First and foremost, I want to announce that I finally have a Facebook page! I'm going to post about all my witchy projects there as well, and I will be selling my crafts there too, namely my handwoven ritual cords/belts. Click here and 'like' the page!
It's that time of year again... the Artemis Gathering! It's always been one of my favourite times of the year, and this year was definitely no exception. And I sorely needed the camp this year- not just because I ache for the connection whenever I'm away, but also because the last few weeks had brought me a lot of bad luck. Some work woes, my accidentally breaking my favourite water bottle (now replaced) and I fell down a manhole at one point- I'm okay, although still covered in bruises!
The journey to the Gathering wasn't without its issues either. My car decided, two days before the Gathering, to break down completely due to damage sustained before I purchased her last year (apparently a dodgy patch job by the dealer was the only thing that kept her going and it had finally packed in), and wouldn't be fixed until the Monday after. I was devastated, especially upon learning that my insurance policy is actually really rubbish and wouldn't cover me at all, nor provide me with a courtesy car. Luckily, getting a rental was affordable enough to get me there, even if my sat nav decided to take me on a detour that ended up delaying my arrival by half an hour!
But as soon as I picked up my friends Jenny and Sue, we were set on having a fantastic weekend.
FRIDAY
We arrived at the site at around 4.30pm- the general ticket holders arriving from 4pm and the Gold Ticket holders being there from 3pm. Despite us not being the last to arrive, the site was pretty full already! Another sold out event. We did manage to find enough space in the Party Zone for our tents, plus a bit of extra space for a friend who was joining us a bit later. This year was a first for me in that I had brought an actual tent rather than my usual little pop-up, with the promise from Jenny that they're not that difficult to pitch. I had a few hiccups but, with Sue's help, I managed to get the tent up. And it stayed up all weekend!
Luckily, we also managed to get our tents up before the rain hit, although the rain itself was barely a drizzle and pretty much the only wet weather we saw until Monday.
So, after the tents were pitched, off to the Marquee we went to catch up with all our friends.
After those hellos, we met up with Elmcloud and his family, who we enjoy spending time with every year. They make us feel like part of their family, plus Elm supplies us with his homemade brews. This year brought a couple of flavoured meads and flavoured vodkas. The effect was... interesting. At one point, I felt like I should probably eat something, so I stood up and then fell over. Suffice to say that it had been a while since I had something to drink!
Then music sets from Corvus and Damh the Bard opened the weekend. As usual, it was full of energy and love, and the perfect way to start the festival, complete with our massive group hug to Wild Mountain Thyme. I will admit that, after my near-topple earlier, I didn't trust myself much to stand up and dance like I normally do.
After Damh's set, the Celtic Fire dancers did a fantastic performance with fire hoops, fire pois and nunchucks. Every year, I watch mesmerised. One day, I am going to learn how to fire dance- I absolutely love watching it. I do own a set of glow poi, but so far I'm at the "let's not biff myself in the face" stage.
Once the festivities wound down, many people headed to the Taurus Lodge for the Witching Hour club with DJ Swedish. As I'm not a particular fan of clubs, I decided to get an early night.
SATURDAY
Uncharacteristic for me in all times apart from the Gathering, I woke up nice and early and got myself showered and dressed, ready for the day. I found myself very appreciative for my new tent as, unlike my pop-up, it has a double layer so I don't end up covered in moisture if I accidentally touch the walls of the tent. Although this tent is bigger, so I barely ever touch the sides anyway. It was quite nice to actually sit up straight in my tent!
After a lovely breakfast from the Artemis Cafe, Jenny, Sue and I took in some morning shopping and then I headed over to Ania's Tarot tent for her talk "Tarot Card Combinations". Here, she talked about the various combinations of Tarot cards that can appear in a spread and what that could denote- for example, a large amount of the suit of Cups appearing in a spread could denote an overly emotional person or situation. We took turns to read for each other, which was a very useful learning experience. Also, the advice I got from a reading done for me seemed to put some of my work woes into perspective, which was a nice load off my mind!
Next was Kevin Groves' talk on Egyptian Magic. which I was thrilled to be attending since I missed a huge chunk of it due to my traffic mishap at Staffs. It was fascinating- my knowledge of Egyptian magic is mainly just the mythology. Kevin provided a deeper insight into the myths plus tools and methods of Egyptian craft. It's definitely something I look forward to researching further, even though my path is taking me into a million directions as it is. The life of an Eclectic!
