Autumn has arrived....

Field in the main campground area


Well the colder, darkening days are truly upon us, and a post about my experiences at the Northwest Fall Equinox Festival (NWFEF) is long overdue! To set the mood, here are a couple blog posts I've really enjoyed: a wonderful ode to the season, with some beautiful pictures and a second one which is a decidedly more Pagan take on the harvest.

I genuinely appreciated my time at the old YMCA Youth Camp site at Silver Falls State Park (where the Festival was held), with one exception - the field in which tenters must camp was also the site of the Drum Circle! If I had known this, I would have been more aggressive about asking someone to share a cabin, instead of waiting until the last night to do so.

Outside of that, I had an amazing time! I met several interesting and remarkable ladies from many walks of life. All had stories to share, and were very non-judgemental about how one might decide to handle life's ebbs and flows; "We're all on a journey, and we're all trying to get through life's challenges the best way we can" was the wisdom I gleaned from all those the stimulating conversations.

Although I hadn't had a real interest in the Hindu pantheon, I deeply enjoyed all the rituals & workshops for the Goddesses that had been prepared. The five Goddesses which had shrines (one in each cabin "neighborhood") were Kali, Deva (a triple personified goddess), Durga, Parvati and in the main area, the Goddess of Prosperity, Laxmi.

One of the most moving and deeply spiritual workshops was the "Family" one on Friday. At check-in at the gate, attendees were given a handmade token necklace with a randomly assigned number on the back. This number became a "Family" number (approximately 10 people per number); and at the designated time and place for that number, all the "Family" members met with a facilitator/leader and did some preparation for the days ahead. One part of the workshop involved each participant moving into the center of a circle while all the other people gently placed their hands on the center person while repeating 3 times:

"We will hold you until you soften."
"We will love you until you begin to melt."
"We will sing to you until you remember peace."

It was a totally incredible experience and really put me in the mindscape of the Festival. Did I mention this took place in the Tantric Temple? Yes, my "Family" place to meet was the MOST BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED temple of the whole campground IMHO. Later I participated in a group ritual at that same temple before the main Saturday night ritual, (again, as sort of a mental preparation for the evening). The Priestess presiding over it was amazing and she really loved my dress, which happened to be my wedding dress (an Afghani Nomad design from Folkwear).

Another great part of the Festival was the food! There were many vegetarian and vegan options I tried which I surprisingly enjoyed. I liked it all so much I bought their recipe book, "May You Never Hunger", Harvest Grove Family Favorites. The nice thing about this book is it has "Helpful Hints" and "Cooking Tips" for food preparation throughout the book, often the kinds of things you can find only in old cookbooks.

There was so much more: full moon illuminated nights, a hilarious wedding "ritual"/celebration for a long-time attendee who had just gotten married, the main group rituals each evening, time to rest, perusing the vendors for the perfect Witch's Hat....

I've already decided I want to attend next year, and look forward to celebrating the Autumn Equinox/Mabon with like-minded folks. I also want to have my husband share the experience as well, as participation in the rituals is totally voluntary and the restful natural setting helps refocus the heart and mind in healing ways.

Now onto Halloween!

Fall is in the Air!

For the last week or so, it's been very cool in the morning...the heat of August's Dog Days seems to be mostly behind us. The flowering plants are mostly done, the grass is brown, corn & apples are showing up in the Farmer's Markets around town, and even the vines on our Pumpkins & Cucumbers seem to be loosing their "oomph". All signs pointing to cooler weather ahead, and a busy Harvest Season!

This year I'm going to be attending the NW Fall Equinox Festival for the first time, (I'll be giving a full report when I get back!). The theme this year is Diwali, ("Festival of Lights" in Hindi), with the primary Goddess of this festival being Laxmi (Mother of Wealth & Prosperity). I think we all could use a little of Laxmi's influence in our lives right now, what with the economy going to pot and all....I'm thankful I was finally able to get a job, even though it will cause some stress (when will the dishes get done? Who knows!)..but to eventually get REAL health insurance will worth it!

Ze Fair!

Gnomes on Parade!

Once again, we headed down to Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair...and had a pretty wonderful time, (there was a little unfriendliness the 1st day...but great after that). It also was the 40th anniversary of the Fair, and I managed to get one of the last Commemorative Batik Sarongs...they also had some flags which I wish I gotten now...but no worries! We also had one of the Beaniac's friends from Alaska (via Virginia...it's a long story!)-he was great, just became part of the family, and we're planning on having him back next year too! So now onto some more pics...


E -The Bean's AK friend & all around good kid, the Beaniac & Snabby

The second day was nice as well as we got to park nearer the entrance, and just mosey on in a little early with our 3-day wristband passes (cost a pretty penny, but makes Fair life just a little easier)...You can see above an example of the funky signs around that make it a fun place too-even the No Parking ones!


Glitter Henna!

I decided to spend a little cashola and get some Mehendi done - the lady that I chose incidently also offers a fine glitter decoration while it dries if you want - and I wanted! Here below is a pic of the finished design a day or so later...

Done!

An Epiphany

The first weekend in January is the time when the French eat a special cake called "La Gallette", a pastry-wrapped disc enclosing a delicious almond paste interior...and a little ceramic item called a "feve" (there is no English equivalent). Here is a great authentic recipe, along with picture of the cake with a paper crown. Whomever finds the "feve" in their piece becomes King or Queen for the day.

The picture above is from a book I've read to my daughter's classes for many years...it's basically a Gingerbread man-type story "Run, Run, you can't catch me!" but of course he's caught by the sly fox in the end!

This time of year is also a nice wind down from the hectic holiday season; I had an "Epiphany" of sorts also...I've decided to make some simple daily practices...like a 5-minute morning meditation on the (Majors only) Gaian Tarot Deck I received as a Yule gift. My two other commitments are to redo my resume in order to get a REAL job in the next 3 months, and to either do yoga, or take a walk every single day.

Three things, three Kings - hmmm kind of fits, doesn't it?

Can't wait to work up some inspiring endeavors for Imbolc/St. Brigid's Day!

Summertime...

is when I tend to get some stuff done. Unfortunately, it's also coincides with the busiest work schedule for the part-time/on-call job I currently have. Be that as it may, I'm excited about OCF this year, they've got a new Art Nouveau style logo for this year's fair, it's very pretty!...and I will be going alone, (for the 1st time ever! so I can just wander around and do whatever I want, when I want. I'm contemplating getting a 3-day entrance bracelet, even though I'd probably only go 2 days. You get in a smidgen earlier and you don't have to worry about keeping track of 3 days of tickets.

I'd like to attend the Faeriworlds Festival during Lughnasa, but it's also the same time as REACH's Paint & Repair-A-Thon, so there will always be a conflict...I'll just have to decide one year to go!

Finally, I've been following Lunaea Weatherstone's blog for quite some time...at last she put up some new Goddess Rosaries, (you'll need to scroll down just a little to see them all), and I bought one! I'll put up some pics once I receive it...she also has a great ritual for a "Spiritual Bath", which is easy and fun. I plan to get a colorful bucket (like the pink one she has a picture of), and use the flowers from my pot garden. The miniature roses are just coming into bloom (both pink and yellow),as well as the thyme, parsely and lavender. Soon the Easter lilies, along with some California Poppies and Calendula I recently planted should bloom, so I can have several "Baths" all summer long!