Lake Okeechobee Summer Solstice Pagan Festival Success

With help from Circle Sanctuary's Lady Liberty League, the Lake Okeechobee Summer Solstice Pagan Festival at Pahookee, Florida went on as planned, and successfully. We received permission to post the following from Mx. Nathan Tamar Pautz, written at the time of the Festival, which he attended:
"Solstice blessings from this first-time Pagan festival in the small town of Pahokee, FL. In spite of initial outrage on the part of many local Christian churches, the festival went on without incident and was a success. Thanks to the Lady Liberty League for helping to educate Pahokee leaders regarding minority religions and to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department and the Pahokee Fire Department for watching over festival goers."

Festival Program


Local TV coverage, with Lady Liberty League's Peter Dybing


A drum circle at the festival
:

Buzz Coil: June 2013

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond.

Hecatedemeter: Blogger Hecate summarizes and expands upon the various opinions about whether deities are figurative/metaphors or discrete entities, in her June 19 post, On Paganism as a Religion, Not a Faith,  and then adds, in a beautiful June 20 post, And if the Goddess Doesn't Exist...  Oh, and btw, as of June 22, she's up to Chapter 21 of her novelistic work, "A Place Without a Witch."

Alchemy of Clay: B. Rogers' June 8 post, Choir, ribbon cutting etc , tells of the performance of the Sahara Peace Choir, of which she is a member, at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies for Oshun Mountain (OM) Sanctuary near Asheville NC.  The Sahara Peace Choir is led by Annelinde Metzner. With many pics.

Annelinde's World: On her poetry blog, Annelinde Metzner's June 14 post, written at Folly Beach NC a few days before, is a poem titled, "Purify Me." With pics. 

My Village Witch: Byron Ballard's June 13 post, The Burnished Red of a Golden Red Moon, describes the waxing crescent moon, as she observes it, writing:
"This is a Moon of changes and wily transformation. She is a Moon of decision and fortitude. There is no enigma here–her intention is clear as the night sky below her."
And asking: "How will you use the energy of this trickster Moon?"

Goddess in a Teapot: Carolyn Lee Boyd encourages us, in her June 16 post, to Celebrate the Mystery of the Summer Solstice, which, she writes, includes stories from ancient times and the quantum physics explanations of the universe.

Hearth Moon Rising's Blog: In a June 21 post, Solstice Moon, blogger Hearth Moon Rising writes about the Solstice, Super Moon, and magic. 

 Casa Della Dea: In a June 21 post,  Eilantha Redspring wishes us Felice Solstizio d'Estate! with a pic captioned in English and the rest of the post in Italian, explaining,"Per chi usa la Ruota di Avalon, oggi è il giorno dedicato alla Madre delle Acque..."  and continuing with a lovely poem.

Theapoetics: Blogger talkbirth's June 24 post opens with a poem, Ball Ring, and tells of her grandmother's recent passing, of inheriting the ring, of a visit to a beach where, after writing her grandmother's grandma name in the sand, she received an unexpected "sign." With pics. Her June 22 post, Saturday Sabbath: Summer Solstice Redux, begins with a poem and shares pics of the "first-ever" set of Goddess sculptures she's made honoring the four seasons, and another pic of some other of her recent Goddess sculptures.

Feminism and Religion: Some of the recent posts on this blog of many paths and many bloggers:
Carol P. Christ's June 24 post Staying In or Leaving the Religious Community of Your Birth: The Dialogue Continues, is part of an on-going discussion on this blog between Carol and Jewish feminist theologian Judith Plaskow. Part of what Carol writes:
  ....I think you get it wrong when you say that I put “purity” or “idealism” above “community.”  You are right that the path I chose was “out of” Christianity.  But when you speak of my “unwillingness to remain part of a community with which [I] had serious disagreements” and add that for you “community trumps consistency,” I think you overstate your case.  When you say that it “seems as if your disagreements with other feminists were more vivid for you than a sense of engagement in a shared project,” I think you get it just plain wrong."
Deanne Quarrie, in a June 22 post, Fire, Her Bright Spirit, blogs of fire in the Celtic tradition, and of the Summer Solstice, writing:
This is the time when the fullness of the Mother is evident in the lushness of growth around us.  It is when the crops are ripening in the sun; the time the honey bee gathers in sweetness.  We celebrate this season with dance, bonfires, and yes, sexual pleasure. This is the revelry of Midsummer and the Dance of Fire…
and closes with a poem.
Wendy Griffin explores Serving Spirit, in her June 21 post, in which she writes she was "raised on a Goddess path, although neither my mother nor I knew it," and goes on to tell how she later realized she was on this path. 
Gina Messina-Dysert writes about the relationship between Rape Culture and Abstinence Only Education in a June 19 post that quotes Elizabeth Smart.
Molly Remer, on June 12, writes about Birth as a Shamanic Experience. With pics of her sculptures of pregnant goddesses.
Sara Frykenberg, in a June 4 post, Unblocking Abundance, shares a Beltane ritual that she and a friend created.
Barbara Ardinger's  June 2  post is about June---a Month Ruled by Feminine Principles and explores Roman and Hellenistic traditions.

