Schedule
Midsummer Rite will be June 22nd, 2024 both on Zoom and at CedarLight Center.
4:00 PM: Guests may begin arriving at CLG
5:00 PM: Picnic, Cookout, & Drumming
- 6:00 PM: Open Zoom Meeting
- 6:30 PM: Pre-Ritual Briefing
7:30 PM: Ritual Starts
- 10:30 PM: Doors close
- Cost: $20.00 suggested donation
Times are subject to change, please check our website blog, our Event Calendar or our Midsummer 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.
NOTE: The threat of Covid is diminished but not gone. Masks are optional inside and out. If you think you’ve been exposed to COVID or are feeling ill, please stay home. All are welcome to join us via Zoom.
Zoom Info
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 468 067 1478
Lore of the Season & Ritual Information
Prayer: We’re still standing. We see the light.
Deities of the Occasion: Earth Mother, Manannan, and Tailtue
Our building on Edna Ave. was built 100 years ago this year. We have chosen Midsummer to celebrate the fact that it is still standing strong after all these years. It also marks the 34th year since our 1st grove highrite and 28 years since a small group of druids bought a build and began an uncharted journey in urban druidry.
This all happened because Tailtue, who is known in the Irish lore for helping to build a new home for her people, whispered into Will Pierson’s ear and said, “Build a home for my people.” So began our grand adventure that today is CedarLight Grove.
What to Bring
Please bring a dish that can serve 6-8 people. PLEASE TAKE YOUR LEFTOVERS HOME!
** Please label ingredients for those with food allergies**
Suggested Seasonal Food:
- Cold dishes such as salads (potato, macaroni, tuna, seafood, pasta)
- Hot dogs/burgers/veggie burgers/etc for the grill
- Deviled Eggs
- Fresh fruit (no giant watermelons!)
- Sun themed dishes
- Anything Seasonal!
- Desserts for after the rite
We will will be grilling food prior to the rite for picnicking, and there will be desserts and left-overs for after the rite.
There are cans of sodas available at the Grove for $1.00 each. There is filtered water available from the sink in the Grove Space kitchen. Feel free to contribute beverages to the Grove!
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. Service animals are always welcome.
Suggested Offerings
- Donations to any charities Cedarlight is currently supporting (we have envelopes next to Dagda’s Cauldron to tag your money, or you can make a note on your PayPal donation).
- Incense, Flowers, & Herbs Please take plants home to plant afterwards. Please limit the amount of incense you place in the sacred fire to no more than three sticks, a small handful of resin, or a small bundle of cut plants.
- Libations, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, especially beverages you have made. All alcohol either goes into the offering bowl (low-proof) or into the fire (high-proof).
- Bardic works you have created or simply want to sing or read (please let the ritual team know ahead of time) or dances.
- Food you have created for the rite. All food was offered to the gods first in ancient times, once they took what they wanted, the folk consumed the rest.
- Hand-crafted items, especially items in honor of the season or our deities that will be taken home and used (not all offerings need to be burned.)
PLEASE NOTE: We take oaths very seriously. Any oaths given as an offering MUST be cleared with the Chief Liturgist, Senior Druid, or an ADF Priest prior to the High Rite.
The High Rite will take place outdoors in the sanctuary, weather permitting. Please dress for the weather (it may be hot or rainy) and PLEASE bring mosquito spray (or use the ones available at the Grove). If you have a chair you’d like to sit in during the High Rite, we suggest bringing that too.
Ritual Etiquette
- Do not honor deities of different pantheons than those being honored at this rite, except during the period after receiving the Waters of Life that is tagged for personal magical workings. Then you may make such offerings quietly/silently.
- PLEASE KEEP YOURSELF MUTED ON ZOOM. Group call and responses should remain muted unless otherwise requested by the Chief Liturgist. 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 or perform, 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
- PLEASE MUTE YOUR PHONES. It is acceptable to use personal devices for reading praise offerings, not so much for playing Candy Crush.
- If you need to leave the ritual space for any reason, please do so quietly and discreetly. There is no need to have anyone “cut you a gate”.
After Ritual
The Zoom room may remain open for a bit if folks online want to socialize. At Cedarlight Center, we will move to Revels and have desserts/leftovers. Food will be kept inside, attendees are free to eat indoors or out. PLEASE WASH YOUR OWN DISHES! Doors will close to the public at 10:30 PM (and we mean it!)
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 upkeep.
