On the occasion of the visit of President Bush to Ottawa, Red Maple Grove invited the Ottawa Pagan Community to join us in a ritual for peace and protection at the Celtic Cross near the place where the Rideau Canal joins the Ottawa River. As the barricades put up in response to the large protests at this time prevented access to this location, the ritual was actually conducted on some green space near a tree at the Canadian War Memorial.

Here follows the omen taken at that ritual:

Past: Uruz. The Past was a wild and energetic time.

Present: Othila. What we are being informed of concerning the present is the importance of the home, the abiding place, the homeland, the human homeworld shared with the other species on this planet.

Future: Laguz. Our attention for the future is directed to the inner, our inner resources. We are to become conscious of the unconscious, of that which is below the surface.

In response to our traditional question, “Our gods have spoken. Are we satisfied or would we hear more?” the request was made that we hear more. The following explanatory rune was drawn:

Explanatory: Gebu. The future is a gift. Also, a strong impression now is the aspect of this rune that is the crossroads. We stand at the crossroads of the past and the present, of peace and of war, of previous unintelligent behaviour and rational, intuitive, spiritual life upon our homeworld.