Pre-Inaugural Ritual of Unity and Blessing in DC

UPDATE Jan. 11: If you're planning to attend, please also read this.

The following is from a press release from Caroline Kenner:

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5 JANUARY---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 slave owners, and one the daughter of a populist New Deal Congressman. The ceremony will begin promptly at 2 pm 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," said, "The word "inauguration" comes from the "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 paganreligiousrights.org starting January 9th.