Celia, on the Road at Sacred Harvest Festival – Interview

August 19, 20112 Comments

Celia Farran, singer, songwriter, actress, and storyteller who dishes up the most delicious concoction of the silly and the sacred, performed at Sacred Harvest Festival on Tuesday, August ninth . I got a chance to talk to her the next day.

What have you been up to since you last appeared at Sacred Harvest Festival?

I have been working really hard, really hard. I have been consistently putting out Cd’s

Do you have your own studio?

I have my own studio now. The first CD I did on my own equipment was ‘Alabaster in Blue‘, which the song ‘Symbol‘ is on. I’ve done everything else myself since. I do the recording and then have someone else mix and master it. My most recent CD, ‘Carry Me Home‘ , I did all the recording, engineering, and the mixing, and the mastering. The learning curve is steep, a whole other hat to wear. Continue reading →

Festival Fashion

August 17, 20116 Comments

You may not think of the grass at a festival as a high fashion runway, but Pagans do have style and there are fashion trends spotted at festivals. The #1 trend at Sacred Harvest Festival this year was hair ornamentation. Complex braids, bright flowers, feathers and head scarves all replaced the trend from former years of having very natural, flowing hair. Also, tie dye is out, tribal and Oriental patterns are in.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The best thing about Sacred Harvest Festival was…

August 15, 2011August 15, 201114 Comments

: “I found something to believe in.”

: “The rings of the tree ritual.”

: “The community coming together so strong that I was inspired to write my first song for them.”

: “everything. For the first time I don’t want to leave to go sleep in my own bed.”

: “The Rangoli.”

: “The tree canopy ritual.”

: “All the joy.”

: “The healing transformations that took place.”

: “Helping me wake up.”

: “The wonderful people.”

: “The serenity. It was so peaceful here this year.”

: “The fewer number of people. At first I was worried about that, but this was my favorite festival ever.”

: “The strong sense of community.”

: “The spirit of the festival. The sharing, caring, tenderness, and joy from old friends and new.”

: “Ripping my shirt off for Cara, even though she didn’t see it.”

Short Takes

As Sacred Harvest Festival went along I jotted down random thoughts about the festival and what was happening around me.

Continue reading →

…it’s one of The Mysteries

August 14, 20119 Comments

When Pagans talk about The Mysteries, we are describing an experience that, by it’s nature, can’t be described. These aren’t secret things, Mysteries could be talked about in great detail and yet you would never understand them unless you were there. All kinds of things happen during Mysteries that set you up for The Moment. Some word or action or sight or smell suddenly sends a profound shock through your soul that continues to resonate long after the incense has cleared.

I’m just back from Sacred Harvest Festival and I can tell you, this festival was one of The Mysteries. I didn’t realize it until today at the last morning meeting.

I had had a perfectly delightful festival experience, perfect weather, good friends, lots of food. Yet I experienced that shock to my soul that signaled I was taking part in a Mystery all 9 days long and didn’t realize it until this morning. All these little moments – a conversation, the rustle of the oak leaves, a compassionate glance from Crystal Blanton, campfire smoke, sunrise the color of Star Foster’s hair, drums beating, holding my husband’s hand as we head to a ritual, laughing at a huge knit penis – were steps along the road to Eleusis.

A wristband to enter the festival or an ear of corn reaped in silence?

I could write all about those moments, you’ll read about some of what happened at the festival over the next few days, but unless you were there you won’t understand The Mystery I experienced. Likewise, I can fill you in on the morning meeting, my “ear of corn reaped in silence” moment – but your soul won’t vibrate when you hear about it. I can show you a grimy, tattered wristband that I wore all 9 days, but your eyes won’t tear up in humble gratitude like my are.

At the morning meeting we honored a young man and gave him a spear. We thanked the Harmony Tribe board members, past and present. We auctioned off the green penis. Listened to a few songs. Found out that we honored a Hindu Goddess on the same night as millions of Hindus were also honoring her. Received a personal message from another Goddess. Held back tears, laughed, hugged. And then realized we were all leaving this place and these people.

Yes, I will see many of the people who attended SHF over the course of the year. I’ve seen them before and I’ve attended SHF many times before. I’ll be back to Harmony Park (where the festival is held) again. But I will never again be in that place with those people.

But I will carry that glimpse of The Mystery with me always.

Kari’s Thingtide Travels – Midwest Viking Festival

August 1, 2011

This is the third installment of my vandrestav journey this summer, 2011. The first two events, Trothmoot and Northern Folk Gathering, were specifically designed for practitioners of the spirituality of the Northern European folk tradition.

The Midwest Viking Festival, which took place July 16 – 17, was a celebration of specifically Viking era traditions, attracting Scandinavians looking for deeper root connections as well as public from many other cultures seeking to learn more about their Scandinavian American neighbors. Though not strictly a “Viking re-enactment camp,” education and context for the learning was achieved through historical re-enactment.

For the prior two events, I was invited to teach volva stav, my own contemporary expression of the volva, staff carrier of Northern European spiritual tradition. I performed from my wide repertoire of songs and stories that connect the listener to my own ancestral journey, healing oorlag and honoring disr (female ancestor guides). For the two prior events, my perspective of living in the here and now on this pathway was the source of my involvement in the events.