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Nearly everybody on my f-list is familiar with Eddie Izzard's 1998 sketch "Cake or Death", from Dressed to Kill. Indeed, I even referenced it in footnote [2] of my previous entry.
However, I -- the Nefarious Nomad -- have my own "Cake or Death" routine... and it came before Eddie Izzard's! Travel back in time with me, if you will, on the Samhain evening... and all shall be revealed..............
[CUE TIME MACHINE]
[CUE SPECIAL EFFECTS]
[REALISE WE HAVE GONE BACK TO0 FAR; SWITCH OUT OF REVERSE]
[STOP IN OCTOBER 1994 -- PIONEER VALLEY, MASSACHUSETTS]
[HANDS YOU OFF TO A NINETEEN YEAR OLD NOMAD, WHO WILL BE YOUR GUIDE]
This past weekend,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat took me to Touchstone Farm again. The Church of the Sacred Earth was holding their Samhain gathering there. This year, cheshcat and her covenmates, the rest of StepChild Coven, were running the gathering. This was not the first time that I have been to Touchstone. In fact, we were they just last week for their Halloween party. cheshcat and I surprised everyone by renting a bride-and-groom costume! We have only been together for a couple of months... and people were wondering if maybe we were hinting at something. Heh.
Although I have been to Touchstone before, this was the first CoSE event that I have attended. I brought my best friend,ashnistrike, along for company. Especially for when cheshcat was off running the show.
Friday night started with a sweatlodge. This was the first time that I have ever done a sweatlodge. It was quite the experience. Especially when coupled with a couple of dips in the nearly-freezing water of the pond in between the different parts of the sweat. Most of the gathering was pretty cool. I saw some people that I already knew; I also met a whole lot of new faces -- people likerbdarkly and TinMan 2.0 and LaForza. The site is, of course, quite beautiful. I love the connection that I feel to the land there!
One of the best parts of the evening came on Saturday night, during the main ritual. It was designed to be a journey through the underworld. Only trouble was, the journey was made alone. So we had a good thirty or forty people there... each of whom had to make the circuit one at a time. This took hours. We all started off waiting in the main gathering space. One by one, the Summoner -- who was "drawn down" intocheshcat -- would choose somebody and silently select them to begin their journey. The rest of us sat and chatted, awaiting our turns. This was fun at first, but it slowly got to be boring. Actually, I had tacitly assumed that Death/Chesh would choose me first. After all, I am her new sweetie -- we have only been together for about two and a half months! I was wrong, though. Each time she came in, she choose somebody else. In time, most people had been chosen for their journey... but I, and a handful of others, were still waiting.
There was to be cake after the ritual. By now, it was close to the end. Not many people remained to make the journey. So somebody started to lay out the cake and cut it up. Several people who had made the journey took a piece of cake. I realised that there might not be any left by the time I was done with the ritual. Thus, I did the most logical thing -- I took a piece of cake for myself and began eating.
No sooner had I taken my first bite of cake, when Death comes up to me and silently tapped me on the shoulder, signifying that it was my turn to make the trip to the underworld. My reaction? Hold on there! I'm eating my cake! I stayed where I was and continued eating; Death, after tapping me, turned and walked away. She did not look back but, rather, assumed that I was following her. A little while later, she turned around to look at me, but found no one. Non-plussed, Death returned to me, walking briskly. She grabbed me by the front of my shirt and dragged me -- cake and all -- into the labyrinth of the underworld.ashnistrike, who knows me quite well, later remarked that, in a magickal context, this interaction made perfect sense. I am indeed the sort of person who, when Death comes for me, will have to decline because I am too busy with my cake (and other things).
By Sunday evening, I was feeling pretty wiped out from all the fun (and a lack of sleep). When the gathering was over, we headed back tocheshcat's room at the Bug Zappah and had some quality alone time. Her cute little kittens, Foxy and Kenna, came to join us in the bed and keep us company. They are just six months old and quite adorable!
All in all, an excellent weekend! Although I remain a "devout" Atheist, I do find a certain resonance with these Pagan rituals, and I like the people very much, too. I look forward to more events and gatherings, as well as becoming a part of this community.
[CUE ODD WHIRRING NOISE]
[TIME MACHINE RE-APPEARS]
[THIRTY-THREE YEAR OLD NOMAD STEPS OUT]
[THIRTY-THREE YEAR OLD NOMAD SHOVES YOU INSIDE AND TAKES YOU... BACK TO THE FUTURE!]
