It's been a while since my last entry- my apologies to those of you who have been faithfully checking in for new updates to find none! It's been a very busy, and very rough, few months for myself and my family. It's not entirely back on track but we must push forward.
So here I am to talk about the very first Witchfest Midlands, formerly the Staffordshire Pagan Conference.
A few of my friends have said that they found it really bizarre to say that they're attending Witchfest in May. Having been attending Witchfest since 2005, I was already used to the concept, having attended Witchfest England and Witchfest South- both of which took place in early May (actually, it coincided with a good friend's birthday- shout out to Amy at From the Cauldron). After the England/South events came to an end, I found May feeling rather empty. Then Elric developed the Staffordshire Pagan Conference and Children of Artemis got behind him, and his hard work paid off into creating a brand new Witchfest event.
Which brings us to the Rose Theatre, Rugeley on Saturday 26th May 2018.
After the mayhem I had trying to get to Rugeley on time last year (quick recap: horrendous traffic, missed the first talk and half of the second), I decided to stay over from Friday and make a weekend of it, dragging Mr Shanti along for the ride. Of course, the event coincided with a few other festivals and it took us twice as long as we'd planned to get there. Traffic. Everywhere.
But we made it and wouldn't have to worry about traffic the next day since the hotel was only a short walk to Witchfest itself.
The next day, I was buzzing from the moment the alarm went off (can't say the same for my poor husband!) and was soon up and ready. Witchfest is one of the few times of the year that I can go "Full Shanti", as it were. Broke out the dramatic Goth clothing, cloak, New Rocks (which are a little bit more worn in now) and my top hat, slapped on a lot of glitter and went to meet my friend Jenny for a quick breakfast, then off to Witchfest Midlands. On time and everything!
Our first talk of the day was from the amazing Cristina Pandolfo with "Plant Spirit Healing". The talk was precisely what it says on the tin. Cristina talked to us about her experiences with plant based healing and about using the spiritual energies of the plant as a source of healing. The latter is something I hadn't really considered before and it's certainly a very interesting take. It also means you gain a deeper connection to the plant and it's energies. I also really enjoyed hearing about her experiences with different plants in her training.
Running at the same time was "The Allure of Magic" by Ian Robinson
Cat Treadwell ran the next talk, titled "Honourable Connection". I'll be honest, I had absolutely no clue what this talk was going to be about. I figured it might be something about connecting to deities... and that guess would be incorrect. Cat is very open about her struggles with mental illness (and addresses it beautifully in her book Facing the Darkness) and this talk built on that premise, namely about building connections with each other. However she took this beyond ritual and talked about everyday life- remembering that our Pagan faith isn't just when we're in our robes in front of an altar, but in every aspect of our lives. Mr Shanti contended slightly with the concept of interacting with a stranger as he often finds it very uncomfortable when someone her doesn't know comes to talk to him, which is definitely something to keep in mind.
Running at the same time was "Spirit Animal Guides" by Thomas Janak
Next up was a tough choice but I ultimately decided to attend "Revealing the Green Man" by Mark Olly. I'm so glad I did! I've never attended a talk of his (or read any of his books) before but I certainly will keep an eye out should he return to Witchfest. He brought along a PowerPoint presentation to talk to us about theories of how the Green Man came to be and why he pops up in churches. It's absolutely fascinating stuff and I have every intention of purchasing his book on the subject.
Running at the same time was "How to Enjoy Your Rituals" by Merlyn
After lunch was the headliner of the day- I'm not exaggerating, we had to queue for him- Ronald Hutton's talk on "Beltane and Mid-Summer". I've been working through his book Stations of the Sun (I have given each chapter a date so I can read chapters in context, although I've missed a few so it'll take longer than a year to complete) so some of the information wasn't new to me. Mr Shanti was even moved to ask a question about the tradition of the May Queen (which is a bit of a thing around our way). We also learned of a tradition that Hutton inadvertantly revived, which was a fun way to conclude the session.
Running at the same time was "The Life of a Scryer" by Susan Jackson
Following on was Moira Hodgkinson with Elemental Magic. I always enjoy Moira's talks, just as I enjoy her writing- it all flows really naturally. She's got a gift for words. In this talk, she explored working with the elementals in life and in ritual. She explored things like ritual baths and ritual showers (something I touched on in my blog post inspired by Flavia), using fans and blowing bubbles to attract or banish, plus new takes on candle magic and burying spells in the earth. If anyone spotted me in the talk on my phone, I promise that this wasn't my Facebook addiction creeping in, I have a notes app on my phone and I was writing things down!
Running at the same time was "Smell, Healing, Seduction and Poison- Tales from the Fragrant Apothecary" by Carole Carlton.
The final talk of the day was by Anna Franklin, talking about "The Fairy Doctor and the Spirits of the Otherworld". Anna went into the history of fairy lore, especially in Ireland, talking about the various ailments that were attributed to a fairy spell and the wise women- or Fairy Doctors- who would be sought to heal. I've been fascinated by fairies my whole life so I was absolutely entranced by this talk. It also gave me a lot of things to think about in terms of research (another fiction story in the pipeline). Once again, I was typing loads of notes into my phone!
Running at the same time was "Natural Magic" by David Sutch
As customary for Witchfest events, the day was rounded up by a raffle. Jenny and I didn't score any wins this time around- fingers crossed for Artemis! Congratulations to all the winners though.
Jenny, Mr Shanti and I popped out for dinner (and a costume change on my part) so we ended up missing Green Fortune, but we were just in time for Inkubus Sukkubus. As I'd hoped, the violinist is a permanent member of the group and played with them for this set. I absolutely adore the addition of the live violin (whereas before it was part of the backing track). The set list was fantastic, including their cover of Paint It Black, my all time favourite Heart of Lillith and Wytches, plus a couple of new tracks from their new album Vampire Queen.
Of course, the best part of the set was when Candia asked if anyone fancied the headdress she had on. I waved kind of tentatively... and she threw it to me! I was so happy! It's fresh leaves so I'm toying with the idea of adding it to my fairy garden, although I will have to remove the metal fastenings first. I also came back with an Inkies branded catnip pouch. I'm pleased to confirm that my kittens love it very much, especially my youngest girl Cassie. She's also a black cat, so not entirely convinced this is a coincidence!
After dancing my socks off, I was absolutely knackered. We did make an attempt to stay after the music but it was almost certainly time for us to retire at the hotel. It was an absolutely awesome day and I can't wait for next year's event- which is bigger and will be at a new venue as well. Early Bird tickets sold out already but the general release begins on Friday 1st June- get in quick! It's not an event you want to miss!
Also don't forget to snag some tickets for the Halloween Ball in Reading later this year- I do bellieve there are some tickets still available (unlike the Artemis Gathering, which is sold out!).
Blessings,
Raegan Shanti
)O(