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.

 

 

Earthsong Witchcamp 2017

EarthSong is a growing community of Pagans and Witches who come together in many creative ways – one of these being an annual gathering called WitchCamp.

See the Facebook Event Page for more information.

29th of September to the 3rd of October.

Course: Iron Pentacle – Reclaiming Ourselves

Hosted by Wyrd Workings – Gede Parma

One of Reclaiming Tradition’s Core Classes.

The Iron Pentacle is a tool whose origins are in the Anderson Feri Tradition (an American Traditional Witchcraft) which is a root of Reclaiming.

In this 6-week class (one 3-hour session per week, Wednesday evenings) we will meet to explore and reclaim our

Sex
Self
Passion
Pride
Power

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Aqo-n4T0Thmh3r7OUV9iFFJBiyg0wxVNDBwlD9DsEoU/

Sliding scale – $90-$250

Dates:

23rd of August
30th of August
6th of September
13th of September
20th of September
27th of September

Elements of Magic is a pre-requisite.

Click here to view the Facebook Event Page.

The Veil, Vessel & Web: Two Days of Possession, Oracular Trance & Spellcraft

See the Facebook Event Page for more details.

This two-day intensive explores the Witch as the Seer, the Vessel and the Caster of Spells. Together we will delve deeply beyond the Veil to acquire the Gift of Sacred Sight and ignite the Seer within. We will cleanse, clear and align Self with All-Self and become the Holy Vessel to the Hidden, Mysterious and Mighty Potencies – to draw down/in the Gods and Spirits and to allow for direct interface and intimacy with the human community. We will also reclaim the sorcery inherent in our Craft and learn tried and true techniques for successful and ecstatic spellcraft – to wilfully and willingly weave with the strands of the Web and work with the Will of God Herself to attain to Desire, fulfil Necessity and affect Change.

In order to attend this intensive you must have a foundational magical practice that is alive to you and a conscious and tended relationship with your Spirits.

Waged: $250
Partially waged: $170-200
Unwaged: $150

There will be two places reserved for Trans/Indigenous/People of Colour/Activist/Queer/Single Parents who require financial assistance.

Contact spirited_services@hotmail.com to register.

About the teacher:

Fio, who writes and teaches under their birth name Gede Parma, has been teaching workshops and intensives on ecstatic witchcraft, oracular and possessory technique, and sorcerous spellcraft for over a decade internationally. They are the current Lucifer (Magister) of a Traditional Witch covenant within the Wildwood Tradition and a trained Reclaiming and WitchCamp teacher. He descends from powerful and wondrous families hailing from Bali, Ireland, Scotland, and England. They recently moved to invaded land whose First Peoples are the Wurundjeri, the Traditional Owners of the place called Melbourne. Fio is a published author, a contemporary dancer in training, and a very queer witchcraft nerd.

 

See the Facebook Event Page for more details.

 

 

The Pagan-est Day Ever!

Pagan Pride Day and Spiral Dance Concert

By Alex and Josie

On the 18^th of March The PCV hosted our first Pagan Pride Day, in Edinburgh Gardens. It was an amazing day filled with amazing people and a great sense of community. The event started at 12pm. People started arriving and what was initially a small amount of people grew: we ended up with around 50 people attending.

At 2pm the talks about the various paths started. Our first speaker was Shaz. She spoke about ADF Druidry and Silver Birch Grove. Josephine talked about Alexandrian witchcraft, and we then had Dean who spoke about Asatru (Norse paganism), followed by KC guy who spoke about OBOD Druidry. Next, Fio Talked about the Reclaiming path, then Luca Talked about Wildwood, and Dorian Talked about Chaos magic.

After the talks on the different paths we moved on to our ritual for the autumn Equinox which was run by Josie and Ryan in a Alexandrian inspired style. The quarters were called by Fran (Air), Sarah (Fire), Alex (Water) and Mark (Earth). It was a beautiful ritual that included a meeting dance and lovely music.

