[ Post a Response | Celeste's Magickal Witches Cottage ]
Posted by Nox on 23/6/2008, 3:01 pm, in reply to "Festivals and gatherings"
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I've had the privilege of attending a few open festivals. The most recent one was several years ago in New Jersey. IIRC, it was the Mid-Atlantic Pagan Alliance that sponsored the event. They have open events each year for Mabon. It's usually a long weekend, camping in the Jersey Pines. I went with some of my former Coven sisters. We weren't able to be there for the whole event (it started Thurs and ran til Monday). We were there from Fri to Sun. As far as I know, there weren't any trouble makers. I guess having to pay to be there deters some of that. I was able to take a few workshops with Isaac Bonewits and his wife, Phaedra.
I have also gone to several of the Witches Balls that are sponsored by the Black Forrest Clan. Those were fun, but not quite as spiritually satisfying (for me, anyway) as the Jersey Pines.
I have also attended a few open circles where Starhawk was the guest speaker. The energy that we were able to raise there, I have never experienced before or since. The first time I saw her, it took about 3 days before I was able to ground all of that excess energy.
With where I live, it's a drive to attend any of these functions. The last few years have been rather lean, so I haven't been able to attend anything recently, but I'm hoping sometime in the next year or so, to be able to get more active again. I thoroughly enjoyed the Mid-Atlantic Pagan Alliance camping festival. Maybe I'll get to go again next Mabon.
Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. It can be intimidating to set out among strangers and we have all heard plenty of horror stories, but if you don't at least try opening yourself up to new experiences, you'll never know what you're missing. Bring a friend who is at least open to the idea, if not Pagan themselves, for security, but if one sounds interesting, go. You never know who you may meet. 
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