You see? I really did have the choice of cake or death... and I did indeed choose cake! With some things, you just don't kid around!
However, I -- the Nefarious Nomad -- have my own "Cake or Death" routine... and it came before Eddie Izzard's! Travel back in time with me, if you will, on the Samhain evening... and all shall be revealed..............
[CUE TIME MACHINE]
[CUE SPECIAL EFFECTS]
[REALISE WE HAVE GONE BACK TO0 FAR; SWITCH OUT OF REVERSE]
[STOP IN OCTOBER 1994 -- PIONEER VALLEY, MASSACHUSETTS]
[HANDS YOU OFF TO A NINETEEN YEAR OLD NOMAD, WHO WILL BE YOUR GUIDE]
This past weekend,
cheshcat took me to Touchstone Farm again. The Church of the Sacred Earth was holding their Samhain gathering there. This year, cheshcat and her covenmates, the rest of StepChild Coven, were running the gathering. This was not the first time that I have been to Touchstone. In fact, we were they just last week for their Halloween party. cheshcat and I surprised everyone by renting a bride-and-groom costume! We have only been together for a couple of months... and people were wondering if maybe we were hinting at something. Heh.Although I have been to Touchstone before, this was the first CoSE event that I have attended. I brought my best friend,
ashnistrike, along for company. Especially for when cheshcat was off running the show. Friday night started with a sweatlodge. This was the first time that I have ever done a sweatlodge. It was quite the experience. Especially when coupled with a couple of dips in the nearly-freezing water of the pond in between the different parts of the sweat. Most of the gathering was pretty cool. I saw some people that I already knew; I also met a whole lot of new faces -- people like
rbdarkly and TinMan 2.0 and LaForza. The site is, of course, quite beautiful. I love the connection that I feel to the land there!One of the best parts of the evening came on Saturday night, during the main ritual. It was designed to be a journey through the underworld. Only trouble was, the journey was made alone. So we had a good thirty or forty people there... each of whom had to make the circuit one at a time. This took hours. We all started off waiting in the main gathering space. One by one, the Summoner -- who was "drawn down" into
cheshcat -- would choose somebody and silently select them to begin their journey. The rest of us sat and chatted, awaiting our turns. This was fun at first, but it slowly got to be boring. Actually, I had tacitly assumed that Death/Chesh would choose me first. After all, I am her new sweetie -- we have only been together for about two and a half months! I was wrong, though. Each time she came in, she choose somebody else. In time, most people had been chosen for their journey... but I, and a handful of others, were still waiting. There was to be cake after the ritual. By now, it was close to the end. Not many people remained to make the journey. So somebody started to lay out the cake and cut it up. Several people who had made the journey took a piece of cake. I realised that there might not be any left by the time I was done with the ritual. Thus, I did the most logical thing -- I took a piece of cake for myself and began eating.
No sooner had I taken my first bite of cake, when Death comes up to me and silently tapped me on the shoulder, signifying that it was my turn to make the trip to the underworld. My reaction? Hold on there! I'm eating my cake! I stayed where I was and continued eating; Death, after tapping me, turned and walked away. She did not look back but, rather, assumed that I was following her. A little while later, she turned around to look at me, but found no one. Non-plussed, Death returned to me, walking briskly. She grabbed me by the front of my shirt and dragged me -- cake and all -- into the labyrinth of the underworld.
ashnistrike, who knows me quite well, later remarked that, in a magickal context, this interaction made perfect sense. I am indeed the sort of person who, when Death comes for me, will have to decline because I am too busy with my cake (and other things).By Sunday evening, I was feeling pretty wiped out from all the fun (and a lack of sleep). When the gathering was over, we headed back to
cheshcat's room at the Bug Zappah and had some quality alone time. Her cute little kittens, Foxy and Kenna, came to join us in the bed and keep us company. They are just six months old and quite adorable!All in all, an excellent weekend! Although I remain a "devout" Atheist, I do find a certain resonance with these Pagan rituals, and I like the people very much, too. I look forward to more events and gatherings, as well as becoming a part of this community.
[CUE ODD WHIRRING NOISE]
[TIME MACHINE RE-APPEARS]
[THIRTY-THREE YEAR OLD NOMAD STEPS OUT]
[THIRTY-THREE YEAR OLD NOMAD SHOVES YOU INSIDE AND TAKES YOU... BACK TO THE FUTURE!]
You see? I really did have the choice of cake or death... and I did indeed choose cake! With some things, you just don't kid around!
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