revision of June 22, 2017
Name
English name (public): “The Henge of the Cobbled Path”
Gaelic name (private): “Comhaltas de Clai mar Chosàin Cloch Dhurllinge” – pronounced “Coaltas dee clay mar Chosane Cloth hurlign” – literally “the Fellowship of the Henge made from the path of cobblestones”
Mission
The Henge of the Cobbled Path is a teaching order. Our work with the Henge helps us grow in wisdom and power so we can successfully navigate difficult times, so we can be of greater service to our tradition and to our world, and so we can teach others to do the same.
We do this by forming and maintaining spiritual alliances with various Gods, ancestors, fae, and spirits who choose to ally themselves with us, by participating in their work, and by transformative action in this world and in the Otherworld.
Our mission is to learn and grow so we can nurture those who come to us, whether they’re in the baskets that get dropped off on our doorstep, those who arrive at various points on their journeys, or those who are already here. As part of our teaching obligation, we nurture those who are young, inexperienced, or hurting. We care for our own. But membership in the Henge is not for those who need to be nursed and pampered.
Methods
We are a fellowship of various talents, a Comhaltas to teach, learn, refine, and protect each other and those for whom we are given responsibility. We are forged and refined. We are rooted in the ground – we are a peaceful order, until we must protect that which must be protected: “this far, and no further.”
We are not a drawing room society. We honor and embrace wildness as we are called to it, both individually and collectively.
Words
The Henge has sacred words. Some are ancient stories meaningful to our origins and our mission. Some are our own stories, including the written records of the sacred words that were spoken in our founding rituals. Others will come later. Our list of sacred words includes:
- The written records of our founding rituals
- The story of Pwyll and Arawn in “Pwyll Prince of Dyfed”
- Brewing the Awen, and the Tale of Gwion Bach.
- Barbarous words
- The story of the ritual in the Ring of Brodgar
- The translation of our Gaelic name
- Egyptian papyri: “Those who tend the enduring workshop of the Netjeru.”
These words are sacred but they are not inerrant or infallible, and they may change or be added to over time.
Deities
We have formal alliances with some deities. Each of them has a festival day, when we honor them on our own as members of the Henge of the Cobbled Path. We will each treat all of these deities as our honored and valued allies, even those with whom we do not have an individual relationship.
There are other deities with whom we have an informal relationship. At some point, we may establish formal alliances with them, if they want it and if one or more members make the journey to establish the relationship on behalf of the Henge.
We will each treat all of these deities with courtesy and respect, even those whose purposes and methods may be at odds with our own.
These lists are not fixed. Others may be added, if they want it and if someone makes the journey to establish a formal relationship. This should be considered a major change for the group, not something that automatically happens because one of our members forms a new individual relationship.
Ancestors
We will have formal alliances with some individual ancestors of blood and ancestors of spirit. As with the deities, creating these alliances requires determining if they want it, and one or more members making the journey to establish the relationship on behalf of the Henge.
The Fae, The Land, and The Spirits
We will respect and honor the land where we live, the spirits of the land, and the other beings with whom we share the land. We will do our best to be good neighbors to all, and to work together where we have common cause.
Initiation
All must go through the transformation of the Forge, though it will be a different experience for everyone. This is the price of admission – figure out what you have to do and then do it. Invite as many or as few others to assist as you need and want.
We will establish an initiatory current and develop a method of connecting new members to that current.
All members must swear an oath to preserve and protect the secrets and mysteries of the Henge of the Cobbled Path.