Blog o’ Gnosis

I have recovered. Three days of laying low, staying warm, and sleeping a lot helped me cross over back into Life Outside the Pagan Hotel. I can tell that I’ve fully recovered, because just now I was remembering some really great things that happened last weekend that are worth mentioning.

Several people came up to me at the booth and said they read my blog. That was really great! It is wonderful in this fairly anonymous medium to actually make contact with readers face to face.

The number of adorable little children there seems to have increased exponentially from last year to this. Watching little toddlers with fairy wings is a cure for cancer! I’m sure of it. Watch - some Pagan Studies grad student will ask you to fill out a survey on it pretty soon.

There was a much larger and more visible contingent of Pagans following Afro-Caribbean trads. Aside from the American Umbanda House which is always there, Luisah Teish led a couple workshops, as did priestesses from different African diaspora lines. Now if we could only get some representation of Central and South American Pagans, maybe some Central and Southeast Asian practitioners, the con would almost reflect the cultural variety of the area which hosts it.

I got to do some kick-ass drumming with friends at the Feri ritual - Brook, Thorn, Ravyn and I all had a great time keeping the rhythm tight and breathing like a living being. And Macha flipped us all out by leading the spiral back out a second time - and it worked great. I stayed energized from that spiral/drumming/cone o’ power for quite some time.

The bar was serving some stiff drinks this weekend, no doubt to match the price they were charging for them. An Irish whiskey with friends after at least one evening event is one of my basic requirements for the con, and boy did it taste great after the Feri ritual!

Having Lyra there from Chicago with all her artwork for sale at our booth was a real delight. It was fabulous to see her, and especially good to be there with both my daughters the whole weekend. I loved introducing them to people I know, and drumming up a little business for Lyra, too.

People were friendly. The bacon was cooked better at the coffee shop. (And I heard the expression “bacon is a gateway meat” for the first time! That savory smell lying in wait for unsuspecting vegetarians…) Workshop audiences were engaged and enthusiastic. Workshop presenters were good.

I think that’s enough. You get the idea. Next year I hear that the con will be at the same place, but the year after that it may move to an even larger venue! Remember to check the PantheaCon website starting in about August for details. See you there next year!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 11:37 pm and is filed under Ritual, Society, Spirit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.