On Saturday, I was privileged to be part of a big issue for me: I was invited to the creremony of Ms. Mondjungs and Jakub´s wedding, which was held in a combination of a modern druidic (
OBOD) and wiccan religious rituals. I came to the magic troll´s place, and nearly had to cry when I realized she had stitched a tunica by hand for me, all with hand-woven embroidery and all that paraphernalia;-). She stitched the bride´s dress (I´ll let the pictures do the talking), the groom´s attire, both of which with but al little help from Ms. Mondjung, and a tunica for myself, all in two weeks´ course. That´s quite an achievement in my book, and I want to make publicly;-) known:
-that I love her, deeply and silently
-that I respect her
-and more so, admire her skills*ggg*, you know, good housewife and all that stuff *wink*
-and even more so, fear her punches into my face*ggg*
Here she does the last stitches on the tunic, embroidery on the seam, for she would not stand a machine seam to be visible! Insane.*g*
Since she was not challenged enough, she did some Henna paintings on the bride on Friday*ggg*... we went to Jakub´s and Ms. Mondjung´s place, where we had a ball.
That´s Inkus, mate to Inky, the cat, having a ball, too. A foot ball, in fact.*ggg*
Mark and Dixie were there, too, and we amused ourselves by talking a huge pile of rubbish and getting to know each other better, which is a bit weird, for we seem to be closer than we should for the short time we are acquainted. Weird sensation, constantly meeting people that feel so familiar, in spite of being close to complete strangers. Folks, I simply like you, and I hope we can have many balls like those we had, and fight through ordeals. And, this one´s for Leigh: I have always, and always means always, felt a stranger. But there happened something, one event that made many things simply fall in place. I had no hope of ever meeting people that understand me.
Now I have.
Not quite innocent of that is this person;-) proudly displayed with a Henna packing and a foot*ggg*
Ms. Mondjung having a drink and sipping some champagne while being painted;-).
Mark having a dish and having no worry in the world in spite of munching the food;-)...
Dixie discussing matters*ggg*. I learned her nickname does not refer to the toilet, but to the music*ggg*.
Study of a bride...
...being tickled.*ggg*
Study of how photos are not to be taken.
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...painting finished.
...."erm, I have that idea.... it goes like this: Could we not paint tha book of Kells under my toenail???"*ggg*
On Saturday we all were excited, and the bride no less. We made for Lollar, towards the site of the ritual, which would take place near the
Schmelzmühle , a beautiful venue amidst a lovely valley with forest and creek and pasture around it, a great place, and the weather was fine. We stopped for some looting and pillaging of flowers for the bride´s wreath.
Of course, it was her again doing the plaiting of the blossoms-
...my Blodeuwedd...
Then bride and groom dressed up, while we prepared a bit of decoration for the guests...
Ms. Mondjung was a lovely bride, not only for the dress*ggg*.
...we had some demons with us to do the cat-butchering and tearing asunder the photos of black chicken*ggg*, too*ggg*.
And some lovely elven maids;-).
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Then the photographer arrived, and we made to the woods to take some professional pics. As soon as they are online, I´ll post a link, promise! By the way, do not feel unnerved if there´s a load of pics with just minor differences... if anyonen who was present at the wedding wants ´em, feel free to use them, together with a link.
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steel blue sky...
and a lovely creek...
...like so, see..?
;-)
In the neighbourhood of the "Schmelzmühle" there are also some eraly medieval ruins.
Inside, there were these funny chainsaw carvings I was rather fond of. I am quite fond of wild pigs, as long as they do not cross me:-).
...in a carving, they are great to look at;-), in fact, they are great to look at in reality also, but you get the gist that I do not liek to come across them. Do you? *ggg*
Nina and Daniel, more great people. It was a joy to meet you and to work with you an outright pleasure.
The broom Ms. Mondjung uses for transport. It´s a bargain one, so acceleration and balnace are not quite as good as with a high-end blackthorn one. You have to adjust your body weight more when flying, and it certainly not turns on a dime. But since the wedding was costly enough, she could not afford a decent one. But as far as I can say, she has mastered it and uses it for commuting and getting to the grocery store. Normally she has a basket fitted to the front, and a bell to alert oncoming airplanes, but that was removed for the sake of aesthetics....*ggg*
Interior view of that lovely place. There was an abundance of delicious food, including home-smoked fish, salmon with sesame, trout, wild pig chops, plenty of fresh and delicious salad, roast potatoes, pasta and three kinds of dessert. OMNOMMNOMMNOMMNOMM!!!!!!!!!!!*ggg*
It was a bit funny, the magic troll and I drank water most of the time and felt a bit light in the head;-)-drunk on water, I could cry*ggg*NOT!
