The Spring Equinox
In the spring, life bursts forth and the world is renewed. At the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox, days and nights are in balance, and the Kindred of the Circle celebrate their members who best balance Humanity and the Beast.
The female version of this figure is The Maiden, pure and innocent, a creature of unsullied potential. The male is The Fool, whose innocence takes on a somewhat different cast. While The Maiden is unblemished by experience, The Fool is someone who prefers his own counsel to the lessons of experience. Both are ignorant, but those who have yet to experience the full depths of the Kindred curse are often envied their ignorance.
The female version of this figure is The Maiden, pure and innocent, a creature of unsullied potential. The male is The Fool, whose innocence takes on a somewhat different cast. While The Maiden is unblemished by experience, The Fool is someone who prefers his own counsel to the lessons of experience. Both are ignorant, but those who have yet to experience the full depths of the Kindred curse are often envied their ignorance.
Execution
On the Equinox, then, Acolytes attempt to reconnect to their lost Humanity. This is overtly the focus of the Equinox ceremony, which is held in a garden or a meadow or some other green place open to the sky. White drape is traditional, along with white flowers, and tall mirrors are often arrayed in a circle facing inward.
Kindred often shy away from reflections, but at this ceremony, all in attendance are expected to maintain their images, and to present their most lifelike appearance as well. (Those visibly disfigured often wear hoods or masks.) Mortal members of the Circle are included in the crowd, and the Spring Equinox is one of the rare ceremonies in hich they are treated as equal to the Kindred.
Once the congregants are assembled, the oldest Maiden in the domain begins an invocation to the gods and goddesses of beauty and purity, whichever are honored in that place. A sacrifice of white roses and lilies is burned while praise-songs resound, and a flawless white heifer is ritually sanctified. Although never overtly stated, the songs and presentation are all calculated to remind those in attendance of their lost Humanity. After the ceremony ends, the cow is led away for the delectation of the elders.
Kindred often shy away from reflections, but at this ceremony, all in attendance are expected to maintain their images, and to present their most lifelike appearance as well. (Those visibly disfigured often wear hoods or masks.) Mortal members of the Circle are included in the crowd, and the Spring Equinox is one of the rare ceremonies in hich they are treated as equal to the Kindred.
Once the congregants are assembled, the oldest Maiden in the domain begins an invocation to the gods and goddesses of beauty and purity, whichever are honored in that place. A sacrifice of white roses and lilies is burned while praise-songs resound, and a flawless white heifer is ritually sanctified. Although never overtly stated, the songs and presentation are all calculated to remind those in attendance of their lost Humanity. After the ceremony ends, the cow is led away for the delectation of the elders.
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