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Chesapeake Pagan Community's 1st Annual Int. Gathering
Author:
Posted: August 7th. 2004
Times Viewed: 6,155
Event Date(s): July 2004
Wicca, forged in a time of darkness lifting (as elsewhere in the world), was virtually an unknown entity in South Africa only a short 10 years ago. The pioneers of the early movement, with no access to books, little Internet access, and certainly no teachers, forged a living Wicca, inspired by its mutable nature and spiritual individualism, thus preparing the way for travellers into other Pagan paths. It was this mutable Wiccan spirituality that originally inspired me and through which I was determined, years later, to be re-inspired.
Having recently celebrated 10 years of democracy (and thereby religious freedom), Wicca in South Africa is already fast on its way to becoming a tired theology with fixed unchangeable dogma and leaders vying for the position of Wiccan 'pope'. So I left South Africa in search of fresh inspiration. This was not the first time I had travelled to these farwaway shores and been disappointed. But this time I dared to hope that the simple spark that originally fuelled me could be found again, thereby confirming my apparently controversial viewpoint and liberating me from the shackles of yet another spiritual pathology.
I arrived in the U.S. booked in for several Pagan conferences, determined to pack as much in as I could, and I was particularly looking forward to meeting Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone. In South Africa we do not have the luxury of all the choices of Pagan events, for we are but a fledgling community, paying far too much attention to our witchwars for our own good. With anxiety in my heart for fear I would meet people, (especially Janet and Gavin - for it was the thought, hope and desire of meeting these icons of world Wicca that was the original impulse for braving yet another gruelling trip overseas and participating in the CPC gathering in the first place), not only locked into the past, but pressurized by peers to remain locked into that past in order that the 'old guard' be protected and supported. If The Witches Bible was anything to go on I would be right in my summation, certainly of Janet.
I need not have feared. Here was a woman with a timeless beauty, grace and graciousness, and endearing eccentricities that complimented a really wicked sense of humour. The life force of a proud maiden and (real) Crone wisdom all in one. Janet was as glamorous as she was approachable. With Gavin as consort and legitimate heir to Stewart's plans and dreams, both are a willing and disciplined student's dream come true.
Burnt out, at crossroads, and looking for direction for the next 10 years in Wiccan South Africa, I was overwhelmed by the unexpected sources in which I found my grail.
  Gavin and Janet, always relaxed yet intense, focused and supremely knowledgeable, took us on a no-holds barred journey through the progression of modern Witchcraft. With steely resolve they do the right thing for them and modern Witchcraft now, by speaking their truth with conviction and integrity. Their unorthodox style of facilitation, dotted with abundant humour, filled me with mirth. Their irreverent dispelling of some of the major Wiccan myths from which power hungry and egotistical individuals have made up their own history to prey on the vulnerable, caused me to sigh with relief at the confirmation that not only is Wicca a living thing - that mutable spirituality that so drew me in the first place - but for it to be Wicca it must always be fluid, dynamic, and most importantly, country specific.
Their workshop on 'Drawing Down the Moon' in new and appropriate ways had me spellbound. Janet entranced us all in her role as trance medium when, during the main ritual, Freya entered her and all were given individual, inspirational and relevant messages - delivered in perfectly rhyming quatrains, no less!
Gavin's chakra workshop was challenging in its radical departure from staid and preconceived ideas about its use as a magickal system and ritual model. Their latest book Progressive Witchcraft makes for riveting reading, and is most definitely not for those who have difficulty in moving out of any current comfort zone. Their workshop on 'All acts of love and pleasure', which dealt with the controversial subject of attitudes in Witchcraft towards sexuality, and how this differs from the Judeo-Christian perception of sex purely for pro-creation was...oh well, I guess you just had to be there!
But I was not only on a mission to seek renewed inspiration and strength in my craft; I was also interested in expanding my knowledge into other areas of Paganism. The facilitators at every single workshop I attended were extraordinarily uninhibited in both their willingness and ability to impart as much knowledge as possible, with whatever concomitant ritual demonstration and mystical experience we were able to cope with. I have never seen so many speakers functioning at once with such a level of intensity, integrity and passion for their subjects.
Jane Sibley (PhD), also known as Auntie Arwen (www.auntiearwenspices.com) , captured my heart. She teaches and writes on the subjects of Norse mythology, folklore and runes. The Norse religions have never quite appealed to me, perhaps because they are so far North, and I am so far South. But when she told us that Odin owned the Valhalla Pub and Grill I knew I had found a teacher after my own heart. She captivated us with her brilliant Norse artwork on flipchart, and her rendering of the runes in Norse was like a lullaby to my tired soul. Jane's healing ritual taught me to use energy in ways I had never anticipated, which is practical knowledge that will immediately be transferred to my fellowship.
