![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2014\/02\/badge-and-ribbons-2014.jpg\" "\\"badge"){kind=icon}
<\/a>Last year I wrote about my Pantheacon envy<\/a> and said \u201cmaybe 2014 will be my year.\u201d\u00a0 This year I decided I needed to go, period. \u00a0I did and I had a great time. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t a transformative religious experience, but it was a great experience of community and I\u2019m very glad I went.<\/p>\nThis is what I did while I was there. \u00a0I\u2019ll have at least two and maybe more posts exploring some of the workshops and rituals, but I\u2019m going to start with a high level recap.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons I had always said no to Pantheacon is the crowds (2302 people were registered). I don\u2019t handle crowds well and I really don\u2019t handle chaos. \u00a0I got some great tips from veterans that helped. Big thanks to Jason Pitzl-Waters for recommending the Fairfield hotel. \u00a0No fighting for a reservation, no line to check in, no waiting for elevators, and easy access to cheap food. \u00a0It took 10 minutes to walk to the Doubletree. \u00a0If you have mobility issues or if you had to bring a ton of ritual gear it wouldn\u2019t be a good choice, and I was warned that some years rain can be an factor. \u00a0But it worked very well for me.<\/p>\n
It was crowded inside the convention, but it wasn\u2019t chaotic.\u00a0 There were lines for two events I went to, but I showed up 15 minutes early out of habit and the organizers directed people where to line up.\u00a0 I did have to leave one event in a hospitality suite that was simply too jammed, but for the most part, there was no chaos and thus no stress.<\/p>\n
The weather gods smiled on me. Some folks from the Northeast were either delayed or didn\u2019t make it, and the previous week saw numerous flights cancelled out of DFW. I had no issues getting out and only a short delay getting home.<\/p>\n
After I checked into the hotel I walked over to the Doubletree and checked into the convention \u2013 and promptly ran into John Medellin, who had just moved from North Texas to San Francisco. I spent a few minutes trying to get oriented, then found Jason Mankey\u2019s \u201cMale Archetypes of Deity in the Craft\u201d presentation. \u00a0Jason had some technical difficulties with his PowerPoint, but none with his talk. I got to meet Jason, Niki Whiting, Angus McMahan, and John and Ruth Halstead for the first time.<\/p>\n
The hospitality suites were the highlight of the convention for me.\u00a0 I spent time in the suites of Coru Cathubodua, Hexenfest, ADF, FoDLA, Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn, and (briefly) Solar Cross Temple, plus some informal hospitality from Jason Mankey.\u00a0 The suites are part miniature meeting rooms, part quiet place to escape the convention buzz, part public relations venues, and part discussion salons.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t know anyone, a convention \u2013 any convention \u2013 can be a lonely place.\u00a0 The hospitality suites are a place to find the one-on-one and small group conversations that form and strengthen relationships.<\/p>\n
And what happens in the hospitality suites stays in the hospitality suites.\u00a0 Right, Anomalous Thracian<\/a>?\u00a0 Right???\u00a0 Somehow I think not\u2026<\/p>\n The most powerful experience of the weekend was the ritual to open the Temple of the Morr\u00edgan.\u00a0 The Coru Cathubodua<\/a> put some serious work into creating a living temple, one whole room \u201cfor reverence of the Morr\u00edgan and the family of Celtic Gods and heroes.\u201d\u00a0 The temple deserves its own blog post \u2013 I\u2019ll have it done late this week or early next week.<\/p>\n The hardest thing I had to do all weekend was leave the Coru suite at midnight.\u00a0 Fine conversation was still in full swing \u2013 some theological, some practical, and some just fun \u2013 but my body was still on Texas time and I was drained.\u00a0 Thanks to all the folks there:\u00a0 Morpheus Ravenna, Rynn Fox, Brennos, Amelia Hogan, Corvus Cardia, Grant Guindon, Anomalous Thracian, and everyone else I\u2019m either overlooking or whose names I didn\u2019t get.\u00a0 Your hospitality and friendship are awesome!<\/p>\n Because I did listen to my body, and because I was still mostly on Texas time, I woke up in time to make a 9:00 workshop.\u00a0 Thorn Coyle was presenting \u201cInvoking the Power to Dare\u201d so I went there.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard variations on this presentation before, and I read and reviewed her book Make Magic of Your Life<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 But I\u2019m actively working to improve my teaching skills and Thorn is one of the best teachers I know \u2013 I wasn\u2019t going to pass up a chance to observe her in action.<\/p>\n After that was a panel discussion on Sacrifice and Modern Paganism.\u00a0 All I\u2019ll say about that panel right now is that it was a good start.\u00a0 It could have had fifteen panelists instead of five, and it could have run all day instead of 90 minutes.