Time: Please arrive to the Zoom meeting room beginning at 6:45 for a 7:00 start. The ritual begins at 7:00.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4942898732?pwd=M25yem9QTy9XZ3cybkE4WDhWd1pBZz09
Meeting ID: 494 289 8732
Passcode: RPC
Intention: We gather to walk the path of the Witch, reclaim our power, and listen to our guides and communities as we build a new foundation for the future.
Dear Community:
Part of walking the path of the witch is admitting and correcting where one goes off course, and the RPC took a wrong turn with the description for the upcoming Lammas ritual. We (the RPC) violated the first principle of the DARC letter, which is:
“1. Reclaiming is an ethnically diverse tradition. Using “we” and ”our” to refer only to white people in this tradition is an act of erasure of BIPOC and mixed race individuals. We invite deeper sensitivity to the many “we’s” and ”our’s” used in Reclaiming and also specificity of language (“We as white people in Reclaiming need to address white supremacy and racism and its impact on…”
The RPC wrote the description in a way that made it sound like Baltimore Reclaiming is a group of all white witches who are observing injustices happening to BIPOC people, when in fact, as stated in the DARC letter, “Reclaiming is an ethnically diverse tradition.” Many members of the Baltimore Reclaiming community live with pain and anger caused by white supremacy on a regular basis. Rather than an abstract problem happening to someone else, somewhere else, the trauma of racism is an ongoing reality.
This was not the intention of the description authors, but we (the RPC) know that intention and reality are two very different things. We apologize to our whole community for this mistake, and are working on solutions to make sure we don’t do it again.
They are as follows:
We are partnering with the BIRCH resolution accountability cell to ensure that we are holding up the values of the DARC letter and and BIRCH resolution.
We are putting out invitations to people within our community we can consult and pay to ensure that our literature reflects the reality of our tradition.
We are encouraging the entire community to remember that if you ever feel uncomfortable with what we have written, said, or planned for ritual we welcome, thrive, and grow on feedback, and would love to hear what you have to tell us. Feedback culture is very important in Reclaiming and the work of the RPC is more powerful when we hear from you.
We take dismantling our own white supremacy seriously. The goal of the RPC is to serve our community and being held accountable by our community is essential to that process.
Thank you for your time and magic.
In love,
Aimee, Zac, and Gina
With that said, here is our new ritual description:
Meeting and experiencing ritual together for Lammas this year is different in ways we couldn’t have imagined 6 months ago. Not only did we leave the 2019-20 Ritual Arc unfinished, but as a community we have had our connections to each other shift from the material world to the digital one. The spiritual ties have been tested as we seek new ways to connect. People of all identities have been encouraged to use this time to go inward, but it doesn’t always feel safe. The Reclaiming community is one that continuously grows in its awareness of the myriad of challenges rippling through the world, although the answers and ways forward can seem unclear at times.
Through all of this, the path of the Witch is still there. As a community of witches the imperative to reflect, re-root, and re-connect is palpable and necessary. Parts of the path are thorny and painful, but there’s magic in every step. There are still tools to be gathered on the way to help our community and ourselves survive. This Lammas, the Ritual Planning Cell (RPC) offers a ritual with the intention of doing just that; re-collecting our tools and preparing for the circle ahead.
The familiar tools of Witches may feel inadequate or inaccessible in the context of a “new normal” world. Perhaps those tools were never available to begin with, but Witches are resourceful by definition and this is a time of action. The RPC invites you to walk the path with us and listen to the voices all around us and together as a community, we forge ahead.
For our first online ritual, you will need some paper or fabric and art supplies, or a way to draw digitally (i.e., http://www.autodraw.com ). You will also need your body, and be ready to access all the tools you possess as a witch. If you have questions or concerns about using this technology, please feel free to message us at zlawhon@mica.edu.
For a list of tools for small, independent rituals at home, please check this document by Jen Mott-Smith and the Ritual Planning Cell, and if it resonates, check it as often as you need.
Who is Baltimore Reclaiming?
We are a group of witches, artists, pagans, healers, activists, queers, priestesses, anarchists, theater geeks, feminists, and other good humans. We see our work as teaching and making magic: the art of empowering ourselves and each other. In our classes, workshops, and public rituals, we train our voices, bodies, energy, intuition, and minds. We use the skills we learn to deepen our strength, both as individuals and as community, to voice our concerns about the world in which we live, and bring to birth a vision of a new culture. We gather, mostly on the Sabbats, to work magic, often for personal healing and also for the healing of our society and planet. We believe that the work we do together in our sacred circles really can change the world.
About Lammas:
On Lammas we celebrate by turning our attention to what is around and within us. Summer is still glowing warm around us, leaving us languid with stoop stories and the music of cicadas. But we also feel it fading as the days shorten and the sun’s daily path moves further south. Traditionally, this time marks the beginning of the harvest festivals--the gathering of wheat for flour, and the seeds for the next growing season.
Cost:
Baltimore Reclaiming does not charge for our events, and as our rituals are currently taking place online, we have no need to cover hall rental fees. However, we have recently formed a Reparations Cell, and would be grateful for your donations to this new effort. This cell will coordinate financial assistance to local groups working in movement spaces in ways that align with our Principles of Unity and will pay BIPOC consultants for future rituals. We recommend a $10-$20 donation per person. You may contribute via PayPal to ritual@baltimorereclaiming.org or via Venmo to 910-988-5760. No one is turned away for lack of funds. You are fully welcome regardless of your ability to financially donate.
Drugs & Alcohol:
All Baltimore Reclaiming events are drug and alcohol free. We respectfully request that you do not use drugs or alcohol before or while attending our events.
What to Expect:
New to Baltimore Reclaiming? Visit our Rituals page to learn more about what to expect at an event.
Dress Code:
Wear whatever you like! You are welcome to wear everything from jeans and a t-shirt to a tuxedo. Often, people like to wear something special for ritual which might mean a favorite dress, a special shawl, a flower crown, or something else. We encourage you to wear whatever you feel most comfortable in.