Post by habibidancer on Oct 2, 2011 14:14:18 GMT -5
So I thought I'd report on my trip to Iowa Pagan Pride Day.
We did not arrive till 11am so we missed opening ritual. There weren't a ton of people... maybe 100 total? There were number of vendors, maybe 10 at most. On a personal level I was most interested in the vendors that sold handmade things, rather than people doing divination readings. Amber K and Azrael had a vending table for their books and patches. (http://www.ardantane.org/ardantane_alley_home/ardantane_alley_home.html for their store items) and I bought their newest book on creating ritual, and some of their pentacle patches that they've designed.
I attended the first workshop by Amber and Azrael on creating Ritual Outside the Box. They were discussing simpler rituals that aren't fully written out with altars, tools and all the bells and whistles. Spontaneous rituals. Simple celebration rituals. Rituals based on immediate need or desire. Not just spells but cast the circle, call the powers, raise energy, send it out rituals. It was a great reminder that we don't have to spend days or hours planning out everything we do.
We ate some lunch there, shopped for a bit. There was a playground nearby so my son pretty much played the whole time which was good for both of us! There was a baby blessing ritual. A troupe of belly dancers that performed twice. There were a couple other workshop teachers that I didn't sit to listen to the whole time because I was keeping an eye on my kid or shopping.
The second workshop Amber and Azrael did was on Samhain and the dark time of year. They gave us an assignment on things to list out on how we want to spend the dark time of year with the goal of renewing ourselves. Then Azrael taught us an easy way to draw out a labyrinth, and I'm excited how easy it was, so I'm going to set one up in my yard, possibly for Samhain after the Halloween Parade in davenport, weather permitting. If I get it set up I will let you all know and you can come walk it that night. Not a ritual, just a labyrinth to walk.
For anyone who might not know, the difference between a labyrinth and a maze is that a maze may have more than one entrance/exits and you can most definitely get lost in a maze. A labyrinth only has one way in or out, and you can never get lost. Labyrinths are used as a walking meditation for peace, spiritual growth or simply centering oneself.
My kid and I left shortly after that workshop, as I wanted to check out Trader Joes in Des Moines and then get to my family's house. But it was a fun time. I wish more people were there. It had the potential to be a lot bigger!
We did not arrive till 11am so we missed opening ritual. There weren't a ton of people... maybe 100 total? There were number of vendors, maybe 10 at most. On a personal level I was most interested in the vendors that sold handmade things, rather than people doing divination readings. Amber K and Azrael had a vending table for their books and patches. (http://www.ardantane.org/ardantane_alley_home/ardantane_alley_home.html for their store items) and I bought their newest book on creating ritual, and some of their pentacle patches that they've designed.
I attended the first workshop by Amber and Azrael on creating Ritual Outside the Box. They were discussing simpler rituals that aren't fully written out with altars, tools and all the bells and whistles. Spontaneous rituals. Simple celebration rituals. Rituals based on immediate need or desire. Not just spells but cast the circle, call the powers, raise energy, send it out rituals. It was a great reminder that we don't have to spend days or hours planning out everything we do.
We ate some lunch there, shopped for a bit. There was a playground nearby so my son pretty much played the whole time which was good for both of us! There was a baby blessing ritual. A troupe of belly dancers that performed twice. There were a couple other workshop teachers that I didn't sit to listen to the whole time because I was keeping an eye on my kid or shopping.
The second workshop Amber and Azrael did was on Samhain and the dark time of year. They gave us an assignment on things to list out on how we want to spend the dark time of year with the goal of renewing ourselves. Then Azrael taught us an easy way to draw out a labyrinth, and I'm excited how easy it was, so I'm going to set one up in my yard, possibly for Samhain after the Halloween Parade in davenport, weather permitting. If I get it set up I will let you all know and you can come walk it that night. Not a ritual, just a labyrinth to walk.
For anyone who might not know, the difference between a labyrinth and a maze is that a maze may have more than one entrance/exits and you can most definitely get lost in a maze. A labyrinth only has one way in or out, and you can never get lost. Labyrinths are used as a walking meditation for peace, spiritual growth or simply centering oneself.
My kid and I left shortly after that workshop, as I wanted to check out Trader Joes in Des Moines and then get to my family's house. But it was a fun time. I wish more people were there. It had the potential to be a lot bigger!