\u00a0 This was the only event all weekend where I took notes \u2013 I expect this will be another blog post of its own, probably some time next week.<\/p>\n I had a short wait to grab a sandwich and a coke for lunch, then I got in line for The Ole Time Good Spell Feri Pagan Tent Revival.\u00a0 I grew up going to revivals (at least one of which was in an actual tent) and I\u2019ve adapted that service style for Pagan events before.\u00a0 The Feri Tent Revival was fun and inspiring, and importantly, it was an adaptation of Christian revivals, not a parody.\u00a0 I moved on from Baptist theology and doctrine a long time ago, but I still enjoy good preaching.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve been around here very long you know I do some preaching too<\/a> (I\u2019ll be in the pulpit at Denton UU on March 9), but my style is more mainline Protestant than the energetic revival style of Sister Jenya and the Preacherman.<\/p>\n And then I went back to my hotel for a nap.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned I get more out of a multi-day event if I get enough rest to do some things well rather than trying to fill every minute with activities.<\/p>\n My Saturday evening began with a presentation on the founding of the Pantheon Foundation<\/a>, a new organization headed by Sam Webster designed to help build infrastructure for the modern Pagan world.\u00a0 This is something we need to start doing, and I\u2019m happy to make a (small) contribution.<\/p>\n From there it was on to entertainment.\u00a0 I caught the last half of the Pandemonaeon concert.\u00a0 I had heard Sharon and Winter play acoustically in Denton, but I had never heard the full plugged-in band play live.\u00a0 I love their music and this was even more powerful than the recordings (but you\u2019re going to record some new music, right Sharon<\/a>?).\u00a0 After that was the Hexenfest dance party with Jason Pitzl-Waters as DJ.\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t dance.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure I can hold enough alcohol to get me to dance (and I didn\u2019t have any that night).\u00a0 But I\u2019m in total agreement with Brennos from the Coru: \u201cI love watching witches dance\u201d \u2013 particularly to Sisters of Mercy.<\/p>\n Sunday morning was the Patheos Pagan Bloggers Breakfast.\u00a0 Niki Whiting arrived early and grabbed a table (thanks, Niki!), where we were soon joined by Jason Mankey, John and Ruth Halstead, Angus McMahan (who left before we took the picture \u2013 sorry, Angus, it was a \u201chey before we all go\u201d thing) and my first in-person meeting with P. Sufenas Virius Lupus.\u00a0 After that was the champagne fundraiser for Hexenfest<\/a>, which I would very much love to attend but can\u2019t quite make from Texas.<\/p>\n Sunday afternoon was the Great Queens ritual by the Coru Cathubodua.\u00a0 Unlike the small intimate temple ritual on Friday, this was a whole ballroom full of people of varying interests and backgrounds.\u00a0 The ritual invoked nine historical queens, including the Pharaoh Hatshepsut, Boadicea of the Iceni, and Queen Lili\u00b4uokalani of Hawaii.\u00a0 Then Rynn Fox led a guided meditation that asked participants to call to and meet a queen, and to receive her blessings and her charge.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written before about how rituals need to be adapted to the size and composition of their participants \u2013 this one was.\u00a0 It was simple enough to handle the number of people involved, accessible for those without a deep knowledge of the subject matter, yet with a depth available to those who were prepared and a power that was impossible to miss.<\/p>\n Thorn Coyle had invited me to participate in a Pagan Blogger\u2019s meet and greet, but by the time the House of Danu ritual was over, the Solar Cross suite was about as crowded as a Tokyo subway or a California freeway.\u00a0 I expressed my regrets and spent the rest of the evening in the FoDLA<\/a> suite talking with Joel Schonbrunn and drinking his excellent mead<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2014\/02\/Patheos-Pagan-2014-272x300.jpg\" "\\"Patheos")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2014\/02\/PCG-sigil.jpg\" "\\"PCG")
<\/a>The next ritual couldn\u2019t have been more different.\u00a0 I had a part in the House of Danu \u201cWarrior\u2019s Call<\/a>\u201d ritual.\u00a0 House of Danu is the California association of OBOD groves, seed groups and solitaries.\u00a0 I attended their Gorsedds in 2009<\/a> and 2010<\/a> and have remained in touch with some of their folks.\u00a0 This ritual began with a musical procession through the halls of Pantheacon \u2013 I was asked to lead the procession and carry the standard, which was kinda scary for someone who was still trying to figure out the maze that is the Doubletree!\u00a0 The ritual itself was light and fun but it had a serious purpose \u2013 to respond to the threats posed by fracking and other acts of environmental desecration.<\/p>\n