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Discussion
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After posting the link for a brand new witchcraft teaching festival when I heard about it 3 months ago, I thought I'd follow up with a review of how it went.
It went excellent.
I admittedly showed up with high expectations already, but even those high expectations were exceeded. It's difficult to teach old rodents like me new tricks, but I came home with a bag full of ideas and sacred experiences. This is far from my first or even 100th pagan or witch festival and yet this is one of the most profound experiences I've ever had. My gratitude runs over.
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A breakdown of events:
Two weeks before the event, we each got an email with a list of classes that were being offered. We chose classes we'd like in the order of which we wanted them most to least.
Upon arrival Friday night, after unpacking our camping gear, we met up with the event hosts under the central pavilion of the campgrounds and were given a packet. The packet had our personalized schedules for the day. All of us got the class we'd most hoped for and a few other classes that sounded excellent. Due to the high popularity of some classes, the limited time in the day, as well as a couple teachers having to cancel last minute, not everyone got every single class they'd like, but nobody was disappointed. There were also alternative spaces for many classes listed, just in case of bad weather.
Friday night there was a ritual where we read an oath to be open minded and respectful students. We sealed this oath in wax and a bindrune and laid them on an altar.
After main ritual, there was a panel of speakers. A person who runs a coven, a person who runs a large regional witches meetup, and a solitary from a culturally closed practice. Their insight into what private vs public witchcraft, personal vs communal magick, and closed vs open practices were insightful and profound.
Saturday was the main day for the event. We had classes from 9am until 5pm. Classes had a 2 hour run time. Most of us had 3 to 4 classes on our schedule. Some of my classes were rushed to condense into a 2 hour timespan. Others wrapped up early. All of the teachers were knowledgeable in their subject and excited to share. At one point, I misread my sheet and ended up in the wrong class, however, I ended up staying where I was. It was agreed that I actually was in the "right" class at that time. The event, it's teachers, and coordinators were not strict and there was no shaming for not knowing where I was supposed to go. My mistake actually worked out well for me because I loved that class.
Saturday night's ritual, we brought offerings from what we'd learned/discovered to the altar and took a bind rune token in return. After which, several groups took candles to a pavilion shelter and set them around picnic tables where we could gather, mingle, and chat about our days. We all shared what we learned in our classes, stories about the day and about our time at this campground. A storm rolled in and it brought us all closer together as we laughed over the rain and huddled in by the candles.
There was another panel this night but I missed it due to getting caught up in a highly personal and beautiful conversation with a person I just met. I heard great things.
Sunday morning was closing ritual. We spoke in the round about the value we saw in each other, then all took the oaths that had been sealed Friday night and burned them to release them.
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Things I loved about this event:
What a gift to get an opportunity to learn directly from knowledgeable and experienced practitioners in such an intimate setting!
In the modern world of mass media, online influencers, commodified everything, the opportunity to sit down with someone and learn from them because they're gifted and wanting to share, rather than from them wanting money or fame, is something I knew I missed from my youth in the pagan community but didn't realize HOW much I missed it. Some of the teachers I learned from and spoke with were names I knew from the community but had never met. Some were people I've met in passing but haven't worked with. Some were elders in traditions and circles I've never crossed paths with or heard of. I learned SO MUCH and nobody was trying to sell me their latest book, send me to their online content, or sign me up for subscriptions. We were sharing knowledge for the love of the knowledge and that's a precious thing.
There were classes that were geared more toward beginners and some that were geared more toward adepts, along with some niche subjects that are useful across the learning levels of individuals.
The cost was shockingly affordable for what we received. For less than $100, I had camp fees, meals, classes and a few little goodies and trinkets. Similar retreats often cost between $500 and $1000 in this region, and often several thousand dollars for retreats like this on the coasts or at resorts. I'm not sure how they pulled it off so affordably but I'm thrilled.
There was a highly affordable meal plan option people could buy into that included a variety of foods for people of different dietary needs. Shared meals with the community were an extra bonus.
The campground (to which I am not a stranger) was beautiful. I'd never attended an event there this early in the year but it was still gorgeous. A few spaces were clearly under construction and it prompted me to sign up for their work weekend information. A retreat like that runs on donations and volunteer work and I would like to help it's upkeep if I'm able. It's a treasured space.
The retreat center hosts many events by different members of our communities throughout the year and every event has it's own personality. The event coordinators of Striking Sacred Sparks have a fall event called HearthFires that I've attended a couple times and absolutely adored. Intimate teaching festivals are apparently my preference over the big party pagan festivals I went to in my youth. There were back up shelters in case of bad weather. Several people had tents destroyed by the wind and the community helped find them someplace warm and dry.
The people/community were very warm, friendly, helpful, and open. Striking Sacred Sparks caps it's attendance at 100 in order to make sure there's a close community interaction potential and keep classes small and intimate. There were around 80 people for this first Striking Sacred Sparks, as some attendees had life emergencies and illnesses come up. I'm pretty sure I got to talk to almost every individual person at some point (I'm an extrovert, I can't help it) and everyone seemed to be having as great a time as I was.
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In the end
I definitely hope I am able to attend this event next year. I hope everyone I met thrives and grows. I hope this festival has many years ahead of it. I hope the retreat center that the festival was hosted at is as well loved by everyone who goes there as it needs to continue to serve the community as a safe gathering space for those who have few places to go.
I hope more events like this manifest. It's time to take the mindless consumerism and influencer hype out of our spiritual spaces and return to a sharing of knowledge and individual sovereignty within community support. Let's learn from our elders and peers. Let's cooperate between cultures and traditions. Let's recognize eachother in our power and work together to create a beautiful tapestry of human experience. We are ready to break out of the bonds of isolation and artificial separation and dance together under the stars. I want to see more sharing, more community, and more learning. This glimpse into our possibility was impactful. I'm hooked. I want more.
