As always there was a wonderful array of colors, textures, and magic at the Marketplace and dozens of talented, creative womyn.

Divine Dangles by Loona was the first booth I stopped at to say hello and shop. She was featured on our blog two years when we first met at Womongathering in 2008. She had a wonderful collection of dangles and new class, ceramic and wooden goddess centered spiritual tools and art. My mom and I both picked up a lovely dangle (Mama Kelly has a nice photo of mine – as soon as she uploads it I can get it posted).

Here are a few photos from Loona’s booth (glass, ceramic, and wooden goddess centered spiritual tools and art (contact info.:  703-525-9650):

Another lovely booth was Sweetwater Pottery by Susan Minyard (contact info. sweeth20@getgoin.net; 417-741-6630) – Hand thrown pottery decorated with our sisters dancing benath the moon, lampwork, goddess beads.

I’ll have more photos, merchant information, and other postings about Spirit of Womongathering 2010 over the next couple of weeks.

Bright blessings and Happy Summer Solstice, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:wicca, womongathering

Saturday and Sunday were filled with many wonderful activities, shopping, talking and taking photos of some of the merchants (will be posting about them also later in the week), and enjoying more workshops and rituals.

Saturday morning I attended Journey to the Chamber of Contratcs – part 2 of the workshop I begin on Friday with Journey to Chamber of Wounds. In this shamanic journey we began revisiting the Chamber of Wounds for those who may not have met a piece of their soul in the journey during the first workshop and\or to reconnect with one or more pieces, then continued on to the Chamber of Contracts where we are acquainted with the parts of the soul that have retuned and rewrite the “contracts” created at the time of their leaving in order to begin the process of healing and reconnecting.

Saturday afternoon I also attended Re-claiming Sacred SELF – Centeredness – “did your dreams get lost somewhere along the way to serving others?…feeling over-whelmed, under-nurtured, and generally depleted…discover connection to your circle of One, that sacred Center of inner wisdom and wholness that resides in every woman.” This was a beautiful workshop that combined discussion, worksheets, ritual and chanting to remind us all that nurturing and caring for ourselves FIRST is the most important, spiritually necessary thing we can do for our planet and loved ones.

Saturday Evening – Ritual Mystery of the Triple Goddess – an awe inspiring circle of drumming, singing, chanting and dancing honoring all three aspects of the Goddess.

Sunday morning was part 3 – Journey to the Chamber of Grace “a place of nurturance where we take the energy of your spark of light and emotional resources into your charka system and begin the process of healing old wounds. Grace is a hero’s journey that begins in this chamber, and it commences at the nergetic level when you absorb the soul part in through your charka system”

Sunday afternoon – Closing Ritual in the Meadow (“I am Goddess, You are Goddess”), followed by the Closing Circle at Sacred Fire (holding the vision and spirit of Womongatheirng in our hearts that it may shine brightly within our lives and be shared with our family and community).

Here is just a sampling of some of the other Workshops I would also liked to have attended had time permitted:
Clearing the Mother-Line Banishing the Ancestral Curse – “it is well established that we “inherit” many of our parent’s issues and fears. Using Celtic tirual…access our matriatchal lineagea nd discover how these dysfunctional behvaiors orginated…through guided shamnic journey and ritual banish the ancestral curse.”
Strengtheing Our Voice from Within: Releasing our Inner Critic – “release the hold of your inner critic and consciously create the way you think about yourself”
Stretching to Center through the Bones – “moving and breathing through your bones connects you to your essential self, the Earth and Spirit”
Wild Wonderful Witchy Wimmin – “honor the Goddess in ourselves, and within one another as the strong, amzing, joyful wimmin we are”
Riding the Om – “using vocals to bring out the inner divine”

Later in the week stay tuned for posts about the awesome merchants and other tidbits.

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:goddess, womongathering

The workshops and rituals at Womongathering are plentiful and varied, and at times it is difficult to decide which ones to attend because there is always several things going on at the same time or timing overlaps a bit but that is what makes the weekend so much fun.

There are also several special sacred places to stop in on at any time, including

• The Sacred Fire – “Around a Womyn’s Sacred fire as transformer, we magnify our visions of a womon honoring world manifested through our skillful co-creations.”
• The Red Temple – “In this space we nurture and are nurtured through storytelling, som, teatime, divination, healing, laughter and tears; all wom”yn no matter where on their minstrual or life-cycle are welcome.”
• Gyrlespace – a place for all the young maidens to meet and greet, play and enjoy fun activities while mom is busy.

