Festival brain.....

Back from Brushwood. :) In body, anyway. My head is still floating up in Sherman, NY somewhere, but I'm sure it will drift back in sooner or later.

Back to Patrick McCollum Take a few minutes to get caught up on the lawsuit and his own thoughts about it. Can't get too comfortable in festival land....we may be surrounded by hundreds of gorgeous Pagans at any one of these sites, but as a whole--we still have a long way to go.

So.....back to being public and making noise in a good way!

At Brushwood we raised a bunch of money for the Cornwall, NY SPCA during a Donkey Parade. Janet brought me a stuffed donkey as a birthday present, which she pinned to the front of my dress. We walked around the camp, drumming and shaking our change cups tell people they could "Kiss Courtney's Ass" for a dollar. $114 wracked up pretty quickly. See? We can still be freaky-deak Pagans and give to a good cause.

And if anyone should have found my brain up in Brushwood, please drop it off at my office, immediately. My co-workers thank you.

Weighing in on the Five Fold Kiss

Society of Diana posted a blog about her concerns over the Five Fold Kiss and its inherent sexism in its traditional text. She asked me to comment and I did! Here's what I wrote (you'll want to go to the link above to see the original discussion).

Our Coven uses the Five Fold Kiss when intending to draw a Deity's influence into a person. The kisses are used to focus Etheric energy into those regions to better connect the person to the Deity. I encourage my members to not stick to text, but develop their own with the intention of Deity connection. I actually did not learn the words of the Five-Fold Kiss to say, "Formed in beauty" or "Formed in Strength." I learned it as "Blessed be thy breasts that encase the powerful heart within," which is used on either a woman or man. I think it is a useful ritual tool, but like all ritual tools, if it not examined and is instead treated dogmatically, it could become archaic and in this case, understandably received as sexist.

I'll be teaching the Mechanics of the Five Fold Kiss at Laurelin in August and then at Harvest Gathering in September! Please join me! I am very excited to be teaching this class to the public!

Festivals this summer! Come hang with me!!!

We're still in the midst of Beltaine planning (Our crew's celebration is tomorrow!!!) and I'm trying to keep my head down and focused on my finals...but I can already hear drums and smell bonfires.

Here are a few places where I'll be teaching this summer! Please come and hang with me!!!

Brushwood Summerfest--Craftwise College!
July 18-24
In gorgeous upstate New York. I'll be teaching my (in)famous Tarot classes: "Voice of the Tarot" and "Burn the Fucking Book." I'll also be leading my "Ethics of Spellcraft" workshop at Craftwise. I'm soooooo stoked....because my friends and mentors Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone will also be leading their incredible workshops...and my dear friend and sister in Brid Bernadette Montana of Brid's Closet will be teaching at the festival, too!(Both Summerfest and Craftwise are at Brushwood the week of July 18th!)

Laurelin Sun, Moon and Sky Magick Lughnasadh Celebration
Bethel, Vermont
August 3-7
At my good friend Kirk White's gorgeous farm in northern Vermont. They EVEN HAVE A PAN GROVE AND A NATURAL SPRING!!! It's even more exciting for me as two of my Students/Covenmates are also teaching: Lisa Vazquez and Noelle V Dor. HPS BEAMING SUNSHINEY-RAINBOW-SPARKLY UNICORNS OF PRIDE!!!!

And then....at the end of August....returning to my hometown of Portland, OR to show them all the cool things I learned while in the far East!

DeForest House
Portland, OR.
Thursday, August 18, 7-9:30
These kind souls endured my renditions of Lady Gaga and AC/DC at their New Year's Eve drum circle...now, they're kind enough to let me teach "Burn the Fucking Book!" and show off Tarot of the Boroughs!

***Vancouver, WA date in the works...will have more information soon!!!***

Sacred Mists Store
Napa, CA (The live, in-person store!)
August 24 and 25
Wonderful opportunity. :) I will be the first presenter this little gem of a store has had, in person! Many of you are familiar with Sacred Mists's Online College--but just this past August, they opened their doors as a store with doors and a roof and stuff inside! I will be teaching "Voice of the Tarot" and an introductory Wiccan Ritual workshop. I'll also be doing readings! Thank you, Lorien, for giving me this fantastic opportunity!

BAY AREA TAROT SYMPOSIUM!!!
San Francisco!!! California!!!
August 27-28
The last time I went to San Fran, I was with a Catholic School choir tour led by a bunch of nuns. I totally had a good time. We went to Six Flags and everything. But I think I'm going to have just as much fun as a 30 year old (yipes!)Witch and Tarot freak running around with a bunch of other Witches and Tarot freaks. I'll be presenting a talk on Tarot of the Boroughs. Maybe I'll even do Power Point! Yay!!!

If you are on the Left Coast and interested in coming to hang with me at any of these events, please register at the above links or email the stores if registration is not yet available. As registration does become available, I will update this blog. I never miss a chance to self promote--if you haven't noticed.

YAY!!! IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK!!! GOING HOME TO BE GOOD AND WORK ON A PAPER SO I CAN HAVE ALL THE FUN IN THE WORLD TOMORROW AT BELTAINE!!!!!! :D :D :D :D