Name: Ritual Writing Part 1
Start: 2024-02-25 17:30
End: 2024-02-25 20:00

Dark Moon: CANCELLED

The Dark Moon group is cancelled for May.

I apologize an look forward to seeing you all again in June.

-Chel

Mexican History in Colorado

It’s Cinco de Mayo! Come and learn about the influence of the Mexican people on the State of Colorado from Jordan.

The study of Paganism is not just the study of Religion, but also of history and cultures. Cultures are the context that religions exist within, and so are essential to the understanding of various faiths. There is also a movement in Neo-Paganism to look locally to the spirits and Gods of the places in which we live, instead of looking to our blood ancestors in Europe and their Gods.
This week we are using Cinco de Mayo as a reason to look at one of the often overlooked cultures that contributed to making Colorado what it is today, and molding the energy in the land beneath us.

Council Open Hours*

From 7pm to 9pm Council will be in the Hall, hanging out, waiting to see whoever stops by. Have some questions? Need some face time? Never been here and you want to check out the space on an informal, less busy night? Open Hours is the place to be. Council wanted to find a time where we could be available for this casual time with whoever needs it so usually, on the first Friday of the month, the three of us are in the Hall waiting for YOU to stop by. There is nothing planned, no program or speaker, no ritual. You can stay for five minutes or stay the full two hours, whatever you need.

Please park on Swallow at 901 E Swallow and make your way around to the far side of the garage. Enter through the yellow door. We look forward to seeing you and to meeting new people!

BELTANE!!!!

Please plan to arrive at the Hall/Sanctuary around NOON 12:00pm. The Beltane Ritual will begin around 12:30pm on Sunday April 28th. We are starting early because a traditional Covenant of the River Beltane Ritual includes many things, including breaks between the sections and including the “will we ever get the ring on the pole” time! Plan to walk through the Bel Fires with the community and to Bless the Plow with blessings upon the land and for the beings of the land including the Fae! The pole will be erected, the ring eventually set up on the top after much fun tossing it and the OVER UNDER winding of the ribbons will make us all smile and laugh and remember how great it is to celebrate spring with so many like minded people.

A potluck is planned for around 4:00 put the timing of Beltane is always Fae Standard Time, so we get there when we do. Please bring something to share if you can but still, plan to eat even if you can’t bring something.

This event is open to all ages and to the general public. If you are curious about Covenant of the River or what a Maypole is like we welcome you to celebrate with us.

Ritual garb encouraged but not required, just something that makes the time seem more sacred to YOU! Clothing, cloak, jewelry, staff, athame, head wreath, bells, face paint, etc.

Lunar Beltane: Full Moon

Also known as the “Ruminant Beltane” this celebration will involve a more contemplative and quiet reflection on the the Sabbat. But Beltane energy mixed with the energy of a Full Moon maybe bring ideas we haven’t thought of yet. This event is open to anyone and we don’t limit by age. If you or your younger person can focus and respect the quiet nature of the evening, they are welcome to attend. Join Jean at 7:00 for gathering time and activities will begin around 7:30. Come to the Hall at 901 E Swallow. Park on Swallow and head around to the far side of the garage. We may be outside in the Sanctuary depending on the weather.

Making Head Wreaths and Park Cleanup **

Before the potluck and craft at the Hall, we will be meeting at Landings Park on Boardwalk near Harmony. This has been our adopted park for well over a decade and there is a sign there to prove it! We pick up trash there once a month and enjoy the walking and the talking while we do it. Meet at the shelter house at 3:30. (This will be our last “winter” Park Cleanup before we start spending the entire gathering time there) It takes less than an hour and there is a break in between the picking up and going to the Hall so you can go back to get the food, if you want to bring any,

After the cleanup, we will have a potluck dinner at 5:30 as usual. Please bring something to share – or not! But either way, plan to eat with us, there’s plenty. After the announcements and the yahoos and prayer requests, Chel will be leading a craft in making head garlands. If you’ve known Chel for very long you can tell with there’s a ritual coming because she always has a head wreath to wear. Beltane is coming and it’s a great time to wear flowers and call the fae and generally be festive. So come tonight and make one for yourself or your friend or your child or your mother for Mother’s Day or Scandinavian Midsummer!

ALL supplies will be provided at no cost to you. If you have something special you want to add into your wreath you are welcome to bring it. These are “long lasting” wreaths made from artificial flowers and plants meant to last for more than one ritual

Fireside with Jean***

This event is open to anyone and will take place in the Sanctuary (hopefully) which is the outdoor space at River Hall. If the weather is unfriendly for humans we will still meet in the hall with candles and such but we will not be able to burn things

Jean will be holding space for folks to discuss life and faith, to work on rituals or to be supported in releasing things/people/behaviors that no longer serve you.

