My weekend at Spring Mysteries Festival changed me forever. Now I have a pentacle tattooed on my left leg.
Not everyone who attended Spring Mysteries Festival, the tenth version of a festival held yearly by the Aquarian Tabernacle Church on Easter weekend, bears such a visible mark. But many will agree the festival, which ran from 11 a.m. Thursday, April 13, through 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 16, left its trace.
Imagine a circle of pagans, some in sweatshirts, some in leather, some in lace and vair, on the green grass of a parade ground as the sun sets, liquid on the horizon. The wind blows the words out of the priests' and priestesses' mouths as they intone the invocations of the opening circle, blows long hair and cloaks sideways, flaps the sigilled flags marking the directions. In the center, a mother and child sit, emblematic, wrapped in an afghan against the falling chill. The priestess asks us to push the magickal circle out to contain the whole park, and we do. After the spiral dance, after the chanting, the moon in Her fullness rises luminous above the blue-gray clouds, and we cry out to Her.
The site of Spring Mysteries Festival lies on an island off the Olympic Peninsula. The site provided six military-looking dormitories, a parade ground, a double row of A-frame camping huts, a large open hall and a theater. The festival transformed these buildings for its purposes, building shrines to Goddesses and Gods in the A-frame huts, dedicating the theater to Apollo for ritual drama.
The ritual drama of the Mysteries is the heart of SMF. This drama recreates the Mysteries of Eleusis, which were held for 2000 years outside Athens in ancient Greece. SMF attendee Jana Hollingsworth commented, "I think it's a good idea to really do the research and come up with something authentic, but to update it for now," as the ATC did.
The Mysteries at Eleusis, like those at SMF, were based around the myth cycle of Demeter and her daughter Kore, and according to the few writings the Greeks left, provided a transformative spiritual experience yearly for two millennia. But the Mysteries were closely guarded; it was forbidden by law to reveal their secrets. Of the contents of the Mysteries, ATC Pastor Pete Pathfinder said, "We have just hints and inferences."
This year at SMF, the cycle of the Mysteries began, as at Eleusis, with an invocation and the call "To the sea, mystai! To the sea!" Friday afternoon 200-odd pagans in their best ritual garb walked a steep road down to the driftwood-circled beach. A chant rose above the bobbing heads, and I felt a sense of solidarity, of a group energy not of 13 but of several hundred. At the beach, we handed our ritual sacrifices of clay pigs to priestesses and priests, who waded into the cold spring ocean to offer them to Amphitrite, the goddess of the sea.
Next day, on Saturday, the Lesser Mysteries began at 11 a.m. and after lunch resumed at 2 p.m. The Greater Mysteries were on Saturday night, beginning at 10. What passes in the Lesser Mysteries is kept secret by the first-year mystai, and the second-year epoptes keep the Greater Mysteries secret as well.
Many epoptes said the Greater Mysteries were the best part of this year's festival. Commented 13-year-old Ava Rahel, in her "third or fourth" year at SMF, "The message they sent was really intense. I'm still thinking about it. I don't think it's something you can just figure out right away."
Michelle of ATC Canada said, "The Greater Mysteries really shone this year. Attendee Gregor agreed: "I'd have to say the Greater Mysteries were the high point of the festival."
S. Jean Dudley, also known as Shadowhawk, said, "I'm glad they went back to the classic presentation. I believe you should focus on what is being said and done by the gods. The actors are vehicles for the words of the gods."
This year's Hermes, Greg, averred that the gods were there. "Hermes was there big time." For Greg, taking the role of Hermes was something of a risk, because for years he has been dedicated to Apollo. "Dad and I have been together a long time, and I was afraid Hermes would cut in. But they coexisted just fine." Greg contrasted his own trickster Hermes to the Hermes of past years, whom he described as "stoic."
Hermes was far from the only star of the show; those interviewed generally agreed this year's cast was excellent, as were the costumes, scenery, lighting and sound. "It's really awesome how much work they've put into it," said Gregor. "I'm really grateful to them for that."
But the Mysteries are only one part of SMF; other rituals, workshops, classes, discussions and informal gatherings filled the long weekend. Workshops included "Pagans in the Military," "Multiple Male Orgasms," "The Once and Future Goddess," "Ethics and the Religions of Indigenous Peoples," "The Great Rite in Theory and Practice," and "What to Wear to a Skyclad Circle," which preceded Friday evening's skyclad circle, attended by about 80 people. Other rituals included a Women's Circle, a Men's Circle and a Children's Circle.
