Thursday, June 26, 2008

on to our next event

Many of you know that for the last month or so, one of the most frequent things to come out of my mouth is "after the dyke march." I am one of eight women who organize the San Francisco Dyke March, an annual event that takes place the day before Pride. 15,000 people have a big party in Dolores Park, and then 40,000 dykes march through the Mission to the Castro. We are all volunteers, and the stress during the month of June increases daily.

It is interesting , though, the juxtaposition of the dyke march and summer solstice. The summer solstice party that was a fixture in our house before I arrived on the scene has been superseded by the dyke march, and last Friday nite there was a small gathering of witches in Berkeley, whileI was in the Castro hawking dyke march t-shirts in the line at the LGBT(IQQ) film festival.

So now that it is almost "after the dyke march", I can begin to think about my next organizing role, the Fools Journey.

My pagan partner has taught at many witchcamps, but she does not teach at California camp. As the ever-supportive partner of a pagan, I have been encouraging her and some of her cohorts to start their own "camp", in some form or other. What emerged from these discussions was the Fools Journey, a three-day spiritual restorative at Four Springs, a beautiful retreat center near Harbin Hot Springs.

So now my vast experience from organizing a party of 40,000 comes in handy. We have the site, the food is all arranged, the witches are meeting to plan the programming, and the word is out.

So come relax by the pool, get introduced to the elements of magic, or deepen your magical touch with some of the most experiences witches in California. A magical time will be had by all.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Welcome to Partners of Pagans

I am happy to announce the founding of a new international organization called “Partners of Pagans”. I founded this group to find support and camaraderie among people who understand my particular fate; married to a pagan.

You might ask what kind of support we need. Well, the first thing that comes to mind is “Pagan Holidays; As the Wheel Turns”. I first realized I needed a Partners of Pagans meeting when I needed support around what to do on Samhain, a.k.a. Halloween. She’s up in Marin County at a witches-only event, and I am too scared to be alone in the house at midnight because of all the friendly ghosts.

All of my non-believing friends think I am totally out of my mind, but many people who have been to this house and have experienced the funny stuff will understand. Heck, the cable guy won’t even come here alone. He got a good dose one day when the TV starting going off and on by itself.

Next topic: Where to go during the initiation at your house? It’s a lazy weekend day, perfect for hanging around the house and relaxing. Guess again. An initiation today. Let’s see, how can I amuse myself out of the house from 11 AM to 5 PM. Please see the pamphlet on day trips for Partners of Pagans.

Next: Don’t tell me you ate THAT! One of our first UK members reports that he came home one day and there was a piece of cheesecake on the mantle. Sweet, he said to himself and partook. His wife came home and shrieked, “That was an offering to the goddess!” Oh, well. Another member’s response to that was, “When you offer something to the gods, you never know which god will receive.”

I think you catch my drift. When I was in England in April, each and every husband of all of those fabulous witches over there signed up. So stay tuned, and send in your topics for future meetings. Oh yes, and there will be a Partners of Pagans caucus at the up-coming Fools Journey three-day spiritual restorative that I am helping some witches organize. Maybe we’ll even do a skit in the talent show.