Fireside is a mostly casual gathering in the Sanctuary where we hold space for each other, enjoy respite around the sacred fire and reconnect with other Pagans and Pagan-friendly folx.
If you choose to burn something in the fire make sure it fits in a standard backyard fire pit, and is legal, safe, yours to burn.
This a great no pressure gathering for new folx. Come as you are, when you are able and leave when you need to.

Tonight we plan to gather beginning at 5:00 pm and plan to hold space until around 8pm. Please park on Swallow and follow the sidewalk around to the far side of the garage. We might be in the Hall, beyond the yellow door but most likely we will be in the Sanctuary. Enter through the gate then follow the dirt and mulch path around the house and through the archway entry of the Sanctuary.

Sanctuary and Hall Care Day

The fae are calling! It’s time to get the sanctuary cleaned up before Beltane!

Arrive at 2:00 to help with all kinds of projects. Inside the hall and all kinds of things in the sanctuary. Stay as long as you can, come late if you need to. We will stop working around 5:30 and have our usual potluck. Please bring cold dishes that we can keep in the Hall for hours. Council will provide All Beef Hotdogs and a veggie meat alternative.

Unlike usual Sundays, when the potluck is ended, the evening is ended.

Intro to Shadow Work**

Jean is going to take on this challenging topic that many of you have an expressed an interest in learning more about.

We will begin with our usual potluck dinner at 5:30pm. Please bring something if you are able and come to eat with us even if you can’t bring anything. The evening will begin around 6pm after announcements, yahoos and prayer requests.

Dark Moon Group: Hera

Hera, child of Kronos and wife/sister of Zeus – she is a strong goddess with a lot of darkness of her own to face. Do you struggle with resentments? Frustrations? Relationship problems? Have you learned to stand with grace and strength without losing control as the world around you spins out events that would make anyone scream in rage? And she finds her little ways to have revenge – just ask Hercules. And she’s got those hidden cameras everywhere (peacock feather eyes). I like her because for a goddess she’s so very human. Being strong and resilent, appearing stoic but then she loses it with goddess quality revenge. And in spite of all that, she holds it together and is considered the Queen of Heaven in Greek Mythology because she is the wife of Zeus

The Dark Moon Group is going to try another Saturday get together. We will gather at the Hall at the usual 7pm time for conversation and lighting the cauldron of candles.

The Dark Moon group is usually small with a variety of people coming when it works for them but often only 5 or so people on a given month. If you have never been to a Dark Moon Group, you are very welcome, even if it is your first Covenant activity. It’s dark with low lighting and usually quiet.

Around 7:30 we will talk about Hera (who goes by Juno in Rome) and then have a ritual to honor her. If you have thoughts or questions, feel free to bring them.

< 2024 >

February

02
Council Open Hours
7:00 pm-9:00 pm
02/02/2024
Hi Friends and future friends!
Sometimes it’s hard to get out and go somewhere. Sometimes it’s hard to think about being with other people, especially if you haven’t met them. The best thing about Council Open Hours is that it is like a comfy pillow or your favorite PJs. We are just hanging out hoping you will come see us and to see anyone else who comes. There aren’t usually very many people with us and it’s totally casual – there’s nothing we have planned, nothing to accomplish. Bring something to talk about or just come to sit quietly and see what it’s like.
Maybe you haven’t been to anything in awhile and you feel a little outside and want to connect again. Or you just keep saying “I’m going to go to Covenant of the River “some day”.” Well, now is a great time!
Council is here! First Fridays we set aside time to meet with people and talk to people. Casually, just hanging out. We usually all sit together but if you are in need of a private conversation, that can be arranged.
This is why we are here. We are here for you. You will not be bothering us or interrupting us because we are here for you to talk to or hang out with. Stop by the Hall between 7pm and 9pm. See you soon!
04
Imbolg Sabbat
5:30 pm-8:00 pm
02/04/2024
The first hint of Spring. Brigid’s fire. – that’s what you might imagine. But Council is planning to pay homage to the Japanese February holiday of Setsubun. It is the first day of spring and celebrates the end of winter and the beginning of spring
From japansociety.org: The festival of Setsubun—when people throw soybeans at demons—follows closely on the heels of New Year’s. The word setsubun means “changing of the seasons.” Because of the importance of the New Year in the Japanese calendar, the setsubun directly before the start of spring was by far the most important in Japan. When seasons change, people are at their most vulnerable to influenza, colds, or other ailments. The rituals for the festival of Setsubun are meant to purge ones house and surroundings of all bad things and to keep disease and misfortune at bay.
Jordan has offered to play the part of the demon we get to throw beans at during the ritual! Whatever this first Sabbat of the returning light means to you, we hope that you will join us for this unique celebration.
The potluck will be AFTER the ritual. Please arrive around 5:30pm, the ritual will begin around 5:45pm. The feasting will be after the ritual. The ritual will include an outside part and then return to the Hall so dressing in layers is advised. Ritual garb is encouraged but not required. Culturally reflecting items are also appropriate.
The potluck will be AFTER the ritual. Bring something to share or simply come and share what we have. You are not required to bring anything to join us and eat with us.
Please park on Swallow and follow the sidewalk around to the far side of the garage to find the Hall.
08
Dark Moon: Ghyldeptis
7:00 pm-8:30 pm
02/08/2024
1. The Dark Moon group meets at 7:00pm in the Hall to talk and light the candles in the Cauldron of Candles (this is casual and fun, not a formal ritual). Around 7:30 the evening begins with information about the topic and then a short ritual. Come when you can, you don’t have to be on time and leave early if that works for you.
This month we will be meeting Gyhldeptis, a Native American Goddess from the NW Coast of the US, from the Haida and Tligit tribes. She is not herself a Dark Goddess, but what she asks of you will still be difficult and the path might be dark. Her wish is that you whole yourself. This might mean shadow work. This might be confronting all of the parts of yourself that you have tried to discard rather than having to face them. To pull yourself together, as it were. To synthesize the parts you don’t like with those that you do so that you will become light and dark together and see the value in both.
Dark Moon Group is a small group that gathers once a month to talk, light candles, and peer into the darker parts of mythology and ourselves and face the challenge. It is open to anyone. You do not need to have attended a Covenant event before. It’s very casual. You also don’t need to believe in any goddess or the monthly topic. Using mythology, even as just stories, can be an important part of a spiritual practice or just for the sake of learning.

