Tarot Companions

Posted on April 5, 2013 by

The Tarot Art project I would like to share today is two pieces that are meant to be companions to each other. The first, I like to call, Tarot Theater(front). (Tarot really is a bit like theater, isn’t it?) This is a journal to record readings, reactions and notes. The Second piece is a hard bound folder with clear sleeves glued inside to hold cards for various types of readings(back). Mine has 7 sleeves allowing me to do a 3 card, 4 card, 7 card, or any variation thereof type of reading. I made this piece hard bound so that I could open it to stand on its own on my alter to contemplate. The idea is to use them together. Pull your reading, leave it up on your space as long as needed, then record in the journal for later study. I am actually using the journal to make my own notes on the meanings of cards. After reading Mary Greer’s “21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card”, I was taken by all the impressions that one could derive from a single card and/or reading, I plan to use it as a working text for readings.

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How to Meet People at PantheaCon

Posted on February 3, 2013 by

PantheaCon provides a great opportunity for meeting other Pagans, some famous and other known mostly in their local communities. One of the best things about attending a conference is getting to meet those people you always wanted to. So if you are attending PantheaCon and want to meet your favorite writer, ritualist, singer, artist, or just plain cool Pagan then here are some helpful hints for you.

Walk up and introduce yourself

Yes it can be just that simple. We are all human and in general enjoy meeting people. Here are some tips to be successful:

  • If the person is with others, make sure that you introduce yourself to the group.
  • Be your self. If you are trying to impress them with some grand title or heritage, it will fall flat. Of course, if there is a real connection, such as you have a common teacher, that would be fine. Finding something in common to talk about is a good idea.
  • Keep it simple. A nice “good morning” or “Hello, is this seat taken” are good ways to start.
  • Prepared to be brushed off. Rejection is not a bad thing, only realistic. Remember we are all human with good and bad days, other concerns, and the need stay both mentally and physically healthy. Many people at PantheaCon are overwhelmed with teaching, keeping up friendships, professional responsibilities, and enjoying the conference. Pay attention to a polite brush off and be graceful.
  • Do not overdo the compliments. Yes, they may be great but if all you do is tell them that, it is hard to connect. Adding the why helps but keep it more engaging. Think about coming up with a statement like “your book is great, it made me rethink how I approach my own ritual style.”

Oh, dear…they are talking with me

Be prepared to answer questions. I have found that some of the most interesting people like to ask questions. Perhaps, they are interesting because they ask lots of questions. You may want to think about simple answers to questions such as what brings you to PantheaCon, what do you do, and what is your Pagan practice. We are all complex beings with lived experiences. I am sure that most of us can take at least an hour just to cover the basics of what brings us to PantheaCon. Avoid the hour long discussion by having an simple one or two minute answer to these questions. If they ask for more, then go ahead and fill in some detail. You may even want a very short 10 second answer ready for those elevator rides…okay for those of us who have experienced the elevators, you should have a little more time.

End on a high note

Remember that other people want to meet them too and it is best to leave when the conversation is going well. If you have been talking for about 15 minutes, you have done well and it may be time to move on. However, it this is a very engaging conversation, which means the other person is talking at least as much as you are then at the 30 minute mark think about thanking them for their time and even exchange contact information.

Meeting People at PantheaCon

Bonus Tip — How to make friends at PantheaCon

First, everyone at PantheaCon is cool. We come together with common interests and share in a community of the conference. We meet people that we would like to become friends with and here are my simple tips on how to begin this process that will take time after the convention had ended.

  • Be likable by listening, smiling, and being polite
  • Do not monopolized the conversation
  • Ask questions
  • Do not try to “top” the other person’s story

Remember that if you try to connect to a person and it is not working, that is okay. We are all in different place in our lives. I have seen some of the same people each year who I would like to get to know but we either just do not click or the timing is wrong. However, it f you just talk with people, be yourself, apply some of these suggestions, you will meet interesting people which may turn into great friendships.

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Wheat Class at PantheaCon 2013

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

PantheaCon 2013 is almost upon us and once again The Woven Circle will be teaching two traditional wheat weaving classes at the convention. The Woven Circle is made up of talented artists who travel to San Jose each year to share their enjoyment of straw art with the Pagan community at PantheaCon.

Our beginning class “Introduction to Wheat Weaving” will be on Saturday at 3:30 in the San Juan/San Carlos rooms. Last year, we had had to turn away students because of the popularity of this workshop. This class focuses on beginning weaving techniques along with straw preparation and sources on books, materials, and local groups. In this class, each student will make at least two pieces of straw art: a Bridget’s Cross and Harvest Knot to bring home. All materials and supplies are provided.

