Student Voices - Stepping Into Training - Marion

Destination and Journey – written by Marion Gillooly, Ceremonialist

Stillness and serenity – these words express the feelings that remained with me after the first ceremonialist training weekend with Rites and Rituals Scotland. Four plucky students, each of us already trained as funeral celebrants, arrived in the gorgeous setting of the Loch Tay valley, our destination for the first of four weekends together with our facilitators, Lindy and Victoria. We each brought different levels of experience as celebrants, different backgrounds, styles, spiritual beliefs and personalities, but we shared a core belief that as human beings on this earth there is a higher power or energy that flows through us, connects us, guides us, and influences our lives. We also shared a desire to use our spirituality to enrich our practice, becoming ceremonialists who create meaningful, special, memorable ceremonies for any and all of life’s significant events.

So far, so profound. I have to admit that my down to earth, understated upbringing gives me the fear of proclaiming myself to be spiritual; and the thought of using ritual in a sacred rite is a bit ‘out there’, weird even, and quite frankly a little bit scary. But here’s the thing, our lives are all punctuated by rites, or ceremonies. I was Christened as a baby, I got married in a registry office, I’m a graduate, and my dad died two years ago. We’re all very familiar with Christenings, weddings, graduations and funerals, and each of those events has ritual running through it – blessing the baby with holy water, making solemn vows of marriage, wearing academic gowns and receiving a scroll from the University Principal, and the rituals of farewell when our loved ones are buried or cremated. And there are any number of other events in our lives that we mark with rites and rituals – leaving do’s, retirement parties, special birthday and anniversary celebrations, Christmas and New Year to name a few.

So, the theme of this first training weekend – The Art of Ceremony and Ritual - shouldn’t have caused me any trepidation. As it turned out, it was beautiful. Our training room at The Big Shed near Aberfeldy, was a safe space. I was able to give voice to my anxiety, and also to express how grateful I felt to be given this opportunity for personal and professional development. A whole weekend to focus on me – how indulgent! It quickly became clear that I wasn’t alone in feeling a little bit nervous, and those nerves were quickly dispelled, not least due to the confirmation that there would be no requirement to run around wearing nothing but a ring of flowers in my hair. Phew!!

Instead, we were guided to create a circle of trust, to contemplate the beauty and power of our surroundings, and of our collective spirituality. It truly did feel that we have embarked on a journey together – one that entails learning some very practical skills such as the mandatory components of a legal marriage ceremony in Scotland, as well as incorporating our individual styles into ceremony and ritual. We hope to grow and develop on this journey, but there is no requirement to leave behind the people we are.

Yes, there were candles. Yes, there was incense. There was also lots of laughter.

But mostly there was stillness and serenity, and it felt right.