Another feature of this year's SMF was the Pagan Leadership Conference, described by Michelle of ATC Canada as "a dialog between elders and long-time practitioners about the things facing us and how to deal with them." Said Michelle, "We came up with a lot of good questions. It will take a lot more time to get the answers.
"The biggest focus," she said, "was on communication, understanding and tolerance." The problem between pagans, she said, "is us. We are the problem."
Like pagans, SMF had its problems, including "the beds," according to first-year attendee Bonnie Gautreaux. Participant Chris said, "The coffee sucks." Ava added, "I think next year they should have more things interesting for kids." She also expressed a desire for soap in the bathrooms.
More important than soap, Chris said, was his "problem with Pagan Standard Time." Though the festival program promised otherwise, some events were hours late. "Last year, everything was on time, give or take 15 minutes. This year, one class was moved ahead a day, without sufficient notice."
John-Paul Silverwolf agreed: "We had more communications problems this year." But he added, "This one has been so much more smooth, so much more together" than past years.
John-Paul led this year's Rites of Passage, another central part of SMF. The Rites, which both older children and teenagers and adults attend, are intended to help participants make the passage to full adulthood. The proceedings, mostly secret as with the Mysteries, included an all- night vigil.
Said Rites initiate Ava, "I really liked how they connected mind, energy, emotions and spirit." But Ava pointed out the Rites too had their problems. She suggested, "Maybe they should teach kids more" about the subjects involved. "I was really interested in what they were saying, but I didn't know a lot."
Adult initiates agreed. My experience was that the ritual was intense but that the preparation that the ritual leaders gave initiates was haphazard. I would have appreciated more guidance in reviewing my life to determine what to cast away and what to keep as I went through the Rites. My high priestess Sylvana, who had several coveners go through the Rites, described them as similar to a first-degree initiation. "But you don't get the recognition for it in the community," she said. "All you can say is that you went through this Rites of Passage."
I did find the Rites, in places a deeply moving experience, especially in finishing just at sunrise so that the sun rose on my new life. Fellow Rites initiate Jason said that, for him, "It gave me a nice sense of closure about a lot of things."
The Rites were also moving for initiates' sponsors. Chris, who sponsored Jason for the Rites, said, "The high point of the festival for me was when I found I helped Jason with his spiritual path."
The Rites of Passage and the Mysteries are vital parts of SMF, but perhaps as important are the informal fire-pit gatherings of drummers and the sexual encounters in the shrines of Pan and Aphrodite. Here pagans affirm the fact that ours is a fertility religion. Condoms were provided for those who prefer their religion not quite as fertile, and safe.
Other forms of connection also mark the festival. "You make friends in 20 minutes you'll keep for a lifetime," said Greg. Bonnie agreed: "I'm getting to know people that will be friends for life."
Shadowhawk concurred. "It was really good being back with the whole tribe. I missed that _ I didn't know how much." Chris warned, "There's a lot of weirdoes." But Jason said, "I wouldn't come if there weren't."
Another integral part of SMF is the opportunity to buy pagan goods. This year, these included jewelry, ritual pottery, ritual garments, god and goddess figurines, books, tapes, CDs, pan pipes, chakra-tuning bowls, swords and tattoos both temporary and permanent. According to Pete Pathfinder, the vendors register for $10 a table and pay a 10 percent commission to the ATC for the privilege. The ATC itself also sells espresso, cookies and soda pop, as well as providing three meals a day as part of the entrance fee. From these SMF vendor charges and the entrance fees, set on a sliding scale, the ATC makes enough to support its activities for the remainder of the year.
The SMF food service required input from many attendees. SMF asked all to put in two hours of work during the festival, in addition to helping clean the site at festival end. Bonnie said she enjoyed her time on the kitchen crew. "One of the high points for me was being a hash-slinger."
In all, SMF was a lot of fun. One attendee likened it to "a mild, pleasant, four-day acid trip." It was also for many a deeply moving experience. For me, it was a shortcut to a temporary but vital alternative reality. My pagan companions didn't necessarily share all my spiritual views, but at least they had the tools to understand them. Together we formed a world where paganism wasn't only tolerated, it was the norm. I, like several other people, echo Michelle: "My only disappointment was that it wasn't long enough."
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