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British Druid Order Ritual used in London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony!

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Mani

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Screen shot of closing Paralympic closing ceremony broadcast on 9th sept’12 -(c)Channel 4

Last night while watching the closing ceremony of the Paralympic 2012, many pagans around the UK (and possibly around the world) can not fail to have noticed the obvious `pagan elements’ in it.   Ex-Soldier Rory McKenzie (who had lost one leg due to raodside mine in Iraq) – stood on a stage high above the crowd in the Olympic stadium, wearing a leather jacket, and appearing to be `reading a book by hand’ (brail?)  spoke certain words.. calling to the spirits of Autumn, Winter, spring and Summer…and the energies of Water, Earth, Air & Fire.

“I call upon the Spirit of Summer. The spirit of fire, of energy of passion; spirit of the noonday sun, the heat of summer, vitality and abundance. 
I call upon the spirit of Winter. The spirit of earth, of the womb of creation; of the night and the snows of winter, deep roots and ancient stones. 
I call upon the spirit of Spring. The spirit of air, the breath of life; of sunrise, of new life and new growth. 
I call upon the spirit of Autumn. The spirit of water, of the ebb and flow of emotion; of open seas and running streams, of cleansing rain; spirit of the evening sun, of twilight and of Autumn.”

Rory then went on to talk about the Earth, Ancestors, Circle and more..

“The circle is unbroken,
The ancestors awoken.
May the songs of the Earth
and of her people ring true.
Hail to the Festival of the flame
of root and branch, tooth and claw,
fur and feather, of earth and sea and sky”

It now appears that those words were indeed taken from a special Druid Ritual, with permission – but that the Druid Order was sworn to secrecy by the Organisers of the Closing Ceremony..  so they could not reveal this news to any pagans..

Their blog http://www.druidry.co.uk/2012/09/09/bdo-ritual-in-paralympics-closing-ceremony/ gives full details of this as follows>

“We were sworn to secrecy beforehand, but Emma Restall Orr and I were approached by the organisers of the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony with a surprising request. They wanted our permission to use parts of the gorsedd ritual we wrote in 1997. So, about 20 minutes into the ceremony, these words went out to 750 million people around the world, spoken by Rory Mackenzie on behalf of Help For Heroes..”- (GreyWolf)

 

-Mani Navasothy

One response to “British Druid Order Ritual used in London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony!”

  1. Schumacher College – Where Ecology and Spirituality Meet | The Blog of Baphomet Avatar
    Schumacher College – Where Ecology and Spirituality Meet | The Blog of Baphomet

    […] As you can see from the (incomplete) diagram above, the general history of modern British paganism is deeply indebted to the Romantic movement. The Romantics initiated a reappraisal of all those groups of people considered inimicable to the then dominant (religious) discourse. The Romantics looked to the witches, the druids, the heathens and the magicians, re-imagining these groups in powerful ways; seen by some as standing against (repressive) Christian culture. They (witches, druids et al) were more authentic, more spiritual, more in touch with the land, more magical, more matrifocal etc etc than people are today (‘today’ being the 18th and 19th centuries). Thus the devils of the dominant religion become the heroes of the new.  And this process has a powerful magic in it. Druidry, for instance, is successfully re-imagined by the Romantics and antiquarians into inhabited reality. That is, there are people who start to call themselves ‘Druids’ and claim some form of lineage, spiritual or cultural connection with the Druids that Tacitus writes about. As this re-imagination unfolds polymorphously through time, making all kinds of twists and turns. Druidry becomes both a form of LARPing for Anglican ministers and an identity for protest (at Seahenge and Stonehenge) and for a sporting nation (at the Olympics and Paralympics). […]

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Hello,

I’m Mani

Welcome to my blog QuantumPhoenix.net I am a Wiccan High Priest, Published author of several esoteric books, and a Ritual Facilitator – running London Woodland Witches. I have a Physics background so named this blog with a science (Quantum) & magical (Phoenix) parts .

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