Dria El
August 15th, 2001, 02:36 PM
Dria's Note: I tried to clean it up as much as I could but... I think you can get through it now with little to no discomfort. hehe Enjoy!
Please, please, please Pass This Along:
OK, here's the straight poop!!! The date of the Conference is less than six weeks away and there haven't been enough registrations to cover even the cost of site rental - a lot of e-mailings back and forth: assurances of interest, planning to come; BUT NO MONEY!!!
Bottom line IS the bottom line: Unless there ia sufficient number of registrations IN our mailbox by next Tuesday to cover the basic costs for site and food, we will have to cancel - in which case, those who have already registered will have their money refunded.
It is a sad reflection on the local New England Pagan "Community" that there is so little concern about the issues that are dividing us or willingness to admit our own culpability. It is so much easier to blame those other blankety-blank Christians or them Pagan wanna'-bes.
Well, guess what, folks! I HAVE MET THE ENEMY - AND S/HE IS US!!!!!
BUT WHETHER OR NOT THE CONFERENCE MATERIALIZES OBERON ZELL-RAVENHEART WILL STILL BE COMING!!!
Even before plans were laid for the Conference, He had been invited to be our houseguest for a social visit. His travel expenses would be paid for by us and to make up for time away from Mythic Images, his income source, we agreed to set up set up a series of paid lectures and provide transportation to and from them.
As the schedule remains (subject to change):
Monday, 24 Sept - Arrival at Boston's Logan Airport
Oberon will be staying in Groton, MA (midway between Lowell & Fitchburg)
Thurs, 27 Sept - Opening of the Salem MA Pagan Community Ctr.
Oberon will be speaking on art as a magickal working. Plans for this are still Tentative.
For details contact Christinea <Christinea313@aol.com> or Teri Kalgren <Botcrone@aol.com> owner of Artemesia Botanicals in Salem, MA (978) 745-0065
Saturday, 29 Sept - Conference?????
Sunday, 30 Sept - 7:00 pm Lecture at Salem, MA Witch Village,
sponsored by P.R.A.N.C.E.
Lecture topic to be announced.
For details e-mail Marie & Tony Guerrero <ATeegee13@aol.com>
Monday 1 Oct: 7:00 PM at New Moon Magickal Shop
Lecture topic to be announced.
For more info and directions, contact Sabazius
<Sabazius@magickisafoot.com> or see the shop's
website: http://www.MagickIsAfoot.com
New Moon
268 Worcester Rd in Princeton
Princeton, MA 01541
(978) 464-2900 - shop
Friday 5 Oct - Sunday, 7 Oct - Athens, (northeastern) PA
Featured guest at Freedom Quilt Project Fundraiser
Lecture topic to be announced.
For directions and more info contact Skywalker
<covenant_of_the_sacredmoon@yahoo.com>
Covenant of the Sacred Moon
PO Box 424
Dunmore Pa 18512
570-342-2858
Sunday & October or Monday 8 October - Oberon goes home
---------------
If any individual or group in the New England area would like to sponsor an appearance and lecture by Oberon it's not too late. Contact me at <GrotonWitch@aol.com> or (978) 448-5584
Brightest Blessings,
GrotonWitch
=======================================
First Annual
New England Pagan Conference
Witches, Druids, CAW, Asatru, Ifa, Santeria, Voodon, Discordian, Buddhist, Native American...
"It is NOT our differences that divide us.
It is our inability to recognize & celebrate those differences."
THERE CAN BE UNITY WITHIN OUR DIVERSITY
PLACE: Stagecoach Inn - 128 Main Street (Rt.119) Groton,MA
6 miles west of Rt 495 (Exit # 31)
DATE: Saturday, September 29th, 2001
TIME: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
BRING DRUMS!!!!!
THERE WILL BE DRUMMING AT OPENING RITUAL AND AN ONGOING/OUTDOOR/ALL DAY DRUM CIRCLE - DANCERS WELCOME TO JUMP IN!
Conference & Speaker Coordinator: Diane DesRochers
As High Priestess of Temple of AppleMoon Coven and Teaching Grove, Incorporated, Diane DesRochers also holds a Masters degree in psychological counseling and does pastoral as well as psychic counseling and spiritual healing from the privacy of her home.
Formerly New England Regional Director of WADL (Witches'
Antidiscrimination Lobby, founded by Dr. Leo Martello over thirty-five years ago) - before the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Br'th demanded a name change and presently on the Board of Directors & Chairperson of the Committee for Religious Freedom for FIRST AMENDMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Citizens Against Censorship. She is the Editor/Publisher of GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE (A Free online Newsletter), HP'ess of Temple of AppleMoon Coven and Teaching Grove (Incorporated as a tax exempt relligious organization in Massechusetts), and Author of WALKER BETWEEN THE WORLDS (a "psi-fi" metaphysical, novel published by Llewellyn)
Having organized a number of gatherings and festivals in the past, she is also coordinator of this, the First - and hopefully Annual - New England Pagan Conference.
