Wednesday was hot, very hot. As people arrived they huddled along the back edge of the house where a two foot patch of shade extended along the length. At 3:12 we decided we would formally begin at half past three, leaving a little more time for others to arrive. As events unfolded we rearranged the order of the ceremony slightly.
While waiting to begin, people wrote notes to Braedwyn on some pieces of bark we had collected from around the yard and these were placed in an iron bowl along with some charcoal doused in peppermint oil. AT 3:30, Nicole and I opened the ceremony by ringing a tibetan bowl 3 times to the East, South, West, and North. We then collected some of his ashes and put them in the bowl. We re-entered from the East and walked around to the North and placed the bowl with his ashes on the altar.
At this point everyone else entered the circle and I smudged them with sage. We joined hands in silence. I began the talking circle and everyone took turns to say something about Braedwyn when they held the talking stick. (There is a picture in the gallery.) The sentiments were all truly touching, heartfelt, and unique although many in attendance had never met Braedwyn.
After everyone had spoken, the group chanted Om 3 times. I then set fire to the messages, and when they had burned down to ashes, I removed the charcoal, crushed the ash down and mixed it with Braedwyn's ashes on the altar. Some small packets were made for his ashes for those who wanted to take them and scatter them elsewhere or keep them as they desired.
On Thursday, most of the plants used in the cermony were planted in Nicole's Dad's backyard. We will be scattering some of his ashes around them later today.
On Saturday, Nicole and I fly to Phoenix and then will drive to the Grand Canyon in search of something. We then fly out of Phoenix to Boston on the 3rd of October. Dave has received confirmation from 40 people or so for Massachusetts, so we are still trying to figure out the logistics for there...