A RITUAL TO CELEBRATE FRIENDSHIP

[kyst]

RITUAL TO CELEBRATE FRIENDSHIP

Announcement: I have the best friends.

Time and again things happen that remind me of that fact. And sometimes I’m not  as good a friend to them as they are to me. I forget birthday dates, or postpone replying to letters. Too often, I only offer them my sour temper and use them to complain to.

And yet they remain great friends. Those online and those irl. Those I’ve shared the school table with and those I never met in person.

So today, when something happened that reminded me yet again of how great my true friends are, I decided to honour them with a little practical ritual of my own devising. I made it to strengthen the existing bond, and to remind me that I’m supposed to work on it.

The ritual had two parts, the more magical-symbolic one and the very practical one.

Part 1 - Enchanting

I’ve enchanted a reel of linen string to use in the second part of the ritual. To do that, I took:

• the reel of string (tying together)
• two white candles (for goodness, purity,spiritual strength, being together)
• a rosemary plant (remembrance and growth)
• a vial of forget-me-not flowers (their name in my native language carries the same connotation)
• letters and postcards from my friends, as well as other things I was given by them or borrowed from them (the small basked in the picture is one of those, I recommend using a larger receptacle even if you don’t have one related to friends per se, because it has that “being together” vibe)
• white cloth.

The letters are placed on the table, flat, and covered with the cloth (to be safe). The basket is in the center and the plant and candles close beside it. 
Light up the candles, put the object associated with friends into a small pouch, and pass it around the two flames. Then put the pouch into the basket, and add the flowers (in the vial, or loose). Pass the reel of string through the heat of the flames (not flames themselves! it’s flammable) while speaking the names of your friends (I also spoke a personal vow I devised for the ritual). Add the string to the basket, and water the rosemary plant, as a symbol of nourishing the bond of friendship. I sprinkled some water on the string, too.

Part 2 - Weaving

The practical part of this ritual is using the string to weave something lasting out of it - tie knots that will stay tied. It can be a bracelet you will wear (or give your friend to wear… or two, for both!) or it can be something to serve you around the house. In my case, I used the string to weave a handle wrap for the wicker basket that I use to take out shopping, but there’s no limit to what you can do - tie creeping plants to poles, hang pictures… it’s string. There’s always use for string.

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