I've mentioned this many times already, but I essentially grew up with Witchfest events. I attended my first Witchfest in 2005 and my first Artemis Gathering in 2006. Every year, I attended these events and became part of the CoA community, learned more about the Craft and about myself. I have made some amazing friends on the way, and going to these events is like a family reunion.
So my original plan before the Gathering was to stop by the Rollright Stones, having realised that they're not far from Banbury, but this plan was thwarted by two things: first, an unexpected heavy downpour and, second, my horrendous time management. I ended up leaving a lot later than I'd originally planned, mainly because I underestimated how long it would take to medicate my pets (two of three needed some meds at the time) and also how long it would take to part from them too.
I ended up postponing my trip until after the Gathering (which I did make- hurrah) and went straight to Banbury Station to collect my friend, Sue. We located our friend Jenny and her mum at the campsite and festivities began.
After the tents were set up, we set to the most important part of settling into Artemis... Mead! Oh, yes, and the seeing of friends and making some new ones. That too.
We got some dinner at the Artemis Cafe and rocked out to Damh the Bard, followed by some awesome fire dancers. With the scorching weather building up to the Gathering, they had to change a few rules when it came to fire, lest the entire campsite went up in flames. This meant the fire dancers had a shorter set and the Fire Sculpture was replaced by a mysteriously titled Water Sculpture... which we will get to.
After the fire dancing, the sky was beautifully clear, so we set up our chairs in front of our tents to watch for the Perseids meteor shower. That's usually our Sunday post-Firewalk tradition, but we knew rain would be returning and decided to take advantage of the clearer night. We were lucky and saw several metoers. It was beautiful. We would have stayed out longer, but the cold got too much for us and we went to sleep.
I kicked off Saturday's workshops with Ania's Tarot workshop, which is a must for me every year. She was also the person to inspire me to create my Tarot deck (which I can officially say is 1/3 designed). This year, she had us work with the Minor Arcana and do readings in pairs. We focused on combining the pictures into one image and reading the cards that way, on instinct. It was a very interesting way at reading the cards, as opposed to reading each image individually.
I brought my own deck this time- Intuitive Tarot by Cilla Conway (the purchase of which was inspired by an earlier Artemis Gathering, actually). It's been a while since I've used this deck and it seemed to be practically screaming in my face for some readings. It sparked some interesting conversations with my tarot reading partner, who approached me later at the Firewalk with more insight. If you're reading this, thank you so much for coming to talk to me again.
The opening ritual was longer than usual, but so much fun. Although it did mean I was kind of late for my first ever workshop with the Witchlets. I taught them how to circle dance and we raised some positive energy for fun and friendship. It was so much fun and the kids were fantastic. It was also mind boggling to be dancing with kids where I remembered their mothers being pregnant with them. A whole new generation of the CoA family. I look forward to dancing with them again next year.
The next talk I went to was Moira Hodgkinson's Independent Witchcraft, which was exactly as it said on the tin. She talked about forging one's own path and finding your own connections, without being ruled by what a book says you can and cannot do. This resonated quite well with me, as I've never been of the "we do this because we have to" persuasion, in my childhood growing up as a Hindu and in my path as a Pagan. I tried it, it didn't feel right. For me, what I do spiritually has to mean something to me.
Ronald Hutton returned once again to deliver a talk on the Mabinogian. I did try to attend, but the Marquee was understandably very crowded and it got very hot. I ended up having to leave as I was losing concentration. No fault of Hutton or the CoA Team, more the blazing sun that made a reappearance!
The last session of the day I attended was Ashley Mortimer's talk about the Book of Shadows, looking into Gerald Gardner's creation of it and where the term first arose (and, of course, Doreen Valiente's role in the whole thing). It was thoroughly fascinating stuff and we were told to be expecting a book on the subject in future. It's already on my wishlist!
Which brings us to the post-dinner Water Sculpture (there was music, courtesy of Esme Knight and The Dolmen, but I took that time to unwind from the day). Looking at it, you would have no idea that it was thrown together with only a few hours notice, having been told they couldn't do the usual Wickerman nor use the area normally used. Oh, but it was a sight to behold. Just looking at it plunged us into a feeling of calm.
We watched Celtic Fire perform more fire dances, and we were all given slips of paper- one to offer to the fire and one to offer to the water, to ask for blessings and to cast away any negative energy. We sang and laughed as we walked the Labyrinth. It was a beautiful evening, and the downpour that followed came at just the right time... for us, anyway. For those who stayed up later, not so much!
Sunday began with the customary Woodland Walk with Elmcloud. Every year, he gets really nervous about it but he always does an amazing and interesting talk. This year gave me lots of things to think about, including a protection charm using holly and nettles. Our holly bush needs a good prune and my husband planned on spending the weekend pulling all the stinging nettles from the front of the house. The project is underway.
Next came Connecting With your Deity with Jenny Cartledge, my good friend of many years. Lik Elm, she gets really nervous before her talks, and this year doubly so as her mother was also present. As always, she had nothing to worry about and her talk was really fun and interesting. As I've mentioned before, I've come back to the Hindu pantheon and Parvati has made herself known as my Goddess. Jenny's talk gave me a lot to think about in terms of strengthening that connection.
The Crow Dancers performed over lunchtime, which was, as always, a fantastic set. Some of the audience played their own drums along- I wish I'd thought to bring mine, but it was still in my tent! Next time, I'll remember to bring it along.
I took a break after the Crow Dancers to set up for my talk, The Lighted Womb: The Indian Garbas. This was a talk and workshop about the Garbas, an Indian stick dance specific to the Gujarati region, and in honour of Parvati/Durga. Those who attended learned about the basic history and I taught them the basic steps, followed by a 10 minute Garba. I did Garbas a lot at family gatherings and weddings as a child, but I haven't been part of one properly since I was 14 years old. To run one was a completely new experience and an extremely fun one. I thank everyone who attended and it's definitely a workshop I will run again, perhaps at a future Witchfest or Pagan Pride.
The weekend closed with the Closing Ritual. The ritual team made an effort to connect this one with the Opening Ritual, which was really lovely. Both Jenny and I brought I drums this time, so we got to step out of the Circle Dance and drum along with the chanting, which was so much fun!
After winning zero in the raffle, on we went to the Firewalk with Oona McFarlane. I missed it last year but I really felt like I needed it this year. There's been loss and many general difficulties, so I wanted to walk the fire and put the sadness of the last few months behind me. We raised energy for the fire and broke arrows, building up our sense of community. Then we walked the fire. Jenny, Sue and I walked it three times, and then once all together. We cheered as Jenny's mum walked the fire. We cheered for the young girl who faced her fears. We hugged each other in triumph. Once again, it was an amazing experience.
Monday rolled around far too quickly! We packed up our tents (which involved, for me, a battle with a wasp that apparently wanted to live inside my tent forever. We got him out eventually though) and had breakfast. We took several hours to say goodbye to each other, having many group hugs and well wishes.
We eventually bid our final goodbyes and left to return to the world of Muggles.
The next CoA event will be the Halloween Market and Ball in November- I can't wait!
Up next though, Pagan Pride Anglia. Hope to see many of you there!
Blessings,
Shanti
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PS- Many thanks to the lady who bought my fiction books- I hope you're enjoying them!