Thursday evening, my first night at Womongathering I attended the Lighting of the Sacred Fire.  The Sacred Fire is one of the places I find myself drawn to all throughout the four days.  It is created and tended by the Sacred Fire Tenders.  It is a sacred space for all, with an altar set up at the 8 directions and this year the design was of a spiral leading into the center.  NOTE:  every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. eastern time, the Fire Tenders mediate together to heal our planet (and invite all womyn to join them in spirit and add their energieis) – “as we dance on a path of beauty, truthful to our spiraling self, let us reweave a web of light around planet Earth as we connect withone another, womyn and womyn’s groups all over Gaya’s Lap.  We then build togehter a Spirit Basket of who we are as a Spirit of Womongathering community and dream that Goddess takes body again in a living spirituality and culture in these Northern lands and all over the globe.”

Friday morning I attended the Opening Ritual which was held in the Meadow, and also weaving down to the Sacred Space and back again to the Meadow. Serpentessa brought Athena (one of her snakes) to the ceremony, and we all shared in a few sacred moments of “bellies to the ground” connecting to Mother Earth.

Friday afternoon I attended Journey to the Chamber of Wounds (part 1 of a three part workshop) – guided by a shaman (Alice Agostini) on a journey with your spirit guides and power animals to the chamber of wounds where you discover fragmented pieces of your soul, why they chose to leave, and bring them home. “Portions of the soul are free to leave the obdy, and do so while dreaming but also do so to protect itself from potentially damaging situations (such as abuse and extreme stress or trauma). The soul piece may not return on its own and the shama must intervene and return the soul essence.”

Alive and At Peace in My Body – “guided mediation, moving puia (prayer), and journaling to begin to re-establish and nurture positive connections with our miraculous bodies”

Friday evening I attended the Dedication of the Hearth I posted about Monday.

Other workshops I would have liked to attend (but the times conflicted) included:

Singing Down the Moon – “chants of womon’s beginnings, fulfillment, and wisdom as we emboyd the Goddess through our sacred spirit-voices.
The Art of Blessings – explore blessing as a form of art
Getting in Touch with Spirit – mediate with dreams
Full Spirited Four Fold Goddess – embrace all four directions, elements and seasons and the four stages of womon’s life – maiden, mother, queen, and crone
Serpent, Moon, and Goddess Journey – journey with gentle live Sperpent into the cneter and mystery of your being (this class had a limited enrollment of 15, and was full by the time I went to sign up – but I hope to have the opportunity to attend next year).
Dancing Her Wisdom: Spiraling Into the Center – experience stories and wisdom of the Triple Goddess told in the ancient way, through tribal dance (learn 4 short stories and their accompanying dances)

There were many other activities to chose from as well, but these are the ones that stood out most for me.

And of coures the nightly opening drumming was wonderful – although I was too tired to actually attend, our cabin was so close to where the drums were played I drifted off to sleep each night with my spirit dancing to beat.

I will be posting about activities for Saturday and Sunday, more photos from the Hearth, highlighting a few of the awesome merchants, and more over the next few days so be sure to stop back again.

Bright blessings, Cynthia.

Written by Lady RoseTags:goddess, womongathering

One of the magical ingredients of Womongathering is the love, dedication and hard work of all the womyn who contribute to turning an ordinary campgrounds into a welcoming, nurturing, spiritual retreat.  This “magic” was certainly evident in the hearth (the dining hall). 

In the center of one wall was a “hearth” (photos below) with symbols of all some of the activities that brought womyn together around the hearths of old – such knitting, candlemaking, and of course cooking. There was a small tent with handpainted banners in the center of the oppositie wall and all along the walls were posters of various aspects of the Goddesss created by the many womyn who made the event possible (will post a few photos later in the week). 

One of the beautiful ceremonies I attended was the dedication of the Hearth.  It was a reminder to honor the sacredness of the hearth in our own homes.   With the rush of daily life and modern conveniences of today’s living womyn have lost touch with the warmth and sharing that was once shared around the hearth, as well as the opportunity for wisdom to be passed down from one generation to next as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters would sit shoulder to shoulder by the fire.   Lots of family don’t even have the time to share a calm meal around the dining room table together.  The closest most homes have to live flame in the home is the pilot light in our stoves, and most of those are now electric. 

