ancestral WISDOM - The Pagan Alliance
Transcription
ancestral WISDOM - The Pagan Alliance
13th Annual Pagan Festival ancestral WISDOM May 7, 2016 11:00am-5:00pm MLK Civic Center Park Berkeley, CA Pagan Alliance 1 Welcome to the 13th Pagan Festival Saturday, May 7, 2016 Civic Center Park, Berkeley 11:00 am to 5:30 pm Presented by The Pagan Alliance www.thepaganalliance.org Our thoughts. Our prayers. Our blood. Our breath. The roads we walk upon. The ways we speak. Our pain. Our beauty. Inventions. Flights of fancy. Song. Tears. The rhythm of our feet. We inherit so much, from ancestors of both blood and spirit. To honor our ancestors is to honor ourselves. To remember our ancestors is to acknowledge that we, too, build the future. - T. Thorn Coyle Program design by Guillermo Prado, 8point2.com 2 Pagan Alliance Schedule 10:50 Opening Ritual Yeshe Rabbit Matthews 11:00 Welcome to the Pagan Festival-Ancestral Wisdom 11:05 Ryan Smith, Speaker 11:20 Daughters of Cairo 11:30 Barbara McGraw, Speaker 11:45 Adocentyn Research Library-Board members Don Frew and Anna Korn 11:50 Ariellah and Elizabeth Zohar-International Fusion Belly Dance Artists 12:00 Invitation to Ritual and Keeper of the Light Ceremony Ritual Clergy: 2015 Keeper of the Light, Crystal Blanton 12:45 MCs Shay Black and Amelia Hogan 12:50 Welcome and Performance for 2016 Keeper of the Light Glenn Turner 1:15 2016 Keeper of the Light Glenn Turner 1:35 Shay Black, Singer 2:05 Crystal Blanton, 2015 Keeper of the Light, Speaker 2:15 Amelia Hogan, Singer 2:45 Max Dashu, Speaker 3:00 Carly Ozard, Singer 3:30 Yeshe Rabbit Matthews, 2011 Keeper of the Light, Speaker 3:40 Lily Holbrook, Musical Artist 4:15 Rev. Patrick McCollum, 2005 Keeper of the Light, Speaker 4:25 Tribute to James Bianchi with Carly Ozard 4:35 Morpheus Ravenna, Speaker 4:50 Serpent Sirens Honoring the Elements 5:00 Closing Children’s Ritual in Respect to Our Ancestors Pagan Alliance 3 The Pagan Alliance Mission and Diversity Statement. The mission of the Pagan Alliance is to educate our Communities and the general public, to promote acceptance of our faiths and traditions, to work for justice, to connect our communities, and celebrate our spiritual diversity. We recognize the dire need to unite based on concern for the current ecological crisis that faces our Mother Earth. The Pagan Alliance is committed to education of the general public with the intention of changing public views, opinions and response to the Pagan Community. Through public education, we hope to create an increased acceptance and understanding, and to dispel common misconceptions. We are committed to justice, and eliminating prejudice and ignorance in all communities, including all ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, and age, size, and class affiliations. We are also committed to incorporating sustainable living and alternative lifestyles into our programs and events. We sponsor activities and events that reflect how our traditions, which are supportive and in tune with Nature, and play a positive role in healing human’s relationship with the Earth and with all cultures. 4 Pagan Alliance The Pagan Alliance Sigil A Sigil is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually composed of a complex combination of several symbolic geometric figures each with a unique meaning or intent. The Pagan Alliance Sigil has been a talisman and symbol of strength for many. The Pagan Community, our friends, and our allies have joined together in pride and celebration of our religious freedom for twelve years at the Pagan Festival. Over the past 15 years, the Pagan Community, The Pagan Alliance, The Pagan Alliance Sigil has undergone profound changes. This year the Sigil is dedicated to Ancestral Wisdom and is displayed at the festival. Help the Alameda County Food Bank Give away to benefit the Alameda County Food Bank Tickets are a $1 donation each. Tickets & Prizes are at Info booth. Pagan Alliance 5 Festival Theme: Ancestral Wisdom Our Ancestral Wisdom of human cooperation points to our need for Future safety nets. We are the ancestors our children and grandchildren need to ensure that they have a decent future life. – Glenn Turner. 2016 Keeper of the Light The ties of our ancestors run through us and into those of our kin, regardless of whether we can see them or we even want them. These threads of ancestral wisdom weave a tapestry that connects us in history, culture, strength, love and knowledge. – Crystal Blanton The ancestors are our own families, the mighty dead of our world, the beloved dead of our communities. Their wisdom guides us and nourishes us. Their experiences and pathways can inform and illuminate our own lives. We better know ourselves through them. May their light and love lead us into brighter places. – JoHanna Hill, President, The Pagan Alliance Board of Directors Ancestral Wisdom lives within our bones, Lies within the mitochondria of each cell, Linking us back to the First Mother, Follow that link to a deep knowing, Red blood and white of bone, Seek the wisdom that lies within. – Rowan