Dear Sweetwood Folk, Friends and like minded Kin,
You are invited to attend Sweetwood Temenos' Sabbats, festivals and events in 2017.
Below is our 2017 schedule of events.
The site is lovely ridge-top land near La Farge WI. It has a 40x30 ft. picnic shelter with electricity, drinking water, a bath house with 6 showers and 4 toilets, 40 acres of woods & fields, a sacred circle, and 15 improved primitive campsites (3 tent sites per each campsite) in the woods.
These dates and times are all tentative. Information regarding the ritual, activities, or a change in time or date will be sent out by email about 2 weeks ahead of time. There may be other events in the planning stages not included in this schedule. As these events get scheduled, members, friends and guests will be informed by email.
If you have not been to a Sweetwood Temenos Sabbat, event or gathering, you need to contact Iacchus, at ingkj@mwt.net or call him at 608-625-4060 in order to attend and for others who have been here before we appreciate a message letting us know you are planning on attending!
Please note that Sweetwood Temenos is a Family Friendly place and folk. It also is a clothes optional land and being naked in its rites, events and on its land is considered both a sacred act of worship and fellowship. All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Never Thirst
Iacchus & Delta (Clergy & Caretakers of Sweetwood Temenos)
You are invited to attend Sweetwood Temenos' Sabbats, festivals and events in 2017.
Below is our 2017 schedule of events.
The site is lovely ridge-top land near La Farge WI. It has a 40x30 ft. picnic shelter with electricity, drinking water, a bath house with 6 showers and 4 toilets, 40 acres of woods & fields, a sacred circle, and 15 improved primitive campsites (3 tent sites per each campsite) in the woods.
These dates and times are all tentative. Information regarding the ritual, activities, or a change in time or date will be sent out by email about 2 weeks ahead of time. There may be other events in the planning stages not included in this schedule. As these events get scheduled, members, friends and guests will be informed by email.
If you have not been to a Sweetwood Temenos Sabbat, event or gathering, you need to contact Iacchus, at ingkj@mwt.net or call him at 608-625-4060 in order to attend and for others who have been here before we appreciate a message letting us know you are planning on attending!
Please note that Sweetwood Temenos is a Family Friendly place and folk. It also is a clothes optional land and being naked in its rites, events and on its land is considered both a sacred act of worship and fellowship. All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Never Thirst
Iacchus & Delta (Clergy & Caretakers of Sweetwood Temenos)
Events
2017 Sweetwood Temenos Sabbaths, Festivals and Events Calendar:
* This year we Honor the Sun Goddess and Moon God in our Sabbats and Festivals.
* Most of our celebrations include a potluck. Musical instruments & drums are welcome!
* Free-will donation of $10 per night for Sabbat camping for non-members (except during certain events).
Spring Equinox celebration Saturday April 1st
Ritual is at 2:00 pm with a fire in the circle (weather permitting) and pot luck feast. Bring one or more hard boiled eggs to be used as divination, and food and/or drink to share. Dress for the weather. Depending on field road conditions, you may need to walk back to the circle. Afterwards we’ll open our house up for some evening celebration and good company. This celebration is later this year as we will be at Paganicon the weekend of the spring Equinox.
Spring Earth Keepers event is Friday April 14th through to Sunday April 16th.
This is a time for good folk to come and visit the land and enjoy the early spring. During this weekend there will be opportunities for planting, making firewood, pruning, campsite cleanup and development (such as campfire pits tent sites), and enjoying the land and community. We’ll celebrate the rebirth of land with a water sharing, pot-luck feast and fire in the circle (weather permitting). Earth Keepers may camp through the weekend. Our house will be open for showers if the bath house is not open by then. This supposes that the snow will be gone and most of the frost will be out of the ground.
Beltane Celebration is Saturday May 20th
Ritual is at 2:00 pm with pot-luck feast afterward, and fire into the evening. Bring food and/or drink to share. On Friday May 19th members and friends are welcome to spend the night on the land, do some grounds keeping, enjoy the spring, and add love to the land. The Bath house will be open for this Celebration. Saturday night merry-making around the fire is encouraged! Bring 16 - 20 feet of ribbon per person for the Maypole. Beltain is later this year due to attending Minneapolis May Day parade. Come and look for morel mushrooms as there should be some still around in the woods. Middle of May is usually the best weather for May and the Green is fresh and new.
Memorial Day weekend Open House Camp out Friday May 26th through Monday May 29th.
Members and friends of Sweetwood Temenos are welcome to visit our home, picnic, walk in the woods & fields, and talk with members about Sweetwood Temenos. We’ll have a fire in the circle (or in our shelter if it rains). Suggested donation of $10 per night per tent or $25 for all three days (children’s tents do not count). Come visit the land, say hi, and enjoy the springtime.
Summer Solstice Celebration is Saturday June 17th.
Ritual is at 3:00 pm with feast afterward and fire into the evening. Bring food and/or drink to share. On Friday June 16th, members & friends are welcome to camp on the land, do some grounds keeping, enjoy the long daylight & summer nights, and add love to the land. The Summer Solstice ritual will be a “Sun Worshiper’s” ritual where all those who participate will be asked to be Sky clad (naked) in this ritual. The ritual honors the goodness, beauty, and Divinity of being naked. It is a celebration of the emotional maturity of being an adult and beholding one another as sacred. We will share water and honor one another.