However, we can reclaim the positive aspects of what the hearth represents in our own home by creating a sacred space to honor the sacred flame, even if it is simply creating a small shelf or space in our kitchens where we light a candle and welcome the blessings of the Goddess into our home and our lives while we are cooking and setting aside a bit of time as often as possible to spend quality time with our families, grandmothers, mothers, and daughters to share love and wisdom. 

Seeing how a few twinkling lights, a loving touch of decorative details, and splash of magical intent can transform a space was definitely inspiring.  In my home I have a fireplace that has needed repairs from the day we bought the house.   Hubby and I both agreed we probably would never use the fireplace  for an actual fire, so haven’t gotten around to paying for the repairs.  However, seeing how lovely the Womongatheirng hearth was I have been inspired to utilize the hearth in my home as a sacred space (even without an actual “fire”).

May the sacred flame burn brightly forever in your homes, bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:goddess, hearth, sacred flame, womongathering

Last weekend I spent an awesome four days at the festival Spirit of Womongathering – a long weekend of workshops, sacred fire, drumming, womyn’s spirituality, and awesome womyn. This year I brought my mom and she had a great time too.

We arrived about noonish on Thursday and were assigned to our cabin. After a quick unpacking we took a tour of the marketplace that had some of the booths set up already and went through the program booklet. As always it is difficult to decide what workshops to take or events to participate in because there is always so much to chose from and so many things going on at the same time.

The first thing to do at Womongathering is to visit the Gateway (photo above) – a sacred place between the worlds to pass through leaving behind what you want to leave behind from the mundane world, ground and center, and focus on what you want to manifest during your time at Womongathering. This year’s theme for Womongathering was the element of spirit, the direction of center, and all aspects of the Goddess. It is a warm, welcoming spot to visit. This year it included a large book for all to write in what they wished to have manifest and a large beautiful box filled with inspiring quotes by women that everyone got to reach in and pull out a piece of paper with words of wisdom on it.

The dining hall was bustling and we had a lovely vegetarian meal. Later in the evenig was the lighting of the Sacred Fire ceremony. After a long, but wonderful day my mom and I headed back to our cabin to drift off to sleep while listening to sound of drumming coming from the building just across the way where the nightly open drumming session continued well into the night.

I’ll be posting more about Womongathering over the next few days.

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:goddess, womongathering

This week on Thursday I will be leaving for Womongathering, a four day retreat - I’m so excited. I’m taking my mom this year and she is just thrilled. She has only been once before when we went at least 20 years ago (I don’t remember exactly when, it’s been that long). Two years ago Mama Kelly and I went together and we had an awesome time (see post: Highlights of Womongathering 2008). 

I am also getting healthy and feeling awesome!  I am now 25 lbs from goals! (5 more lbs dropped this month) Wahoo! As exciting as that is I am keeping in mind that NUMBERS do not count (not weight, not age, etc.) – yes it’s nice to have a visual goal to keep in sight, but my main focus is on getting healthy and enjoying life.  Two weeks ago at my checkup I got a clean bill of health from my cardiologist – the congestive heart failure is totally gone.  I no longer have to see him and I am off all medications. 

This weekend we started our farm shares – weekly pickup of lots of fresh, organic produce at a farm about 15 minutes from our home. This week the share included dark green lettuce, red lettuce, mixed greens, spinanch, white radishes, and we picked our own strawberries (3 pints). We also got to snip some herbs (catnip for our kitty, and some oregano and lemon balm). The farm shop also carries other items from farms in the area such as organic eggs, honey, and roasted coffee. We had a great time at the farm and are looking forward to visiting every weekend from now until November. If there are farms near you that you can buy shares from, I highly recommend it. It may seem like a lot of money to put out all at once up front – but over the course of the entire year it is a lot cheaper for all the wonderful produce you get, plus it is so much fresher and healthier for you, and better for the environment too since the produce isn’t shipped from all over the country.