Fairgrove Eps 6 Pagan Alliance Festival Theme: Ancestral Wisdom “Some are so blind that they bring their offering to earth-fast stone and also to trees and to wellsprings, as the witches teach.” This condemnation of ancient wisdom comes from the Latin penitential of Halitgar of Cambrai. An 11th century Anglo-Saxon translator added the gloss swa wiccan tæcath (“as the witches teach”), proving that “witches” were still understood within a context of pagan ceremony. – Max Dashu, Suppressed Histories Archives CAYA Coven’s Daily Practice in 2014 proclaimed, “I am the Legacy of my Ancestors. I am the Legend of my Descendants. With grace and awe, I create the Now. Blessed be.” Just as all water is one water, all times are one time. The past and the future are with us, watching us, collaborating with us, even now, in our DNA and in the cycles of energy that sustain the planet. We can feed and be fed by the wisdom of those who came before and those who are yet to come by calling forth our own wisdom right now. – Yeshe Rabbit Matthews Pagan Alliance 7 2016 Keeper of the Light Glenn Turner Glenn Turner is a community elder and currently works on Bay Area climate justice, social justice and mental health issues. She has been organizing Pagan events since 1968 when she and her friends started an early Wiccan group called NROOGD. She is also a long time member of the OTO, having joined in 1983. As one of the founders (1975) of Covenant of the Goddess (COG), a Wiccan church, she is currently the organizer of its annual gathering called MerryMeet which will be held in San Jose from August 11 to 14, 2016. (To apply to teach one of the MerryMeet workshops, email [email protected]; MerryMeet website coming soon.) She opened Ancient Ways store in Oakland CA in 1988 and organized the Ancient Ways Festival from 1984 to 2010. In 1994 she started PantheaCon, held each during Presidents Day weekend at the DoubleTree in San Jose, California and she serves as the general ringmaster of the event. See www.pantheacon.com for more At her shop and gatherings, she has taught classes on a wide range of topics. She is available at Ancient Ways on Fridays for Tarot and Palm readings. For an appointment, please call Glenn at (510) 653-3244. Ancient Ways store is open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm daily at 4075 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94609; selling books, candles, statues, incense, oils, herbs, and other metaphysical accessories. See www.ancientways.com for a list of supplies, and mail order info. 8 Pagan Alliance Festival Ritual Passing of the Staff and Community Light All Are Welcome to Join the Circle at Noon At this year’s ritual, 2015 Keeper of the Light Crystal Blanton is priestess and will pass the staff to 2016 Keeper of the Light Glenn Turner The annual honor of Keeper of the Light recognizes someone for contributions that not only effect the Pagan Community but international communities. This honor is given to someone who is a catalyst for change, learning, justice and equality. Each Keeper of the Light contributes to the Staff by adding a message by ribbon or on the wood. The magical intention of the passing of the staff and gifting of the lantern is to lend strength and support to Glenn Turner to enable her to continue her work for social justice, and preservation of our mother earth, and her service to the Pagan community and the community-at-large. Blessings to her to do this work in good health, integrity, prosperity, love and with ancestral wisdom. Join in the circle and lend your energy to this intention, receive a blessing to support your own work, to this earth, or to your Gods. With the wisdom of our ancestors, together, we can build communities of love, justice, equality, and prosperity. Pagan Alliance 9 2015 Keeper of the Light Crystal Blanton Crystal Blanton is a social worker, activist, writer, priestess, mother and wife from the Bay Area. She is a Solar Cross Temple board member and the 2015 Keeper of the Light for the Pagan Alliance. She is the author Bridging the Gap and Pain and Faith in a Wiccan World. She is the editor of the Shades of Faith and Shades of Ritual anthologies, and co-editor of Bringing Race to the Table; Exploring Racism in the Pagan Community. She currently writes for the Wild Hunt, Sage Woman, the Daughters of Eve blog on Patheos, and is the founder of the 30 Day Real Black History Challenge and website. Blanton is passionate about the integration of community, spirituality and healing from our ancestral past, and is an advocate for true diversity and multiculturalism within the Pagan community. She continues to work in her local community as a social worker, and within the Pagan community, by facilitating and participating in discussions on topics of social justice, diversity, leadership, and the use of restorative justice practices to empower the community voice. www.CrystalBlanton.com. 10 Pagan Alliance Pagan Alliance 11 Authors Circle sponsored by Adocentyn Research Library Since the inception of the Pagan Festival, local authors have been featured. Please join us in the Authors Circle for readings by our esteemed local authors. Following each reading there will be a Q&A session. Meet one on one with authors and have your book signed. Books are for sale at the Authors Circle. 