Category: Community Notes

Paganistan Community Notes; Jan 31-Feb 6

Blessed Imbolc. There are several wonderful celebrations to choose from next weekend.

Moosemas! Next Saturday from 7pm-midnight there will be a Moosemas celebration at the Sacred Paths Center as a fun-draiser for the Earth House project ($10 admission). This celebration is for adults. If you want an adult beverage, bring it. There will be frivolity. Details are available here.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183518558327522
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177252148976677

Our Lady of Celestial Fire Public Brunalia Sabbat: Next Saturday at 7:30 at Larpenteur Estates Community Room: 1276 W. Larptenteur Ave, St. Paul,MN 55113. I just heard some people talking about this ritual with great curiosity, so it’s getting some buzz. http://www.ourladyofcelestialfire.org/

NorDCOG In the Heart of Winter, the Fire of Life Returns: A Rite of Three Bredes: Next Saturday they’ll be reprising last years much talked about ritual. This ritual actually got major press in a national magazine, and it was a beautiful ritual. True artistry. It will be at the Walker Community Church. More details are available at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138705952856904
http://www.witchvox.com/vn/vn_detail/dt_ev.html?a=usmn&id=74977

Register today if you plan to attend the 13th Annual Imbolc Celebration from Tree and the Well at Powderhorn Park. Registration Deadline: Monday, January 31st. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this celebration, and I’ve never heard anything remotely negative. I want to check it out. http://treeandthewell.org/imbolc11.htm

Local Pagan-owned business, Keys of Paradise LLC, is moving into a larger facility with space for production, meeting room for rent, healing space, classes, and their main offices. To support and celebrate the move to the new location, they are offering 20% off all mystical oils! 10% off all herbs. The new location also offers local customers the option of picking their orders to save on the shipping costs. At the online shop, customers can use a free shipping code (CUSTPICKUP) to pick up the products from the facility. More information is available at http://www.keysofparadise.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keys-of-Paradise-LLC/46524688789 Hooray for the growth of a local Pagan business!

WANTED: Pagans to serve meals at homeless shelter. The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance and Harmony Tribe are joining up to organize two trial dates; Saturday Feb. 12, 5-7 pm & Saturday March 12, 5-7 pm. If this goes well, it could become a monthly activity. If you wish to volunteer for either of these two dates, or get placed on a call list for a once a month service opportunity, contact UMPA http://www.umpaganalliance.com/contact.shtml

Speaking of UMPA, February 26 they’ll be throwing a 4th anniversary party at the Sacred paths Center from 4-8pm. Music, dancing, joy, and a red sauce cook-off between two beloved local cooks. More information is available at http://www.umpaganalliance.com/schedule.shtml

With all the mention of upcoming festivities, there’s also the annual Bread & Brew competition February 12 at the Sacred Paths Center. Bread! Brew! These are wonderful things. http://sacredpathscenter.com/?page_id=1065

If there’s anyone out there who’s familiar with The Center for Harmonious Living, please join the yahoo group and post the appropriate gatherings on the calendar. I’m on their meet-up group (http://www.meetup.com/twincities-harmoniousliving/) and I’m sure that a lot of it would be of interest to the Pagan community, but a lot of it is more new-age and I just can’t sort through it all. So if someone else wants to figure out the stuff that’s of interest to Pagans and post it in the calendar (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwinCitiesPagans/cal) then it will greatly increase the chances of it then ending up in this newsletter.

The same is mostly true for Lake Harriet Spiritual Community. I try to pick through their events to pick out the ones which seem the most pagan, but I might miss some simply because I’m not familiar with all that LHSC offers. If I’m missing something, add it to the calendar. This newsletter takes its information directly out of the Yahoo group calendar.

Don’t forget to register for Paganicon: http://tcpaganpride.org/paganicon/registration

Paganistan Weekly – Special Edition

This is the 100th edition of this newsletter. This doesn’t signify anything special. I just happened to notice and thought I’d share.

Hey, our community still has a very unique community center, and it hasn’t been getting nearly enough attention in this newsletter lately. So this section of the newsletter will be dedicated to all the wonderful events coming up at our local Pagan community center.