The freshness of the produce makes such a difference; the taste is great. Even my daughter (who is 14), who used to eat only romaine lettuce as a salad has been enjoying a big bowl of mixed dark green salad every day (with very little dressing on it!). The white radishes were amazing and the strawberries were out of this world.

I have been keeping busy getting my new venture underway as a Slumber Parties consultant (offering education and quality products to empower women, and improve romance and intimacy), see introductory post Silliness, Secrets and Sexy Surprises. I am having a lot of fun, meeting awesome women, and looking forward to expanding my inventory over time.  I am truly enjoying  helping others achieve sensual empowerment.

Reminder – I am on Facebook (profile link) and have a new Twitter account too, please feel free to friend me and\ or follow me.

Wishing every one bright blessings, Lady Rose

Slumber Parties consultant contact information:

Cynthia King
Your Confidential Romance and Intimacy Enhancement Consultant
I want to give you a FREE shopping spree and discounted items for having a FUN “Ladies Night Out” get together. 
Website: Slumber Parties by Cynthia King – Shop my website 24/7 with confidential and secure orderin!
Email: cynthia.king@slumberparties.com
Facebook page: Slumber Parties by Cynthia (direct link: http://www.facebook.com/SlumberPartiesbyCynthiaKing)
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Written by Lady RoseTags:organic vegetables, weight loss, women's health, womongathering

This past weekend Teacherman (my hubby) and I had the awesome pleasure of attending Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice concert at St. John the Divine’s Cathedral in New York City.  It was the 30th anniversary for the concert and construction on the cathedral was complete so the entire cathedral was open for the first time in many years.   We have wanted to attend the Winter Sosltice concert for over 20 years, ever since we first went to see Paul Winter in concert and heard about it, so even a winter blizzard that was rolling in wasn’t going to keep us from going.  It had already started to snow earlier in the morning, but by afternoon the snow had temporarily stopped. The weather channel was calling for 12 inches or more by later in the evening. We left early in the afternoon and arrived in New York by train with of plenty of time.  We then took a cab up to the cathedral and found a restaurant near by and had a lovely dinner.  On the way back to the cathedral we stopped in a bookstore to browse and warm up a bit and then made our way to the cathedral.  It was a truly wintry magical evening honoring the longest night and the sun’s return and a reminder to one and all to focus on the blessings in our lives and to always remember that even in darkest of night, the light continues to shine.

While there I picked up the Silver Solstice cd (music from the 25th Winter Solstice Celebration). I highly recommend it and all of Paul Winter’s cds, these are a few I have: Earthbeat, Wintersong,  Journey with the Sun (Summer Solstice), and Wolf Eyes- songs from the cds are also available for downloading and make a great addition to a magical musical collection.

It was truly a magical and awe inspiring event – the music floated through the cathedral, beating drums awakened the soul, the golden ship (symbol of the sun) sailed down the center aisle, the whales sang and the sounds of the night (owls, crickets) paid homage to the longest night and then the vibrating sounds of the sun gong were heard as it it was slowly raised 100 feet, all the way to the ceiling of the cathedral.  We howled with the wolves and honored the Mother Earth.  The beautiful voices of the Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble inspired joy and celebration in the heart.  The Forces of Nature Dance Theater performers were a delight to the eyes and ears.   A gigantic spiral Solstice Tree (inspired by the tradition of the Tree of Life and World Tree) graced the stage, adorned with a myriad of bells, gongs and chimes (to symbolize the diversity of beings in the life family).  At the conclusion of the concert, the Sosltice Tree was brought to the center of the stage and all the dancers and singers danced and sang around the tree in celebration, and everyone in the audience got to their feet, clapping along to the beat of magnificant drumming.  As everyone was leaving the cathedral  we were greeted by the blizzard.  Several inches of snow had arrived and a blanket of snowy sparkles covered everything.  Someone in the crowd began howling to the wolves and it echoed across the wintery wonderland, and a chorus of howls rose up from the crowd as we all stepped out into the night howling and laughing as we began our journey homeward.

Words truly can’t describe the experience.  Below are some links and youtube videos of some of the highlights from past concerts, there is even a link for a free download of 9 Paul Winter tracks.

