What do Guardians Do? Guardian / Gatherings Date: Feb 14, 2002 - 09:45 AM What exactly do Guardians DO? I have been asked this question many times as I walk around a festival site. It has also caused me many hours of personal reflection. One answer that has come to mind is that we are ?distributors of common sense to those in need of it.? Upon reflection, although this may be an accurate description at times, it really doesn?t describe the multi-faceted description of the job. In the past, Guardians have dealt with a wide variety of situations. Temporarily misplaced children, misplaced mates, misplaced items, lost tents, militant cows, rain damage restoration, and invaders from the planet Bubba, just to name a few. In all cases our primary goal is to assist in the providing of a safe place for the community to gather. The Guardians make use of Wards to assist them in the duties they are tasked to perform. These Wards vary from event to event depending on the event, the Guardian Co-Ord, the Event Co-Ord, and several other factors that vary from event to event. A ward could be described as a visualization of a system that will allow for warnings of potential problems, a cleansing area and also a cloak for those outside of the Ward. To be more descriptive, it may be useful to describe a Ward that I personally have used at past events. I visualize a Celtic Tree-of life that is rooted in the center of the event site. For those of you that may not be familiar with this, it is a tree that has a mirror image of itself below, so the adage ?As above, so below? can be used to describe this construct. I ?grow? the tree in mind from the center of the site, it?s branches reaching out to the edge of the event property. They then droop down to the meet with the roots that have grown from the center down, and encompassed the area below the site. I also visualize a fresh water stream, that runs through the root system. This stream cleanses the roots of any negative energy they may collect from the ground/site. The functional concept is that the leaves of the tree, absorb any energy that is not conducive to a happy event, and take it down to the roots to be cleansed by the stream. The leaves also provide for an ?invisibility cloak? to be provided for curious onlookers from the mundane world. A group usually sets wards. Although the basic construct is agreed upon before hand, each member of the group is free to add their ?personal touches? to the construct. Some choose to add stone pillars surrounding the perimeter, some add rings of energy, and some add a spider web type of thing that will alert them to something that needs their attention. I should probably add here, that this Ward system is designed strictly to facilitate the Guardians, and in no way is intended to influence festival participants. It functions as a method of assisting the Guardians to perform their duties. Guardians also ?walk a path? around the event site, this ?path? encompasses the event grounds and their immediate perimeter. This would include the parking lot and any possible entry points that may be used to gain access to the grounds. This is done to ensure that they grounds are kept safe for all attendees, and that those that should be ?in? are in, and those that should be ?out? stay out. Many Guardians choose to take their ?path walking? as a personal spiritual path. It is difficult to do this job only at an event. It tends to spill over into the mundane world also. Guardians found in the mundane world generally have several characteristics in common. They can be found to be involved in Law Enforcement, medical, search and rescue, team sport safety, and many other occupations that require a high level of vigilance, and are designed to provide safety to those involved. They are generally active in their community, serving as they can to provide for a better environment for those they hold dear. Guardians like to serve. It becomes a way of repaying the debt that Spirit has given each and every one of us by giving us life and the ability to know of our ?selves?. Guardians also usually have a great thirst for knowledge. Esoteric as well as conventional, knowledge can be the difference between the success or failure of their current mission. General knowledge of group dynamics, medical needs, first aid, safety, just to name a few topics, can be very useful to a Guardian. Spiritual knowledge is also a very important tool for a Guardian. The knowledge to come upon a magical place and deem if the magic being performed may be detrimental to the group as a whole, or may have unwanted side effects upon this same group. Guardians would never interfere with this magic, unless the situations were deemed unsafe to the community at large, but they may use this knowledge to ?tweak? the Wards. Guardians are our communities ?front line?. Generally speaking they are the first community members that anyone coming on site will meet. They interact with the local Law Enforcement, local property owners, and local curiosity seekers. They do give of themselves for the safety of the community. They do put their mundane lives at risk at every event. They risk being brought in front of a mundane court to provide their version of a situation that had to be dealt with by the local law enforcement. They risk the wrath of angered individuals whose choices brought them to the attention of the Guardians. They strive to walk the path of the ?Poet Warrior?, using their knowledge, and their wits to avoid conflict when ever possible. To serve the members of the community they are tasked to protect. To ensure that we as a community can have a safe happy place to enjoy the benefits of living the path we choose to live. This article comes from Phoenix Phamily - Supporting the Phoenix festivals community http://www.phoenixfestivals.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.phoenixfestivals.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=45