This years Mabon ritual was fairly unique for the Grove with several new elements, and I had a great time.

We did this ritual in Greek style, honoring Hephaestus, Athena, and Dionysus as the gatekeeper. We had three altars set up for each instead of one big altar, each decorated to honor their deity of purpose. Dionysus was set up by the well, Hephaestus was set up by the fire, and Athena was set up by the tree.

We also held a very short modern parody skit of a greek drama, where Hephaestus and Athena are working on Pandora and Dionysus comes in and attempts to get Hephaestus drunk and convince him to release Hera. We had Jack dress up as a goth with blue hair as Dionysus (I got lots of pictures), Jeff wore a modern tool-belt and jeans as Hephaestus (and looked very manly), and I was supposed to dress up in either military camo or a business suit as Athena but I had neither. I wore a fedora and a spear though

The fire wardens were also put into more of a ritually dramatic role this time as well. I think they had flares set up within the fire pit so that when they used their “fire staves” they were able to simply place their fire staves into the fire pit and the fire started immediately. Very dramatic and I was actually very glad to see the fire wardens put into more of a spiritual role for the ritual.

When we opened the gates, our gate openers did a flag dance with colored flags associated with their particular gate. It was a very beautiful and elegant dance and came together really well.

Honestly I think this was one of my favorite rituals of the year. I’m glad I got a lot of “before ritual” pictures because I never seem to have time during ritual to get any.

Man I hope I don’t offend people with my review of Pagan Pride Day like I did with Ecumenicon, but I think it’s inevitable I will say as a disclaimer though that I am speaking as myself, not as a member of any organization.

I actually had a good time at the Baltimore Pagan Pride Day. I was able to meet several of the local groups, get some pamphlets and information, enjoy some music and drumming. But the biggest problem I saw was that there wasn’t anyone else around. There was a family reunion up on the hill, and some other festival down the hill, but in general we were fairly secluded. It’s my opinion as well as a few others that Pagan Pride Day’s are supposed to be events that allow you get the real word out about Paganism and educate people. But there’s no need for us to educate our fellow pagans, and this honestly felt like just a small gathering of pagan groups socializing and sitting around under the trees.

I have no problems with networking opportunities, but then call it Pagan Networking Day or something. I heard comments from several people about this so I know I’m not alone in this thought process.

A few other suggestions for next year:
- Pick a location that is more accessible by the public. Somewhere that we will have people wandering through all throughout the day.
- More advertisement in the area, not just in pagan shops. Actually I think I saw -one- advertisement on the OHF mailing list, nowhere else. I know that the Grove was not asked to put something up on our website about it, I did not see anything in the paper about it, or on any other mailing lists that I’m on.
- When advertising, definitely list items that people are strongly suggested to bring. Like lots of water, some form of shade and chairs. Lack of water was a huge issue yesterday, and it was very hot, humid, and sunny. I know some water was brought to sell, but definitely not enough. Thankfully the guy from the Interfaith Fairness Coalition was well-prepared and shared water with us (Note: we -did- bring water and shade, just not enough water)
- Allow more time for bands to tear down before scheduling the next band to set up.
- Have a speaker and sound system for things like announcements and raffles. Just shouting is not loud enough for everyone to hear over everything else going on in the park.
- Have a pamphlet in addition to the days schedule that lists all of the sponsors of the event and their contact information. This would have been especially beneficial if we had foot traffic, but since we did not it’s not such a big deal this year. I know a lot of the sponsors had tables, but it doesn’t take much at all to make a 1-page tri-fold brochure that lists events and sponsors.

I do want to note that Kat, who is my Vice Senior Druid and also was the sole organizer for the Baltimore Pagan Pride Day did an awesome job with the resources she had. People just don’t seem to want to volunteer so she was running this thing solo, and even when a few minor hiccups happened she was able to smooth them out in short order. So I commend her on putting the entire day together, because it was very enjoyable.

Another issue I had, is one of our members were collecting food donations for the poor and 1. People were bringing old expired food from their cupboards, and 2. She got yelled at by one of the regional organizers (not Kat, for clarification) for accepting cash donations for people who forgot to bring food because the money was supposed to go to the mother organization for the regional Pagan Pride Days. I find that bogus. If people want to donate money for canned foods to give to the poor, than quite frankly, I consider that above the fiscal gains of any organization.

I finally got to meet my long time online friends from Cassandra Syndrome, Irene and Jason. I didn’t get much time to speak with them since they were heading to another gig, but it was nice just to be able to say hello since we have been talking so long on Livejournal as is. Maybe at another time we’ll be able to hang out more.

My sister was with me and says she has a new favorite band after listening to Cassandra Syndrome. She loves Irene’s hair and wants to dye hers just like it. I thought it was cute. I was able to get her picture taken with Irene so she’s giddy about that.

I took a load of pictures and some videos of them playing. I have to upload all of them yet, but I did get a video up last night. [Edit] Another Video.

I really enjoyed Dragonsong’s set too, and enjoyed playing in their drumming workshop afterwards. I had never heard them before, but am definitely a fan now.

