The wheel has turned and we slowly emerge from Winter once more. Spring is perhaps my favourite season, The new fresh life always seems so vibrant. I am not anti Winter though, far from it. Winter has a beauty all of its own and without the calming nurturing dark, there could be no vibrant Spring.
As Pagans we are very lucky in that we have not one, not two, but three Spring festivals, Imbolc, Equinox and Beltane. Imbolc has become one of my favourite festivals. It is a time of hope, a promise of what is to come. It is still cold outside, but the days are getting brighter. Early plants like the snowdrop show us what is to come. We are on the cusp of a bigger change, poised, waiting with baited breadth.
The Anderida Gorsedd open ritual for Imbolc is also one of my favourite open rituals. As pagans we usually celebrate the Goddess and the Gods, revere the world around us and how it supports us and how we can heal or be healed. However At Imbolc the Anderida Gorsedd ritual largely consists of the Bardic Chair of Anderida competition, where the Chief Bard of the Gorsedd for the next 12 months is chosen. We honour Bride/Bridget in her guise of muse for the Bards. We celebrate the bardic arts be that a story, song or poem or other performance. The stories and old tales have always been a very important part of my Druidry and so it is wonderful to celebrate these arts as we mark the turn of the wheel.
Each year I try and bring something a bit different to the ritual and this year I wanted to stretch myself a bit further. I wanted to add music to my words. Not singing, I know that is never a good idea, I have difficulty in carrying a tune in a bucket! But I wanted some musical accompaniment to my words. I considered bringing my guitar and strumming a few chords as I spoke. But decided against it for two reasons, One I do not have a carry case for the guitar so could no safely get it to the site, and two, I am no great guitarist, but I am comfortable with a few chords and I wanted to stretch myself a bit further. So I decided that the Mandolin would be good. Only problem was I didn’t have a mandolin and I didn’t really know how to play it! Anyway, long story short, I got a mandolin as a birthday gift from Rebekah and set about learning a few chords, then wrote a spoken word piece about doing your own thing which I could recite whilst attempting to strum those few chords.
I have been ever so blessed to have been chosen as the Chief Bard on three previous occasions, the last in 2015, the three plaques that I was awarded have pride of place on my altar. However, the prize now is a rather fine pendant hand made by Cerri, and maybe I shouldn’t covet shiny things, but I would love to win one of these pendants. The idea of a trophy that you can wear at all times to honour the bardic arts really appeals to me.
And so “do your thing” got its public premier in the orchard beneath the Long mans feet as my entry to the Bardic Chair of Anderida competition on Sunday 30 January. Initially there was a bit of a problem, no transport as our car was out of action. Too far to walk and the bus service is not that reliable , so my other option was to cycle the five and a half miles to the foot of the Long Man of Wilmington, with the mandolin strapped to my back. I was to be the bicycling bard for the day. Fortunately for me, the weather was beautiful. Sunny and dry , and so the cycle ride along the country lanes was a joy.
I think it went OK and seemed to be well received. My piece didn’t win, but that’s OK. There were as usual some fantastic entries, stories songs and poems and even crocheted cloak which was cool. The actually winner was a younger Bard Darcy, who told a lovely story. And to be honest it felt right at Imbolc, a time of first stirrings , for a younger bard to be honoured and encouraged. And to top it all, I was also told that I had been the inspiration for someone to tell a story To be someone’s Inspiration, well that was a great honour, and felt like a win to me!
So I was very happy as I cycled home again to my family and the lovely Imbolc meal we shared together. This had been a good day. Still got my eye on one of those pendants though..
Should anyone want to hear “Do Your Thing” I videoed the next day for my Beneath the Long Mans Feet Channel. You can watch it below:
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