Pagan Madness Samhain!

I am back! And in one piece!

Ok, was anyone aware that we were going to have cataclysmic cold this weekend? I knew it was going to be cold, but not THAT cold.
Mainly it was the wind. At one point I was reading in my tent when one of the walls started closing in on me. It was bending under the gales! I had to push it back and hold it. Thrilling moments, let me tell you. I didn't put my book down though, if the tent broke I'd deal with it when I finished the chapter.

The first night I attended the opening ritual, which was moved indoors because of the rain and bitter cold, and then afterwards I went to the meet and greet. This year, the celebration was about The Hunt, which is a Celtic, pagan idea. So for the meet and greet we had to dress up as animals. Give you three guesses what I went as.

For those of you who are on the slow side, I went as a snake. Duh.
It was cool, I used a pair of fishnet stockings to make the scales. I put it over my face and applied foundation and powder over it, then peeled it off and voila I'm a snake.

I tented in the same place as last time and really, I still think it's the best spot. The ants were not horrible, although there were pretty scary looking spiders. Think Harry Potter big running around. I tried not to shriek too much when I would feel one on me.

The main ritual was again a bit disappointing. I don't know what's going on with that group, but they just don't seem to get the rituals on a good level. There's no energy, no buzz to it.
At one point, they wanted to pass out candles to everyone, to burn for the loved ones who are no longer with us. The idea is great, cliched to death (no pun intended) but the image of lots of lit candles is always pretty.
But you have to be realistic when you plan these thinks. So: we had around 800 people standing around in the bitter, bitter cold, each one getting a candle passed to them, then having to line up to get it lit, then having to KEEP the candle lit in the raging winds. None of this is a good idea. In theory, nice; in practice, I was considering throwing the candle at someone so at least we would have a fire to cozy up to. It was miserably cold.

All in all, it was great, as always. I just can't get enough of camping and the pagan community is so nice and easy going. I met some interesting people and saw some people I already knew. It's a nice community feeling. Looking forward to going again.