The Freedom Festival was an enjoyable gathering of 30 or so of good folk over the Fourth of July 2013. The weather cooperated and was dry and warm. Though we had a few more bugs due to the heavy spring rains it wasn’t intolerable. Indeed we were able to hold all rituals down in the sacred circle. There were workshops/play shops on Group Tarot, The Tarot and Attunement to Nature, Aquarian neo-paganism, Sweetwood’s value of Deep Friendship, who is Alex Crowley, and the Symposium on the Value of our Descendants and the Annual Sweetwood Gen. Assembly/Thing.
We held the Deep Friendship Mirror Dance and the Sun Goddess and Moon God ritual. We had a great feast and potluck after the Thing and Sun Goddess and Moon God ritual. There was a fire in the sacred circle each night and some dancing and drumming after the symposium and main ritual.
The Sweetwood assembly voted to improve the site by having propane pourable hot showers and to make it a goal of achieving $5000 per year over above our costs towards the building of our bathhouse. To that end we are encouraging former members to renew memberships and friends to become members over next 4 years, which would help substantially in this fund raising effort. We also want to increase attendance at the Freedom Festival by inviting and encouraging more good folk to attend. Sweetwood is also Co-sponsoring this year a Grand Sabbat. This is all part of making Sweetwood Temenos available to the neopagan community and like-minded folk while at the same time fundraising for a bathhouse, which would have the effect of making Sweetwood Temenos-our land more user-friendly and encourage more gathering of neopagan groups and like-minded folks.
To that end the Sweetwood assembly encourages me as president to be out in the community more providing information and sharing about Sweetwood Temenos. To that end I will be attending the Madison Area Pagan Pride Day (https://sites.google.com/site/madisonareapaganprideday/home) and Paganicon 2014 (http://paganicon2014.eventbrite.com/ in Minneapolis.
Next year the Freedom Festival, which will the 18th annual one from Wednesday, July 2 through Sunday, July 6. Freedom Festival 18 will be dedicated to the Moon Goddess and Sun God. The Moon Goddess as the lady of the festival will give her Charge of the Goddess as part of the main ritual of the festival. It is interesting to note that card 18 of the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck is the moon card. So the Magic is gathering already around this Freedom Festival. Hope to see you then!
Never Thirst,
Iacchus