The Wild Hunt:  Heather Greene's June 21 post, The Hula Dance: From Sacred to Commodity , explores the origins of the Polynesian dance as a sacred dance of the Goddess and nature in contrast to its popularization as a tourist attraction.

The Retiring Mind: Wendy Griffin ponders whether the Pagan community would benefit from "professional clergy" in her June 6 post, A Professional Priesthood?

Pagan Square: In a June 19 post, Honoring Shakti, Jen McConnel writes of meeting the Indian Goddess in the Cincinnati Art Museum and receiving a life-changing message.
In a June 3 post, Because There is no Veil, Byron Ballard explains that "the Ancestors haven't been apart from us here in years," and explores some of the implications of this statement. 

The Goddess House: In a June 3 post, Friday - Freya's Day, blogger As't Moon compares mythology of the Goddesses Freya and Frigga 

Panthea: All Things Are Goddess: Blogger Lisa encourages Reclaiming Sacredness and Innocence in her June 3 post about erotic love.

WATERvoices: A June 14 post has information about a July 10 Teleconference with Grace Ji-Sun Kim, a scholar and author born in South Korea whose interests includes feminist theology and Asian theology.

Return to Mago: Glenys Livingstone's June 24 post, PaGaian Winter Solstice, provides a video with explanation of the 2009 Winter Solstice celebration at her PaGaian Moon Court in Australia.
Lydia Ruyle's icon banner for Bari Gongju, a Korean princess that, Ruyle writes, is "believed to be the ancestral mudang shaman and the patroness of all shamans in Korea," is shown in her June 19 post; for her June 12 post, Ruyle shares her icon banner of the Korean dragon-faced guardian of sacred space, Dokkaebi; and on June 5 shows she us an icon banner for  a Sangwon-sa Apsara, a young female spirit in Korean tradition.
In a June 14 post, I Must Call Her Awe/stralia, Leslene Della-Madre tells of her recent travels.
In a June 3 post, blog owner Helen Hwang writes Part 3 of Toward the Primordial Knowing of Mago, the Great Goddess, which delves into what she considers the Daoist version of Mago.

Association for the Study of Women & Mythology: In a May 14 post that somehow slipped by us, Interviews from 2012 Conference, ASWM links to blogtalkradio's presentation of interviews with the conference's presenters.

Fellowship of Isis Central: In a June 20 post, Announcement from Olivia Robertson: Sacred Places, the founder of the Fellowship of Isis, assisted by Marian Smiles and Minette Quick of the Rainbow Circle of Brigid, tells of the early intimations in 1948 of what would grow into FOI and that

"At this time of the new aeon, 2013, I feel we are to activate this sacred place of Dana, Tara, and Brigid, Danann goddesses of Ireland."

Events Coil: June 14-August 10

As far we know, all events we list are open functions, but some may be limited to women or to adults and some may require that you notify them that you plan to attend. Please check the websites for group policies. On our list, if no country is given, the event is in USA. All times local. Times for computer/Internet/Web events are given for the place of origin unless otherwise noted. Events lasting more than 1 day are bolded. When listing events for the same date we try to list those that occur first, taking into account time zone differences. If there is a difference between our listings and the listings on the link, assume their web page is correct as details may have changed since we listed from it. Ongoing events and events that occur on a regular day each month or week are listed after the dated events. If you have an event related to the subject matter of this blog that you want listed, please leave info as a comment. See the end of this Coil for what info we need for listings. [updated 6/14, 6/17, 6/18, 6/21, 7/29]

June 15, gather at 4:30 p.m., ritual 5 pm, Summer Solstice/Litha, North Bay Reclaiming, Sebastopol CA 

June 16-23, Pagan Spirit Gathering, Circle Sanctuary, near Earlville IL

June 20, 7 p.m. Midsummer Night Social, Open Hearth Foundation Center, Washington DC

