Hecate's Sickle is put on by the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) every year near the end of October. This year was the tenth annual Sickle, and attendance was reported to be better than ever with over 120 people there.
The weekend began with a trip to Anacortes followed by a ferry ride to a nearby island. Our final destination was a state park. Situated on a placid lake and surrounded by hills and mountains, the location was dreamlike. I felt like I was a million miles away from my everyday life.
After our registration we were assigned a clan, a cabin and bunk, given a schedule of the weekend's events and informed that dinner and the opening circle would begin at 8:00, followed by the "sky-clad." "Hmmm," I pondered, "I wonder what `sky-clad' means." At the cabin, I asked my traveling companion about this mysterious happening. In an enigmatic voice he responded, "That is when all you wear is the sky...." (I got the picture.)
Sky-clad was amazing. Never in my life have I felt so comfortable nude. I laughed to myself as I compared sky-clad to attending church naked (church was never this spiritually awakening).
The next day we met with our clan and learned about the journey we would take during the main ritual. I was in the clan of the hawk and would be traveling down the "warrior's path." This didn't seem to fit, and I was a little lost, but just played it by ear. Everyone was open, loving and willing to explain even the most mundane things.
We were encouraged to visit and contribute to the shrines set up in the forest: the faire shrine, the underworld shrine and the warrior's shrine. I have to admit that by the afternoon I was feeling a bit odd. I was not sure that I was "getting it." I was not feeling the woo-woo feelings that everyone else seemed to be feeling. I don't know how to meditate, I don't understand who these god forms were, geez, I didn't even know what "sky-clad" meant. I consider myself to be spiritually aware and open minded and have enjoyed pagan rituals in the past, but just couldn't seem to relax. Taking the advice of my clan leader, I decided to visit the shrines.
As I walked along the trail through the woods, there was commotion all around me. Staff setting up tents for the god forms, birds chirping, the breeze through the evergreen boughs, hoots and hollers.... I could not escape! Suddenly before me in a natural hollow was a table. On the table was an assortment of statues and items. Not much to look at, but the feeling was incredible. I did not notice the noise any longer. It was quiet, and I just sat there and thought about what the faire shrine meant to me. An image came to mind. I fished out my drawing pad and oil pastels from my backpack and went to work. Twenty minutes later I "awoke" to an image on my paper, and peace in my heart. I placed a drawing at all of the three shrines and returned to the main hall.
That evening, we went through the ritual, met the god forms and confronted our fears. The people who were channeling the deities were truly gifted. I was moved and deeply touched by each of them. In the end, we were knighted (I just couldn't be "Sir Jimbo," so I said James instead), and returned to the main hall for the feast.
Over the past few weeks, the significance of the warrior's path has become more and more apparent to me. It's the path of the noble knight, Sir Gawain: nobility in the face of fear, immaturity and discord. It's the meaning of nobility in my life: not just doing good deeds like a Boy Scout, but nobility with myself, empathy, courage and strength combined.
We wrapped up the weekend with cleanup on Sunday morning, and a closing circle. As my companion and I drove away from the site, I was peacefully contemplative about all of the happenings. There was so much in such a short amount of time that I knew it would take a while before the larger meaning developed.
Many thanks to the ATC crowd, who really did a lot of work. The administrative aspect of the event was so flawless that I forgot they were there. Everyone I spoke to enjoyed themselves.
As for me, well.... I can't wait till next year!
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