Story
On Hallowe'en of 2002, my friend, Josh, and I embarked on a journey that would comepletely reshape my life. We were invited to a pagan ritual at a modern day Stonehenge on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. To be frank, I was a more than a little skeptical. Sure, I'd been to Wiccan rituals in the past, but I always felt they were rather silly - grown men and women prancing about half-naked and spouting "perfect love and pefect trust" and other vacuous nonsense. They were a far cry from the solemn, simple rituals that had given me such joy and peace during my childhood. Josh, who had discovered the group performing tonight's ritual at a local Pagan Pride Day, assured me that they were the "real thing".
We arrived at a place called "Summerlands" and were met with smiling, friendly faces and warm hugs. One woman, Michelle, gently touched the mound of my very pregnant belly and said, "You'll be blessed with a son near the Winter Solstice. How perfect, the birth of your son to celebrate the rebirth of our Sun." I broke out in goose-pimples. How could she have known that just a few weeks earlier, during a routine sonogram, my obstetrician had told my husband and I that we would have a son around the 22nd of December? I exchanged looks with Josh. He grinned at me and said, "I didn't tell them. I swear. "
After the ritual's attendants had gathered, we were addressed by the Senior Druid. "Welcome to Summerlands. I'm Gannd, the Senior Druid of the Sonoran Sunrise Grove, ADF. Thank you for coming to our Samhainn ritual. Tonight we celebrate the Feast of the Dead. Our Seer for tonight, Kirk Thomas, will lead us on a trance journey to Avalon, the Isle of Apples, to commune with our beloved dead."
We processed from the Hall to the edge of the Sacred Precinct accompanied by soft chants and drumming. I got my first look at the stone circle then. It was surrounded by altars to characters straight out of fairy tales from my childhood - Brigit the goddess of inspiration and fire, Lugh the sun god, Morrighan the battle crow, and Manannan mac Lir the sea god.
Josh and I found our seats and the next hour or so was pure magic - no pun intended. The ritual was beautiful - solemn, simple and very spiritual. The trance journey turned up the shade of my Granny who died in 1995. And the after ritual potluck dinner was filled with conversation and more warm, friendly smiles and hugs. I chatted easily with Kirk and Gannd and Michelle and learned more about SSG and ADF. I found out about membership and the Dedicant's Programme and felt that I had found my spiritual home.
After the potluck had wound down, Michelle invited me back for Imbolc. She said she would have invited me for the Winter Solstice ritual, but I would probably be in hospital then, having my baby. As is turned out, I didn't make it back to the Summerlands Stone Circle until Spring Equinox, but I joined ADF and SSG that night and began my nearly three year long journey into Druidism, my exploration of my spiritual path, and my work with ADF's Dedicant's Programme.