A Witch since the 1970's, she is also the author numerous articles which have appeared in Pagan publications over the years. Admitted into The Order of the Bad Toad, by Janet Farrar, she maintains herself as a member in good standing by espousing unpopular causes and making waves when she sees an injustice that needs to be addressed.
*************************************************
Guest Speaker/Panelists
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
is a 58-year-old Sagittarian with Aquarius rising who has accomplished many things in his long and colorful career. A modern Renaissance man, Oberon is a transpersonal psychologist, metaphysician, naturalist, theologian, shaman, author, artist, sculptor, lecturer, teacher, and ordained Priest of the Earth-Mother, Gaia. He is also an initiate in the Egyptian Church of the Eternal Source, a Priest in the Fellowship of Isis, and an initiate in several different Traditions of Witchcraft. He holds academic degrees in sociology, anthropology, clinical psychology, and theology.
Oberon co-founded the Church of All Worlds on April 7, 1962, inspired by Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 science-fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land. First to apply the terms "Pagan" and "Neo-Pagan" to the newly emerging Nature religions of the 1960s, and through his publication of the award-winning Pagan magazine, Green Egg (1968-1975; 1988-1996), Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, which for the last third of a century has been reclaiming the religious heritage of pre-Christian Europe.
Oberon is the author of numerous published articles on history, Gaean thealogy, magic, shamanism, mythology, anomalies, dinosaurs, archaeology, cosmology and related topics, and has been interviewed and quoted extensively in many books on New Age religious movements and the occult. With many years of theatrical experience, Oberon has been an entertaining guest on a number of radio and television talk shows around the country (and in England, Canada and Australia), as well as being a regular featured speaker at various Pagan festivals and conventions. Oberon is also an accomplished ritualist, creating and conducting rites of passage, seasonal celebrations, Mystery initiations (such as the Eleusinia and the Panathenaia), Earth-healings and other rituals for up to 3,000 people.
Oberon's artwork has illuminated the pages of various fantasy,
science-fiction, and metaphysical magazines since the late 1960's, as well as illustrating a number of books. His favorite art project is his ongoing sculpture series of ancient Gods and Goddesses, and of mythological, prehistoric and legendary creatures, currently being marketed through TheaGenesis LLC as the Mythic Images Collection. His masterwork is "The Millennial Gaia."
-------------
Skydancer Windwalker ( Patricia Clark);
HP'ess and founder of The Coven of Thunder Oak and the Coven of Faerie Meadow. Eclectic Wiccan practicing for 23 years. The President and Founder of the Covenant of The Sacred Moon in Pennsylvania and the Originator of the Religious Freedom Quilt Project. Before moving to Pennsylvania Sky served as Secretary on The Connecticut Wiccan Pagan Board, and was an Area Representive for CWPN in the Danbury Area. She was also a member of the PCC Interfaith Council in Connecticut. She is also a Pagan Pride Co-Ordinator in the Scranton, Lackawanna County.
---------------
Charles Arnold
holds degrees in traditional and eclectic Wiccan orders and has been active in the Pagan community for decades. He has been an officer of The Wiccan Church of Canada, Executive Director of Wicca Communitas, Editor of "Rags to Witches Magazine," and High Priest of The Temple of the Elder Faiths. He sat as a member of the Humber College Multiculturalism Task Force and its Education Committee and Humber College's President's Advisory Council. His current responsibilities are those of Temple Dog of The New Temple of Astarte, and Founding Director of the Blessed Be Political Action Committee. He is also on-call Pagan chaplain for the Vermont State Veteran's Administration hospital. In addition to his involvement in the Pagan community, Charles also serves in a variety of positions at VFW Post #792:
Post Judge Advocate, Chairman of the Americanism Committee, Chairman of the Voice of Democracy Committee, Public Relations Officer and member of the Post Honor guard. He is active in his local Toast Master chapter where he is a Vice-president. Other responsibilities have included serving as President of Central Vermont Adventure Gamers, Vice-president of Central Vermont Kustom Klassics Car Club, and an active candidate for the Vermont Legislature.
Charles has taught or lectured at Mohawk, Sir Sanford Fleming, Dawson, Humber, Durham, and Goddard Colleges. He has been an invited speaker at BBMMDC, Between the Worlds, The Celebration of Eros, Ecumenicon, Etheracon, Free Spirit Gathering, FSA Beltaine, FSA Fall Mysteries, Goddess Gathering, MPA Beltaine, Pan-Pagan Festival, Rites of Spring, Sacred Space, and Wic-Can Fest.
His appearance list includes the BBC, CBC, CTV, WRC Radio, Group W Radio, Global Network News, The Dini Petty Show, Canada AM, Monitor, Breakfast Television, and VT Public Radio. Stories featuring him have appeared in publications from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times, to Fate, Playboy, and Penthouse. He is included in both Kevin Marron's Witches, Pagans and Magic in the New Age, and Rosemary Guiley's Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft.
