	PHOTO GALLERY: Asheville's 13th Annual Free Public Witch Ritual Samhain (Halloween) Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007 Unity Center near Asheville, NC
"Triskaidekaphilia": Love of the number 13	Flyer describing the rite Playlist of the rite's ethereal music	Coven-carved skull Jack o' lantern

Spirits caught on camera?? To see larger images of these ghostly orbs, read on.

1. Preparing for the Rite

Erecting the Winter Palace columns

Coven Oldenwilde designed and erected 13 columns that formed the walls of the Unseely Court's Winter Palace. The columns evoked the banners of a troop of fairies, or the sails of fairy boats.

We made the masts of 8-foot-long 2 X 4s atop 2-foot square plywood bases weighted with paving stones; the yardarms, of river cane cut on-site, which we secured atop each mast to a 2-foot transverse 2 X 2 with twine strung through 3 wood staples. The sails were sheer white, gathered drapes tied to the base with fishing line.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Rowan Greenleaf, Black Magical Cat, and Lady Passion

Winter Palace taking shape

LEFT TO RIGHT: Lady Passion, Pomoona and Black Magical Cat

Ghostly Palace Walls

Raucous Auction Table

MOVIE

*Diuvei caught Coven members and volunteers on video
finishing the décor and snapping the glowsticks just before
the rite, as a wild Celtic dance played in the background.

Duration: 02'27"

Download in .AVI format (higher quality, slower download -- 34 MB)
Download in .MP4 format (lower quality, faster download -- 15 MB)

Fairy Queen's Palanquin before decorating

Coven Oldenwilde designed this palanquin (a.k.a. litter, sedan chair) to bear our wee Fairy Queen on the shoulders of six stout men.
It proved to be a strong, lightweight, easy-to-carry framework.
Duly decorated, such a palanquin could be used at any gathering to transport moblity-impaired folks over uneven ground.

Its frame was a 10-foot aluminum ladder padded with pipe insulation that was secured with silver duct tape. A folding lawn-chair was attached to the two middle rungs of the ladder with cable ties (using the longest. thickest variety of tie available).

Fairy Queen's Palanquin after decorating

The palanquin was decorated with white sheer drapes, gauze, lace, tinsel, silver sequin belt, and the Fairy Queen’s besom (magical broom).

Our Fairy Queen seated in Palanquin

>>> Next page: The Rite, and the Raucous Auction >>>

Return to Asheville's Public Samhain Rituals (pix and details of our past 12 Samhains).

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Latest update: 21 Nov. 2007