Category: Blog

SHEFFIELD GODDESS TEMPLE

AUTUMN EQUINOX CELEBRATION

SUNDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2PM

PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ ALL THE INFORMATION CAREFULLY

Sheffield Goddess Temple invites you to our Autumn Equinox Celebration to honour the turning of the wheel.

Within ancient woodland we gather to honour the Goddess Ribellisama .She stands at the portal between light and dark, She is the rich abundance and wisdom of all that we have gathered in the light part of the year – and yet her journey is into the darkness .Come join us as we stand at the threshold , offer gratitude for all that she has given us, and consciously begin our descent into the dark part of the year.

Date: Sunday 21st September

Time: Please arrive by 2pm

Meeting Point: Whirlow Playing Fields car park https://maps.app.goo.gl/4DcphiLxgXZRWm1a7…

We will be processing across the field with our Wicker Goddess who is normally resident in Airy Fairy Garden, so please make sure you arrive with plenty of time to begin the procession at 2pm.

There are good public transport links from the city centre to Whirlow. The car park is located down a short track off Limb Lane.

Public transport:

The Ecclesall Road South/Limb Lane bus stop is approximately a 1-minute walk from Limb Lane and 5-10 minutes walk to the meeting spot at the Playing fields car park.

Bus services that stop at or near these locations include:

• Bus 65: Connects Meadowhall Interchange to Tideswell, passing through Ecclesall Road South and stopping at Limb Lane .

• Bus 81: Runs between Stannington and Dore, serving Ecclesall Road South and stopping near Limb Lane .

• Bus 271/272: Operates between Sheffield and Castleton, with stops along Ecclesall Road South, including near Limb Lane .

For detailed schedules and real-time updates, you can visit the Travel South Yorkshire website or use the Moovit app for step-by-step directions.

What to Bring:

Come dressed in Autumn colours but remember that this is an outdoor ceremony .Take a weather check before setting out and make sure that you have appropriate clothing.

The walk across the field is flat, but the woodland terrain is uneven and can be bumpy with tree roots. Please wear sturdy footwear and take care of your own safety and wellbeing.

Please bring a picnic blanket or folding chair for the event.

Bring an offering of food as part of the ceremony .This will be gathered up and taken to a local food bank.

We will be building a natural Mandala so please bring 8 natural items to place in the mandala.

4 items ( all the same)to represent the light part of the year

4 items( all the same) to represent the dark part of the year.

Eg flower heads, leaves,acorns,conkers etc

After the ceremony there is an invitation to stay for community time which will include chanting drumming ,dancing , chilling and eating, so bring your drums and a picnic for yourself.

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Important to Know:

Children are very welcome, but remain the responsibility of their parents or guardians at all times. Please do not leave children unattended, and be mindful that the length of the ceremony may feel long for some little ones. It’s completely okay if you need to step away quietly or leave early.

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Sheffield Goddess Temple is an inclusive space where everyone is welcome.

By attending this event, you accept full responsibility for your own safety. Sheffield Goddess Temple and its volunteers cannot accept liability for any injury, illness or accident that may occur.

We look forward to welcoming you into the heart of the woods, to celebrate the Summer Solstice.

We had a wonderful Lammas Ceremony in the Airy Fairy garden.

One of the highlights was this meditation, written by Irina. She has kindly allowed us to share it with you:

What is this time we find ourselves in?
The time of harvest, hard work, and hardship.
The time of community, giving, and sacrifice.

The Corn King strides around the circle. See him walk powerfully on the land. He is blazing with late afternoon sun. He is full of power. He is larger than any of us, larger than the land, and he is all of our lives – the parts of our lives that have grown over the past year, that were sown in the dark, seemingly lifeless night, and drew strength from the four elements and the spirits of all our ancestors, and sprung up from the Earth at Beltane, and left us reeling, drunk with possibilities – and then turned those possibilities into reality, and rose high to the sky, and blossomed into fruition. This is the Corn King. This is our vitality. This is us, standing here, having sprung up from the earth, against all odds. This is the glory that is our community, and our hard work, and our hope realised.