11:00–11:45 am 11:15 am-Noon 1:00-1:45 pm 1:30-2:15 pm 2:00-2:45 pm 2:30-3:15 pm 3:00-3:45 pm 3:30-4:15 pm 4:00-4:45 pm 4:30-5:15 pm Patricia Leslie Carolina Montagu Gus DiZerega Patrick McCollum Morpheus Ravenna Natalie Case Crystal Blanton Diana Paxson DeTraci Regula Serena Toxicat ALTARS West North East South Center Temple of Aphrodite Crossroads of Hekate Circle of Cerridwen Spark Collective 2015 Keeper of the Light Crystal Blanton Ancestors Altar JoHanna Hill & The Pagan Alliance Kuan Yin Miss Tiki & The Pagan Alliance Oshun Water Altar Arlynne Camire & The Pagan Alliance 12 Pagan Alliance Children’s Activities Mystical Quest- Earn 3 Stars and win a prize (Quest Cards available at Festival Info Booth with Miss Molly) 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Children’s Crafts with Miss Moxie Come have some fun with your child making a variety of spring themed crafts. Parents will be taught the how to’s from their children as you craft together. Adult guardians must be present for their children to participate. 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm May Pole Dance-Come dance around the May Pole, be and celebrate spring 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm Children’s Crafts with Miss Moxie 4:15 pm - 4:45 pm Afternoon Children’s Story Story Telling Pavilion 5:00 pm Ritual in honor of our Ancestors Choose one of the Elements. Earth, Air, Fire or Water Learn about the Elements through the wisdom of the ancestors Pagan Alliance 13 Workshops and Activities Mystical Quest- Solve 3 Riddles and get a raffle ticket (Quest Cards available at Festival Info Booth) 11:00 am Tarot Storytelling with Susa Black The Pagan Alliance Tarot Booth 2:00 pm Altar Tour with Stella Iris Meet in the Center of the Park 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Sekhmet Empowerment Ritual- Priestess Sarah Astarte. Sekhmet, the ancient Egyptian Lion Goddess, is the deity that represents power, strength, and healing. Prior to ritual, there a short lecture on Sekhmet. Everyone will reflect about their sense of personal power. The ritual will begin, and includes disclaiming and releasing that which holds one back (negative messages, destructive tendencies, fear), walking through a veil (overcoming an obstacle), receiving blessings, and roaring and growling to claim one’s power! 14 Pagan Alliance Master of Ceremonies: Shay Black Shay Black is an avid song catcher, musician and singer and is known for his extensive knowledge of songs and music from the Irish, English and Scottish traditions. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he moved in 1994 to Berkeley, CA from Liverpool, where he had lived for the previous twenty years. While in Liverpool, he toured and recorded with Irish band Garva, the illustrious Stan Hugill and the fabled sea shanty group Stormalong John. Shay teaches Folk Repertoire at Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage and his most regular local gig these days is the weekly Starry Irish Music Session at The Starry Plough pub in Berkeley every Sunday. He tours regularly in the US and Europe with his brother Michael as The Black Brothers, also with siblings Martin, Frances and Mary Black as The Black Family. In the bay area, he performs individually and with a myriad of musicians and singers in the bay area, including Nauticus and Dogwatch, both sea music bands, and De Dannyboyz, an occasional group that plays weddings, sessions, parties and wakes. Apart from recording with the Black Family, Shay has recorded and performed with the California Revels, Shira Kammen, Peter Kasin and Richard Adrianovich, Dogwatch, Sharon Knight and Pandaemonium, In Harmony’s Way and many others. He has performed at PantheaCon, and sang with the Spiral Dance Chorus, under the direction of Evelie Delfino Sales Posch. Shay has been a staunch supporter of The Pagan Alliance for many years, and this is his 9th year as MC of the Pagan Festival. Pagan Alliance 15 Mistress of Ceremonies: Amelia Hogan Amelia Hogan is a long-time polytheist, pantheist, witch, and founding member of the Coru Cathubodua (Morrigan) Priesthood, a sometimes touring and teaching musician of over 30 years currently residing in the San Francisco Bay area. Her interests include singing, polytheist devotional practice, folklore, storytelling through music, performance, recording, leading good ritual, serving on the board of the San Francisco Folk Music Club as well as planting, growing and then eating tiny potatoes; good tea and hospitality; and fencing and archery. 