We will be teaching an intermediate class “Intermediate Wheat Weaving” on Sunday at 11:00 in San Carlos for those of you who have taken wheat weaving classes or are advanced hand crafters. This class focuses on intermediate weaving techniques. In this class, each student will make a small Bridget’s Processional using locking and adding techniques. All materials and supplies are provided.

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The Woven Circle (Angela, Carol, Joe, Chris, and William) is dedicated to teaching arts and crafts as part of our service to the community. Angela (The Straw Witch) is an eclectic Pagan writer and has taught crafts for 20 years. Carol is a bead and fiber artist, who has taught for crafts guilds, both local and regional. William (A Pagan Humanist) has been part of the Pagan community for over 30 years and has been teaching wheat weaving for over 15 years. Joe comes to heckle but in reality is a talented straw artist and a great help. Chris stated out by taking these class and now he is a welcome teacher to the group.

Resources for Straw Art You can buy straw from Black Beard in North Dakota (from Dennis and Sharon Hanson). Also, you can find wheat at Frank’s Cane & Rush Supply (7252 Heil Ave. Huntington Beach, CA 92647 – (714) 847-0707). Both are good places, and good people, to buy from. We recommend two books (yes there are more books but this should start you out just fine):

  • The Book of Wheat Weaving and Straw Craft: from simple plaits to exquisite designs. Morgyn Geoffry Owens-Celli. 1997
  • The Straw Art Companion: Instructions, Projects, and History. Jeffery Paul Jones and Cora A. Hendershot. 2012

The American Museum of Straw Art hosts a spectacular collection of straw art from the US and around the world. Also, there is Wheat Goddesses, which is Cora’s web site with her show schedule. Her work is amazing and if you get a chance, please stop by one of her shows to see all the straw art. Also there is a new site for showcasing international straw art which you can find at StrawBlog.

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2013 Conference on Current Pagan Studies

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

Pagan Conference LogoThe Conference on Current Pagan Studies (Pagan Conference) is just a month away and for those who have not attended, I would highly recommend you do. Those who have attended keep coming back so I will take that as a recommendation. I have been involved with the conference for the last several years having presented papers, set up a new website, and been the operation manager. I receive no monetary compensation only the knowledge that I am making a difference in the Pagan community.

This year’s theme is Pagan Sensibilities in Action. Pagan perspectives are manifested “as our lived experiences in artistic expression, personal and collective practices, the manner in which we hold power, and other engagements” (from the Call for Papers page). The Pagan Conference actively pursues both well known and interesting practitioners along with active scholars. Being more inclusive sets this conference apart from other academic conferences.

The keynote speakers will be Peter Dybing and Sabina Magliocco along with about 30 scholars from a wide range of disciplines presenting papers, original research, and thought provoking ideas. Papers range from Putting Descartes before the horse: Pagan identities and challenges to serving the Pagan body politic (moderated by Sabina Magliocco with presentations by Joe Futerman, Elizabeth Rose Marini, and Kimberly Kiner) to As Above, So Below: Pagan Theology, Polytheistic Psychology, and Pagan Praxis (presented by Jeffery Albaugh). Although you do not need be to an academic to enjoy this conference, you did need to enjoy interesting lectures.

I am looking forward to hearing from the Pagan History Project with Armando Marini, Aline O’brien, and Sam Webster. I fear that much of our history is maintained only within individual’s memories. I would like to see more work in oral history and am thankful for these and other people’s work to document our history.

The 9th annual Pagan Conference will be on January 26 & 27, 2013 at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont CA. This is a multi-discipline academic conference with participants both inside and outside of the Pagan communities. Also for more information, or for questions, please see the Conference on Current Pagan Studies Facebook Page.

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Gene Roddenberry’s Humanist Legacy

Posted on September 30, 2012 by

Gene Roddenberry's Humanist LegacyI attended the Star Trek Las Vegas Convention in August 2012. The highlight of the workshops and panels was Rod Roddenberry and John Champion’s on Gene Roddenberry’s Humanist Legacy. They talked about the underlying principles that informed Star Trek. These principles include:

* Equality
* “False God” problem
* Blind Faith
* The enemy isn’t the enemy
* Compassion
* Self determination
* Scientific answer
* Humanity’s true nature
* Freedom

These principles are often explored within Star Trek: The Original Series such as self determination with was a central theme of “The Cage” and it’s reuse in “The Menagerie” or compassion which Kirk shows in the “Arena.” What was very promising from the panel was The Mission Log, a weekly podcast that have recently started exploring these and other themes one episode at a time. My hope is to expand on some of these themes within blog on humanism.

