| The Assembly Gets Some Pagan Spirit |
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| Written by Helena Domenick | |
| Monday, 18 September 2006 | |
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The Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) is held each year at Wisteria, a reclaimed mining area in southeastern Ohio. This year Circle Sanctuary, which organizes the festival, invited the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel to do the main ritual. First of all, a few general comments about PSG. I have both praise and criticism, although fortunately the praise outweighs the criticism. PSG was probably one of the best-organized festivals I have ever attended. The schedule was put together in a very sensible way, and all of the workshop and ritual locations were quite nice. The area is very beautiful -- surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains and deeply forested areas.Ê Everyone -- from the organizers to staff to speakers to attendees -- at this event were all incredibly pleasant and friendly. I gave two workshops and the attendees at both were incredibly respectful, attentive, and just present. They seemed to be interested in soaking up as much information as possible. The attendees at the ritual we did were also totally plugged in and respectful and genuinely interested in what we had to do and say.Ê The merchants were amazing. There was a very large number and variety of merchants. I found a number of things I knew I would not see back home, or possibly anywhere else. My single biggest criticism of the event is the fee. Unlike Free Spirit Gathering, regardless of how many days one attended the event, you not only had to pay the full fee to attend, but also work a full four-hour shift. (These events are staffed by volunteers who draw no pay for what they do. It is not unusual for attendees to be required to pitch in in some way.) Since I was teaching two classes, I was exempt from the work detail, but watching my compatriots who arrived with me on Thursday (the event started on Sunday) having to deal with squeezing in a full four hours along with trying to do ritual AND maybe attend a workshop or two made me upset on their behalf. I am sure we are not the only people wanting to be there who could not come until later in the week because of work commitments. The biggest praise I can give the event is the quality of the people there. People were respectful of one another -- not invading personal space and so forth. A problem I have encountered at a number of events is an assumption that not only is everyone polyamorous and looking to get laid, but also indiscriminate about who they hook up with. The vibe at PSG was respectful from the get-go, and although I'm sure there were oddballs who attended, for once no one assumed they could cop a grope. How nice to walk unaccosted through a Pagan festival! The weather could definitely have been much better, although it could have been worse. Of course, we can't place the blame for the torrential downpours on Circle or Wisteria. Fortunately, come Saturday there was virtually no rain, which made preparing for and hosting the ritual much easier. The theme for this year's PSG was "Bright Sun, Dark Sun, We Are One," and the ritual reflected that. It went something like this: Participants entered through a gate, as usual -- but this time, there were the PSG Guardians standing on either side with swords raised in an arc as people passed through. The visual effect was stunning. Ivo Dominguez had repainted an old sun banner andÊseveral of our members had Macgyver-ed it up to hang stretched between some trees, while several others handled purification duties. As people entered the ritual space, our heralds ferried them into four different circles in each of the four directions. The idea was to be able to fit the 600-800 people who attended into the ritual space. In the center of the circle was a tripod made out of wood branches with little burnable wax and raffia objects and so forth for the fire we would be creating.ÊThe Mistress of Fire was impressive indeed throughout the ritual.Ê Everyone came through the gate singing: A Time of Gathering Has Begun Seasons Change At the Still of the Sun The Oak King Bows Down to the Ground The Holly King Arises Fully Crowned (author: Janice Chalas of the Keepers of the Holly Chalice) The quarters were called and the circle was scribed. Our heralds were doing double duty as circle scribers and casters. Everyone looked and sounded impressive. For each of the four circles there was a Sun Goddess and a Holly King -- again, maximizing the crowd's ability to hear what was being said. A very talented Assembly member made the Sun Goddesses beautiful headdresses. They were like medieval wimples -- the cone hats with veils on the back, although these had suns at the tops of them. The Holly Kings all had matching crowns and green vests. The Holly King was invoked first, and then he spoke of the Summer Solstice, and of the fire within. We had the impression that a lot of people at this festival felt as though this might be the only place in their lives where they could be truly themselves, truly magickal and ÒoutÓ as Pagans. The messages we wanted to deliver were about how one can stoke the inner fire and become one's self in the world, as well as creating community by bringing it with them once they left the festival. The Holly King invoked the Sun Goddess, who then walked to each of the four directions within her particular circle, speaking of the Sun in each of the seasons.Ê The working of the ritual was to take a straw wreath and have everyone in each circle bless it and fill it with energy. As the wreath made its way around the circle, we sang: The Sun Beyond the Sun The Sun Within the Earth Bright Sun, Dark Sun, We Are One I Am a Breath of the Sun I Am a Spark of the Sun I Am a Tear of the Sun I Am Golden, I Am Gold. (author: Ivo Dominguez, Jr.) After all had done so, the wreaths were brought to the Mistress of of Fire and they were hung on the tripod and the fire was lit. As the flames grew, we chanted: We Are One With the Infinite Sun Forever and Ever and Ever. (origin: Native American) The chanting was loud and enthusiastic and people were really into what we were doing. It was great to see.ÊOnce the energy peaked, we gave thanks. Our heralds/scribes/casters dismissed the circle. People were told they could stay and drum around the fire, which many of them did. The Sun Goddesses and Holly Kings exited the circle, the crowd following. We moved to the side to let people out, and lots of people gave us words of thanks. It was really, really gratifying. In all, PSG was a great experience. Despite the long drive to get there, I would absolutely recommend checking it out. It is an especially gentle event for first-timers and experienced folk alike.             |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 18 September 2006 ) |
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