Oh and I won a necklace in the raffle, which I gave to my sister because I felt bad that I didn’t bring any money for her to get a face painting or buy anything at the vendors.

I was sitting at the kitchen table this morning, and I picked up my Aunt’s monthly newsletter from one of the old churches I used to attend. It’s an old stone methodist church (On my dads side I was methodist, on my mothers side I was baptist), and where most of my fathers family is buried.

Anyway, they had an introduction in there, as they do every month, from the pastor. It talked about those that want to be healed, and willing to accept the necessary changes for that to happen.

An excerpt:

…When Jesus asked the man whether or not he wanted to be healed, Jesus was reminding him that he had a part to play in his own road to health. The man had to want to be healed, to be willing to deal with the change that his healing would bring

It also spoke about people who see their illnesses or even their depression and “down in the dumps” lifestyle as a crutch or foundation for living. Many people are scared of what changes need to be taken place in order for their lives to improve. What’s the quote from Shawshank Redemption? “Institutionalized”.

The reason I thought this was interesting is because I look over the last few months and how resistant I was initially for all of this change. The very first day we got the eviction notice I felt like my chest was tightening and all I could do was cry. I didn’t want this to happen, I didn’t want change or to move or to be tossed into the unknown like that. I can only imagine it was far worse for my father. He certainly gave up a lot more in the move than I did. His animals, his crops, the fact that he’d been living there mostly since 1979.

But I prayed to the Gods that the ways would be opened for us, whatever they might be. We both decided we were willing to just yank up all of our roots and throw them into the wind and see where we were taken. We were able to leave behind all the dirt and grime and chaos and clutter and rot, while still keeping mementos and general everyday junk.

When I saw that all of our things were loading into the trailer, and noticing all of the things we were leaving behind, it was quite invigorating and exciting. We both felt like a lot of weight was being lifted from our shoulders, like our roots had been sheltered from the sun for so long by a canopy of darkness and now we could feel the breeze.

And now we finally see the horizon of our next destination, and despite all the kicking and screaming against this change, I’ve come to the realization that it is a good thing. It’s still scary to think of dealing with a mortgage every month, but the opportunity for this new life has been presented. The only negativity that could come from it, would be from our resistance to change. Our wallets will not be as full, but that’s a sacrifice for this change and an opportunity to grow.

So I am grateful for the ways that have been opened for us, despite all of the changes we had to accept to get there.

Trying to figure out what I was ingesting at the Sweatlodge:

Osha Root:
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I’ve decided to respond to some of the feedback that I’ve received from folks at Ecumenicon regarding my review of the conference I attended in March of this year. I’m not participating in their e-list discussion about myself and my viewpoints, but I do have some things to say and will continue to say as long as the flame war continues. And since this is a public journal, I have a right to say what I please on it for the world to see. And when people do search for Ecumenicon on the web, my site will pop up because I have a decent google ranking.
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I had a great time at the Trillium Gathering this year, like every other year I’ve gone. This is by far the best festival/event I go to throughout the year, mainly because it’s so close-knit and the people are so wonderful. The theme of this year’s festival was to honor the Nature Spirits of that land (more specifically the Shenandoah).

Caryn and I arrived early on Thursday, about 2pm or so. We had a meal-plan setup for Thursday night and Sunday morning during setup/tear down of our camp so we didn’t have to mess with fixing meals at that time. The meals are usually done by Mountain Rhythm Cafe and these guys are amazing. They do everything organically and the food is phenomenal.

Friday was a day of workshops. I attended a workshop on Biodynamic Farming which was pretty interesting, and another which was a ritual to meet the Sidhe done by Ian Corrigan (at least I think that’s what the purpose was). I like participating in rituals done by Ian because he’s very well-versed and well-spoken. He is able to really set up the unified group mind when he talks.

Friday night was the bardic circle which I was asked to open. I played a few songs, and the circle was a little slow getting people involved, but I didn’t go back to camp until 2am because it turned out pretty amazing. A lot of drumming, and more singing of songs that I haven’t played in years, and tons of mead. I actually got the chance to sing one of the chants duet-style with Ian while he sang harmony. -That- was actually a lot of fun.

Saturday I participated in a workshop on Peak Oil, but slept through a workshop done by Skip because of my shenanigans the night before. The Peak Oil workshop was really interesting, and had a lot of discussion about climate change and our role in it, which I’ve always been fascinated with. The woman who presented it and I spoke about a workshop I was setting up on Disaster Preparedness for the Grove. Apparently it’s what her husband does for a living so I’ll be able to email him with any questions or tips that he can provide.

Saturday night was a communal potluck with a concert by Liafel, whom played all of my favorite songs. This was followed by an impromptu drumming circle around the bonfire till 2am when the rains came. And boy did they come. This morning was pretty miserable tearing down everything in the rain. I’m still shivering because the cold just soaked into my bones from being wet.

I was really happy to be able to say more than hello to Chronarchy, and spend a little time with Art and his wife. I also got to see more skin of the ADF leadership than I think I ever wanted, but as Chronarchy says, it -is- ADF.

The only complaint I really had about the weekend, which I think others did too, was some obnoxious drunken behavior by one of the participants. But what are you gonna do.