Isidias Navigatum- Goddess Isis Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony 2017 (Richmond)

This annual ceremony 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).

Fee:   suggested Donation £3 towards our costs and continued running of these rituals. (thank you).

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 placed in the river as an offering to the Goddess Isis. Smaller paper boats may also be placed in the river and let go off..

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 2017.

Practical  details / meeting point (edited on 28Feb17)

• new meeting point / time: Hollyhock Cafe, Terrace Gardens, Petersham Road, TW10 6UX. Meet there by 1.30pm
• ( You can get to Richmond station by 1pm and you must walk/ take a bus to Terrace Gardens). We will cross the road to the riverside for ceremony.
  Exact spot for ceremony may vary/change depending on how busy the riverside is . So please meet at the Cafe and we can all walk to the riverside.
• Altar set up by 2pm. Ceremony will soon after that.. At the end of the ceremony our `ships’ will be set sail followed by Feasting. We expect to be back at station by 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 :
We ask that no photos are taken during the setting up of altar or ritual itself.  Thank you 🙂

Bright Blessings

Mani Navasothy

Link to meetup event for this ceremony

https://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Outdoor-Pagans/events/236521888/