Homewood Friends Meeting House, Basement (Please use side door on porch)
3107 North Charles Street
Please arrive no earlier than 3:00 for a 3:30 ritual start.
Intention: Telling our stories, we remake our world and ourselves.
Ritual Description:
“The story is one of the basic tools invented by the human mind for the purpose of understanding. There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.” -Ursula K. Le Guin
Once upon a time…
In a land far, far away…
Once there was, and once there was not…
In the beginning…
Far beyond the mountains, across the seas…
Before the world was as it is now…
The first story was told.
And from that story grew another story, and another, and another. And eventually, your story joined the world.
We are shaped by the stories we see and hear. And in turn, the stories we live and tell shape the world. When we transform these stories and how we carry them, we develop the power to remake the world.
In this ritual, we articulate our stories. What stories are we living, as individuals and as a community? In what part of these stories do you find yourself? Are you heeding the (possibly heroic) call to go beyond the life that you have known? Do you find yourself wandering the dark woods of mystery, looking for direction and help? Are you grappling with confrontation or obstacles, trying to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks? Or perhaps you’ve journeyed far, have been greatly transformed, and are wondering how to reconnect to your life with that of the larger community from which you came. Wherever you are, we will find those threads of storyline that connect us to both the larger story, and the larger World we wish to co-create.
We call on the power of the Storyteller, to aid us in learning to frame and tell our stories in new and revolutionary ways. With the Storyteller's help, we will remake ourselves and in doing so, remake the world.
About Baltimore Reclaiming: Baltimore Reclaiming is a radically inclusive community of witches who use our magic to bring transformation, justice and healing to ourselves, Baltimore and the world. 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.
Location: Homewood Friends Meeting House is a wheelchair-accessible space with a wheelchair-accessible bathroom. If you will need to use the wheelchair-accessible entrance, please call or text (text preferred) 443-235-2007 or 303-819-7843 at least an hour before arrival for a heads-up, and then when you arrive so we can come open the door.
We are requiring masks for our indoor rituals this year. There will be some available at the event that have a clear portion to make lip reading possible.
We will be in the basement, which is a space that has fans but no air conditioning. It may be a little warm in there, depending on Saturday’s weather. We may or may not have the fans on due to hearing accessibility concerns.
Please keep these things in mind, and gauge your comfort before coming to this one.
Cost: Baltimore Reclaiming does not charge for our events, but we do have considerable expenses which include renting the space and buying supplies for the ritual! We recommend a $10-$20 donation per person. You can bring cash or send money ahead of time via PayPal to ritual@baltimorereclaiming.org or via Venmo to 443-235-2007. 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.
Scent Policy: We strive to accommodate people who have chemical and scent sensitivities. Please keep these people in mind as you make choices about wearing scented personal hygiene products.
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.
Mask Policy: At in-person Baltimore Reclaiming events, masking is encouraged, but not required. If you have COVID-like symptoms, you should test; if you test positive, you should not come to the event. Individual cells are empowered to adjust this policy as public health warrants.