Category: Human Interest

Local Pagan Performs at Fringe Festival

Twin Cities storyteller Michael Merriam, photo vie Michael's fb page

Michael Merriam was waiting to see if he would make the cut to be in the Minnesota Fringe Festival.  Then he was officially waiting when he was placed on the wait list for performers.  Then he got the word, he’s in, and festival goers have five opportunities to hear his storytelling performance.

There are fantastic stories in the spaces between realities. Storyteller Michael Merriam will reveal a mythic world hidden under the one we perceive, and you will see your Twin Cities in a wondrous new light.

Some of the stories you will hear from Michael:

Follow a blind, middle aged magician as she tries to protect a new friend and potential lover from her half-fae brother.
Hear the happy tale of a snarky Goth-girl, a snarly Unseelie, a dead body, and the Mississippi River.
Encounter a soul-devouring monster running afoul of the eccentric patrons of an all-night diner.

Darkly Through the Light Waters: Twin Cities Tales
A MN Fringe Festival storytelling performance by Michael Merriam

Five One-Hour Performances to Choose From:
Saturday, 8/6 @ 1:00 p.m.
Monday, 8/8 @ 10:00 p.m.
Thursday, 8/11 @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, 8/13 @ 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, 8/14 @ 2:30 p.m.

Single adult tickets are $12
+ $4 festival admission button.

More info and to buy tickets at the Fringe show page.

Happy Birthday PNC-MN! – Editorial

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The Pagan Newswire Collective – Minnesota Bureau is one year old! Evolving from a meeting at PSG with Jason Pitzl-Waters, and consultations with a local group who had also sent a proposal for a Minnesota bureau, this bureau posted “Community Notes”  from TCPagans on July 28th, 2010. How the PNC idea had gotten to this point is another whole story, but for us who formed this bureau; Heather Biedermann, Cara Schulz, and myself, Nels Linde, it was the start of an ambitious project.

What is this bureau?

The vision we acted upon was of a blog based information source for our community. The concept of ‘news’ is a hard one to define. Is it ‘Dog bites Pagan’, “Pagan bites Dog’, ‘What Pagans think about Dogs’, ‘Pagan wins at Dog Show’, ‘Pagan buys Dog’, ‘Dog bites Pagan in Detroit’, or ‘Pagan bites Pagan’? Well, we believe it is all of these topics and more. Our concept is to cover whatever seems to be the demonstrated interest, issues, and news we find in our community, and also to stretch that interest. As volunteers, with limits on our time, resources, and local experience, our content will also reflect our personal interest (I may have not written about Pagans hunting, if I didn’t hunt). As much as we are defining who and what we are, we also realize the idea of a local information source is ‘news’ to you, our readers. We know that your expectations may not match with our vision, and pay scale (we are all volunteers and have funded the costs, and time involved, in our reporting out of our pockets). We expect as we all grow and learn, these inequities in understanding will be resolved. Continue reading →

Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise 2011 – Editorial

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A while ago on a quest to the vision realm I found myself back at the Sacred Fire Circle. It seemed natural to be there. Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise is more a part of the vision realm then it is of normal reality.

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We are surrounded by darkness in a place of light which we created as a contained sacred space. We enter intentionally. We work intentionally. We spend night after night with focus in a ritual environment.

Rangoli Pattern for First Night

The sacred circle takes place from midnight until dawn for three nights. Every night, many people experienced divine possession, especially whilst dancing, but also whilst drumming, singing, healing, meditating, or other activities. The place just lends itself to it. Every religious path has some tradition of ecstatic connection to the divine and SFCiP is a place to experience it.

It is deeply experiential. Even without the connection to the divine, the experience is still powerful. The combination of all things, the drumming, the dancing, the holding of space, the singing, the mindful intention, all of it creates an environment which is conducive to profound experiences.

