| Welcome To the Circle Of The Rustling Leaves |
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| The circle starts at the heart of an old apple tree and radiates through the hearts of family and friends around the earth. This is the Circle of the Rustling Leaves. Leaves are the creation of the Goddess and the God, combining all the Elements: Earth, Water, and Air provide physical nourishment, and Fire (sunlight) provides the energy necessary for growth. All combine with Spirit, the fifth and most central Element of Life. We hear the Goddess and the God in the rustling of the leaves. The God's solar Fire warms the Goddess's Air, and as the Air moves the leaves, we hear the Spirit of Creation and Life. A solitary leaf barely whispers to us in a breeze. Groups of leaves brush together and give voice to the Elemental Forces; their combined voices are louder than the solitary. The Circle of the Rustling Leaves began as we first joined together at Hampshire Hill in Mercer, Maine, at the approach of Mabon in 1996. Over the past ten years, we have celebrated the Sabbats together at Stroudwater. The Circle has become more defined and has grown, as we have watched with surprise and pleasure our family and friends join us in respect and reverence of the Wheel of the Year and the Circle of Life. We cannot predict how the Goddess and the God may move the Rustling Leaves. Yet while we are here in this Circle and this Season of Life, we will sing our songs together in celebration of the Elemental Forces and the Universal Spirit --- for we are all the Children of the Goddess and the God. Blessed be! (adapted from Beltane ritual, 1997) |