June 20, time tba, Summer Solstice and Nike Greek Goddess of Victory, Daughters of the Goddess, San Francisco  CA 

June 20, gather 7:30pm, ritual 8pm. Summer Solstice/Litha, San Francisco Reclaiming Ocean Beach, SF CA 

June 21, 7 p.m., Winter Solstice Celebration, Winter Solstice Celebration, Pagaian Moon Court, Blue Mountains NSW AUSTRALIA

June 21 doors open 13.00 uur, ceremony begins 14.00 uur, Zomer Zonnewende Ceremonie, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillegom, NEDERLAND

June 21, 4 p.m. Open Litha Ritual, Open Hearth Foundation Center, Washington DC

June 21,  doors open 6:30 p.m., event 7 p.m., Monthly Sacred Full Moon Ceremony, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

June 21, 9 p.m., Goddess Sabbat: Solstice of the Fertile Mother, CAYA, Alameda CA

June 21 7:30 p.m.-June 22 9 p.m. Summer Solstice Ceremony, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

June 21, 7 p.m. potluck, 8 p.m. ritual, Summer Solstice, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV
 
June 22, 3 p.m. Midsummer Daydreams: A Celebration of the Sun, Mother Grove Goddess Temple, Asheville NC

June 22, 6:30 p.m.,  Summer Solstice, Circle of Aradia, Studio City CA

June 22, 7:15 p.m., Solstice of Light Triumphant (Litha), CAYA, Alameda CA

June 22, doors open 6:30 p.m., event 7 p.m. Grand Consecration of Sekhmet at Summer Solstice, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA  

June 23, gather 11:30 a.m., ritual Noon, Litha/Summer Solstice, Connect DC, Washington DC

June 23, 2 p.m. Winter Solstice, Temple of the Global Goddess, Maitland, AUSTRALIA

June 23, 3 p.m. Mid-Summer/Litha Sabbat, Goddess Temple Inc., Lakewood, OH

June 23, 7 p.m. potluck, 8 p.m. ritual, Full Moon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

June 26, Full Moon Circle, 7 p.m., Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve near Barneveld WI

June 28-30, Summer Retreat, Sisterhood of the Sacred Circle, High Sierras NV

July 6, Noon, Sisterhood Gathering in Avebury, Whiltshire, ENGLAND

July 6,  Noon-4 pm, Day of Devotion, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA 
 
July 8, 2 p.m. New Moon Healing, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

July 8,  7 p.m. potluck, 8 p.m. ritual, Women's New Moon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

July 17, time tba, Goddess Isis Birthday Celebration, Tamesa London Circle, banks of the Thames, London ENGLAND

July 18, Celebrate Mari Spanish/Basque Goddess of Justice, Daughters of the Goddess, San Francisco CA 
  
July 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 10th Annual Mary Magdalene Celebration, Celebrating Women Witnesses Ministry, Sedona AZ

July 22, Full Moon Circle, 7 p.m., Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve near Barneveld WI
July 23, 7 p.m. Red Tent/Full Moon Esbat, Goddess Temple Inc., Lakewood, OH

July 27, ritual 1 pm, Lammas, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco Reclaiming, SF CA 

July 27, 7 p.m. potluck, 8 p.m. ritual, Full Moon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

July 28, gather at 3:30 p.m., ritual 4 pm, Lammas, North Bay Reclaiming, Sebastopol CA 

July 28, 7:30 p.m. Moon Lodge, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

July 29, 7:30 p.m. Lammas Ceremony, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

July 30-Aug. 4 (with fringe events July 28-29), Glastonbury Goddess Conference, Glastonbury ENGLAND

August 1,  7 p.m. potluck, 8 p.m. ritual, Lammas, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

August 2-4, Green Spirit Gathering (Lughnassadh), Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve near Barneveld WI

August 3, 6 p.m. Open Lammas Ritual, Open Hearth Foundation Center, Washington DC

August 3, 6:30 p.m., Lammas, Circle of Aradia, Studio City CA

August 3, 7 p.m., Festival of Heart and Harvest, CAYA, Alameda CA   

August 3, Temple Holy Day of the Queen: First Harvest, doors open 6:30 p.m., event 7 p.m. Goddess Temple of Orange County,
Irvine CA 

August 3, time tba Women's Lammas Circle, Sisterhood of the Sacred Circle, Carson City NV

August 4, doors open 13.00 uur, ceremony begins 14.00 uur, Lammas Ceremonie, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillegom, NEDERLAND 

August 4, gather 11:30 a.m., ritual Noon, Lammas, Connect DC, Washington DC

August 10, 3 p.m. Lammas Sabbat, Goddess Temple Inc., Lakewood, OH Aug.10, 3 p.m. Imbolc ritual, Moon Court, Blue Mountains AUSTRALIA 

 
ONGOING

AUSTRALIA

Adelaide, 2nd Tuesday of month, 7:30 p.m. Goddess Devotional Service, The Goddess House.

