I maintain a Web site and often receive email from people all over the Puget Sound area asking me, "How do I meet other Pagans or Witches? Are there any open circles I can attend? I'm new to the Craft, how do I make contact?" It seems to me that most people have a very real need to belong to some special group. We naturally want to be able to communicate with other people who share similar views and beliefs. Where in Seattle can we meet pagan community? The local group OLOTEAS is an excellent starting point.
On December 18, 1999, OLOTEAS, (Our Lady Of The Earth And Sky — pronounced as one word, oh-la-te-us), organized a day-long event called Concentric Circles at the Queen Anne Masonic Temple in Seattle, where they also hold their monthly community full moon rituals. Made up of participants from not only OLOTEAS, but from any local groups that wanted to participate, newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike could immerse themselves in the diverse and intriguing schedule of workshops, rituals, and activities.
Like a banquet table set before us, the schedule of participating groups and people offered a feast of local pagan culture and learning. Groups included OLOTEAS, CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans), Church of All Worlds (CAW), OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis), Rowan Tree Church, Irmisul Aettir, Covenant of the Goddess (CoG), and Sylvan Grove (SG).
There were merchants' tables with incense and oils, jewelry, and many other items. Special mention is deserved for the time taken to welcome children with activities throughout the day, including an appearance by Santa Lucia. Extra gifts left over were donated to New Beginnings.
My own day began as a representative of Sylvan Grove, teaching a workshop on the Fey. Although we have been established in the Seattle area for over 15 years, we are a working coven that does not often come out into the public spotlight. Pertinent questions and insightful comments inspired me.
There were many workshops, including dowsing by CAW member and expert magickal incense maker Gwen Wells-Witter, and an in-depth guided meditation workshop on soul location by local Shamanic Therapist Sheila Baker. Paul Clark, lodgemaster of Horizon Lodge of the OTO, performed the Star Ruby, the Thelemic method of the famous Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.
I participated in a guided meditation to the Well of Wyrd in the Astatru tradition, Irmisul Aettir. It was a very rewarding experience for me upon which I am still reflecting.
I was called upon to fill in for another participant who, at the last moment, was unable to facilitate a scheduled ritual. To come up with a ritual in an hour's notice, representative of the tradition of my priesthood, yet meaningful for sixty people, was not daunting to me. For in Sylvan Tradition, our rituals are impromptu and the magick we work comes from within us, not from fancy props or memorized dialogue. These tools do have their place, yet I was thankful for my Witch training that I knew would allow for a magickal moment to occur for us all. It was a joy to have the super help from four OLOTEAS members who called the elements.
And I must add special thanks to my partner Jim, who immediately rose to the occasion to assist me.
In the Sylvan Tradition we call the classic four elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air common to many Wiccan and Witch circles, but we do not associate these with a particular direction. "You mean I can call Earth from over here?" one of the delightful OLOTEAS element callers asked, as he jumped to the East side of the altar table. Our ritual was simple: state a bias, bigotry, or negative stereotype that harms you or the Craft, or that you yourself have and wish to be rid of. We cast the circle in the Sylvan style. Then, one by one around the circle, the statements came out: "To not be afraid of what my Mom will think if she finds out I'm a Witch; to not be put down because of my shape or size; to not be under risk of losing my job because of my sexual orientation." We put all this out in the circle and toned (vocalized wordlessly) to raise the energy and release all the negativity and fears and harm. What a burst of energy it was! And so I am especially pleased at being able to have shared with so many our traditional ways, yet also to have shared a real Witch ritual that was purposeful. It was enriching to the event to offer a ritual of direct purpose, contrasted with the others that were celebratory.
Then came time for the main ritual, "A Common Magickal Thread", by OLOTEAS. They cast a circle in their traditional method. Then, a ball of yarn was tossed across the large ritual chamber to the other side of the circle. With each toss of the yarn, a shout went out of some aspect of community to celebrate: "Sharing! Laughter! Someone to make soup for you when you're sick! Fun! Great sex!" (Yeah, that was from me.) Back and forth, weaving a web of community. Each person adding their own insight, their own energy, working together and creating a thing of beauty. We raised up this great yarn web and chanted. Once the web was laid on the floor, I gazed down at all the interconnecting lines, each one representing the people there, and most importantly, the sentiments of community that had been expressed with each throw.
We carried this web from the ritual chamber down to the dining hall with the thought of hanging it on the wall. Once we were in the dining room, we all stopped. There was no apparent way to hang the web. Slowly at first, then more quickly, people started to come together. One of the smallest in stature climbed the shoulders of one of the largest — together they were able to secure the first strand to the ceiling. Soon others joined in and started to suspend the web on the walls. We are strong in our differences. When the diverse qualities of a community are drawn together in a shared vision, anything is possible. When the elements, each different and distinct, come together, that is a place of magick, of creation. Draped gracefully over the dining hall, our community web was a testament of this community magick.
And so, like the potluck food that followed, each person was like a special dish. Each thought something of value. Differences celebrated, and common ground everywhere.
The evening ritual was in the NROOD tradition, sponsored by NWCoG. Circle was cast in NROOD style. Three priestesses, veiled, invoked the traditional three joint aspects of Goddess. A huge fire cauldron was lit ablaze as the traditional Yule ritual drama turned into a taboo breaking comedy. The evening was filled with wit and humor; yet also true mystery, for the meaning underlying the comedic drama belied its apparent silliness.
The evening ended in dancing and grooving to the guitar and song of local pagan musicians, Gaia's Consort. Their music has a folk music feel and sound with songs celebrating the Earth and calling to protect her. I watched my fellow pagans glow with the vibration of the music.
Twelve hours later it was done. Over one hundred and twenty people had cycled through, with baskets of canned goods and other items to donate to Northwest Harvest. All proceeds were also donated to Northwest Harvest. Concentric Circles was an astounding success. In participation, in quality of the events, and in organization, Concentric Circles was a pagan festival in a day. OLOTEAS' Sara Girard did a superb job in keeping everything organized and running smoothly.
The variety of local groups participating was like the concerted workings of an orchestra, each unique and different, yet with a similar foundation. Each ritual circle was cast differently, but they amazingly seemed to end quite similarly with one common saying I heard over and over, "The Circle is open, but never broken. Merry we meet, merry we part, and merry we meet again. And may the Gods preserve the Craft, and may the Craft preserve the Gods."
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