Event Tonight: Autumn Equinox Vigil at Crossbones

Today is the Autumn Equinox, when the day and night are of equal length. If you are in London and want to honour the festival this evening, as well as remember the outcast of the City in a vigil, then do go to Crossbones Graveyard, in Redcross Way, near London Bridge station, tonight at 6.45pm.

This is the 184th consecutive vigil held at Crossbones Graveyard on the 23rd of every month since 23 June 2004.  The aim is always to renew the shrine, remember the outcast, dead and alive, and to reconnect with the spirit of place, the Goose, and her Mysteries.

The vigil consists of simple, secular rituals – lighting the open pathways, tying ribbons and mementos to the gates and making creative offerings, culminating in the unconditional blessing ‘Goose may your Spirit fly free!’

On 23 September , the vigil also marks the Autumn Equinox, a time for rebalancing and for letting go of what we no longer need. It gives space for creative offerings and short personal testimonies by artists and outsiders from all walks of life. People are invited to bring a short poem, song or personal testimony to dedicate to The Goose and her Outcast Dead. Tonight, visiting Indian poet Mamta Sagar will perform a poem in her native Kannada language. Mark Juhan will also perform The Houses of Healing from The Southwark Mysteries.

John Crow was the person who instigated the vigils, and has led them from the start, but this is the third to last vigil to be personally conducted by him, assisted by the magical collective which held the space at the August 23 vigil. John’s final Vigil will be on the 23 November this year, which will be the 23rd anniversary of the night that The Goose initiated John Crow into the Southwark Mysteries and the secret history of Crossbones Graveyard.

The vigils are set to continue after November 23, under the care of the collective. However, if you’d like to see John Crow in action before he’s gone, you have just three more chances.

Here are the details in brief: Monday 23 September; Autumn Equinox Vigil for the Outcast at Crossbones to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Bring a flower, a ribbon, a totem or memento to tie to the shrine. Gather from 6.45pm for a 7pm start in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, London SE1 1TA. For more details, visit  http://crossbones.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/GooseandCrow/

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