GREAT BRITAIN

Glastonbury: Most days except Mondays, Noon-4, Temple Open for personal Prayers; Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. Belly Dancing; Thursdays, 7 p.m. Temple Ritual Dance Class, Priestess/Priest of Avalon Training Program, both in Glastonbury (Avalon) and by correspondence. Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

USA

Ashland OR, Thursdays 7 p.m., Temple Services;third Thursday of month, 7 p.m. Crone Honoring Circle; Goddess Temple of Ashland
 

Asheville NC, Sundays 10 a.m. drumming, 10:30 a.m. Service, Morning Devotionals, Mother Grove Goddess Temple.Berkeley CA, last Sunday of month, 5 p.m. East Bay Goddess Rosary, University Lutheran Chapel.
Carson City, NV, Mondays 6 p.m., Women's Spirituality Studies with Mama J, Sisters of the Sacred Circle.Geyserville CA, Daily, Noon, Ritual; Sundays, 2 p.m. Sanctuary Tour, 3 p.m. Transformation: Understanding the 42 Ideals of Ma'at, Isis Oasis.  
Irvine CA, Sunday Services, 1st service at 9:30 a.m., inward meditation; 2nd service at 11 a.m.; see dates for Goddesses being honored, guest speakers, and other information about individual services; Wednesdays 6-8 p.m. "Spiritual Services: Goddesses and Heroes," Spiritual Life Club . Saturdays 12-5 p.m. Temple Open for Women's Meditation, Goddess Temple of Orange County.
Palenville NY, Sundays 5 p.m.training sessions; Sundays 7 p.m. Pagan Circles; 1st Saturday of month, Goddess Meetup, Maetreum of Cybele.
San Francisco CA, Sundays 10:30 a.m. Liturgy of the Divine Feminine; Wednesdays 7 p.m. Goddess Rosary Meditation; 1st Friday, Friday Night Group for Women, Ebenezer/HerChurch Lutheran .
Seattle WA, 2nd Sunday, doors open 10 a.m., Goddess Service 10:30 a.m., Gaia's Temple.
Staten Island NY, closest Saturday to full moon 7 p.m. Women's Full Moon Drumming; 3rd Saturday 7 p.m. Goddess devotional service; Goddess Temple of Staten Island.
Wisconsin Dells, WI, Mondays 10 a.m., Motherhouse Monday Morning; Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Women's Craft Night; 1st Wednesdays 7 p.m. She Sings!; 2nd Wednesdays, Goddess Book Group; 3rd Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Women's Bardic Circle; 4th Wednesdays 7 p.m. Divination Night;Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess-International.

ONLINE, WORLD WIDE WEB
COURSES:
 "Celebrating Cosmogenesis," for people in both Southern and Northern Hemispheres, with Australian author Glenys Livingstone, originates in NSW, Australia. Join online at any time.
 Women's Thealogical Institute (RCG-I) Athena Online Programs: Cella, Crone, and Guardian.
PODCASTS
times tba, "Talking to Goddess," interviews, music, and more from Gaia's Garden, originates in Melbourne, Australia.
Wednesdays 6 p.m. PT, "Voices of the Sacred Feminine," interviews with well-known Goddessians and Pagans hosted by Karen Tate, Blog Talk Radio. Originates in California.
Sundays 11 a.m. PT, "Creatrix-Media-Live" roundtable discussions include guests and phone-in audience participation, co-hosted by Jayne DeMent and Anniitra Ravenmoon. Blog Talk Radio.
Tuesday 8 p.m. CT, Circle Craft with Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary, Blog Talk Radio

We would be happy to add your Goddess and spiritual feminist events (and those you know about that are open to the public) no matter where in the world they are. Please leave a comment giving: Name of event, sponsoring organization (if any), town, state (if in US), country (if outside of US) time (if known) , and required: url of website where person can get more info (no pdf pages, no password-protected pages). Do NOT give street addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. People should go to the website for that info.