Necessary Work

Animating the Spirit of Democracy
With a Ritual of Unity and Blessing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6 JANUARY 2009
CONTACT: CAROLINE KENNER
301-384-8455
301-412-1760

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, 6 JANUARY 2009
The Washington, D.C. community of magical and spiritual progressives
will join together on Monday afternoon, January 19th, at the Jefferson
Memorial Plaza, to sweep the town clean and welcome President-elect
Obama and his administration to the White House.

The Ritual of Unity and Blessing is organized by a triumvirate of
native Washingtonians, one of whom is the great-granddaughter of
slaves, one the great-granddaughter of slave owners, and one the
daughter of a populist New Deal Congressman. The ceremony will begin
promptly at 2pm with a Witches' Broom Dance, intended to cleanse
Washington of the malfeasance, deceit and partisanship of the last
eight years.

Washington Witchdoctor Caroline Kenner, a Pagan shamanic healer and
organizer for the Sacred Space Foundation, says, "Many of us are
worried by the ruinous course our country has taken for the last eight
years, and we are also concerned for the safety of the Obama and Biden
families. This ceremony gives us a chance to request help from our
loving ancestors and our multitude of deities, and to bless and
protect the incoming administration. We will begin the work by
magically sweeping away the detritus of the worst administration in
American history with our consecrated Witches' Brooms."

Wiccan Priestess Katrina Messenger, founder of Connect DC and the
Reflections Mystery School, and faculty member at Cherry Hill
Seminary, says, "We have an opportunity not only to sweep away the
old, we also need to bless this beautiful city in preparation for what
is to come. With all that is churning around the world in recent
times, we need clear leadership and compassionate hearts at the helm
of this great nation. Washington is such a jewel in the larger fabric
of peace, freedom, beauty and justice, let us charge this historic
incoming administration with all the good juice we can conjure!"

Caroline W. Casey, founder of Coyote Network News (the Compassionate
Trickster Mythological News Service) as well as the host-creator of
Pacifica Radio Network's, "The Visionary Activist Show," says, "The
word "inauguration" comes from the word "augur", the pattern-tracker,
the diviner within us all. The augur would walk out into nature to
divine the patterns indicating which human was deemed the most
responsible steward of the Common Wealth, the well-being of all our
relations. And that chosen person would be "inaugurated" as the ruler
who weds the land. We invite you to contribute your medicine blessing
to our collective brew, and toast our new President, with whom we vow
to collaborate: Barack Hussein Obama!"

A large quartz crystal resembling the Washington Monument will be
charged with the blessings of unity and protection during the ritual.
At the culmination of the ceremony, the crystal will be sacrificed
into the Tidal Basin, whence it will broadcast the energies of the
ritual to the Potomac River and the world at large. A Drum Circle
will follow, lasting until 4:45pm. People from all religious faiths
and spiritual traditions, or none, are welcome to join us.

A detailed description of the ceremony, including instructions for
parking and what to bring, can be found at
www.paganreligiousrights.org starting January 6th.

~Photo found here.