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PantheaConvergence prt3: The Black Rose Suite
This year we decided to do something different and get a suite. We planned for months and worked our butts off to make it a fun and exciting atmosphere. The suite was decked out with halloween and witch inspired decor with altars, information, and ribbons everywhere! The entire weekend there was something going on in the room and we even had the honor of hosting two outside groups who each held events in the room.
On Friday we held a four hour open house before getting ready for the Rite of the Grand Convergence. I got to meet Black Rose students from all over and answer lots of questions from potential students. It was so powerful to hear the stories of how people came to the craft and I felt so grateful to be able to receive the gnosis from so many witches. Thank you to all of you who joined us for the open house. I look forward to seeing you in the Black Rose community forums!
Saturday was perhaps the busiest day in our suite! I held a Pagan Media Salon where I got the chance to meet some of the really cool people who surface on the inter webs as well as people I have known forever but never get to see. A special thank you to Courtney Webber, Taylor Ellwood, and Shauna Aura Knight for the stimulating conversations!
We then held a faery meet up where lots of faery students gathered. It was so cool to hear about the different styles of training and how each student connected to the work. I know as a student it was reaffirming to hear the stories of other students and to see how the work had actually challenged them and ultimately changed them. It was so beautiful. Special thanks goes to Aurora Rose for helping to make that happen.
After the Faery meet up our healing collective held a two hour healers salon. For two solid hours three MFTs did complementary massage, one RN and Hypnotherapist did energy work and applied essential oils, and I counseled. It was beautiful and something I really hope we do again in the future. It is a core value to help others with our gifts and what better place than at a convention? We had a lot of people show up for that and I know there was a lot of incredible work done. Special thanks go out to Priestesses of the Living temple Aurora Rose, Lisa Dawn, Nicole Rosdahl, and Suzy Nebula as well as priest Jeremy McCown for making this happen. You are frontline clergy. You are my heroes!
That night we hosted the Black Rose Ball. It was our very first party at PantheaCon and I had no idea how popular it was going to be. For the majority of the night we had a long line outside the door and when we finally did have to close the door there were lots of moans and groans. The entire night was full of todays best pagan and pagan friendly music. There was lots of dancing and lots of talking. We had mead, margaritas, and rum and coke and the celebrating went on well into the wee hours of the night. It was an absolute blast and was the talk of the con!
Thank you to Christopher Penczak, Steve Kenson, Adam Sartwell, Courtney Webber, Selina Fox, LaSara Firefox, Elysia Gallo, David Salisbury, Nick Violet, and Greywolf for joining us this year, you were the life of the party!
A very special thank you goes to priestess Lisa Dawn for securing the space it’s self and the beverages. The same goes to Suzy Nebula and Nicole Rosdahl who both helped get all the things we needed together and who helped set up the room. A special thank you to initiate Nicole, student Rowan, and volunteer Puck for bartending! You were so helpful and the party is always better with a good bartender! Finally, I would like to give special thanks to the Golden Gate Kindred for providing security, the mead, and the extra support whenever we needed it. You people made me feel like I was back home in the midwest with all your hospitality. Thank you for helping me feel comfortable as I had all that work to do. HAIL THE HEATHENS! HAIL THE MEAD MAKER!
On Sunday morning the Firefly house hosted a pagan lobby survey group which had a lot of attendance. Led by David Salisbury and Nick Violet they had breakfast beers and discussed politics and special interest groups!
That afternoon members of the Golden Gate Kindred held a blot for Loki that I heard people talking about even the next day. They drank mead and honored the god of chaos, praying he might lend just enough to bring about change. Powerful work.
The last official event was the Project Pagan Priest meet up that I hosted with my partner, Storm Faerywolf. We were joined by eleven other men over the course of the event and discussed aspects of the priesthood that truly made me think differently about who I was as priest. What I was most inspired by were how aware and sensitive these men were to how the patriarchy had effected us as men and how it was perpetuated in myth and spiritual process. There was a wide and diverse group of gentlemen who joined us from various traditions and sexual identities. It was the first gathering of men I had been in spiritually where I felt there was a good balance of heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual men which really made everyone feel like they could open up and discuss things beyond our sexual lives.
I took a lot out of it and I know the other men there did as well. The medicine shared was palpable and I am still wrapping my head around what it all means to me. I feel like when Gwion shared his search for myths where men aren't perpetuated as perpetrators I had a major shift in how I viewed myself. When Blackcat discussed his work as a priest I felt like we had suddenly given each other permission to not make our faiths all about symbolic sexualization. When Uncle Destiny talked about the responsibilities of men in his tradition I learned how easy I had it in my own. I felt like we were all able to look at our identity as men and honor the billion things that make us priests. It was just phenomenal.
I look forward to discussing these topics more with the members of Project Pagan Priest on our Facebook group. This is much needed work!
The last event held in the suite was actually not planned. We had such a great convention that we wanted to celebrate and before we knew it we were hosting another party. This one was not nearly as big, though we did have a bit of a line to get in. That night I remember dancing and having deep conversations with some of my closest friends. It was a time for us to cling onto one last night at the convention and to savor the beauty of our community.
Recap
PantheaCon 2015 was a complete success. There was certainly a change that took place in the community while the convention happened and I am glad to have been someone effected by it. This year it ran smoothly and programing was superb. I was part of some amazing rituals, hosted a suite with my tradition mates, and got to connect to the truly amazing people that make our tradition so diverse and wild. My heart was touched by so many over the weekend and I am all the better for it!
Thank you to the staff of PantheaCon for such an amazing event!
Photo Credits to Manea and Aurora Rose
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