Inferno Gathering 2018

WEBSITE: infernogathering.com.au

In 2009 the circle of EUPHORIA was opened for the last time.

Nine years later INFERNO is reborn from its ashes.

INFERNO is an ecstatic, transmutational ritual journey into the Underworld and the Witches Sabbat.

INFERNO is the celebration of the light and dark aspects of life, magick and the world. Join us as we call the timeless GODDZZ* HEKATE, BAPHOMET AND BABALON with ritual, music, movement, sombre reflection and sensual abandon. Feel the wisdom of the WITCH, the BODY and the spirits of the deep EARTH as it is expressed today through workshops, circles and the celebration of like-minded people.

Due to the nature of the events that are offered at INFERNO, this festival is for adults only. Some rituals may contain sexual elements, so, before considering attending INFERNO please carefully read all the information on OUR website (under construction), to assist in making an informed decision.

INFERNO is a Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender, Queer, Intergender, Ace spectrum +, and Hetero friendly Neopagan festival, we celebrate all forms of sexual expression, including asexuality, and all gender identities.

*GODDZZ is a gender-neutral term, pronounced Goddezz in the singular and Goddzz in the plural.

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED.
More information, and website coming soon.

Community Safety Month 2018: Consent Culture and Dealing with Abuse

March is Community Safety Month for the PCV. Throughout this month we will be promoting safe, sane and inclusive Pagan community for all through the sharing of information, discussion topics and more.

So far this month we’ve shared some important information for those new to Paganism, as well as some handy advice on looking for and joining a group. Now we move on to consent culture. For many Pagans, sexuality and the body are sacred. Unfortunately, this is not always enough in and of itself to prevent sexual harassment and abuse.

As well as the resources listed below, we strongly recommend anyone involved with the public Pagan scene read the Pagan Consent Culture anthology, which is edited by Christine Hoff Kraemer and Yvonne Aburrow.

Promoting Consent Culture in the Pagan Community: This is a summary of a model outlined in the Pagan Consent Culture anthology, which is edited by Christine Hoff Kraemer and Yvonne Aburrow. It outlines some preventative measures, as well as strategies for creating consent culture.

We recommend anyone involved in the Pagan community take a look at this book when they get a chance.

Pagans, Hugging and the Fine Art of Consent: An important reminder from Thorn Mooney about consent and touchy-feely Pagans at festivals.

The Curse of Pagan Niceness: (Content Warning) This piece from Canadian witch Sable Aradia looks at the pitfalls of Pagan “niceness” and how attitudes such as this are detrimental to creating a consent culture in our community.

Abuse Happens in a Culture that enables it: (Content Warning) Yvonne Aburrow has written widely on creating consent culture within the Pagan community. In this piece, she discusses some of the cultural changes that need to take place within the scene to minimise the risk of abusers and abuse.

Responding to Abuse in the Pagan Community: (Content Warning) Psychotherapist Cat Chapin-Bishop discusses what the Pagan community can do to protect victims, and to keep perpetrators from using our communities to find and access victims.

Do our Stereotypes Keep us Safe?: This article by Aussie Pagan blogger Bekah Evie Bel examines just how safe modern Pagans are in today’s society, pointing out that we may be doing more harm to ourselves as a community by staying “hidden”.

Earthsong 2017

By Carrie

I place frankincense on the altars as offering…

I’m just going to say. Earthsong 2017 was an experience that I wouldn’t have missed. I say this every year and each year it is true for different reasons. This year we worked with an Egyptian myth cycle. We invoked Isis, Osiris, Horus and Set. I volunteered to serve the temple this year and my tasks ranged from setting up altars to sweeping the floor. I was privileged to attend the role with another Reclaiming Witch and friend and found it to be a grounding act of service.

Earthsong WitchCamp is held in the Reclaiming tradition. It is ecstatic and entirely non hierarchical and has activist roots. Reclaiming Witches adhere to the Principles of Unity but generally impose few other requirements. Campers attending Earthsong take part in a Path. Paths offered depend on the myth cycle being worked with as well as the teaching team for the Camp. Path is my absolute favourite part of Camp without question. In fact the sole reason I attended Camp this year was to take the advanced path- Pearl Pentacle with the teaching team offering it. Pearl Pentacle is a tool that comes to Reclaiming from Anderson Feri. Earthsong has been honored and blessed by the gifts of so many exceptional experienced teachers across the years and this year was certainly no exception. I find that I am working with the tools, techniques and knowledge long after Camp is over.

With the exception of one night each night of Camp involves a ritual. This year I found the nightly rituals to be a moving arc of grace and beauty. They were priestessed by Witches of considerable strength and experience and skill. I personally found that the rituals added a great deal to my Camp experience.

I was blown away by the strong and demonstrated sense of community that was shown at this years Camp particularly. I’m assisting with organising the Camp for 2018 and I can only hope that this continues next year because the inclusiveness and enthusiasm was so wonderful to witness.

When I attended my first Camp a couple of years ago I was told that they were nothing less than life transforming acts of magic. This years Camp experience as well as my ongoing work with Reclaiming has shown that to be completely and absolutely true. I would encourage anyone curious about Reclaiming to give themselves the gift of experiencing a WitchCamp.