Another Saturday in December, another druid mistletoe ritual.
This time it’s in Gloucestershire, in Arlingham, which is that funny shaped peninsula in the lower Severn that shows up clearly on national maps. We use it to pinpoint ourselves in the BBC weather forecasts, as we live immediately east of it.
Today’s event was low-key compared to last week’s ceremony in Tenbury – but that didn’t make it better or worse, just different.
And being different is good – druidry doesn’t, and shouldn’t, work to set rules.
But I’m not going into any details – you have to be there, and describing it doesn’t really work.
What I will mention though is the sheet used to collect the mistletoe, to stop it touching the ground. Last week a hide was used for this (see pictures in yesterday’s blog), but tradition suggests a sheet or a hide.
Today we used a sheet – a fitted sheet – which did prompt a couple of comments along the lines of ‘is a fitted sheet traditional?’. But have a look at the pictures below – a fitted sheet, with a gathered edge, is perfect for the task. It significantly reduces the risk of spillage over the sides. If the druids of old had access to fitted sheets this design is surely what they would have used. Practical and inexpensive. Just because Pliny the Elder didn’t mention this detail doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
[slideshow]
Makes sense to me.