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday filled with blessings, love and light, Lady Rose

Paul Winter Links and Videos:

FREE Downloads - 9 tracks from Paul Winter’s Solstice Journey (http://paulwinter.bandcamp.com/)

Links provide by Paul Winter’s Living Music from an email we recieved: “To give you a feel for music of the Pokrovsky Ensemble, we’ve collected a few videos from past solstices and performances given in Russia. We’ve also found a video of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, our other special guest ensemble.”

2008 Winter Solstice – nice overview of varioius performers who have performed last year, begins with the Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble performing one of my favorites (they also performed this year)

2008 Finale – can see the Solstice Tree, but a different song then the one played this year

2004 Winter Solstice, 25th anniversay – nice overview, can see the Sun Gong ascending 100 feet

Forces of Nature Dance Theater - video of a performance they did at Central Park. Seeing them in person at the Paul Winter Concert was incredible.

Written by Lady RoseTags:concert, Paul Winter, Winter Solstice, Yule

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my sister’s house, along with my mom, my brother, and the kids.  My other sister, wanted to have Thanksgiving with just her immediate family – but we popped in to say hello for a few minutes since my two sisters live across the street from each other.  (Although until a couple of weeks ago they shared a house – but that is a looooong story and I won’t bore you all with the details).

We provided the plates, napkins, cups, turkey, stuffing, a few veggies, two appetizers and two desserts for the Thanksgiving meal.   We even provided one of the tables – since my sister just moved in a couple of weeks ago she doesn’t have a kitchen table yet or have her kitchen stocked up yet.   She  made the potatoes, yams and green beans.  My brother brought a cherry pie.  All togther there were six adults and four kids, and everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable meal.  The next day my hubby, Teacherman, made a wonderful turkey and rice soup.  Friday and Saturday we spent home, getting a few chores done and a little shopping.

Sunday the weather was very nice so we headed up to New York on the train to visit Dylan’s Candy Bar.  We had been looking forward to it ever since we heard about the candy store on a tv show. It is located on the corner of 60th and Third.  It is three floors of sugery goodness with a huge variety, including nostalgic candies from decades past.  They had free samples of candies and candy cane milkshake to try.  The first floor (entrance) had many, many bins of candy sold by the pound and there were a variety of containers to chose from to scoop your selections in to, and a lot of holiday goodies.  On the bottom floor was a chocolate fountain with a varity of items to dip into it (for a small fee), a large variety of fudges and other items.  We didn’t make it to the top floor – but upstairs is the cafe and party rooms.

My daughter, Angelgirl, picked out a small gift for each of her friends for Christmas and filled a small container with a variety of candy from the many bins for herself. I picked out a nice tree ornament for us. Teacherman picked up a few candy bars for friend’s. I had fun picking up a few gifts too – for three friends at the office, Mama Kelly, and the most fun was putting together a container of goodies for my 2 Goddess-daughters (Mama Kelly’s girls). The container was $10 for all the candy you could stuff inside, so I picked up a wide selection and tried to get the most unusual items I could find from the bins. In one container I put all the gummy, sour, sugary treats and in the other I put a variety of chocolate items. Once the containers were full, I looked around for tiny candies that I scooped over the top and shook it down so the little bits filled in every bit of space. It was a bit of struggle to get the lids closed but I did it. When I got home I divided everything equally into zip lock bags. There was 20 or more different kinds of candy all together, and I can’t wait to share all the goodies with them. 

From there we strolled over to Central Park and took a horse and carriage ride around the park.  It was the first time for Angelgirl, and she really enjoyed it.  Then we  stopped in FAO Schwartz  (toy store) and saw the big piano just in time for the show where they perform a few songs and after wards they let in small groups of folks at a time to hop on the big piano keys.  I also picked out a small but fun Harry Potter gift for my two Goddess-daughters.  I resisted the urge to get anything for myself. 

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Xmas!   I have all my shopping done now and only a few  more items have to arrive in the mail, everything else is all ready.  I even picked up wrapping paper, gift boxes, etc. this weekend.   I’m looking forward to wrapping and putting the presents, gifts bags and baskets all together.  I can’t wait for the holidays!   **big grin**

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:candy, gifts, new york, Thanksgiving

I’m taking the day off Friday, October 30th, to relax and enjoy my 54th birthday. We will be celebrating on Sunday with a trip to Medieval Times (more about that later). I feel like I’ve been celebrating already for a few weeks with all the fun things I’ve been up too lately.

