The Ramblings of Rev. Karl

Cerridwen's Coffeehouse returns with a special concert featuring Owain Phyfe and Kiva, Saturday the 17th. I'll be there enjoying auditory awesomeness. For all the details check out http://www.cerridwin.org/.

Today is the final day to register for Mythical Journeys, October 10-13, in Maryland.

I've talked about it before, but this is really a unique Pagan event. Rather than your standard festival the weekend features several tracks of programming that each focus on one path or issue. The format allows for much more intensive work than you can do in a festival setting and it has been an amazing experience for most of our past attendees.

This year I'm assisting divalion in presenting the Romancy track for those that want to nurture their inner romantic and learn to love the world. We could use some more people, go sign up now.

Edit: Registration extended to Sunday for you procrastinators!

Today we are your all-FSA all the time channel. Now that we're done with FSG it's time to start planning for the next event, namely Mythical Journeys.

For those that haven't been to Mythical Journeys before, it is a different kind of event. Participants spend the entire weekend on a single path or topic - allowing for much more intensive work than a typical Pagan festival. I've gone both previous years and it is a great experience. This year they've greatly expanded the number of different tracks available, so if you looked before and didn't see anything interesting I'd encourage you to look again. I'll be helping divalion out with her romancy track and am really excited that it is happening. The registration price goes up at the end of the month, so register now.

I'll be at FSG tomorrow through Sunday, if you want to reach me during that time you have to come to FSG (where I'll most likely be at the fabulous Celestial Stag mentioned previously).

For those of you going to FSG we're going to have something new this year.

The Celestial Stag is an idea we're trying out as an experiment. We were inspired by Four Quarters Farm's Coffee Dragon and felt that the FSG community might really enjoy having a similar shared space. Our space will be on Merchant Row, near the white house and therefore close to one of the festival Short Bus stops.

(Who's "we"? Me, deboranter, divalion, prehensile_wit, and a few others; a mix of longtime festival-goers/staffers and newcomers who have insanely and giddily banded together to bring forth this glorious abomination.)

We're building a public hangout space, a place where anyone can come to sit in the shade, relax, and enjoy the company of other festival-goers. We especially hope that this will be a place where people find it a little easier to strike up conversations and make new friends, and to feel like part of the FSG tribe. (Something that can feel intimidating at such a big event!) On our announcement board, you'll find official festival notices and updates, posted by the FSG organizers. The Stag also welcomes back the much-missed tradition of the "dry hot tub", a place for lounging and cuddling.

Our concept is a 'stone soup lodge'. What that means is that, although you'll find some books and board games and things already there, we hope people will bring things to share with others. Whether you bring snacks or art supplies or a new chant, whatever you contribute will help the Celestial Stag become-- in the words of the Morgan Tarot-- 'a perfect whatever it is'. A stone soup in a moment of space and time. A TAZ (that's Temporary Awesomeness Zone).

The space is also available as a location for small, spontaneous, OPEN events. Want to have a poetry slam, poker game, drum jam, sumbol, or Moosemas in June? Put it on the announcement board and have fun! See something interesting going on? Ask if you can play too-- it wouldn't be happening at the Stag if everyone wasn't welcome.

The CS is largely a 'swim at your own risk' space, but if you see someone wearing a Celestial Stag Staff badge, they're one of the Stag organizers and hosts. Feel free to ask them questions or to introduce yourself if you're feeling a little lost-- we're glad to try to make you feel more at home!

There will be coffee and other hot beverages available free of charge (donations always welcome in the tip jar) but ONLY when Stag staff is present. You can feel free to bring in whatever food or beverage you want (just please, show our space some love and clean up after yourself).

The Celestial Stag has one main rule: Be excellent to each other.

Also, Have fun.

Fnord.

The BTW is done and I think went very well, a big thank you to all that attended. We ended up with 10 people getting work done and all if it turned out looking great. Thanks to all that brought food as well :-)

I'm not sure whether I'll get to doing a more detailed report - still have much LARP planning to do (note to self: don't plan on leading events on back to back weekends).

The deadline for our Body Transformation Weekend is only a week away. If you're planning on getting a tattoo you must sign up and contact the artist about your design and pricing by January 15th.

Edit: note if we don't have enough confirmed people getting work done we will cancel the event, so far we only have 3.

Plugging a local Pagan event: Sacred Space, January 18-21, being held in Laurel at the TCEP hotel. Guests include Selena Fox, Andras Corban Arthen, Ivo Dominguez, Raven Caldera, and most importantly wylddelirium. Also includes a revival of Winterfest for those that remember them.

I may go, I already have a gaming commitment that Saturday but could go the rest of the weekend, that would be ok, missing Winterfest would be no great loss if the past ones are any indication.

P.S. for the fairefolk that actually liked Winterfest, you can go to it separately - details.

The BTW Evite has gone out. It'll be at our place in Brunswick, MD, February 1-3.

