Imbolc & the Wild Revel

The Wild Revel is not just a cultural celebration, it is part of the Great Covenant covenant of the forest magics that shapes the Weald. The clans have an absolute obligation to participate, and clans who fail to do so suffer grave misfortune. Before dawn on the day of high spring (halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice ), Wealding maidens throughout the nation step forward to their priests or shamans and are consecrated as revelers. Revelers must be young women - born women or sworn women - and can not have sired or born a child. Unconsecrated witnesses to the Revel, are sometimes torn to pieces by the maidens in their mystic frenzy. Skalds and consecrated bards of any age or gender can join the revel as dancers and musicians without harm, and many do so. The revel itself lasts until noon. There is always one reveler who becomes the Maenad. She grows a crown of flowers and thorns, controls the members of the revel, and guides the celebration. The revel wakens and renews the spirits of the land, and wherever the revel goes, the primal magics flow strongly through the year. The magic of the revel is fueled by life force of the revelers. Many revelers return aged or tired, although most recover with time. But the Maenad always dies at the end of the revel. Although it may be possible to raise a Maenad back to life with enough healing magic, conventional wisdom says that this would cheapen the sacrifice and break the covenant. Although the largest consecration of revelers is at Easthome, the revel is a single activity where people take part throughout the Weald, with all participants celebrating together. The experience of the revel itself is shrouded and confused in the memories of those who take part or witness, but these things are sure: * It is taboo to speculate who’s hands killed the Maenad. * There is always one reveler chosen by the Magic of the ritual to be maenad, but no one knows who will be the Maenad until the revel begins. Sometimes, more than one die in the revel. Past Maenads are celebrated and venerated, with home villages often creating shrines to their sacrifice.

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