It’s become a personal tradition: I attend Mystic South and then I write about my experiences and impressions. It started out because I had a powerful experience at the first Mystic South in 2017. It continued because I had a blog schedule to fill and Mystic South always provided me with plenty of inspiration for writing.
It still does. I’m not trying to keep a strict blogging schedule anymore, but this is something I want to write about.
The big change this year is that I finally gave in and took an extra vacation day on Monday. I like staying till the end and I don’t like rushing to catch a late afternoon flight home. Which leaves me taking the last flight back to Dallas on Sunday night, and it is always delayed. Every single year… and this year was no exception.
But I made it home safely, managed to wind down and sleep for a while, and on Monday morning I’m drinking my tea and filling in the outline I wrote over the weekend. So let’s get on with it.
1. The biggest Mystic South yet
The registration folks didn’t have an exact count when I talked to them on Sunday afternoon, but estimates were that total attendance was over 700. This is a big jump from previous years. Part of that is that word is out and people know that Mystic South is a really good event. Part is that most (not all, but most) people have fully returned to their pre-pandemic traveling habits. And part is a vague but strong feeling that we need to be together at times like these. I’m going to write more about this in a few days.
Whatever the reasons, the conference sold out its hotel block, then sold out its block at the overflow hotel, and still ended up with people at other nearby hotels. It’s a long way from the mad dash to get a room during the height of Pantheacon, but hotel coordinator Heather Greene advised everyone who wants to be sure they’re in the host hotel to book as early as possible for 2026.
2. Now all on one level
Up until now, Mystic South had occupied the smaller conference rooms on the main floor, but also some rooms on the ground floor. It worked fine, but particularly the last two years, it was a bit cramped. Plus having things split between floors presented a challenge for those with mobility issues… and for those of us who move just fine when we’re well rested and not so well at other times.
This year it was all on the main floor: check-in, coffee bar, room elevators, vendor room, and all the meeting spaces. The only need to go downstairs was the restaurant.
I absolutely loved the “Great Hall of Mystic South” in the open space between all the individual rooms. I don’t have pictures because it was always filled with people who may not want their photos on the internet, but while it’s not pretty like the main lobby of the Crowne Plaza, it was filled with large tables and chairs which were far more inviting for impromptu conversations and encouraged people to talk to others they didn’t know.
Which is a very good thing.
3. Sigil Magic – A Chaos Magic Approach
I’m not a chaos magician, but I am very fond of the kind of sigil magic that comes out of chaos magic. It’s my favorite operative magic technique – it’s what I use when I need to get something done.
This was the first time I’ve taught sigil magic in a setting like this and I wasn’t sure how it would go over. Apparently, fairly well. The room was packed and afterwards I had several people tell me how much they enjoyed it.
The presentation included a hands-on exercise, which I did first as a demonstration. For those who were in the class and are curious, I’m calling my spell a success. I’ll have more to write about on that in the next couple weeks.
4. Courtney Weber on Dark Goddesses
I’ll be honest: I get nervous when I hear people talking about “Dark Goddesses.” Too many people are either trying to be edgy or they’re needlessly fearful. But I know Courtney Weber, I’ve read her books, and I assumed whatever she was going to talk about in “Bad, Good, or Misunderstood: The Dangerous Goddess in Modern Paganism” would be good. It was.
She covered several Goddesses who are often considered “dark,” discussed their lore and how we often reduce it to just one thing, and how deities are more complex than that – as are we.
And I loved her illustration of a “loving mother Goddess” standing on her front porch with a shotgun telling drug dealers “get away from my kids.” Love isn’t always sweetness and light.
Also, I appreciate Courtney’s advice on TikTok. One of the reasons blogging is down is that so many people prefer video these days. I don’t, but if you want your message heard, you have to go where people are. Don’t go looking for me on the clock app anytime soon, but you will see a few short-form videos from me on Instagram and Facebook in August.
5. Variations on cord cutting operations
I’ve done cord cutting magic for years. I’ve taught it. And then I went to Sean Wilde’s presentation “The Ties That Bind” and learned several new variations on the operation.
That’s one of the things I love about gatherings like this. Even those of us who are experienced practitioners can learn something when we listen to each other.
Can I be honest? Energy connections and operations to sever them always have me wondering how much is metaphysical and how much is metaphorical. Are there really strands of energy running between ourselves and others that some people can easily see (and that I can see if I use my “other” eyes)? Or is this just a metaphor (I can feel Livvy glaring at me from other Otherworld: “what do you mean just a metaphor?”) for a connection that is ultimately unexplainable even though it may be entirely naturalistic? I don’t know.
Here’s what I do know: cord cutting magic has worked for me on numerous occasions. If it works it’s real and that’s all that matters to me.
6. Progress is not linear
I also attended “Overcoming Barriers and Trauma During Spiritual and Religious Transition” by Mika Belladonna. I’m getting ready to teach an on-line class this fall on “Unpacking Your Religious Baggage” and I wanted to hear a new and different perspective on religious trauma. Mika is a young and relatively new presenter, but her story of discernment in finding her new path and persistence in pursuing it is useful to us all.
And it reminded me yet again that progress is not linear. It’s a series of ups and downs, wins and losses, advances and setbacks. The key is to keep moving in the direction that calls to you, and the direction you choose.
7. The spiritual presence of Morgan Daimler
Morgan Daimler was a featured speaker at the 2024 Mystic South. Morgan was not in attendance at this year’s event. Except, they kinda were.
I lost track of how many times people referenced one of Morgan’s books or referred people to their scholarship. Or talked about their writing output as evidence of their Otherworldly skills. Or acknowledged their expertise on fairy lore… and on interacting with the Fair Folk without ending up in a Very Bad Situation. Or said “I’m not Morgan Daimler – don’t trust my pronunciation of this ancient Irish word.”
I still have Morgan’s Fairy: The Otherworld By Many Names in my TBR pile. I will get to it before too much longer.
8. A Ritual of Resistance and Alliance
I started telling the story of the Ritual of Resistance and Alliance, but I had so much to say it made this post way too long. So you’ll have to wait till tomorrow for that story. Suffice it to say it was a good ritual but it left me physically exhausted.
And that’s a trade-off I was happy to make.
9. Mystic South 2026
The next Mystic South will be July 17-19, 2026. I’ll be there. I doubt I’ll be leading another ritual next year – this one really took a lot out of me, in preparation and in presentation. I’m sure there will be a point where I want to do it all again – or where Someone tells me to do it all again – but that won’t be next year.
I have a couple ideas for workshops, but the application dates are a long ways aways, so I’ve got time to see if anything better pops up.
But this remains my favorite Pagan conference, and I will be there.
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