It gives me great magical honour to invite you to this 3rd annual ceremony in London, by the river Thames. Originally it was held at the start of the Spring time in Ancient Egypt, to gain the blessings of Goddess Isis upon the ships and boats (Fleet) – so that they may go forth, find commerce, resources and wealth and bring them back. You will have heard the saying, `waiting for my ship to come in’ – a saying that indicates a person waiting for his /her good fortunes to arrive. Well, in order for ships to come in they must first be sent out – and with blessings and good plans. We are adapting the old ceremony to suit the times and place we now live it! In this ceremony, we will bless the `fleet’ and place our hopes and wishes of good fortune and success in the ventures we are starting as Spring approaches. We then set the ships to sail (some will be sent.. other larger models will be pulled back, so as not to litter river Thames).
Date: Sunday 1st March 2015
Time: 1.30pm onwards (allow 4+ hrs)
Location: Riverside area, Richmond Upon Thames, London
Meeting point: Meet us at Richmond Train Station between 1.15pm – 1.30pm. We’ll get walking (takes 15-20mins) to the ritual spot by the riverside.
Code of conduct:
While there is a social element to these gatherings, many of us do take these magical rituals seriously. We ask that you observe the `atmosphere’ and be mindful of when to be sociable and when to be serious (usually when the ritual starts!). Organisers do use humour to lighten the mood at times (and to make newcomers feel at ease).
We ask all to be in good public behaviour, as we will be in a public place.
Fee: A donation of £2 is welcome towards our costs and continued running of these rituals and our meetup group.
Ritual outline :
A statue of the Goddess will be carried to the water side. Women may offer mirrors so that Goddess Isis may see her beauty. We will pour milk on the banks then sprinkle the statue with precious perfumes & flowers. As the final part of the ritual, a small replica boat(s) will be filled with spices and other magical items, and sent (out to sea) as an offering to the Goddess Isis.
Bring your own small boats!
Be it paper boats or small scale models – to either sail them on the river Thames afterwards, or to symbolically place them on our altar during ritual, to gain the blessings of Isis for your own ventures ahead in 2015.
Practical details
Meet us at Richmond Train station (just by coffee shop inside the main foyer!). Meeting 1.30pm.. We’ll walk together to the ritual spot by the river..for ceremony & feasting. We expect to be back by station at 4.30pm-5pm.. and visit a cafe or pub to socialise (in warmth).
**Please wear absolutely sensible shoes, warm & water poof cloths** .. Our rituals go ahead whatever the weather.. and how ever many or few people attend. We do them for serious magical purpose! So no need to double check ..if its snowing or blowing storms! Just turn up and take a chance.. Magic is supposed to be wild and tied with nature!!
All are Welcome to attend these . Do contact us and contribute with your creativity, knowledge & magic for these new explorations..
Gathering Format:
Our Gatherings normally take the following form
a) Meeting at the Richmond Station, at appointed place, and then walking together to the selected Ritual area.
b) Pre-Ritual Social & setting up altar / getting into ritual cloths and explanation of ritual (delegating some ritual roles to people who are interested).
c) Ritual
d) Feasting & Social
e) Taking down altar, packing & tidy-up, and departures (Individuals make their own way back).
*Some people leave as soon as Ritual is complete. Others stay longer to enjoy socials & bonding with our friends.
Please bring Food & drinks to share. It can be a bottle of wine, soft drinks, hot drinks (in a flask), short eats, snacks, bread, butter, cheese, humus, cakes, salads, pasta and so on.
Privacy/Photos :
As it is a public place, passers-by may take photos or watch from a distant. That is unavoidable. If you do not wish to be identified, you may bring a ritual mask and wear it. Members of our ritual group may also take photos. But we ask that no photos are taken during the setting up of altar or ritual itself. There will be plenty of opportunities after the ritual.. to pose with the altar and others. Thank you 🙂
Students/ Researchers / Journalists: You are welcome to `genuinely participate’ in the ritual (no note taking or filming!!) . But please understand these are real magical ritual explorations – for the organisers, ritual group, and for participants attending these. Being observed, probed with questions, photographed or analysed can completely destroy their magical experiences and spiritual purpose of these events.
**A quick self-check is not to do anything you won’t do in a Church, Hindu temple or Islamic Mosque. These pagan rituals are similarly important to the pagans doing them..!! **
Bright Blessings
Mani Navasothy
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