What is your harvest? What has the Corn King brought into your life?

But as much as we love staring at the horizon across a field of golden wheat, the harvest must be reaped.

This time of our highest joy is also the time of sorrow.
The harvest must be reaped.
All gifts are sacrifices.
The harvest must be reaped.

Though we may fear what that means for us, we are not alone. The Soul of the Late Summer, the Queen of the Dawn of Autumn, our Goddess as Gwenith, knows that the harvest must be reaped.

See Him once again before your eyes, that Golden God, the fullness of all our hopes realised.

And now turn your awareness right behind you. And realise that all this time, She has been here. Enveloping this circle. Rising high to the sky, reaching deep into the earth. This is the Goddess Gwenith. She is the giver of all. She is the beginning of all life and the beginning of all death. All of our harvests have sprung from her, and all of the creatures of this Earth have gone to her to rest and be reborn. She will guide our sickles.

Raise your right hand and feel Gwenith’s sickle in your palm. Feel its weight. Feel the midday heat collected in the handle. With this sickle, we cut our way through into wisdom, into prosperity, into harvest and into sacrifice.

With this sickle, we will cut down the Corn King, and let all of the true and beautiful gifts of his spirit cover the land.

Sickles at the ready! With the blessing of the Goddess, with words of thanks on our lips, we cut. One Two THREE!

The Corn King is Slain!

Sheffield Goddess Temple invites you to our annual Beltane Bonanza – a woodland ceremony to honour the turning of the wheel. Nestled beneath the trees, we gather to celebrate the Goddess as Lover, and to reconnect with nature, the world around us, and each other in community. Come and jump the Beltane fire, dance the Maypole, sing and be merry.

Date: Sunday 4th May Time: Please arrive by 3pm

Meeting Point: Whirlow Playing Fields car park https://maps.app.goo.gl/4DcphiLxgXZRWm1a7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

Please make sure you arrive with plenty of time, as the ceremonial procession across the field will leave promptly at 3pm. There are good public transport links from the city centre to Whirlow. The car park is located down a short track off Limb Lane. Public transport: The Ecclesall Road South/Limb Lane bus stop is approximately a 1-minute walk from Limb Lane and 5-10 minutes walk to the meeting spot at the Playing fields car park. Bus services that stop at or near these locations include: • Bus 65: Connects Meadowhall Interchange to Tideswell, passing through Ecclesall Road South and stopping at Limb Lane . • Bus 81: Runs between Stannington and Dore, serving Ecclesall Road South and stopping near Limb Lane . • Bus 271/272: Operates between Sheffield and Castleton, with stops along Ecclesall Road South, including near Limb Lane . For detailed schedules and real-time updates, you can visit the Travel South Yorkshire website or use the Moovit app for step-by-step directions.

What to Bring: This is an outdoor ceremony, so dress appropriately for the weather. The walk across the field is flat, but the woodland terrain is uneven and can be bumpy with tree roots. Please wear sturdy footwear and take care of your own safety and wellbeing. You may wish to bring a picnic blanket or folding chair to sit on during the ceremony. After our Beltane celebrations, there will be an invitation to stay and enjoy a picnic in the woods. Please bring your own food and something to share.

Important to Know: Children are very welcome, but remain the responsibility of their parents or guardians at all times. Please do not leave children unattended, and be mindful that the length of the ceremony may feel long for some little ones. It’s completely okay if you need to step away quietly or leave early. To connect with the vibrant energy of Beltane, you’re invited to wear red, pink or orange.

Sheffield Goddess Temple is an inclusive space where everyone is welcome. By attending this event, you accept full responsibility for your own safety. Sheffield Goddess Temple and its volunteers cannot accept liability for any injury, illness or accident that may occur. We look forward to welcoming you into the heart of the woods, to celebrate the fire and joy of Beltane together. Please read event details carefully.