Following this was the Artemis Ritual to open the camp, which was mainly Wiccan in style through invoking the Quarters and the God and Goddess (hats off to Kevin for invoking Water without bringing all the rain!), followed by a Spiral Dance and chant to raise energy. I can never resist a good Spiral Dance and, with the beautiful sunshine, I kicked off my shoes and jumped right in. Of course, I was starving after this, so we all headed into the Marquee for some lunch. The Meet The Witches panel took place during this slot, which we went in and out of as we ate, drank and did some shopping. Notable stores this year were Runesmith, as always, The Witch Chandlery, Wicked Dragon and Spirit Visions. There were many amazing finds this year!
The next slot brought "The Magick Roundabout: A Season of Circles, Cycles and Spirals", where speaker Carole Carlton read excerpts of her book Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers and talked about the real life experiences behind them. It was utterly fascinating and I wound up purchasing a copy of her book when I got home from the Gathering.
Following that was a talk that could definitely be described as the Headline Act of the weekend: Professor Ronald Hutton and his talk about Village Witchcraft & Magic. The Marquee was so packed that I was standing for most of the talk. Professor Hutton talked about the different case studies of village witches/cunning folk, how they were approached for their services and what they did. He also talked about them within the context of the law, showing the differences in how the village witch was treated during the time of witchcraft being deemed illegal and witchcraft being deemed non-existant. It was very fascinating and definitely resonated a lot with me as this was an area of study I looked at a lot when writing the first of my novels, as it was set during the Great Essex Witch Scare.
The next slot made me want to tear myself in two... did I want to go make incense with Alison Angell or chant with Louise Whotton? I ended up decided to go to Louise's chanting workshop, since the lure of singing around a firepit was just too much. We started out a little shy, but the singing picked up pace and rhythm as Louise introduced more and got us moving. It would have been even better if we had the fire going as well- maybe next year! I heard it was particularly exciting at the incense workshop as well- Alison brought catnip amongst her herbs, which attracted a local cat who then proceeded to have a little Nip-Trip in the Taurus Lodge! Whilst I'm glad I went to the chanting workshop, I'm gutted that I missed that, haha.
I had intended to go to the Runes Workshop with Ealdfaeder after, but Louise and Sam (from the Dadga) had suggested a drumming circle at the Dagda HQ. I really enjoyed it last time, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Except I didn't bring my drum, but I did have my Tibetan Singing Bowl so I brought that along. It brought a really interesting dimension to the drumming. I also improved my ability to control volume and sound quality from my bowl. After the circle, I decided to do some more shopping and enjoy the atmosphere.
As we approached the evening, we watched the band Love Street- who I was so excited to see return- over dinner, followed by The Dolmen. The energy being raised was amazing, although it got pretty hot in the tent, so I settled outside with Elm and family and listend from outside the Marquee. After their set came the Fire Procession and the burning of the Fire Sculpture. As with every year, the Sculpture was absolutely stunning and beautifully built. The fireworks display was amazing and lead to a lot of cheering, although it was slightly sombre as it was dedicated to the two CoA members who passed away this year- one lovely lady who manned the Witchfest ticket desk every year and a guy who worked tirelessly for the Dagda. Although Merlyn added an uplifting note by also dedicating the fire to those who were born this year amongst the extended CoA family.
After the fire, Jenny and I noticed the sky was so clear that we grabbed some hot chocolate from the Bar and settled by our tents to stargaze and watch the meteor shower. Last year, it had been too cloudy, but this time around we got to see some really bright ones! It was amazing! Eventually, though, the cold got a bit much for us (the downside to clear skies) and we retired to our tents.
SUNDAY
We began the day with the customary Woodland Walk with Elmcloud. He decided to take us on a bit of an adventure and took us all to another part of the camp. Namely, the woodland area that leads into the campsite. Which did lead to being randomly interrupted by cars coming and going, something we all took in our stride and provided a wave to everyone who went past. As always, Elm provided lots of interesting information on trees and plants and their uses. I will admit that this is one of my major sore points. There are only a few plants I can identify by sight... ivy, lavender, jasmine, oak, rosemary... everything else is just tree or plant. That's something I definitely need to work to improve. Hopefully I'll get better as I start to work on my garden.