Ivo Dominguez Jr. was a left-brained person's dream. Ivo is a writer, artist, visionary and practitioner of various esoteric disciplines, and has been active in Wicca and the neo-Pagan community since 1978. He has published several books and is the convenor of 'Between the Worlds: a Grand Magickal Congress'. He addressed us, in 2 sessions, on Cernunnos and Brighid. Neither of those deities have particularly inspired me, but I felt I owed it to the community I was representing to go. Ivo succeeded in stimulating and titillating my deity perspective to the point that I might have to be stopped from shouting off my quiet home suburbs rooftops all about antlers! His approach to divination, prophecy and oracular vision addressed my left brain's need to be recognised as fundamentally as important as right brain intuition. (www.seeliecourt.net/panpipe/)
 Freeheart (Gene Long) conducts workshops on personal growth, body acceptance and is the founder of the Aliantha Community and Intimate Community in Northern Virginia. His workshop on 'Healing the Hurt' was a real challenge. Though I was fearful of making myself vulnerable, my prejudices peeled off like sunburnt skin under Freeheart's tender and brave facilitation skills. Suffice it to say that my inherent respect for this person allowed me to challenge him about matters of sexuality that are currently causing turmoil in the local US Pagan community, with its effects starting to be felt in South African Pagan circles. Our exchange of ideas helped me find the beginning of workable solutions, at least for myself for the time being. (www.freeheart.net)
Tim Ward's presentation on 'Arousing the Goddess' was a fascinating personal recounting of his adventures and encounters in India with the Goddess and Shakti, the sexual energy of Tantra, the very thing he travelled to India and a Buddhist monastery to avoid. His unnerving openness and willingness to make himself vulnerable to his audience in the interests of getting his message across, was the most radical departure from any teaching/facilitation skill I have experienced. (www.timwardsbooks.com)
There were many more presentations and speakers I would have liked to have experienced -- children's workshops, sweats, medieval dancing. I was hard pressed to make the decisions I did, always mindful of the fellowship/community I had the privilege of representing and the teaching that is most needed.
I was spontaneously asked to facilitate a session which I entitled 'South Africa Rocks!' After the 6th person came to me prior to my session to enquire as to what rocks, crystals and minerals I might be speaking on, I realised that people really still do think we come from a deep dark continent. Many good folk stared in sheer amazement at the fact that not only have we heard of the Internet in South Africa, but we actually have email, amongst other things. Some very good-hearted folk offered me the most arcane advice that caused me to burst into good-natured laughter. And so it was that I was able to teach and share without formal structure.
Something we struggle with in South Africa, clearly as elsewhere in the Wiccan world, and partly due to the fact that we are such a young movement, is of course the famous and inevitable 'witchwars' mentioned previously. This conference therefore was also an eye-opener into the notion of 'growth through turmoil'. The necessary hiving off of CPC from FSA (whose conference I also attended) over matters not so much of concept but of praxis, allowed me to experience firsthand management of a painful and difficult separation, not unlike many I have experienced in South Africa. I was grateful that I was afforded the opportunity to view things from many angles and feel honoured that I can take home some of the wiser insights into Pagan conflict resolution, something South African Paganism has yet some way to go.
Janet and Gavin played/are playing a significant role in bridging the gap with their as-always straightforward approach to matters of so-called Pagan political taboo.
All in all the CPC convention and gathering was super professional, caring of our needs as foreign visitors (as they were of everyone), and inclusive in a way that I have never experienced before in any of my travels to Pagan events. Of utmost importance to me was a certain integrity about the organisers and the speakers that is very rare. I intend to return next year and bring a small team of dedicated priestesses with me. I look forward to the continued depth of relationships I have experienced and to return this time not only to learn, but to teach.
Donna Darkwolf Vos
Bio: Donna Darkwolf Vos is arguably the leading pioneer of the public Pagan movement in South Africa (www.cam.za.net). She holds a Masters Degree in Theology and a postgraduate diploma in Library and Information Science. She is also the author of the first book on Paganism/Wicca in South Africa - Dancing Under an African Moon (Struik 2002) (can be ordered from www.Kalahari.net). The book includes interviews with 38 South African Witches/Wiccans/Pagans documenting their spells and rituals in 'The Little Book of Shadows'. It looks at the Witchcraft Suppression Act, the Occult Unit and the role of Satanism in South Africa, whilst documenting a fledgling Wicca claiming its own in the language of Afrikaans. It details Southern Hemisphere praxis and explores the vital interrelationship between African tribal/primal Paganism.
Article Specs
Article ID: 8636
VoxAcct: 66535
Section: festivals
Age Group: Teen
Days Up: 1,935
Times Read: 6,155
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