Tamara, one of this year’s participants described it,

“The ‘experiential’ can take you places that you cannot think your way to and fire circle is very experiential. The hugest part of ourselves is within … in those non-analytical places. Fire circle is a journey into that place. We do use our intellect to sort out our deeper selves, but, we are not, at our center, primarily intellectual creatures. We are emotional, spiritual creatures capable of thinking and reasoning. But, it isn’t our intellect that is the primary ‘can opener’ to the soul and to other realms. It is our deeper selves. Fire circle is a ritual experience that (I would describe as almost shamanic in nature) that assists in setting aside the intellect and, with the help of dance, song, chant trust, fellowship and more, can help people to transcend normal barriers and live, move, resolve and heal while walking through the ‘soul stuff’ within and between worlds.”

Tamara also described, “There are so many types of experiences that one can have at Pagan retreats! Some are focused on fellowship and connection, some workshops and information, some on ritual, some on a blending of all. I believe fire circle is rich in all those areas but has a deep and meaningful focus on immersion in a deep, penetrating, and powerful ritual experience that is built over days.” Continue reading →

NorDCOG Lammas Ritual – Editorial and Interviews

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I attended the Northern Dawn Covenant of the Goddess (NorDCOG) Lammas Ritual with about 45 other people on Saturday July 23rd in Hidden Falls Park in St Paul, MN.  The ritual was written by  Veronica Cummer and presented by Veronica and Janus, with a cast assembled from the community. Titled “LAMASU: SACRIFICE AND BLISS” , the ritual was concise and powerfully presented. A variation of classic Lammas stories, this ritual was described as invoking, “the age-old themes of Life, Death and Rebirth, and will contain both Wiccan elements and elements of the Sorgitzak Path. Sorgitzak is based on interaction with and the teachings of a pantheon of Gods from the Old Forest.” The ritual told the story easily, and seemed to translate clearly to those present.

I remembered back to a time when, to many folks, public events like this might be their only Sabbat ritual experience. I wondered whether that has changed. I asked two questions:

Why was it important to come to a public (open to all) ritual?

Do you also celebrate Sabbats in private?

The Dark Lady of Mercy photo:Paul Rucker

Rachael Goodman,

Personally I think it is important for the community to come together publicly in a situation where maybe some people don’t understand exactly what we are doing in a ritual, but to let them experience it.

In private? I do.

Janus,

To build and share community and get to know each other. To know and worship together with those of like minds.

In private? Yes.

Jack Green,

To serve the community. To help present this sequence of Sabbats that are important to us, That help us relate to the cycles of nature. I like ritual outdoors, and don’t mind Non-Pagans witnessing it. They need to know that we are out here.

In private? Oh yes. Continue reading →

Earth House Donates to Sacred Paths Center

Starting in 2009, Earth House Project pledged to donate 25% of the proceeds from their Midsummer Gather to the Sacred Paths Center. Last Saturday, Earth House Project presented Sacred Paths Center with $978.62 in fulfillment of that pledge.  This is in addition to the donation of $937.24 Earth House presented to Sacred Paths Center in 2010.

Earth House says they make donations of this type to support an organization whose mission parallels their own. “We are particularly pleased that this donation comes at a crucial time for SPC. Only by working together can we build and grow.  We hope other groups with the income to do so will also contribute to our community Center as we have.”

On July 7th, Sacred Paths Center announced they were in a financial crisis and needed immediate funding or they would close their doors.  CJ Stone, SPC Board member and Spokesperson, said they needed to raise $12,000 by July 30th.  That would allow the community center to pay the outstanding bills and make the changes needed to steer the center in a direction that is financially viable.  As of press time, the center has raised $9795 towards that goal.

Earth House Project is a tax-exempt, non-profit, volunteer community working to build a resource center in the Twin Cities area for people of all nature-reverent spiritual paths.  Their goal is to create a Pan-Pagan Community Center to allow all Pagans to have permanent sacred space for ritual, be a beacon for newcomers in the community to find others to worship with, and provide meeting rooms, office space, and other needed services. The group plans to donate profits from rental of halls and meeting rooms back into the Pagan community.

Editor’ note: the article has been updated to include the current amount raised by SPC.