Pagan Spirit Gathering Report

PNC-Minnesota Co-Editors Cara Schulz and Nels Linde are in the lovely, but very wet, Stonehouse Park near Earlville, Illinois for the Pagan Spirit Gathering. We are part of the brand new Media Camp that brings together podcasters, journalists, bloggers, and other Pagan Media into a centralized camp to better facilitate interviews.

Throughout this week we will updating you on what’s happening at the festival, working with the Proud Pagan Podcasters to podcast some of the musical acts, and giving you our impressions of this festival. We are focusing on Minnesotans attending, performing, and presenting at the festival.

Star Foster of Patheos conducting an interview at Media Camp at PSG

Today, there are three Minnesotans scheduled to present workshops – Steven Posch, Nels Linde, and Judy Olson. Their workshops may be cancelled due to weather. It poured and stormed in the wee hours this morning and has rained most of the morning. We have a slight break in the rain, but we are unsure how long it will last.

Due to the storm, there are some challenges with the basics at the camp today – the food vendors can’t plug in everything they need to be able to cook, the potapottys and bathrooms are a bit interesting, and tents in lower laying areas have water in them. Yet – everyone is in great spirits enjoying the festival to the hilt. Pagan festival communities are awesome things to watch develop and the community is stepping in to help one another. This feeling, this sense of a true Pagan village pulling together, is the number one reason I attend festivals. A close second is how every person is open to wonder and joy. Festivals are very joyful experiences and it’s rare and precious to have joy in your life.

I’m going to get ready for the Media Camp presentation on journalistic ethics, which starts at 1pm. Hoping for a good crowd and perhaps we’ll find some more people who wish to join the PNC in an existing bureau or willing to help establish a new one.

Stay dry fellow PSGers and tarp your tent!

Community Notes; June 20-26

Happy Father’s Day.

Earth House Midsummer Gather is next week, all week! It starts on Father’s Day, and this year’s theme is “Father of the Greenwood”. 25% of the proceeds for the gather will be donated to the Sacred Paths Center. A good festival which supports a good cause. http://www.earthhousemn.org/

The Group/Seeker Meet & Greet returns Wednesday June 29! If you are looking for a group, or if you are a group looking for people, or if you’re a group and you want to network with other groups, or if you want to see a cross section of our fabulous community, this is the event for you. $10 per group, $2 per seeker, no reservations needed.

Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise is almost here, and the registration rates are about to go up. Work purposefully around the fire every night, Thursday- Sunday, July 14-17. These are some of the most profound experiences available. If you are able to go, please do. Sign up now to get the early rate. http://sacredfirecircle.hawkdancing.com/index.html

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For more detailed information (addresses, descriptions, etc.) or further updates, check out the much ballyhooed Twin Cities Pagans Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwinCitiesPagans/

Kari’s Thingtide Travels – Northern Folk Gathering

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Kari Tauring is hitting the Heathen summer festivals and gatherings and is  reporting back on her experiences in this series. This festival is the Northern Folk Gathering, former known as the Midwest Thing.  The festival moved to a new location this year, St Croix State Park, and was held June 10-12.

This was the first annual gathering of Heathen kindreds and individuals representing the Northern half of the Midwest. Hosted by Volkshof Kindred (out of Minneapolis) at Norway Point State Park near Hinkley, Minnesota.

Photo credit: Chris Gunnar Miller

This three day event was attended by just over 100 people with about 30 children in tow. Though it was the first annual event by its name it was by no means the first event hosted by Volkshof Kindred and it showed in the organization, food, and fun that everyone enjoyed without a hitch. This mid-sommer festival was an opportunity for the kindred Chieftains (or leader representation) to meet and discuss issues within the Northern states and the region. The Gothis (god-persons or religious officials) of kindreds also met as well as the Valkyries (those women who serve the kindred as horn bearers, connecting the luck of the kindred to the wells of the world tree).

The cabin camping at Norway Point is quite nice. Everyone was settled in a little “village” with the main hall being the center of food and festivity. There is a lovely swimming beach and lots of woods to wander in.