Sacred Paths Center
777 Raymond Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55114
phone: 651-644-3727
email: info@sacredpathscenter.com
Web: http://sacredpathscenter.com/

  • Every Monday there is a potluck at the SPC from 6-7pm. This is a chance for our community to gather over a meal, which is a true community building activity. Odd Mondays the potluck is followed by a shamanic journey practice group, or a writers group.
  • Every Tuesday from 7-9pm is Laughing Reiki Healing Clinic and Reiki Circle at the SPC.
  • Every Wednesday from 6:30-8pm there are Belly Dancing classes at the SPC. Come learn the fundamentals of Arabic Dance with an emphasis on American Tribal and Tribal Improvisational Belly dance.
  • Tarot 201 begins this Thursday evening at the Sacred Paths Center at 7 PM. There’s still room for more students if you’d like to join this empowering and enlightening class – Thursday night’s class starts with basic Kabbalah and elemental knowledge presents the students with an understanding of the numbered cards of the suits and insight into how the meanings of each card were derived. http://sacredpathscenter.com/?page_id=416
  • Every Thursday at 7pm at the SPC, Mentoring Elders gather to discuss (non-elders are encouraged to join the discussions.) Every forth Thursday of the month, there’s a potluck.

There is so much more coming up at the SPC – click the jump for more events, concerts, and classes!

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Paganistan Weekly; January 24-30

** EVENTS THIS WEEK **

MONDAY; January 24

  • 6pm weekly Community Potluck at the Sacred Paths Center
  • 7pm Mindful Mondays (meditation) mvanavery@yahoo. com for details

TUESDAY; January 25

WEDNESDAY; January 26

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Paganistan Weekly; January 17-23

Paganicon has a guest of honor: John Michael Greer! They also have a bunch of high quality workshops lined up, with impressive presenters … like me 🙂 They also have a few musical guests lined up including Drew Miller from Boiled in Lead, Kari Tauring , and Murphy’s Midnight Rounders. Be sure to register at http://tcpaganpride.org/paganicon/registration

Next Saturday there’s going to be a healers’ event at the Sacred Paths Center, which looks to be quite impressive. With all the attention given to the great events at the Sacred Paths Center, sometimes their healing center gets overlooked, which is unfortunate. They have some outstanding healers. Next Saturday from 5-8pm, you can check them out for only $1 per minute.

The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance is planning a huge 4th Anniversary Celebration, February 26th. More information is available at http://www.umpaganalliance.com/schedule.shtml

Jaime Meyer, author of Drumming the Soul Awake, will be offering classes on Personal Shamanic Soulwork, from Feb 12-May 7. For more details, check http://drummingthesoulawake.blogspot.com/ or email drummingthesoulawake@gmail.com
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** EVENTS THIS WEEK **

MONDAY; January 17

  • 6pm weekly Community Potluck at the Sacred Paths Center followed at 7pm by Shamanic Journey Practice for those who know how to journey and want a safe place to practice.
  • 7pm Mindful Mondays (meditation) mvanavery@yahoo. com for details

TUESDAY; January 18

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Better Living Through Chemistry? – Editorial

Almost unnoticed in the national media was the implementation of an emergency ban by the DEA and schedule 1 classification of many synthetic cannabinoid chemicals Dec. 24th. From the Huffington Post:

The synthetic weed, known as “K2” or “spice” and generally sold in head shops, is popular among police officers, members of the military and others looking to avoid failing a drug test, said one hemp store owner who sells the product. The high from marijuana is created by its main active ingredient THC, but also by the plant’s several dozen poorly understood cannabinoids. The DEA had banned any drug containing natural or synthetic THC, but has not addressed the cannabinoids. ….DEA will publish in the Federal Register a Final Rule to Temporarily Control these chemicals for at least 12 months with the possibility of a six-month extension. They will be designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category, which is reserved for unsafe, highly abused substances with no medical usage.”

Many Pagan and Shamanic traditions have traditions of mind altering aids to spiritual journeying, and I dare say, some continued practices exist. The development of synthetic cannabinoids presents challenges to all the issues and arguments surrounding consumption of mind altering drugs.  Similar to THC, the active agent in marijuana, many chemicals are just different enough to remain unclassified legally even today, after this DEA ban.
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