This year, when I noticed that the Spring Equinox and Easter were almost a month apart. I found myself wondering, what is the difference between the Spring Equinox and Ostara? If there is, what is it? Are they the same thing, simply expressed in different languages? And is there a difference between the goddess Don and goddess Eostre (Ostara)?

At the Sheffield Goddess Temple, within the Northern Wheel of Brigantia, we celebrate Don as the Creatrix Maiden, whose energy rises at the Spring Equinox. She holds the balance between night and day; a sacred moment before the full bursting forth of spring. Don stands at the cusp of movement, of expansion, of light and activity. She holds that space with grace; she is presence, emergence, and equilibrium.

By contrast, Ostara is linked more specifically to fertility. Her symbols, the cosmic egg and the triple hare, evoke life, abundance, and the feminine principle in full flow. Her energy is vital; she is the carrier of new life, the embodiment of rebirth, the spark of the world truly waking up in this Northern Hemisphere.

As I began to research more about the goddess of the Spring Equinox and Ostara, I came across the old names of the months in the Anglo-Saxon calendar. March was called Hrethmonath, named after the goddess Rheda (also spelled Hretha), and April was Eosturmonath, named after the goddess Eostre, whose name would eventually echo into the word Easter.

Rheda is a little-known goddess, mentioned only once by the monk Bede in the 8th century in his book ‘The Reckoning of Time’. Her name translates as glory, victory, and dawn. These qualities immediately sparked a sense of familiarity in me; they brought to mind Brigantia, the Celtic goddess of these lands and the patron of our Northern Wheel.

Brigantia, She of sovereignty and light, of awakening, protection, and the fertile land; She of the landscape, the bright one of the high places. As I sat with this resonance, I began to wonder whether Rheda was a later name for Brigantia, localised within Anglo-Saxon tradition at a time when the months were still being named after goddesses. This connection between Rheda and Brigantia brought me closer to the goddess I have long followed.

Through researching Ostara and the Spring Equinox, I returned to Brigantia herself, meeting her in a new form: a long-forgotten goddess named Rheda, carrying the qualities of light, protection, and rebirth that Brigantia brings to the land at the Spring Equinox.

As for Ostara, her name is now used in modern Paganism to describe the festival of the Spring Equinox. Although coined in the 20th century, it draws upon older roots, particularly the goddess Eostre and her associations with fertility and the cycles of life. It has since become a widely adopted term to mark the Equinox within the Wheel of the Year for many Neo-Pagans.

Now, I hold a deeper connection with all of these goddesses in my heart: Don, She of the river, whose waters nourished and sustained our ancient ancestors; Eostre, who brings the full surge of spring through her fertility and the symbol of the cosmic egg; whose name lives on in both the Christian festival of Easter and Ostara, the modern Pagan celebration of the Spring Equinox; Rheda, whose name means glory, and who carries the torch of victory into the new light; And Brigantia, the sovereign presence who holds them all.

Sunday 23rd March.
Venue Airy Fairy Garden and Temple. 

There will be 2 ceremonies to accommodate the number of people attending. Please ensure you book your free ticket through eventbrite. Link will be attached to this event and in the comments. 

First Ceremony is at 1pm
Second Ceremony is at 3pm

Come join together with us to celebrate the turning of the wheel and the rising energy of the earth springing into the full force of life returning in abundance.
The sap is rising,buds are unfurling, birds are singing and merry March hares are boxing.
We begin our journey into the expansive outward part of the year, ready to cast off our winter woollies and feel a spring in our step.
There will be 2 ceremony times so choose from to accommodate numbers. 
Anwen will be offering delicious seasonal cakes and drinks and there will be a fun creative workshop after each of the ceremonies.
We look forward to seeing you there. 

Sheffield Goddess Temple is an inclusive space, you do not need to believe in anything to visit our temple or attend our events. Everyone is welcome. 