Specific programming for the children was carried out through the event from workshops by Sara Axtel (Minneapolis, Powderhorn Cultural Wellness Center), members of Volkshof kindred and myself. I worked with the older kids teaching the Jim Johnston Norsery Rhyme “This is the world of Midgard” complete with dance steps, pantomimes, masks and a sun-disk parade.

It was different than Trothmoot because the intention of the event was to bring the regional Heathens together to form bonds and friendship. So the emphasis was on festive activity such as a Maypole and flower crowns, hall decorations and a whole lot of dancing. I presented a performance program especially written for the event, “The Transformation of Groa.” Drew Miller (Boiled in Lead) came up for the show to add his magical laptop sounds and there were six staving women who performed a stav dance leading the human Groa into the mound to become a mound-bride.

A special moment
The childrens performance was a moment that the entire hall found exceptional. Here we are, modern humans of Nordic ancestry watching our children re-create the story myth of our deepest root. It is this realization that our ancestors are alive in our children that made this moment of the event a sort of pinnacle. Listening to each person in the hall raise a horn to their parents, grand parents, great grands…by name and by deed really marks a huge difference between general pagan events and heathen events. There is a deep understanding that we are creating the world for our children based on how healthy our relationships with our ancestors are. There is a sense in each raised horn that deep healing is going on in the family of origin issues we all face and that there is a commitment to maintaining a high level of functioning for our children’s sake. I find this compelling whether at a small kindred meeting or a large regional gathering. This path is for our ancestors and our descendants, not just for us here and now.

Also, discussion was had on how this event could open up to individuals who, while not practicing Heathenry in a strict sense, are connected to heathenry through ancestry and interest. In Minnesota, our large Immigrant folksoul is beginning to seek their deeper roots and Heathenry is reaching towards the songs and dances of the Immigrant Era. A natural bridge is beginning to form and Volkshof Kindred is leading the way towards total folksoul healing.

Next year and other events
The site is already booked for the second annual Northern Folk Gathering and attendees said their fare well’s with “we will see you at LATP in September!” There is such a homecoming/family reunion feeling within these Heathen gatherings that growth is the natural outcome. I will be attending Lightning Across the Plains in Kansas this September for my third year. Last year I was recognized at the Midwest Thing held at LATP as volva (staff carrier) for the region. I look forward to reporting on it!

 

Editor’s note:  Interview  with Brody Derks of the Thule of  Volkshof  Kindred, about Heathenry and the Northern Folk Gatheringcan be found here.

Kari’s report on Trothmoot 2011 can be found here.

 

Kari’s Thingtide Travels – Trothmoot 2011

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Kari Tauring is hitting the Heathen summer festivals and gatherings and is  reporting back on her experiences in this series. The first festival is Trothmoot 2011, a gathering Heathens from across the country. The festival is held at different locations each year. This year it was at Osage Hills State Park close to Pawhuska, Oklahoma June 2nd – 5th.

Trothmoot is the annual gathering of members of the Troth, a national/international organization supporting Heathenry through active national supports, clergy programs, kindred affiliations, an extensive lore program, and the publication, Idunna. The gathering is hosted by different member kindreds around the United States. 2010 was my first experience at Trothmoot, hosted in Hinkley, Minnesota by Volkshof Kindred. I provided musical entertainment and workshops in Volva Stav and children’s Norse Myth and Pageantry.

I was very honored to be invited back again for 2011, hosted near Tulsa, Oklahoma by Bifrost Way Kindred. Each kindred who hosts gives the moot the flavor of their own region. It’s a chance for them to show off their state, their regional culture, and the best hospitality they can offer. Once again, this was done in an exceptional way. Guest friendliness is a key virtue in Heathenry.

Trothmoot is different than other pagan or heathen gatherings as the main purpose is to hold the face to face annual business meeting for the organization. There are reports from officers, a summation of the year’s work, and oathing in of new stewards and officers. The focus of Trothmoot is the organization and building personal relationships with Heathens from all over the United States who share the common goal of strengthening the community, sharing experiences, and increasing membership. The moot is open to all Heathens, not limited to members only. In fact, anyone may come in good will to learn about Heathenry and the organization of the Troth.