The next talk was Spells, Energy and Intention by Moira Hodgekinson, which I had been looking forward to for a while. There was a lot of food for thought, discussing the power behind spells being what you believe, what you put into it. I've talked about it a lot as well- the general rule of thumb being "don't do it just because a book tells you to"- associations need to make sense to you for the magic to work. We also looked at sensing auras and controlling where you extend your energy. It was a fascinating exercise and it reminded me how sensitive we really are.
This theme carried quite nicely into my friend Jenny Cartledge's talk on Weaving Your Magic. Like Moira, she talked about the different ways to approach magickal workings and how to make sure they work for you. She also talked about expanding your horizons and try different methods outside your comfort zone. It was quite a good point for me, as I've found myself attracted to water magick over this weekend, which is something that has eluded me before, despite my love of the sea. I may have to do separate entry on that another time.
The next planned talk was Magic in the Mundane by Cat Treadwell who, unfortunately, was unable to make it. Instead, Sam Pearson ran a workshop on meditation and aura sensing. It was a very intense experience as we got to work with each others' auras. It was an experience that felt very similar to an aura workshop I did at my very first Artemis Gathering. My friend Amy, who was with me that year, had joked that I managed to clear her hangover. So weird to think that was 11 years ago. I'm now a speaker for CoA, and she handmakes jewellery to sell through her company From the Cauldron.
The following talk was one of my favourites this weekend: Sea Witches and Mermaid Magic by Flavia Kate Peters. I've always loved mermaids (and, yes, we do have Ariel to thank for that) and I have been attracted to sea and water magick recently, so I was eager to learn more. I came away from the workshop inspired and I have been working with water and undines since- mostly mundane magick involving the shower, but it's still something. Due to the construction work I mentioned in my last post, our bathroom is still partially done. I have loads of ideas to make it the ultimate tribute to the ocean, which I am eager to complete. Since moving further inland, I've missed the ocean and the beach so much. I'm looking forward to being able to bring the ocean to me.
Next up.... me! This Gathering was quite nervewrecking for me as I was coming away from my comfort zone of dance and movement magic and delivering a talk on the Hindu Goddesses. It was the result of several months of research and talking to various members of my family to clarify stories and traditions. The research was an eye opening experience for me, as I haven't practised Hinduism for years and talking about Lakshmi, Parvati, Kali and Sita again felt like I was talking about my family. It's brought them back into my sphere of practise and made me wonder if I can bring the Hindu pantheon into my Pagan path.
The talk itself seemed very well received and I intend to deliver it again at Witchfest, or something similar. Depending on what I decide, the talk script will appear on this blog either before or after Witchfest. I would like to thank everyone who came and managed to follow me as I prattled along. It was a very mind-bendy subject to go through!
For the first time ever, I ran over (mostly because I gave people some time to arrive and didn't start until 10 minutes into the slot, not realising that my talk was as long as it was- clearly I talked fast during my dry run) and missed the beginning of the next talk and I missed the runes again. So Jenny and I went shopping once more. Those clothes and herbs don't buy themselves! Then we joined in on the Closing Ritual and headed into the Marquee for the Raffle. I actuallly won something this year! For those who were wondering- the chocolate red wine is absolutely divine!
Jenny, Sue and I decided to skip the Firewalk this year as it was very highly subscribed and we wanted to give more time and space to those who needed it more than we did. Instead, we had a chilled dinner at the Marquee and managed to concoct a rather interesting project with our other friend Amber. I shan't share the details now but I will say with absolute certainty that alcohol did not play a part... although it probably should have!
After some Ghost Stories at the Marquee, we went back to our tents to stargaze some more and go to sleep.
MONDAY
Monday is always a sombre day, as none of us want to leave. We know it's going to lead back to mundane life where we don't get to frolick in the woods, drink a lot of mead and generally feel magickal. But we all made a vow to try and keep the magic alive. And I am trying!
After breakfast, we took our tents down- hearing that rain was coming- and then took in some last minute shopping. The Witch Chandlery was especially fun as he wanted to unload a bunch of stuff that he really didn't want to cart back to France, so we got lots of herbs for reduced cost/free. I also got to rehome a faerie statue with a damaged wing. I'm still working out whether she belongs inside, or if she needs an additional varnish and to go into the garden (when it's done).
All in all, it was an amazing weekend and it thrills me to know that Witchfest is less than two months away. Yes, I have much preparation to do, but I'm so excited! Many thanks to Merlyn, Cath and the whole CoA team who bring us these events every year. I have so much love for you all!
I'll try to get some posts in before then.
Blessings,
Shanti