Merry All Hallows Eve to one and all! Thanks to all 60+ who attended this years' Samhain Celebration we had one of our most successful events financially! A grand time was had. Many thanks go to Brita, Lucera, Nova, Macha and their many merry helpers for bringing together fantastic rituals.

We would like to thank those of you who made r.s.v.p's. We had 46 folks let us know to expect them (this is a first for us in the 10 years we've lived at Annwfn!). Of these folks only 4 people sent in their pre-registration money. This made preparing for the feast and other details pretty difficult, and as a result folks missed out on the main “Beast” part of the feast. Please try send in your Pre-Reg. donation in advance in the future.

The kid pack was awesome! We appreciate everybody who brought their families. The children made a procession to visit Gwydion and all the other friends and familiars in the 'bone yard.' It was a beautiful sight!

Please stay in touch with your Sanctuary. We look forward to your return!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

BLESSED BE!
Tamar & Crispin

And Royce added:

Rosie, Alia and myself arrived Friday at about 6, and were amazed at how many folks were already there, and more and more kept coming! The unofficial last count I heard was close to 60 happy hairy hungry pagans in the woods.

We were led in a beautiful Dumb Supper by Macha that evening, and generally welcomed those from beyond the veil whom we had invited to our celebration.

Saturday dawned crisp and blue, and throughout I could hear exclamations of joy at the lovely weather Annwfn greeted us with. All the ghouls and goblins came out to play in their fright, and as the time drew near, Lucera and Nova led a huge cast in an elaborate and beautiful ritual. Stories were told, love reaffirmed, magic happened.

Here's a link to some few pictures...

http://juggledude.smugmug.com/gallery/2070341

BB
Royce

And finally, some cautionary words from Willowoak, as typed up by Royce (Thanks!):

To: Happy but Oblivious Campers
From: Willowoak
re: Temple Uses & Abuses
Date: Samhain Season

Gentle reader,

I neither know nor care who you are, or why you may have made the mistake, but I noticed that at Beltane and Samhain, people camped in the temple, and treated it as if it were a hotel room.

It is not, and maid service is not provided. Therefore, when you go blithely off for the day, leaving beds, bedding & personal gear strewn about, it is not possible for anyone else to use it for it's proper function as a temple.

Last Beltane, I wanted to put something on the altar of my friend, Gwydion. However, because belongings weren't stowed, and beds were not remade into seats, I could not even get near his altar, and I left, annoyed, unhappy, disappointed and seriously irritated at such thoughtlessness.

In the interest of avoiding such a morass of Ill-will, I simply didn't go near the temple, but I heard from the caretakers that campers left a mess when they went home.

That is perfectly alright at Pantheacon, if you leave a good tip for the maid. However, it is not remotely appropriate in common space, such as the Goat Lodge, the Mushroom, the Faerie Circle, etc.

Because it seems to have escaped your notice, please be advised that the upstairs of the Mushroom is as much of a permanent circle as the Faerie or the Moon Circle, if not more so.

If you plan to camp in the mushroom at the coming Beltane, please be advised that, while I want you to have a lovely time, I well may become fairly unpleasant if you romp all over temple protocols and generally behave like a rude and obstreperous child in this!

Thank you for considering this matter; Blessed be those who are considerate.

Willowoak Istarwood