Ghost of a flea

Egad.. I think I would last 5 minutes before I would snap and end up bathed in the blood of the willing participants (and Crom would smile, ever so slightly)..

My mum was recently invited to a womans nighttime drumming group thing on the solstace.. She being a former hippy was expected to accept of course but she declined as she grew up many many years ago.. The artsy pal actually said " we did it a while ago during the full moon, and when the clouds came and covered the moon, we drummed louder and louder until we cleared the clouds away".. mum was not convinced that she should remain close friends with her flakey pal..nor attend..

I am a bit confused as to the idea of a sacred object brought and placed upon the altar and not left as a sacrifice to the spirits. But then I am a simpleton when it comes to such things. I would probably be more suited to the worship of Crom or Hurn than I would to the earth mother. If I weren't an atheist that is.

I'm not sure if you Canadians are allowed swords or not, but I would recommend arriving with at least a proper Dirk. Not very useful primary fighting weapon, it is still useful for close in work. Perhaps a Celtic Leaf Tipped spear would be fitting. You could probably claim it as decoration and a walking stick. Standing around in your trews and leather jerkin, leaning upon the spear in idle conversation would probably present something of a harrowing vision for the frailer of the attendees. And if it broke at least one or two of the more stout but deluded members out of their fog, it would be worth the while.

Thinking further, your food donation should be something suitable as well. Perhaps a side of hog or some such. You could roast it before hand, then when you bring it in, apologize that you couldn't locate wild boar on such short notice in the environs of Toronto, the population being sadly scarce.

If you could find some local Asatru to share the event with you, perhaps you could really make a splash. Though, you and your more martial cohorts would likely not be invited back for a second time.

I have a friend who has built a Chartres-pattern labyrinth in a clearing in the wood behind his house. Now, when I say "built", I mean this thing is a good sixty feet across, anchored by boulders moved in using a backhoe with a dolmen/cromlech in the centre that is big enough to lie down on. Light aircraft from the local flight school often fly over then circle back again as the amateur pilot checks to see that, yes, that was what they thought they saw in the woods below them.

Inevitably, the local women's drumming circle have got their claws into the place. My friend being a more amiable soul than me (in addition to being a master builder) takes it all in his stride. Though if I was told no men would be allowed to attend a drumming event on my property in the labyrinth I built I would take them to buy their own land and build their own.

More inexplicable to me was an event I was grudgingly invited to attend. One of these bints tried to force me to choose a crystal to leave as an offering. Not something I had made/purchased/found for myself, but a ready-made freebie sacrifice for the spirits or whathaveyou. I would rather slit my own wrists and offer my lifeblood. But again I am traditional that way.

You should also seek out Saxon's English Man o' War track from their 2004 Lionheart album. Regrettably no YouTube video exists, but it is a good reminder that sailing about in three-deckers and smashing the crap out of foreign navies is also quite traditional.

There are a few tracks (by Coil, as it happens, but the point holds) that I have been thinking of making videos for myself for the express purpose of posting them to YouTube. I think this sort of thing increasingly will come to be understood as a public service.

I meant to mention that so far as I know swords and spears are fine in Canada provided they are kept on private property. I believe it is still legal to carry a six/eight (?) inch blade in public provided it is not concealed. That said, the only people I know who ever took advantage of this were Mohawk and this was partly in the hope an officer of the law might try to give them a hard time about it.

Hrmm.. I pack a biggish swiss army knife at all times but I DO have at home some Ghurka knives my dad picked up when he was in the Black Watch in Germany.. they are probably too long tip to tip otherwise I'd wear one on my belt.. you know, for peeling apples..

I remember attending functions similar to this during the early 80s. We called them Gun Camps.

As a source of suitable accessories of the sort mentioned by the Flea, I would recommend the folks at http://www.coldsteel.com/

Cheers