Late Sept. I went to a Native American Indian harvest festival with Angelgirl (my daughter) – it was small but nice, held at a farm about 15 minutes away. Angelgirl and I enjoyed a relaxing morning browsing the displays and a couple of demos, and listening to speakers, stories, and some music. When it came time for dancing and they asked folks to join – I, of course, jumped in – and Angelgirl pretended not to know me.  LOL   It was adorable.

Oct. started off with a date with Teacherman, my hubby, to see Billy Crystals’ one man show, 700 Sundays at a theater in Philadelphia. It was “truly maaaarvelous”. He is an outstanding performer and the show was very funny, as well as touching the heart and leaving a few tears in our eyes. He told stories about growing up, his parents, etc. – the title for the show comes from the 700 Sundays he had with his dad before his father passed away when Billy Crystal was a young teen.

The following week (Oct. 8th) we went, along with another couple, to see Bruce Springstein playing his next to last concert at the “old” Giants stadium. He wrote a new song in honor of the stadium, “wrecking ball,” since the old stadium will be torn down soon. He is always at his best when in he plays in New Jersey, and the concert was great. This tour he plays a different album each night – our night he did the Born to Run album, which of course is awesome. The show even had fireworks at the finale.

For my birthday we are going to Medieval Times (on Nov. 1) – it has been over 15 years since we’ve been. I’m very very excited; plus we have the royalty package so we have FRONT row seats which is just going be soooo very cool (included is a dvd of the show and a cheering banner so we can wave it as we cheer our knight during the joust). Teacherman surprised me by getting a limo to take us all – which adds a big WOW factor to the day. There will be six of us, Teacherman and Angelgirl, my mom and two good friends from work (my friends and I are getting dressed in medieval costume which is going to add even more fun). Doors open 90 minutes before the show so there is plenty of time to mingle in the big room with the bar, where the characters from the show (the knights!) come out and mingle and photos can be taken. For the limo ride up we have a bottle of sparkling white wine and bottle of red wine chilling, and we are also packing some shrimp, cheese and crackers and for the ride home we are bring strawberries and chocolate dip along with a tin of the fancy cookies shaped like a straw. (I won’t be indulging, of course, but I can at least sip my ice water from a chilled glass in the limo and for a huge splurge I can have a strawberry on way home.)

I am so very thankful to have this time with my family and friends.

Wishing every one a happy and safe Halloween.   Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:birthday, concert, events, outings

As I mentioned previously, I was planning to attend the 6th Annual South Jersey Pagan Pride Day Event, well I did! And it was a very enjoyable day and I am so glad I went.

I left early in the morning, but the directions that I printed out from google were wrong (they said to take 70W, but I should have gotten off at 70E), and I ended up about 2 hours out of my way traveling back and forth on route 70 determined to find the street I was suppose to turn down to find the park where the event of was being held.   I had planned on arriving when it started by 9 a.m., but ended up arriving just before noon.

I stayed calm, played my Celtic Woman cd, and eventually called hubby and had him look up the directions again using a different online source. After a few more calls, a few more wrong turns, eventually I arrived at the lovely Cooper River Park in Pennsauken.  There were small Pagan Pride Day signs along the road near the park, and off in the distance I could see a large open area where lots of tables were set up, a play area for kids, lots of trees along the water, and sail boats on the lake.  The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold.

I found the welcome table easily, located right at the end of the parking area and before the very large grassy area where tables\booths were set up in a semi circle, with a small stage area in the center (labeled Mt. Olympus stage on the event map).  I introduced myself to the friendly folks behind the welcome table and picked up a booklet with the schedule and a map outlining where classes would be held, and brief bios for all the presentors.    On the right were stone bleachers all along one side of the grassy area with signs designating different class areas (labeled Athena, and Apollo).   There was also Pan’s Playground – an area set up for the kids to work on craft projects.   They also set up a collection bin near the welcome table for collecting nonperishable food items for donations.

I was just in time to take a class on crystals so headed over to the Apollo area of the bleachers.  The instructor, Nancy Tursi, gave everyone a few small crystals of rose quartz, peridot, and amethyst along with a nice printed out informative card for each.  She led a mediation first without the crystals and than again using each of the crystals one at time so we could feel the difference.  She encouraged each member of the class to discuss what they sensed and which stone they preferred.  We were than put into pairs and worked on each other sending healing energy to our partner using the crystal of their choice. 

