Jo-Ann Byers-Mierzwicki, Corby Lawton, me, Tony Mierzwicki |
If readers
are confused, PantheaCon – Part II, is about veils.
Saturday
began with breakfast Jessie Olson, who explained her Cornerstone Pagan Fellowship being
launched at PantheaCon in a welcoming hospitality suite I’d visited the previous
night. I’m down with their motto of “Making
the Old Ways New,” but less enthusiastic about “Let’s make Paganism mainstream!” I question whether that goal is either
something to strive for or realistic.
Having said that, I do hope – and work for – Pagans achieving visibility
and respect in the wider world. I wish Cornerstone good luck.
Sometimes
making it to a presentation at the appointed time is difficult. Restaurant service can be slow; we can get
deeply engaged in discussion with an individual or small group; and sometimes
we just need a break.
I wasn’t
able to make any of the 7 pm programs, although I was drawn to “Dancing with
the Elements: A Magical Bellydance Show.”
Unfortunately that was one of the offerings that was closed once it
began. I guess it was big magic.
Remembering Our Forebears
I noted
there was “A Wake for Hyperion,” put on by The Unnamed Path Brotherhood. I didn’t know Hyperion in life, but I
can see what a profound influence he had on many Pagans so I was heartened that
they created a special memorial in this large venue.
Years ago
after my friend John Patrick
McClimans died, his photo graced the registration area over which he’d
presided when he was alive. I also
missed seeing Barbara Glass. We’re
losing so many of our “founders” (by which I mean early Pagan presences,
teachers, and activists). I miss Sequoia and Bone
Blossom, Judy Foster and Raven Moonshadow,
Alison
Harlow, Beki
Fillipello, Tara Webster,
Tyrell O’Neill, Moher
Downing and Luanne
Blaich, and so many others. On the
feedback form I suggested that PantheaCon have a room dedicated to our Beloved
Dead so an altar containing photos of these departed loved ones can be erected
and maintained throughout the Con, enabling mourners to honor them, as well as
providing an ongoing link to our Pagan history.
I’m aware of two or three people who attended PantheaCon this year who
are unlikely to be there next year.
Further, I hope to be remembered by my Pagan communities when I’m
gone. I’m in no hurry, but in only 29
years I’ll have reached 100, if I make it, so…..
* * * * *
I
reluctantly passed on Tempest and
Nathaniel’s “Dreaming the Raven: A Morrigan Dance Ritual” (belly dance), which
appealed to me because of my personal affinity for the Phantom Queen and
because I seldom see Tempest and enjoy her dancing.
That same
evening I also missed “Sekhmet Empowerment Ritual: Claim Your Power,”
intriguing because of a very powerful experience I had with Sekhmet at Her
temple in Nevada.
Instead, I
visited various suites and schmoozed.
Had a fun time in the ADF suite with Sean Harbaugh of the Sierra Madrone Grove, William
Ashton from Denver, and others whose names elude me. It was fun to tell them of Cherry Hill Seminary’s “Sacred
Lands and Spiritual Landscapes” symposium, co-sponsored the University of South Carolina and featuring noted
British historian Ronald
Hutton, last year, and the fact that the papers delivered there will appear
in book form shortly, under the aegis of ADF Publishing. Here’s an informative
report from one Druid’s perspective.
Since I’m a
part of two, and sometimes all, of the three sponsors in the Pagan Scholars
Den, I hied myself to that suite for the Pagan History Project’s
meet-and-greet. Unfortunately, we had a
lot of technical problems with the screening part; however, we made up for
those problems with fun conversation.
SUNDAY
Over (1) “Second
Generation Paganism,” because I’m interested in the overall health of our
communities, and their sustainability; (2) “Hypatia’s Ancient Spiritual Magic
for Modern Times,” because Hypatia is our Guardian Ancestor
at Cherry Hill Seminary, and a
fascinating woman; and (3) “The Etruscan Discipline and the Oracle of Geomancy,”
with Murtagh
anDoile (the only one of those three presenters I had any familiarity
with), I opted instead for “Pagans and Institution Building” with Amy Hale. Judging by the good turnout on the first
thing Sunday morning, and the discussion this presentation engendered, this
topic is one whose time has come for Pagans.
Well, it’s obvious I’ve been on that bandwagon for many years now, since
I’ve been active (and sometimes inactive) in CoG since 1981, active in various
interfaith groups and activities for 10 or 15 years, and deeply committed to
making CHS a sustainable institution for scholarly- and/or service-inclined
Pagans since circa 2000. Most recently
I’ve joined in the work of the Pagan History Project. I’m always interested to see how others set
these things up. As it turned out, this
was mainly a launch for the Pantheon
Foundation, as expected.
I’ve seen
Pagans attempting to establish various kinds of institutions for decades. Most are worthy dreams that don’t end up
finding themselves grounded in the reality of nonprofit institution
building. We have tons of talent, lots
of brainpower, plenty of enthusiasm, yet I feel that some of us end up working
at cross-purposes. Or stepping on each
other’s toes. Ideally, I’d like to see
more collaboration and mutual support. I
wish the Pantheon Foundation good luck.
I wish the same for the newly established Cornerstone Pagan Fellowship (also
launched at PCon this year), the Temple of Witchcraft,
and all the other Pagan institutional endeavors.
Lots of
reports, experiences, opinions, and deconstruction have already been posted on
several blogs about the “Wiccanate privilege” discussion held in the
CoG/NROOGD/NWC hospitality suite on Sunday afternoon. As a Witch (technically not a Wiccan) who’s
been active in interfaith efforts locally and nationally, of course it concerns
me if other Pagans feel un- or misrepresented in those fora. I went and listened attentively. I’ll contribute my tuppence about the “Wiccanate
privilege” discussion in a subsequent blog.
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