21st Annual Freedom Festival is Thursday June 29th – Wednesday July 5th.
This festival includes Workshops, vendors, a symposium, the Sun Goddess and Moon God ritual, potlucks, the annual Sweetwood town hall meeting, fireworks, and just relaxed hanging out with friends & lovers under starry nights. This festival is Sweetwood Temenos' major fundraising event. Sweetwood Temenos has a conditional use permit for a church campground. The land of Sweetwood Temenos is not only to be a Neo-Pagan campground for its members and friends, but also a regional gathering place that can be leased for events and celebrations by other liked minded groups.
The Freedom Festival’s Opening Ritual will be Thursday June 29th. Come early and enjoy the company and community of good folk of a like mind. Much more information to follow and Delta is coordinating the event this year. Contact her at kjingersoll@mwt.net with any questions.
Lughnasad (old Irish) Celebration is Saturday July 29th.
Ritual is at 3:00 pm with feast afterward and fire into the evening. On Friday July 28th members and friends are welcome to spend the night on the land, do some grounds keeping, enjoy the harvest time and add love to the land. This is a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest. In the ritual we’ll be giving thanks for what we have received this season! Toasts, boasts, and stories are welcomed about one’s success. The feast will be celebrated with dishes and desserts of the season. Please bring some to share.
Labor Day Weekend Gathering, Friday September 1st - Monday September 4th.
Come camp, relax and enjoy the land and this Holiday with friends. Bring your favorite instruments & share your songs & riffs with the community, dance around the fire, or just relax and let it all be. Experience the magic of music in the hills, fields & forests of Sweetwood. Stay for the day, or for the whole long weekend. Any free-will donations for expenses will be gratefully accepted. Vendors welcome at no charge. Delta will be coordinating this event. Contact her at kjingersoll@mwt.net with any questions.
Fall Equinox and Earth Keepers & Celebration is Friday September 22 - Sunday September 24th.
Ritual is on Saturday Sept 23th at 5:00 pm with feast afterward and fire into the evening. Members and guests may camp on the land over the weekend (Friday and Saturday night), do some grounds keeping, enjoy the time of the second harvest, and add love to the land. The ritual will be about giving thanks for the community and what one will give back to the community. The feast afterwards is Potluck, Please bring food and/or drink to share.
Samhain Celebration is Saturday October 28th.
Ritual at 5:30 pm (near sunset): potluck feast afterward, and fire into the evening. Bring a carved pumpkin with candle if you wish, and food and/or drink to share. Please arrive by 5:30 pm. The ritual will have three parts; honoring the Ancestors, the words of the God, and Divination. Dress appropriately for the weather. Dress in costume if you wish. Campers welcome, as some hardy folk have been known to camp out on Samhain night.
Yule Celebration is Saturday December 16th.
Ritual at 3:00 pm and feast is afterward and Bonfire into the evening. Bring food and/or drink to share. Dress warm. This will be a celebration of the Return of the Light. The good folk who gather will be ask to bring offerings, prayers and share heartfelt words for the season and times.
Sweetwood Temenos Imbolc Celebration is February 3th. 2018.
Ritual and fire at 2:00 pm. Bring food and/or drink to share and dress warm as it is usually cold at this time of year. Bring seeds to bless, poems to share and is you wish a musical instruments to play. There will be a fire in the circle in honor of Brigit and the Moon Goddess. This is a time of inspiration and to sit or stand around the fire and tell a story or speak a poem that one is inspired to share. To be out in the woods at midwinter will you see or hear the quickening of the land? Will spring come early or not? Draw a Rune, what does it say about the next 6 weeks? We’ll share some hot cider and something to eat in the ritual. After the ritual, those good folk who came to this ritual will be invited to come to the house of the Caretakers, warm up and continue the fellowship into the afternoon and evening. Again dress warm as you will need to walk about 1/3 of a mile from the caretakers drive way back to the circle in the woods. Please let me know if you are planning to attend. Thanks!
Please bring or wear clothing that is appropriate for weather, which can be unpredictable any time of the year. Be naked as you wish in the ritual and on the land as clothes are optional. Please be discreet in being naked in the hay field due to its openness to a public township road.
We ask good folk who attend Sweetwood Temenos celebrations to bring a dish to share for the Sabbat feast (usually enough for the number of people in your party with a little extra to share!) There's a special sort of magic that happens in the kitchen, where the ingredients of the mind and heart, meet the ingredients of the kitchen cupboard. When these blend our hands are inspired to create the meals that sustain us. Too often in our haste, we overlook this fundamental part of our spirituality as Pagans, that being, to find the sacred in everything. Bring the sacred magic of your kitchen to share in community by creating a dish with intent. Let love, laughter and good will be your spices and may the Muse inspire you!
Bring:
A snack in case you need something to eat between meals,
A cup for drinks,
Camping gear (if you plan to camp overnight for the given event),
A lawn chair or blanket to sit on,
A Drum, a rattle, or other instrument if you want to use them in ritual or jamming after the ritual,
And a potluck dish or offering to share
If you forget any of these things do we’ll do with what we have and the magic happens.