After the ritual we moved on to our second session of talk which were about the different meetings and gatherings around Victoria we started off with Ryan talking about the CBD pub moots, then Sarah talking about the Monthly Hills Pagan Coffee Meets. Next was Mark who talked about the Central Vic meetups, and we then had Dean who talked about the Heathen meetups, which include a ritual. This was followed by Nickole talking about Earthsong Witchcamps. We then had Dorian who talked about the newly started Frankston/Cranbourne Meetups, and Shaz then talked about Druid Coffee. The Queer Pagan Men’s meetups where then talked about by Buck, Michel then talked about the  Mount Franklin Pagan Gathering, and finally we finished off with Seline talking about Into Me I See.

It was an absolutely amazing day filled with friendship and community spirit. As a fairly new member of the Pagan community I found it to be a great way to learn more about what is available in Victoria and also to meet more like minded people. I would also love to thank the amazing PCV for running the day especially Sarah for being MC and making sure everything ran smoothly. I would also love to thank all the speakers and those who ran the ritual and finally thankyou to everyone who attended as without you it wouldn’t have happened.

— Alex

“I just saw a Reclaiming witch, a Druid and an Anarchist eating grapes together. And they were LAUGHING.”
– overheard at the Pagan Pride Day picnic

After a busy and marvelously social day at Pagan Pride Day, we headed on down to Bar 303 in Northcote to see Spiral Dance and KC Guy live in concert, presented by the PCV.

This concert was the perfect way to finish off a day of the Pagan community coming together. KC Guy’s voice is truly enchanting, and just what we needed to chill out and lose ourselves. Spiral Dance has a decades-long track record of bringing Pagans together with their beautiful and very danceable music, and dance we did!

The hot, sticky night didn’t stop any of us from busting out our best daggy Pagan dance moves to tunes like The Quickening, Faerie Tale and our favourite, Black Annis.

By the end of the night our throats were raw, our clothes were heavy with sweat and every last one of us were wearing enormous watermelon-slice grins as we exploded out into the cool night air of High Street.

A million, squillion thankyous to KC Guy and Spiral Dance for travelling from South Australia to perform for us and provide the perfect ending to a perfect day. Thanks also to Bar 303 for having us, to everyone who helped out on the door, and to Mark Hayes for his beautiful photos of the night.

— Josie

You can download a copy of the Pagan Pride Day Flyer here: PPD 2017

Photo Reuse Policy: You are welcome to use these photos for *personal use* on social media, etc, but please credit/tag the Mark Hayes Photography Facebook Page when you do.

Seline gives a presentation at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Ryan is inducted into the Ancient and Mystical Order of the Vegemite Scroll at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Dorian discusses Chaos Magick at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Nickole talks about Earthsong Witchcamps at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

LLuca discusses the Wildwood Tradition at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Dean gives a talk on Heathenry at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Buck discusses Queer Pagan Men Australia at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Michel gives a presentation about the history of the Mount Franklin Pagan Gathering at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Kacey gives a presentation about OBOD at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Ryan talks about the CBD Pagan Pub Moots at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

 

 

 

What’s on in Victoria? March 2015

The Victorian Pagan Scene seems to be getting busier each month! See our Calendar for more events coming up near you. 🙂

4^th: Full Moon Circle at Seline’s Temple (Plenty)
For details visit the What’s Brewing Now? Facebook group.

5^th: Date of Full Moon

7^th: Pagans in the Pub Melbourne (Fairfield)
For details visit the Facebook event or call Philippe: 0402 437 086

7^th: Earthsong Monthly Coffee Meetup (Northcote)
Topic: Stories of Initiation. For details visit the Facebook event.

7^th: Wendy Rule Melbourne Concert (Northcote)
For details visit the Facebook event.

14th: Submissions close for Mabon issue of Spokes of the Wheel
Please send your articles/artwork to pagancollectivevic@gmail.com

15^th: PCV Monthly Hills Pagan Coffee Meet (Upwey)
See the Facebook event for details.

21^st: Mabon

21st: Melbourne Heathen Moot (Clifton Hill)
Asatru/Heathenism. See the Facebook page for details.

27^th– 29^th: Seven Sisters Festival (Mount Martha)
See the Seven Sisters website for more.

28th: Creating Ceremony: The Art of Ecstatic Ritual (Brunswick)
Hosted by Melbourne Reclaiming. See the Facebook event for details.