I was being drunk on water, so apologies for the lousy photo of a sled;-).
More wild pigs...
Decoration to be made. Each guest got a place card with his / her name on it, and a twig of either rosemary or thyme. There were Jakub´s family, hailing from Poland, also, but no worries, they had a simultane translation wired beforehand. Jakub´s mother did a great job translating both the text of the ritual and the moderation of the party in Polish.
This is a painting by Raffael, not. But the cutest, loveliest ...er... troll in the world plaiting the bride´s wreath.
Meeting to discuss the ceremony and plaiting the fire sentinel´s hair. Katrin had no knife, so I lent her rún iaránn.
André and Heika, the two on the left, had the ritual prepared and were the priests for the ritual, druid and witch.
Discussing matters with the element sentinels. There was a circle drawn out, into which the forces of life and the spirits of the place, the ancestors, Gods and the elemental forces of the land, were invited as witness for the
handfasting of man and woman, who swore thesmelves to each other before the spiritual and human eye-witnesses. The circle was manifested into its material form by cloth straps each guest had to contribute to the circle, and in that circle bride and groom were consecrated by water, air, fire and earth. And thusly, that is my way of interpreting, impersonating God and Goddess in the process.
I really liked the atmosphere. It was a radiance of serene peace and joy felt by everyone. There were many Catholic Christians taking part in the ritual, and although many might have taken that ceremony not quite serious, I heard many talking about how peaceful and beautiful the whole deal was being. I, for one, was impressed by André and Heika and their element sentinels, and the fact that it WAS possible for people from different beliefs peacefully interacting, filled my heart with hope.
Those are Mark and Leander. Leander is an artist who writes and draws some delicious comics.
Click here to get to know his work.
The site of the ritual, with the elemental cardinal points already set. Pictures of the ritual were being taken by the photographer, who had the exclusive right to do so, and I respected that. I will post a link when it´s available.
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After the ceremony there was a load of hugging going on....
... and this one´s for Joel: THIS is a salami, my friend!;-)
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...hands please...*ggg*
whaddayawant?Kiss?*ggg*
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Wassiss?*ggg*
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NO, not at all, not another drink, I am all pissed already*ggg*.
..."But I mixed that drink only for you, you can trust me KÄHÄHÄHÄHÄ!"
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Then the party was suddenly on. We met as strangers and parted as friends, element guardians were playing the air guitar on their trumpet sleeve, historically attired men and women danced alongside people in suit and gala dress, Pagans and Christians had a ball together. Everywhere people laughed and talked. There was no rude behaviour, no overstepping any lines, everyone was as polite that I asked myself several times if I was dreaming.
At midnight, the wedding tart was butchered, sweet and fat and washed down with good, strong Java, it was an experience to behold, although I got the information the décor roses were a bit hard on the teeth and tasted like plaster*ggg* (do not ask why she knows how plaster tastes, don´t you dare!*ggg*)
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I daresay this was a wedding out of love reasons, not for financial or fiscal benefits...:-)
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We cleaned up after the party and drove home with the bride and groom. On our way home we met three fox cubs and a hedgehog looking at us.
Now what might that mean?:-)
Anyway, it was a great experience, and I met the greatest people ever:-), had quite a ball, and, with the love of my life by my side, there was peace and simple happiness and simple goodness filling my heart. I have posted this to give you all out there a bit of hope. Maybe some of you are lonesome and do not know if there are others like you around. Others are doubtful where they might be headed. Some are full of fear, and most of us are lost in the treadmill we like to call the ratrace.
But there are occasions where we have to rest, and life is, for the most part, a good one. I have no answers to give, but those of you who read my blog a bit longer, might know that my life has not been always bright. I fear, I was uncertain, I was depressed and paranoid.
But it is not all that important. Many people fear they could not afford to marry. Those two were brave enough to do it. They could not afford to spend much money, and it might have been costly enough as is. But they did it, with a legion of friends that love them (I do). They decided against fear and for the prospect of a life together.
For that, I hold them in high esteem. For they love, and do not care a damn what life may bring. And I daresay they will brave it.
Jakub, Annika, and all the others: I sincerely want to thank you for that beautiful day. If ever you are in doubt, light the candle and look at the ring.
There are many more things that I´d like to say. Just trust that life´s not at all like society wants to make it, that has to suffice for now. Do it yourself, and be brave enough to live and love and dance and fight and laugh and cry. Be ready to die, and you´ll be ready to live.
Airwalk out;-).