There is no charge for this event but we ask you to book via eventbrite

First ceremony (1pm) ticket link: Tickets for 1pm. Tickets are free but booking is essential: 
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/spring-equinox-ceremony…

2nd ceremony (3pm) booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/spring-equinox-ceremony…

Cash Donations on the day ensure the upkeep of our temple which is run by volunteers. 

Our 10th Anniversary…

We are once again using Sharrow Performing Arts Space, where there is plenty of space and seating.  We will be continuing our celebrations in the Airy Fairy Garden as we have an exciting surprise to share with you. 

Please arrive at Sharrow Performing Arts Space just a few Minutes before 2pm when we will be opening the doors.

Samhain ceremony. 27th October Sharrow Performing Art Space.
1pm. 

(This is an accessible venue and can accommodate those with mobility issues) 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: 
 map link for the art space: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xr4SaTMfTWPHqMoi8…
There is a small car park for those who need it, there is additional street parking near by. 

 Please arrive at 1pm, the doors are locked during the ceremony for safety reasons. 

 BRING A STONE TO OFFER, THIS WILL BE LEFT WITH THE GODDESS. 

BRING A PHOTO OR OBJECT RELATING TO A DEPARTED LOVED ONE FOR THE GRIEF ALTAR. YOU WILL TAKE THIS HOME WITH YOU AT THE END. 

 You are invited to wear the colours of mystery: black, purple, midnight blue or silver. 

 Pumpkin soup and cake will be served during the break at 2.30pm by Anwen from Airy Fairy. Please bring money to fill your tummies. 

 WE RUN ON DONATIONS SO PLEASE BRING CASH  TO DONATE SO THAT WE CAN PAY FOR THE VENUE HIRE AND CONTINUE TO PUT ON THESE FANTASTIC CEREMONIES. 

 There will be a workshop after the ceremony, more information to follow soon 

Sheffield Goddess Temple is an inclusive space, you do not need to believe in anything to visit our temple or attend our events. Everyone is welcome. 

The Autumn Equinox ceremony is on Sunday 22nd of September at the Sheffield Goddess Temple (located at Airy Fairy) and in the garden at Airy Fairy.

There will be 2 ceremonies: 12 noon OR 2.15pm.

We will be working with the themes of dark and light, abundance and gratitude and a giving back to the earth for all of Her gifts

Please bring a donation of food – fresh vegetables, fruit or cans to create a gratitude altar in the garden. The food will be given to The Food Works in Sharrow ( a local community charity)

Come in colours of the season and bring a small jam jar.

After the ceremonies, for those involved / interested there will be a Temple Users and melissa meeting from 3.30 to 5 .00.

Please note that the Temple is up some steep stairs – as is the toilet.

Anwen will be serving food from 12.30 to 2.30 – no need to order in advance. 

Our temple Melissae have something wonderful in store for you this Lammas.

Come down and enjoy a relaxed welcoming in of Lammas in a creative way.

This will be a small and friendly gathering, an opportunity to meet new people and celebrate together with delicious food from the Airy Fairy Cafe.

Our devoted temple Melissa’s are holding space within the goddess temple and the beautiful garden at Airy Fairy to offer a relaxed, creative welcoming in of Lammas. 

They have some wonderful activities in store for you within this gathering. 

No need to book, just turn up and get creative within this small offering . 

There will be food and drink served at Airy fairy as usual and the temple will be open from 12.30pm for quiet connection before beginning outside in the garden at 1.30. 

Wear Lammas colours of orange, yellow and gold. 

Sheffield Goddess Temple is an inclusive space, you do not need to believe in anything to visit our temple or attend our events. Everyone is welcome.

Anwen, Ali, Jennifer, Brian, Jo, Heidi, Karina and Loren from the Sheffield Goddess Temple were honoured to hold 7 ceremonies and a handfasting at the Solskin Festival in Grindleford at the end of June. We got some amazing feedback and really enjoyed the event. We have been asked to return next year, so hope to see you all there!