This Body Transformation Weekend will be a time of drumming, chanting, community, and modification. We will use ritual, altar building, a sharing of creative space, and the invocation of the Spirits of the Flesh to sanctify the area for the work of taking into us that which defines, adorns, dedicates, and beautifies us.

Work is being done by Sacred Mark Sanctuary, who have years of expertise on creating personal ritual around body modification.

If you'd like to be added to the Evite just let me know and I'll need your e-mail. Comments screened to hide e-mails from the evil spammers.

Last Saturday was my last day at faire for the season. Sadly it was too hot to really enjoy, spent most of the day hiding in the shade, guzzling as much water as possible. Sunday decided I did not want to repeat that, so the rest of the weekend was given over to Civilization IV, so I'll talk about that instead.

Friday I got the new expansion, Beyond the Sword, which I highly recommend for Civ players (make sure to get the rather hefty patch for it as well). The expansion adds lots of stuff, including an espionage system, corporations for the late game, allowing you to split off sections of your civ into vassal states, beefed up diplomacy, and random events. Probably the biggest change though is largely invisible and that is a seriously more intelligent AI, the AI is now better at utilizing almost every aspect of the game, including actually trying to win in different ways. Means I'm currently getting spanked, but such is life, it's good to have a challenging game.

Tonight I help the fabulous wylddelirium celebrate her birthday, and then it'll be off to Pagan Camp for the weekend to get my Vodou on.

Plugging spring Pagan events

OHF Masquerade, April 14 - I mean to go to this every year and then never do, I'd like to actually go this year, anyone else going? Want to form a group to claim a table? Or have you already done so and have room for Sam and I?

FSA Beltane, April 26-29 - already registered, zammis is going to be vending, so we'll probably be over by the vendors instead of our usual place, hope to see many of you there.

In music:
Brigid's Faire at Esoterica in Leesburg, February 3.

OHF Pagan Band Jam, 1st Saturday of every month at College Perk in College Park - for those of you the miss Cerridwin's Coffeehouse, this has been getting a similar line of musicians.

Amikaeyla at the Black Rock Center in Germantown, February 10.

You are loved and you are already missed. Our thoughts go with you as you embark on your journey with the Gods. Hail and Farewell.

I hope everyone has a blessed Samhain and a happy Halloween. May any ghosts you meet be friendly ones.

I'm back from Mythical Journeys and was pretty damn impressed. Since most of the organizers are on my friends list I want to thank you all again for doing a great job.

This was not a Pagan Festival - we did not go to celebrate, but to do spiritual work. Each track was in essence a weekend long ritual focusing on a single diety. The format allowed a depth of experience that is not often achieved. I'll talk about my own jaunt to the underworld in other post after I've had more time to process.

I'll be back next year.

As a side note zammis and I are now considering putting a labyrinth in our yard, I still have to measure it out and make sure one will fit, but I think it will. Any of our fellow local Pagans interested in helping us make it? Nighttime picture of the one at Ramblewood taken by fairerhiannon.

The brilliant wylddelirium offers us:

Apples to Apples divination.

Much fun could be had with that.

I'm back from Pagan Camp, had a lovely time. Spent most of it slacking, chatting with friends. So the goal of having a more relaxing FSG than last was met :-) Also there were silly hats. Detailed report lies within. See also Del's more eloquent summary.

( Transgender Tibetan monkey pirates )
( Paganism and Gaming, take two )
( Operation Migratory Waterfowl )
( Where's the Love in Paganism? )
( When silly hats attack, news at 11 )
( Freeze, or ice gone bad )

I'm back from the '48 game - was wetter and more tiring than I would have liked, but still a great game. Congrats to the GMs. Also learned the tech stuff I need to know for In The Dark Times, which was the main reason for going. Now we just need to finish writing it :-)

Meanwhile I have a little over a week until Free Spirit. I plan on being there Wednesday through Sunday and will be repeating some of the events from last year, namely the Freeze and Paganism and Gaming. If you're there do come and say hi, I'll most likely be found at cabin 2.

Meanwhile, I hope I can spend most of this week sleeping. Urrrrrr.

P.S. I've not been keeping up with LJ, if you need to reach me ping me via AIM.

Happy Beltane to all.

We decided to forego FSA's Beltane this year in favor of a quiet weekend at home and our own, more private, celebration. I think it was good move. :-)

Voting:

Rush Holt has introduced a bill (H.R. 550) that would require a voter-verified paper record for all elections. Read more about it on his website and for the locals consider attending the congressional meetings about it - for the non-locals write your congressperson and ask them to support the bill.

Pagan rights:

Foxnews is soliciting opinions on whether Pagans in the military that die in the line of duty should be allowed to have a Pagan symbol on their headstone (sparked by the Department of Veterans' Affairs denying such a request). More about the case, blog about the campaign to get this changed.

Al Franken:
Al Franken recently debated Ann Coulter (again) and writes about it, be sure to check out his opening remarks.

To my fellow Brunswick/Frederick Pagans - Lexie is trying to do some local Pagan networking - details here.