Wednesday 16 March 2011

Burn the Clavie!


“BURN THE CLAVIE!“
“BURN THE CLAVIE!“
old barrel wood and oil and tar
blackness
on fire !
shouting primal chanting men
and we answering
our screams HOYA
“FIRE !”
flames
hissing spitting gripping tearing
“BURN THE CLAVIE!”
swept by the crowd pushed carried
away by the flames
the red fire that
called the pagan woman in me
yelling hissing spitting
a fire being
more tar more oil more
red and orange
then black clouds filling
our skies our earth
We burn the clavie!
Coal smears in our hair
Our bodies still filled
with fire
As we see the ghost leave
And the sky lifts
And later we go home to our clan
with a half burned barrel wood
which will bring us luck
for a full year
Happy new year!

Each year the New Year old pagan fire ritual is held at Burghead in the north-east  of Scotland: The Clavie.