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The Goddess 2000 Festival
Wow, where to start? The basic facts are that the festival ran from June 8thto the 11th in La Honda, CA. Approximately 125-150 women attended thisevent. Presenters included Zsuzsanna Budapest, Ffiona Morgan, Monica Sjoo,Ruth Barrette, Jade of RCGI, Marie Summerwood, Diana Paxson, Ubaka Hill,Miri Hunter Haurach, Leilani, Shunasi Rose, Jennifer Berezan, Copperwoman,and many others whose names I can't remember. Those who flew in for theFestival all met at San Francisco International Airport and went from thereto the site, a YMCA camp in the canyons southeast of San Francisco. On theway there, I saw a sign that let me get a real feeling that I was back inthe cool part of California. This sign announced :La Honda, home of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.
I got to the campsite and started looking for women with silver ribbons intheir hair. It was a sign that we set up to identify those of us who are part of Z's online group of friends and helpers. So many beautiful faces top air with well-known and beloved names. I got hugged so many times that first hour as I got settled into a cabin and on my way to the first of many workshops that I felt well and truly welcomed.
The first evening was spent focusing on preparing for the opening ritual, which was priestessed by Ffiona Morgan. We spent a lot of time hashing out the ritual and singing songs so that all knew them and were comfortable with them. It felt so amazing to be in a room with all these women singing songs - both beloved standards and new favorites. Then we all went to dinner to fortify ourselves for the night's celebration. Right after dinner was a concert by Jennifer Berezan. She has a wonderful voice. I could listen to her all night. s a matter of fact, I am listening to her as I write this. I was so impressed by her that I bought three of her CDs. After the concert we cleared the room of chairs and had our opening ritual. It had been planned to do it outside, but it was pouring rain by the bucketful. The opening ritual was a purification to rid ourselves of energies we did not wish to carry any longer. After that we were bushed and retired to the dining hall for cookies and tea before bed.
The next morning started with yoga and tai chi before breakfast. (As a side note, all the food served was vegetarian, so it was a nice way to keep energy cleared and focused for four days.) My first workshop was one conducted by Ruth and her partner, Falcon. It was on use of the voice to raise and direct energy. Lots of fun. I have to admit that I was smiling to myself as I heard her teaching women how to ground the same way I was taught by my first teacher, and the way I have taught all my students. I spent all morning there until lunch. After lunch was a workshop done by Z on The Fates and Their role in our lives. Then we split into groups by age called Destiny Sisters determined by where in our Fate cycle we were. I ended up in the younger Verdandi group (32-45), those of the mother stage of life (by Fate cycle) who were in the pre-menopausal years. As it was, we were the largest group, there being 50 of us. We spent an hour getting to know one another before going on to other workshops. Later that day we reformed to start creating our part of the closing ritual. That night's ritual included two Dianic ordinations (don't expect details, folks) and a blessing of the children that came. Afterwards, Miri Hunter Haurach gave a concert which turned into an all-night dance party. (That's what I heard anyway, I went to bed after an hour of her lovely music as I was beat.)
Saturday dawned gorgeous and sunny. After breakfast I went to a workshop done by Jade, the founder of The Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess, on the Cella program. The Cella program is a six year program that results in ministerial credits from RCGI, and if Jade has her way, will soon also result in a Masters in Divinity degree that will be fully accredited. There is good reason to think this will happen, and I can't wait until we get the news. One of the most fascinating workshops I attended was on the notion of magickal guardianship. The concept is one that provides for conscious energy support in group rituals for the priestesses and priests by someone who would be on the perimeter of the circle holding the energy and also be there if someone needed to be let out before the circle was closed. The rituals we did used guardians and were very powerful for that. Later that afternoon, I was witness to a very powerful, moving piece of performance art called "Dancing the Cretan Snake Goddess". There aren't words to describe it. The woman who did the dance was so totally into what she was doing that neither she nor we noticed that at one point she crawled right through a huge clump of poison oak. The theme of the dance was the rebirth of the Goddess awareness in the world. Simply put, it was amazing. I went from there to a drum workshop done by Ubaka Hill. Not only did we learn how to play the drum, but we were taught how to use its energy to awaken the chakras. The closing ritual invoked the Fates through celebration of the different life phases they lead us through.
The next morning was hugs and goodbyes while getting ready to head home. The Festival is something I'm not soon going to forget, and I can't wait for 2002.
- Dreamweaver