More on Gyhldeptis from Bluethunderhealing.com
Known to the Tlingit and Haida peoples of Alaska and Canada. There was chaos in nature and she created a feast in her water domain to ask the wind, fire, earth, water and air to be kindred to the land the the humans in it. They agreed and chaos transformed with their assistance. Her name means long hanging hair and is a Native American Goddess. She asks that we gather our own pieces of self left in areas back into healing. The pieces that were left behind when you felt abandoned, unloved or unsupported or upset and allow these pieces to assemble back to its rightful place of honor in your body.
09
Ruminant Observance of Imbolc
7:00 pm-9:00 pm
02/09/2024
This will be a more quiet (ruminant*) observance of Imbolg with Jean. Please dress to be outside. The ritual will begin inside and then move outside. Arrive at 7pm, activities begin at 7:30. The ritual is expected to be quiet and personal allowing space for the invocation of personal gods and the possibility of doing shadow work. It is the time when the earth is stretching and awakening, such quiet contemplation can help you wake yourself to the coming year. Comtemplative language appropriate for serious participants in expected.
Bring snacks if you like. Fire will play a role in the activities.
Welcome to the *Ruminant ritual explanation. In the past we have called these celebrations “adult” to indicate the contemplative quiet nature of the ritual that might not be appropriate for children or anyone who can not adapt to the quiet atmosphere. It never meant we engaged in activities intended only for 18+. To that end, Jean has developed the new term “Ruminant” to describe these follow up rituals held in the days following the Sunday, family friendly rituals.
The dictionary defines Ruminant as: “a contemplative person; a person given to meditation.
Not meant to indicate Imbolg but rather the ideas of what a Ruminant activity could be like.
11
Craft and NO Park Cleanup**
3:30 pm-8:30 pm
02/11/2024
This Sunday Jean will be leading us in a rock painting caft at the Hall after the 5:30 potluck
Park Cleanup is cancelled
Before we get together for the craft, it’s park cleanup time over at Landings Park. This has been our adopted park to take care of for well over 10 years and it feels good to be with friends while you give back to the community and the environment. We meet at Landings Park, off Boardwalk north of Harmony at 3:30. We provide work gloves and a trash bag
The evening’s event at the Hall (901 E Swallow) begins at 5:30 with the potluck. Bring something if you can. The activities begin at 6pm. Please park on Swallow, not the culdesac, and look for the yellow door on the far side of the garage.
13
Council Meeting
7:00 pm-9:00 pm
02/13/2024
Ideas, please! Each month the Council, (Jean, Jordan and Chel), get together to schedule Covenant of the River events, write rituals, outline presentations and discuss general community business.
This is when we find out all the exciting new ideas that folks in the community have for us about things to do and rituals they want to share! This community is not Council driven. We are here to facilitate the things others in the community have ideas about, want to do, or want to help with. You don’t have to volunteer to lead your idea, just share your idea. SO – Email council before 7pm tonight so we can see what you have! If you missed it, we will be doing this again next month so go ahead and send it and we will save it for then.
We are still so interested in your ideas! Please submit them even if you don’t want to be responsible for the ritual or craft you are thinking of. Just so you know we are currently scheduling for Spring. We don’t just put your idea on the schedule. We will contact you to discuss your idea and work with you to finalize the idea. This is not an open meeting. The Zoom room will not be open. Please contact us during Office Hours if you need to speak with one of us
18
AfroDiasporic religion - Guest Presenter
5:30 pm-8:30 pm
02/18/2024
The presentation will be on Zoom Link to the Zoom Room
The evening will begin at 5:30pm with our usual potluck. Please bring something if you are able. Plan to eat with us even if you can’t bring something. After the potluck, probably around 6:15 or so, we will begin the evening’s activities.
Tonight Covenant will have a guest presenter, Leni Hester, speaking in the AfroDiasporic religion of Ocha or Lukumi (popularly known as Santeria).