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More Tarot Art

Posted on August 4, 2012 by

My next tarot art project was designed to take with me to the annual PantheaCon, which is held each year in San Jose, California. I notice that I am always drawn to the tarot classes. I love attending and gathering all the handouts and taking notes which I promptly stick into various books and folders so they are difficult for me to find later. I decided that since I was making the commitment to better understand the cards, I should have all of those notes and useful things available for reference. I decided to make a folder that I could take with me from year to year to gather all those things and use later when I was ready for study. I began with a large piece of heavy gauge paper and folded the bottom up to make two pockets. I then folded it in half. I secured the corners with tiny decorative brads so things would not fall through. I took some drawing paper measured it, folded it in half and sewed it into the fold, so I would have some paper to take notes. With that, I added two more inner pockets (for more storage) and sewed them in with the drawing paper. I finished the ends of the inner pockets sewing up the edges with waxed linen thread. And for decorative interest, I added some beading on the side. On the front, I painted a tarot card that I felt has always spoken to me, the High Priestess.

This folder served me well as I attended all the great classes at PantheaCon 2012. The paper was durable and the folder held up well to all of the traveling back and forth between classes. I will carry it again next year. And I am still using it while I sit down with my handmade tarot journal to begin my journey of discovery. Tarot journal? You ask. That, my dear readers, is another post.

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Tarot Art

Posted on July 28, 2012 by

Last year I embarked upon a series of interactive art projects utilizing the tarot. I finished the last one this week. My purpose was to create something I could use to interpret the cards, keeping with my commitment to better understand the cards and their meanings. I was inspired to begin these projects by the book Complete Book of Tarot Spreads by Evelin Burger and Johannes Fiebig. This easy to use book gives many ideas for layouts that are clear, concise, and easily tailored to fit anyone’s needs. My thought was to take some of these spreads that one might use throughout the year in their card readings, and create something that you could use for focus. Let me explain. I was first taken by the idea that one could do a reading for the year. Spread 96 is a variation on a reading for the cycle of the year. This variation is a monthly card that cycles through all 12 months. I collaged an accordian fold pocket book that would stand up on my alter. I could tuck a card into a pocket for each month of the year and use as a focus for the big picture of the year. Keeping it on my alter gave me a way to go back throughout the year and reflect. Then, when speaking with William about it, he suggested one could shorten it to four pockets to reflect the Seasons. Great idea! Then it occurred to me, one could use it for really any milestones. The possibilities are endless.

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Support for Logic, Support for Brendan Myers

Posted on July 1, 2012 by

Clear and Present Thinking Project Brendan Myers has a Kickstarter campaign for creating Clear and Present Thinking: A Free College-level Logic Text. You have a chance to be part of his project by pledging to his campaign to create a free critical text book for students. Kickstarter helps people with great ideas find the funding for their project.

Here, in Brendan own words, is what the project is about:

“If you took a course in philosophy or critical thinking at college or university, you paid an average of $70 for your textbook. I think that’s too much, especially for students who have to choose between food and the rent, two or three times a year, like a lot of my students. Yet the cost of these books never goes down, because students are a captive market.”

“So, I’ve been writing my own textbook, so that my students don’t have to buy one. I’d like to expand and improve it and then make it available to the whole world, for free.”

“This Kickstarter campaign will allow me to bring in more contributors, get more research resources, and hire designers and artists and translators, so that we can put together a very high quality teaching tool, and make it available to every student in the world.”

“The final product will be a series of pdf downloads for students, and a series of powerpoint slideshows and a test bank for teachers. I will also create a print-on-demand hardcopy option for those who want one, to be sold at the lowest  possible price.”

The good news is that Brendan has reached his goal for the book; however, if he reaches $10,000, then Brendan will create an audio book and French translation. You have until Saturday, July 7 to help Clear and Present Thinking: A Free College-level Logic Text campaign…oh yes, as a backer you do get some nifty rewards.

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What is your Sacrifice?

Posted on June 25, 2012 by

How do you follow your dream…what sacrifice do you make for your art, for being fully human?

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The Monkey Story

Posted on May 13, 2012 by

I am often asked to recount this story from my childhood and I hope you enjoy it as well. Thanks Mom for my sense of humor.

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