16 Pagan Alliance SFLBGT PRIDE June 25 and 26, 2016 Annually, the Pagan Alliance volunteers as a Donation Partner with San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and Celebration. Our volunteerism results in a grant. We are seeking volunteers for June 25 and 26, 2016. Please contact Pagan Alliance, Executive Director, Arlynne Camire at [email protected] or text with your info (510) 872-1188. Because of you … Funding and Fundraising for the Return of the Pagan Festival: Because of the many volunteers at the Festival and at fundraisers, the Pagan Festival remains a free offering to the community. Please help keep it FREE! We would like to thank the following: SFLGBT Pride for the Donation Partner’s Grant and all the volunteer who donate time, skills and sweat equity to make the Pagan Festival, our events and fundraising possible. Pagan Alliance 17 Performers The performers who bless our stage are from different paths and traditions. Performances are community offerings. The Pagan Alliance is grateful for their contributions to the celebration of our community pride. For more information regarding the performers, please visit their websites listed below. Shay Black www.black-brothers.com Amelia Hogan www.reverbnation.com/ameliaisaverb Carly Ozard www.carlyozard.com Lily Holbrook [email protected] Ariellah www.ariellah.com Elizabeth Zohar www.elizabethzohar.com Daughters of Cairo Belly Dance Facebook Tatseena’s Serpent Sirens tatseena.com 18 Pagan Alliance Vendors & Info tables Businesses Wizard’s Wand (WizardCraft Technologies) wizardswand.net Willowroot Wands Ancient Ways ancientways.com Astral Chrysalis Designs astralchrysalis.com/ Organizations Articmoon Designs articmoondesigns.com Come As You Are Pagan BansheeArts Congregation bansheearts.com cayacoven.org Capizano’s Culinary Delights Coru Cathbodua Priesthood www.capizanos.com corupriesthood.com Corven Design Covenant of the Goddess etsy.com/shop/CorvenDesign cog.org Divine Gypsy Fellowship of the Spiral Path www.flickr.com/photos/ spiralpath.org thedivinegypsy/ Heathens United Against Racism Eyescream heathensunitedagainstracism.org eyescreamjewelry.com Hrafnar Follow The Trees hrafnar.org followthetrees.com Polytheists at UC Berkeley Glowees [email protected] www.glowees.com Reclaiming Josephine Mbugua Designs Reclaiming.com Just Rewards 4 justrewards.com Lulu Deux Millinery luludeuxmillinery.com Mother Earth Fine Arts & Crafts Patricia A. Leslie http://carterhaughbooks.wix.com/ patricia-a-leslie PureSource Gems and crafts [email protected] Rainbow Gems [email protected] Sensory Revolution Sponsored by the Pagan Alliance sensoryrevolution.com The May Tree themaytree.net The Sacred Well sacredwell.com Tarot / Divination Booth Pagan Alliance 19 20 Pagan Alliance Staff & Volunteers The Pagan Festival is an event that requires the dedication and hard work of countless volunteers. We would like to thank this year’s staff and all the volunteers who have made the Pagan Festival possible. Arlynne J. Camire, Executive Director & Festival Director Board of Directors JoHanna Hill, Board President and Altar Coordinator Donald Burbano, Board Vice-President, Project Manager Molly Blue Dawn, Board Member, Pagan Festival Info Booth Manager & Community Organizer Christine Oswald-Tigerman, Board Member, Outreach Director & Stage Manager Dean Jones, Board Member and Author Circle Coordinator Victoria Slind-Flor, Board Member, 2009 Keeper of the Light Liana Scheer, Board Member Staff Benjamin Penn, Security Manager Yeshe Rabbit Matthews, Vendor Coordinator Robin Dolan, Assistant Stage Manager Moxie Penn, Children’s Crafts and Event Coordinator Caeli Stewart-Morrison, RN-First Aid Richard Aldous and Barry King, Webmasters Teresa Lee, Graphic Artist, Event Art and Flyer Event Insurance by Reclaiming www.Reclaiming.org Pagan Alliance 21 You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. — Buddha “Ancestral Wisdom? I’m not dead yet! I’ve been dead forever and will be again, only alive for an instant. I’m looking forward to lots of romantic, sexual, intellectual, creative, and travel adventures - and so should you, no matter how old you are”. Or more succinctly: “I’ll be mellow when I’m dead” - Weird Al. — Russell Williams Our Ancestors carried our lives with them, through the past into our present. Whatever they lived through, whatever they learned, however they survived, our lives were made possible because they survived, they lived, they learned, they kept going through good times and terrible times and all the times, from the beginning to our time. Now we are charged with carrying life, the wisdom to live well, and the courage to keep going into the future, when we will be the Ancestors. — Wishbringer Molly Blue Dawn, High Priestess of Serendipity of CAYA Pagan Congregation 22 Pagan Alliance “He Is Not Dead I cannot say, and I will not say That he is dead. He is just away. With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand, He has wandered into an unknown land And left us dreaming how very fair It needs must be, since he lingers there. And you—oh you, who the wildest yearn For an old-time step, and the glad return, Think of him faring on, as dear In the love of There as the love of Here. Think of him still as the same. I say, He is not dead—he is just away.” — James Whitcomb Riley Pagan Alliance 23 The Sacred Well Ad (Use from Last years Program)