared and bring the right clothes. If you have a chair you’d like to sit in during the High Rites, we suggest bringing that too.
Children and Pets
Children are welcome to all CedarLight events, but small children must be attended at all times because our center is not child proof, there are stairs, fires, candles and small items that could be swallowed. We do not yet have children activities planned for this event however that can change if we know they are coming.
Pets however, are not allowed because we have learned from past mistakes that not everyone knows how to approach an animal and not every animal will behave predictably with many strangers around. Thank you for understanding. the right
Suggested Offerings
- Donations to local food banks
- Baked breads, cookies, or cakes
- Flowers, wheat stalks, apples, corn, items from your gardens
- Incense
- Libations (vodka, beer, etc.)
- Apple, peach, pumpkin, and game meat dishes
- Performance offerings (see Caryn or Sean-Paul. for approval)
- Acts of community-building, thanksgiving, and frith (we will fill out thank you cards – see below)
- Donations to our Earth Friendly fundraisers
- Bardic works you have created (please let the ritual team know ahead of time so they can slot you in)
- Thankful cards to our allies
For the main offering, please write on a card the many things you are thankful of. You may write as many as you like. there is no need to include your name. Three people will read out all the cards to the group and the physical cards will be burnt as part of the prayer of sacrifice.
Fundraisers: We are still collecting funds to plant trees, support the American Chestnut foundation, and to seed the Chesapeake Bay with baby oysters. We encourage folks to donate items or money to local food banks. So many are struggling with hunger during these uncertain times (don’t forget the pets at the animal shelters!)
PLEASE NOTE: We take oaths very seriously. Any oaths given as an offering MUST be cleared with the Senior Druid prior to the High Rite. Please see Sean-Paul upon arrival if you plan on giving an oath.
Ritual Etiquette
- Do not honor deities of different pantheons than those being honored at this rite
- PLEASE KEEP YOURSELF MUTED ON ZOOM Zoom attendees may make offerings at their home but will not be broadcast into the ritual space. Attendees who continually disrupt the ritual with background noise because they are unmuted will be removed from the Zoom room.
- Offerings will be mainly given in silence as a group, but if you have something you wish to say, sing, or recite, let the Chief Liturgist know ahead of time so they can make time for your offering
- Do not declare any oaths during the rite without expressed permission from the Chief Liturgist well before the rite
After Ritual
If participants wish to hang out after the rite, the Zoom room will remain open for socializing. Feel free to bring dinner and make it a virtual potluck! We won’t even nag you about washing the dishes!
Cost/Donations
All CedarLight events have a suggested donation of $20 per person. This can be contributed to Dagda’s Cauldron either at the Grove, or online via paypal to cedarlightgrove@gmail.com. All donations go towards CedarLight Center bills and upkeep2