Much like Vodou, the AfroCaribbean paths of religion and magic are subject to a lot of sensationalism, misunderstanding and racism. I would love to come speak, to dispell the myths and to give an overview of the beauties and power of Ifa-derived spirituality, a tradition of over 5000 years, that continues to grow and evolve.
Leni Hester is an Initiate into la Regla de Ocha (popularly known as Lukumi or Santeria) and into la Regla Congo ( aka Palo ). In addition to her decades of training in Wicca (3rd degree Gardnerian) , the Western Mystery tradition and Goddess Spirituality, Leni has been a devotee of the Orisas and has served the Mysteries and the Dead since the early 90s. She has presented on Orisa consciousness at several Pagan gatherings and cons, and her written work has appeared in Sagewoman, Pangaia, Witches and Pagans, and In a Witch’s Eye magazines. Leni serves her Spirits and raises her daughters in Centennial.
24
Fireside and Full Moon
3:00 pm-7:00 pm
02/24/2024
The Full Moon continues to creep closer to the date of Fireside so this month, Jean has decided to combine the two. This will be a regular Fireside event and will incorporate the celebration of the Full Moon in ways that have not yet been decided.
What is Fireside?
This event is open to anyone and will take place in the Sanctuary (hopefully) which is the outdoor space at River Hall. If the weather is unfriendly for humans we will still meet in the hall with candles and such but we will not be able to burn things.
Jean will be holding space for folks to discuss life and faith, to work on rituals or to be supported in releasing things/people/behaviors that no longer serve you.
Tis the season to clean out the corners and prepare ourselves to travel through the winter months. What do you need to release to move forward with grace?
What story of yourself or a relationship do you need to tell one more time for closure?
Fireside is a mostly casual gathering in the Sanctuary where we hold space for each other, enjoy respite around the sacred fire and reconnect with other Pagans and Pagan-friendly folx.
If you choose to burn something in the fire make sure it fits in a standard backyard fire pit, and is legal, safe, yours to burn.
This a great no pressure gathering for new folx. Come as you are, when you are able and leave when you need to.
Tonight we gather at 3:00pm and plan to hold space until around 7pm. Please park on Swallow and follow the sidewalk around to the far side of the garage. We might be in the Hall, beyond the yellow door but most likely we will be in the Sanctuary. Enter through the gate then follow the dirt and mulch path around the house and through the archway entry of the Sanctuary. The times continue to change with the weather and turning of the earth so always check the calendar before heading over.
25
Ritual Writing Part 1
5:30 pm-8:00 pm
02/25/2024
Council gets a lot of questions about “how can I write a ritual”? This is something of interest to people on a personal level or perhaps they have a small gathering they are working with and maybe someone is thinking of leading a Covenant event.
It sounds kind of daunting like maybe there’s a certain way to do it, maybe there are expectations and you don’t know what they are and you fear doing it “wrong”. Good news! Most personal rituals and Covenant of the River rituals don’t follow set rules or even guidelines. Some traditions that follow a set path may have this but at Covenant and certainly on a personal level, it’s about how you feel, what you want to say, what you want to share with the others present, what you are hoping to accomplish.
So back to the original question: How can I write a ritual? We have lots of ideas and years of experience. So come by this Sunday and next Sunday to learn more. If you are experienced and feel you don’t need to “learn” please bring you wisdom to share with the others who are seeking.
Potluck begins at 5:30. Bring food if you can. If you can’t there is always plenty so please join us to share in this special time with each other. The evening begins around 6pm with announcements, yahoos, and prayer requests (help us build community!). Please park on Swallow and follow the sidewalk to the far side of the garage. Push the yellow door and you’re here.
We plan to have this event available on ZOOM for those of you who want to listen or participate remotely. There’s a clickable link on the main page or copy this: http://bit.ly/2LM7ata (it is case sensitive) to get to our Zoom room. We don’t turn it on at 5:30 because no one wants to stream eating dinner but start checking for the feed around 6pm – don’t give up sometimes it starts a little late.