In September, a year of work finally paid off. Myself, my husband and the archpriesthood of our Wiccan church organization, The Aquarian Tabernacle Church, spent about a year planning a group cruise. A floating festival if you will. Last month, the Witches on the Water cruise became a reality. It was a magickal week of learning and sharing, getting to meet Madame Pamita, and making new, old friends.
If you have ever facilitated a ritual or festival or other event, you know that there is a good chance you may not get a lot of spiritual or emotional feeding from that event. You are creating a space for others to do so, while managing all the behind the scenes things to make everything run smoothly. It doesn’t often allow you to be in the moment or experience the same journeys that others are experiencing. But for me, Witches on the Water nourished me a way I did not know I needed. And it really reinforced some ideas that have been common in my practice this year.
Number 1 – We Must be the Beacons
If you’ve been around me this last year or so, you’ve probably heard me rave about the amazing (fictional) book series by Katherine Genet. The series is called Wilde Grove and there are 4 books in the main series, and 3 in a spinoff series. I highly recommend that you read them. They are beautifully written and the way the characters practice their Craft is so realistic. They could be used to teach new students, and I may just do that.
In the Wilde Grove series, the events in the fictional village of Wilde Grove imitate life very closely. For those of us who are familiar with the Tower Times, you see it in the books, although it is never called that. One of the concepts that becomes a main focus in the later books is the idea that we are all beacons. Those of us who are Pagan, those of us who are spiritual, those of us who walk our talk – we are beacons. The idea of being a light in the dark is not new, and it is an image that you’ll find in many religions.
I use the term beacon because I find it appropriate, and I love the imagery that Genet creates in her books. Each of us is a spiritual beacon. When we are in our home communities, we may be surrounded by other beacons or we may be alone. Either way, our light shines so that others on our path, or seeking our path, find us. We must be the spiritual fire that draws seekers to the path. We must be the spiritual fire that lights the way for others. We must be the spiritual fire to set an example.
But one fire, one beacon isn’t going to do much on it’s own. It may light up the immediate vicinity or serve as a guide for those who can see it. But one beacon cannot hold off the dark permanently. Each of us is a beacon of spirituality. But we need to work together and create a network of light between us. This will help guide others on a similar path. But if we do it correctly, we beacons can create a system of love, healing, peace, and acceptance that may one day make a visible difference on the world. We should each work with our local communities, but we should also be sure to build connections with others. We must be the light, we cannot wait for someone else to do it.
Number 2 – Paganism Should be Normal
During the Witches on the Water cruise, Rt. Reverend Terry Riley gave a talk about how to change the world. Terry Riley is a legend in the Mid-South and also among the ATC. He is our regional elder, he is the High Summoner of the ATC, and he is one of my teachers and one of my favorite people. Terry’s Wiccan church, Southern Delta Church of Wicca really is changing the world and as we say, doing the good work of the Lord and Lady.
In his speech, Terry said that he wanted Paganism to become a normal thing. I am paraphrasing. He said that his dream was that one day when you talk to a stranger or meet someone new and they ask where do you go to church, that we can answer and say we’re Pagans (or Wiccans, or whichever tradition we follow) without it being an issue.
I, like Terry Riley, am from the South. And if you’re not familiar with the South, we judge you by where you go to church. Other parts of America my judge you on where you live, or what you do for a living, but in the South, we need to know where you stand on religion. And sometimes in the South, answering that question with “I’m Pagan” or “I’m Wiccan” may not be how you want to answer. Many of us have learned to give a no-answer answer to that.
I realized during Terry’s talk that I am part of the problem. You would think that owning a metaphysical store (with multiple locations), being ordained Pagan clergy, and running a Wiccan church and a Norse kindred would make me an out and proud Pagan. And I am. But I also get to live in a bubble, surrounded by my Pagan community and those who either don’t care about my religion or choose to not dwell on it. So sometimes when I’m out in the greater world and talk with a stranger, I am not comfortable telling them exactly what I am.
Most of the time I just don’t want to expend the energy to explain what a metaphysical store is, or that what we do is not evil. Religion is like politics a lot of times in the sense that my views are probably not going to change anyone else’s views. Nor is that my goal. But the people that believe Pagans worship Satan are likely not going to change their mind because they bumped into me at a social event. Perhaps if I had time to get to know them and have deeper conversations with them, their thoughts might evolve. But in those quick social interactions, I often don’t want to get into it or face the backlash from it. When it comes down to it, it still hurts my feelings when I see people visibly recoil from me when I say I’m a Pagan or I own a witch shop.
