{"id":144,"date":"2016-08-16T11:17:05","date_gmt":"2016-08-16T19:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=144"},"modified":"2016-08-16T11:17:05","modified_gmt":"2016-08-16T19:17:05","slug":"gathering-realness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/gathering-realness.html","title":{"rendered":"Gathering Realness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m aware that I live a fairly charmed life. \u00a0I make my living directly from my arts, while residing in a very socially progressive city. \u00a0The combination of art + place means I look and dress how I please, in a daily style that is normal and comfortable for me. \u00a0Which means when I travel to other parts of the country, I become suddenly aware of just how myself I am, and how much I \u201cstick out.\u201d Similarly, when the band is hired to perform a fan convention, I\u2019m often asked\u00a0who am I dressed up, who am I cosplaying<\/a>? I was greatly confused until I figured out what they were asking, especially as I was in \u201cplain clothes\u201d for me.<\/p>\n

I bring this\u00a0all up because I found myself in an unusual headspace while attending an event this past weekend. \u00a0I\u2019m usually fairly in tune with understanding why I feel a certain way, but it took me a while to figure this one out. \u00a0The event was a lovely celebration of fantasy culture called\u00a02nd Star Festival,<\/a> located in Florence, OR. \u00a0There were music and dance performances, lectures by artists, writers, and makers, variety performers including pirates, dragonmasters, and mermaids, plus a vast collection of amazing vendors. \u00a0We were there as the band <\/a>was hired to headline the Saturday evening concert, as well as smaller acoustic sets during the days and talks<\/a>. \u00a0It was our first time there, but we do these kinds of events all the time.<\/p>\n

As we were still fairly close to home, there were a lot of familiar faces, even some I just saw last week at Many Gods West<\/a>. Yet I felt out of sorts, and a bit out of place. \u00a0It had nothing to do with how I was dressed or presenting my work, the quality of the festival or the\u00a0attendees.<\/p>\n

It dawned on me that perhaps my malcontent was an internal shift, caused by a kind of disconnection. \u00a0I had been so immersed at Many Gods West, teaching, attending and facilitating ritual. \u00a0I had so many wonderful conversations about practice, belief, identity, magick, power, and practical living \u2013 which spilled into last week\u2019s blog posts (here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.) \u00a0There was nothing fantasy about it, it was all real people, real practice. \u00a0My brain was having a hard time switching from the experience of one kind of event to another.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo of Nathaniel Johnstone & Tempest\u00a0by Photographer Devin Barnes of Indianapolis, IN<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m a huge supporter of creative thinking, of fostering imagination and having a healthy sense of play. I recognize the need and release of many to dress up \u2013 and the power that comes with it<\/a>. \u00a0Whether it\u2019s dressing up as a mermaid, a fairy, a pirate, or a dragon handler \u2013 there is much beauty to be embraced in the crafting and wearing of these costumes \u2013 and it\u2019s what so many folks do for fun and a break from daily life. \u00a0I am also extremely sensitive to how which costume I choose to wear when I perform as a dancer influences my performance and the audience\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

Yet there I was, having a hard disconnect. \u00a0My brain still wanted to talk about ritual, divine experiences, P-word politics, witchcraft, etc and it was being presented with an overload of cosplay. \u00a0Essentially it was throwing a tantrum and my emotional well-being was dealing with the fallout. \u00a0(Luckily, there was a cider booth <\/a>next to us, which helped quite a bit.) It didn\u2019t matter that there\u2019s significant overlap in attendee interest\/identification with P-word events, my brain was hooked on the factor that this event wasn\u2019t about that<\/em>\u00a0specific kind of identity and awareness. \u00a0I left MGW feeling so at home, so connected with a diverse group of people \u2013 and that\u2019s the feeling I get from nearly every kind of well-run P-word gathering. \u00a0They provide spaces to look at concepts in depth we don\u2019t get to talk about anywhere else really, face-to-face.<\/p>\n

It got me thinking \u2013 there are folks who often roll their eyes at the mention of Pagan festivals, gatherings, and other events, often throwing around the word \u201cPlaygans.\u201d \u00a0That term insinuates that these events are for mainly for people who like to dress up and \u201cpretend\u201d to be Witches\/Druids\/Insert Your Choice of P-Word here. \u00a0Sure, there\u2019s some folks who enjoy in dressing up more fantastical than usual \u2013 and maybe some of them put more thought into their attire than their practice, but you can\u2019t make that judgment by dress alone. \u00a0Or they may dismiss an event because they heard of this drama or that drama, but every gathering of any kind will have that. \u00a0(One of my favorite games is discovering what the huge drama\/fallout happened at an event that I was at, that no one seemed aware of. \u00a0Not to dismiss real issues, because those are important, but more a point that some things happen and most attendees never had an inkling while they were there.)<\/p>\n

Nor do you have to be an extrovert to enjoy those events, they\u2019re often a gathering of introverts \u2013 and both event producers and attendees can help make those experiences more comfortable for everyone.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

We can talk and write online about all of these things, but nothing beats that face-to-face contact and interaction. \u00a0There is truly something special that happens at P-word gatherings that I don\u2019t experience anywhere else \u2013 and I hold that sacred in my own weird way. \u00a0There\u2019s nothing pretend about interpersonal practice. \u00a0I love being introduced to new ways of thinking, being able to listen to other people\u2019s experiences, and challenging my own ideas. \u00a0It brings a whole new level of wonder and authenticity to one\u2019s path.<\/p>\n

I wonder if that\u2019s at the root of why those people complain about events they don\u2019t attend \u2013 maybe they\u2019re afraid of being challenged in some way. \u00a0Maybe they\u2019re afraid their practice won\u2019t measure up somehow, and they prefer to feel superior by their separation. \u00a0These things reflect on the people who believe them, not the ones actually going and doing.<\/p>\n

Which is why I had to be firm with my brain and do some re-programming to get through the weekend. \u00a0Gatherings are about sharing thoughts, ideas, and building community. Even though it may not be a\u00a0community I plug into most profoundly, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s unworthy of my respect or appreciation. \u00a0Everyone needs and deserves to have an outlet to share their art and sense of self \u2013 whether that\u2019s gaming, dressing up, \u00a0or invoking gods. \u00a0Those experiences are all real in their own way.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m aware that I live a fairly charmed life. \u00a0I make my living directly from my arts, while residing in a very socially progressive city. \u00a0The combination of art + place means I look and dress how I please, in a daily style that is normal and comfortable for me. \u00a0Which means when I travel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[24,90,26,27,7],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modernpractice","category-tradition","tag-community","tag-gathering","tag-pagan","tag-polytheist","tag-witch"],"yoast_head":"\nGathering Realness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm aware that I live a fairly charmed life. \u00a0I make my living directly from my arts, while residing in a very socially progressive city. 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