After the class I made a tour of the various booths and tables - there were lots of vendors with a variety of  witchy wares (oh the temptations!), artists and green cleaning products, one for reiki and another for massage, two doing readings, and a few representing wiccan\pagan groups.  Not everyone had a business card or flyer, but I did pick up as many as I could and will list them below.

After I made a full circle of all the booths, I stopped at the last one and bought some raffle tickets (lots of various donated prizes from the various vendors) and you picked which one’s to drop your ticket(s) into for a chance to win including a handmade hooded cloak, books, tarot cards, items for children and much more.  After that I decided to eat my lunch which I had packed with me.  I found a picnic table near the parking area and read over the pamphlets and various handouts I had picked up while I enjoyed the sunshine, the music, and the relaxing atmosphere.  

After lunch, I strolled leisurely back to the booths and make a final decision on what to buy but also to see if I could find Karen – who I had only spoken with online through Facebook.  It was a posting on facebook by Karen that alerted me to the event in the first place and she said she was planning on having a booth (Karen does Angel Essence Massage and is a Bach Flower consultant).   I managed to find her and we shared a warm hug and smiles.  Her friend at the table with her turned out to be the instructor from the crystal’s class I had just taken.   Her friend is the founder of Double Visions – paranormal investigations.

After visiting with Karen a bit, I made a final round of the booths, selected a vendor to make a small purchase from (a young woman who was just starting out and was so new she didn’t even have a website yet), and for a little bit watched from the bleachers the ritual that had started in the area near the stage in the center.  It was about mid-afternoon and I was getting tired from my very long winding driving adventure to get there, so I decided to head on home a  bit early rather then stay until 5 pm when the event ended.  Fortunately, finding my way home only took about 45 minutes since I now knew which direction I should be heading

I had a very good time, and it was a great way to relax and spend the day outside with fellow wiccans and pagans.  I really enjoyed meeting new folks and passing out our business cards for 2 Witches Blog.   I also invited a couple of folks to contact us if they were interested in doing a guest post.   Some of the booths were very busy so I didn’t get a chance to speak with everyone.   I was impressed by how organized the event was and the park itself is a great space for holding such an event.   Lots of folks were there with their families and children.   The weather was perfect  so the turn out was good.  I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this event next year and hope to attend in 2010.

Other classes\workshops offered:  Past Lives, Goddess & the Grail, Pagan Podcasting, History of Wicca, Feri Tradition, Dance & Movement in Magick, Runes, Interfaith Families, Druid, Drum Circle, Asatru Blot.

Crafts for the kids:  Shake n Paint Swirly Abstact Art, beaded necklaces-bracelets,zip-per fobs and bookmarks, felt pumpkins-acorns-medicine pouches; foamy frames-leaf men-wrath of thanks.

Sampling of some of the tables\booths:

Red Oak Grove - a Neopagan Welsh Druidic group.
Sacred Wind Sanctuary - community of Earth-based faiths.  Note:  they have having a Samhain Festival, Nov. 1, 4:30 – 10:00 pm in Howell, NJ, $10 donation or $5 with potluck donation – festive drum circle, handmade crafts, and fun.  (I already have reservations for a big birthday event that day so I can’t make it – otherwise I would be planning to attend.)
Witches Unite.com (The Black Hat Society) – worldwide lauch Oct. 31, 2010
Pagan Veterans of the USA (no website listed on their handouts)
Karen Bianco – Angel Essence Massage
Nancy Tursi - medium, psychic
Raven Lilies – spiritually inspired creations, woodburning designs.  Just starting out no website yet, email:  raven.lilies@gmail.com
Sun & Moon Metaphsyical Shoppe.
A World Apart – jewelry, gifts, new age items.
Wee Witches – handmade items (soaps, herbal teas, magical tools, wooden witches and more)
Water Gap Hiking Sticks – walking sticks, solar and green products
Wizards Towers – beads and gifts, special orders welcome
Miracles by Angel (no website) – portraits, muruals, custom designs (from photos), 856-669-8773
Thistlefish Studio (no website) – jewelry, 3D art, paintings, cards, 856-785-2727

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:pagan event, pagan vendors, review, wicca, wiccan vendors