But that is not serving the greater good, and whether I always like it or not, I am here to serve. From now on, when I find myself in this situation – which I expect to happen next week – I have to stand tall and nonchalantly tell them I’m a Pagan, I’m a witch and I own the witch store down the street. I am not responsible for their reaction to these facts. And maybe, just maybe I can show them that Pagans are just like them. We are as normal as anyone is and we are everywhere.
Number 3 – I Learned How to Work and Experience Magick at the Same Time
The idea of working or running an event while still being able to participate in it is not necessarily new to me. I am blessed that I can meditate and have an experience while reading a meditation in a book or leading others on a journey. That doesn’t mean that it always works.
Every festival is magickal in its own way. I must admit that I may be a bit partial to the Witches on the Water cruise because I had a hand in planning it and running it. Perhaps one of the reasons it worked so well for me is because we were on the water, which is an element conducive to healing and experiencing and expressing emotions. But I really think that having a festival on a cruise ship gave us another level of connecting with people and forming bonds.
Most festivals or conferences are at a specific location, where most people are also staying. Many conferences are at hotels and there are lots of festivals in parks where there is a group camp. Each type of venue has its pros and cons. But to stick 50 witches on a cruise ship for a week was something different.
At any other festival, you have the option of leaving if you wanted to. You can leave the hotel or park to go sightsee or get something different to eat. There is a local festival that I attend most years, and I do not stay at the park. Each day when I am energetically done, I hop in my car and drive 20 minutes home. But if you’re on a cruise ship, you can’t leave. Cruise ships are huge, so you can absolutely find a different part of the ship to hang out in if you want, but you’re not getting off. And because we were so contained, it really gave me the chance to spend time with people I hardly get to see. It forced us, if you will, into being around each other all the time.
Believe it or not, I am truly an introvert. I have a rather limited social battery and at home, that gets consumed during work. Which is why I don’t get out very much. On the 4th day of the cruise, I hit my social wall – hard. But I learned to push through it, and that will be a useful skill to have.
Because everything on the Witches on the Water cruise was so centralized, it gave me the opportunity to experience what others were experiencing. I was able to sit through every workshop and participate, as if I was just a festival goer. Sure, I had to manage time a bit and we had to keep things running and work out some kinks like you would at any event. But we were able to do these things outside of our programming hours. We were able to call on the cruise ship staff to help us with some issues. And it always helps to work with others who are professionals, who understand creating an experience while also being respectful to other presenters and honoring the timetable we established. In fact, I was highly impressed with the professionalism of all of the presenters on the cruise.
All of these variables worked in my favor, allowing me to learn more about myself, express my gratitude to Ixchel, make new friends, and be proud of the work we did. Are cruises the best version of a festival or conference? I’m not saying that, but they do offer perks that perhaps other venues might not.
Expression of Gratitude
This is what I wrote after we got home from the cruise. I crafted this to be a social media post and I did eventually post it on Facebook. But I think it deserves a place here, and it sums up my experience in a slightly poetic way.
We spent a week on the ocean together. We laughed together, cried together, supported each other and loved each other. We sweated out 1/3 of our body weight together, and waded through mud together.
We stood on ancient, sacred soil together. We danced our love together, broke bread and shared rituals together.
We made a pilgrimage, carried by Ixchel, Quetzalcoatl and Rabbit. We learned the mysteries of the rainbow together. We submitted to the will of the Divine and found a lost part of ourselves.
We experienced the magic of the Maya, the blessings of Ixchel, peaceful protests in Mexico and hurricane Francine together. We learned from each other, we planned for the future and plotted new projects.
My heart is full and my cup is refilled after spending a week on the healing ocean with my witch family.
Thank you to everyone who participated, led us in moving rituals, taught us, and shared with us. We are the beacons of hope, we are the light the world needs. Let us take our lights home, to our own communities and spread the messages of love, hope, and acceptance that we all received this week.
What Can You Learn?
If you are intrigued by what you might experience on a floating festival, you are in luck. We will be hosting a Witches on the Water cruise again in 2025. We are just now planning what the cruise might look like, but I can safely say that this point that it will be in the fall again. So stay tuned to find out more about the next Witches on the Water cruise if you are interested. And I hope you are because it was truly amazing.
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