The tradition of Floral Crowns in the culture of the Good People is often misunderstood by laymen. It is not merely a crown of flowers. It is a complex weaving of a thread of every kind of flora in their forest home, from ferns to trees to moss. Crafting the crown is an honoured and sacred duty, as it is a delicate task. But not nearly as honoured or sacred as the person who wears the crown. Unlike the crowning of the Faery Queen, this is not a position given exclusively to guests, but is chosen by lottery, conducted in a ritual kept secret from outsiders. It is speculated that this lottery ritual varies from group to group. Prior to crowning, the chosen will bury themselves in the earth near the stream, possibly as a form of ritual cleansing, while members of the group will recite poems, prayers, and stories near the spot where they lie.
Just before sunset on the day of the ceremony the chosen will walk to the clearing where the crowning, not washing of any of the mud or dirt from their shallow burial then kneel in front of the Floral Weaver, placing their head up and palms down on the earth. The Chosen will then be crowned as the sun sinks under the horizon. Like many holidays of The Fair Folk, this is followed by music and dancing, though no torches are to be lit for the duration of the festival. If the group has a tradition of a sacred flame, it is to be covered so as to remain unseen. When the sun rises. most if not all of those celebrating will have earth on their arms, hands or clothes from dancing with the Crowned. This Floral Earth is scraped off and collected for use in thaumatergy.
The Crown will have fused to the head of the Crowned, as the threads will have woven their way under the skin. The Floral Weaver Will then lead them to a small cave formed by guiding the roots of a tree into an arch, then digging up the earth under the arch. The Arch Entrance will always face East, and be covered so that the hole will get between one and two hours of sunlight in the morning, depending on time of year. The Crowned and Weaver will then conduct an unknown ritual together, before the Crowned is left alone for a lunar year. During this year, the plant material will spread throughout the Crowned's body, first as a network of roots, and Xylem, before sprouting leaves, flowers and other plant structures, slowly converting their body to plant material. This will not kill them, as it is part of the process of psychic fusion to the forest and it's components. It is unknown what the experience of this process is, as after this process the Crowned gains an unconventional relationship to concepts like sensation, time and identity, making it difficult for them to communicate such experiences.
The purpose of this ritual appears to be to ensure better communication with the forest, as well as providing advice on religious and thaumaturgical matters due to their unique perspective. The Crowned will remain in this position for as little as 50 years to as long as almost a millennia, depending on the health of the forest. During times of poor health, the forest will absorb the Crowned into the rest of it's mass, so as to help preserve the balance of the ecosystem, especially if certain types of flora are close to disappearing.
- This Essay was published by the Journal of Otherkind Religious Practices. The Author is unnamed so as to be able to continue aer research into communities of the Good People
While those of the forest are known for their more lurid cultural practices, it is important that this does not cause attention away from the less obvious parts of their society. This was brought to my attention upon the 16th full moon of my stay were I was granted permission to wear their nettle gloves. Prior to this I had noted that many members of the group wore a fingerless glove made of thick cordage, however I had overlooked this as I attempted to record other aspects of their culture.
It was not too late to remedy this oversight however, therefore I went to the individual who for the purposes of this piece shall be known as Weaver. After brushing my left arm with water that had had mint fermenting in it for 10 nights they began to wrap nettle cordage round my wrist staring approximately halfway down my forearm. After the first wrap, they tied a series of deliberate knots at irregular locations in the glove. After asking about this Weaver, they told me that this was a knotted language or writing system of a sort. the parts on the arm recorded biographical or medical information, whereas those on the hand where a series of charms for protection, wisdom and good fortune. After this, the glove was treated with beeswax and I was released to return to my sleeping area.
While most individuals to wear their gloves at all times, theyre only considered mandatory during some festivals. What piqued my interest more was the knotted language, as the only other system of knotted language I know of was in the Incan Empire, which was used very differently to how the people of the Mounds. This community has another, more traditional writing system but this knotted system seems primarily associated with ritual.
- This Essay was published by the Journal of Otherkind Religious Practices. The Author is unnamed so as to be able to continue aer research into communities of the Good People