The entire event was quite exceptional. Around 50 or so participants with around 6 children were in attendance. My Volva Stav workshop was well attended and the children’s workshop concentrated on Nordic Roots Dance. There were several formal blots (rituals dedicated to specific deities) and a Grand Symbel (a three round, sharing of the horn among the whole folk). It was a thrill for me to perform some songs and get the whole hall dancing in a ring and serpent dance. Everyone was so joyful. We sang a Faroese verse as we danced and the hall was filled with frith (deep peacefulness and good will).

Trothmoot 2012 will be in Pennsylvania this year and I am sure will take on the flavor of the Deutsch heritage of the hosting kindred. I expect the Troth will continue in its mission and hold its annual moot for many years to come.

The growth of Heathenry in the US
Regional Heathen events are growing. While national organization can accomplish many great things and is essential to the promotion of Heathenry on a federal level, the strength of regional kindreds is the ground swell keeping this folkway alive and growing.

I believe it is because Heathenry begins with ancestor honoring that it is growing so quickly in the United States. Genealogy and cultural heritage have become the new hobbies of so many Americans who are aching for their own identity and deep cultural root. The pre-Christian spiritual traditions of Northern Europe are a natural expression of the discovery of those roots. Regional attention helps the Northern European folksoul to relate to and honor the original land spirits, immigrant cultural enclaves, and develop close personal kinships to other Heathens in the states and regions in which they live.

Next Kari’s Thingtide  Travels – Northern Folk Gathering

Community Notes; June 13-19

Sharon Knight will be performing at the Sacred Paths Center Wednesday night. She is currently one of the hottest Pagan musicians touring.

SJ Tucker is confirmed as a musical guest and presenter for next year’s Paganicon, speaking of the hottest Pagan musicians touring.

The Sacred Paths Center has been presenting top name Pagan musicians, now Paganicon is bringing in a top name Pagan musician, and this fall at the TC Pagan Pride Celebration, many of the area’s top Pagan musicians will be performing.

The great Willow at Cold Water Spring has been saved! Anyone who has attended a full moon walk at Cold Water Spring (such as the one happening this Wednesday) knows how significant this tree is, and how wonderful it is that it will continue being there. There will be another full moon walk at Cold Water Spring this Wednesday at 7pm.

Second and Third generation Pagans are becoming more common in Paganistan, which makes a class this Friday at the Sacred Paths Center all the more significant. The Mothers of Daughters seminar is about discussing sexuality with teenage daughters. Often, Pagan ethics are subtly different from mainstream ethics, which creates tension around delicate issues, and makes classes like this profoundly important and worthy of notice. Mothers can attend at 7pm. There is more information available at http://www.womenstemple.com/home.shtml

Earth House Midsummer Gather begins next Sunday! Oh joyous week, Earth House Midsummer Gather is almost here. http://www.earthhousemn.org/

The Twin Cities Pagans Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_70134520490) was recently changed to the new groups format, at which point many people began posting on the wall, which then became emails to the more than 2500 members. Therefore the group was changed so that only moderators can post on the wall. Right now the group exists once again as a place primarily for the distribution of this newsletter. If you wish to be in an open networking group on Facebook, you can join the Twin Cities Pagan Networking Group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_166938510037410. If you want all the best information about the local Pagan community, opportunities for discussion, with moderation to keep out spammers, you can join the Twin Cities Pagans Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwinCitiesPagans/

Paganistani Promotions has a new icon displayed on all our accounts. There are three stripes, blue, white and green. The blue symbolizes the sky, and was actually sampled from a digital photo of sky. The white symbolizes snow. The green symbolizes the fertile earth. In the middle is a symbol which just about everyone in Paganistan can agree is significant, although few paths agree on what it means, thus making it the perfect symbol to include. The symbol is gold for the richness of the culture. Overlaid over the symbol is a map of Paganistan with many of our sacred rivers and lakes. To the North of the map and above the symbol in Runes which seem to be reaching for the stars, it says, “WE COME FROM WELLS”. In the earthen area below the symbol, written in the fluid Theban script, it says, “WE REACH FOR STARS”. The Runes are used because of the importance of the northern folk to the unique culture of Paganistan. Theban is used because Wiccans are the majority in the Pagan community.
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Community Notes is reprinted courtesy of Twin Cities Pagans Yahoo Group.