He is the author of Goddessborn, Communitas Press (1987), and Ritual Body Art-Drawing the Spirit, Phoenix Publishing (1997). His articles have appeared in Circle Network News, Converging Paths, Green Egg, Harvest, Moonstone, Pagan Unity News, Pagana, Seasonal Silver, Shadowplay, The Vigil, The Wiccan, Wiccan Rede, Wyrd, Yggdrasil The Wiccan-Pagan Times, and many other Pagan publications.
His areas of expertise include community organizing, grassroots political organizing, public relations (traditional and guerilla), and interacting with the media.
----------------
Christopher Penczak
is an eclectic witch, combining several magical styles into his own tradition. He is a full time healer, teacher and writer. He has contributed to national (Green Egg, Genre) and local (Horns And Crescents, Kaleidoscope) journals, publishes The Second Road newsletter and is the author of City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism. (Samuel Weiser, Inc.) Christopher also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts.
--------------------
Raven Kaldera
is an intersexual female-to-male transgendered pagan activist,
a minister in Hearthgrove Church, a born-again shaman, and a spiritual homesteader who runs Cauldron Farm, the teaching farm for the Institute for Heritage Skills. He is the author of "Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook", and has had many years of committed work with the Pagan GLBT community.
---------------------
Sabazius Athame
along with his wife, Hilary, Is owner of New Moon, a magickal Shop which recently moved from Marlboro to Princeton, MA. Once a Christian minister and now Pagan clergy, Sabazius has been coordinating a popular and heavily attended Monday evening discussion group out of his shop for the last several years.
-----------------------
Paul Cognata
Paul Cognata (Argus) is High Priest of Ildanach (All Craftsman) Coven and has been a Third Degree initiate in the Alexandrian Tradition since 1987.
He has been listed as Pagan Clergy for the state prison system in New Hampshire since 1995 and maintains a full time ministry for Pagan religious groups at two NH locations, offering classes, group Circles, and individual spiritual counseling. All facilities (men/woman) are covered including Minimum Security Units and Halfway Houses - a total of seven. Emphasis is on reintegration back into the community which has been accomplished.
-----------------------
Jerrie Hildebrand
is active in CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans), AREN & Pagan Summit. She has done numerous workshops over past five years at Rites of Spring and PSG.
-----------------------
Art Ketchen
is a Celtic scholar, art teacher and, along with his wife, Joanne, publishes Celtic Beat, a magazine that focuses on Celtic music and culture. A political activist, Art is founder and president of First Amendment Legal Defense Fund: Citizens Against Censorship
-----------------------
Heidi Couture
has been practicing Wicca for over 13 years. She was initiated as a High Priestess in 1997, and currently leads her own coven as well as conducts open Wiccan rituals. Heidi has been studying the Tarot for 10 years and is a public Tarot reader, she has also worked extensively with various forms of divination and healing modalities. Heidi has her Masters degree in Communication and teaches at the college level. Heidi combines her background in Communication with her desire to educate the public to the truth and beauty of Wicca.
Heidi is an experienced ritualist and has made a conscious decision to serve as a spokesperson to promote tolerance and understanding of Wicca in mainstream society through public education and informational media work.
She was a featured speaker at The Eastern Mass Pagan Pride Day 2000, and has led Wiccan ritual affinity groups at the EarthSpirit gathering Rites of Spring.
She is the founder and director of The Wiccan Educational Society (WES) a non-profit corporation. The goal of WES and Heidi's mission is to provide a safe, supportive and structured environment for eclectic Wiccans interested in developing their spiritual path through education, ritual, gatherings, workshops and the formation of a sacred community.
------------------------------
After the speakers and panel discussion there will be a
Harvest Buffet Dinner
Followed by an Evening
Pagan Fashion Show
and
Concert - Featuring Goddess Chant
Pre-Registration:
$35.00 Until Aug. 20th
$40.00 Until Sept 20th
$50.00 after that and at Door
* Share-the-Pot raffle tickets will be on sale at the
Registration table
Money from the Raffle will be donated to area shelters.
* Overnight accomodations available at Groton Inn and several nearby campsites.
For more information: Call Diane DesRochers at (978) 448-5584
e-mail: GrotonWitch@aol.com
%%%%%%%
Friday Nite & Sunday Collateral Camp-0ut - Hubbardston, MA
(Saturday is the BIG Main Conference in Groton, MA)
. Drumming . Dancing . Rituals . Campfire Conferencing
. $15 Separate Registration - In addition to CONFERENCE registration fee information on request: e-mail <cauldronfarm@hotmail.com>
or call (978) 928-4198
%%%%%%%
Fashion Show
If you would like to show your own creations or volunteer as a model
Contact: Rhonda at <Aisling39@aol.com>
AND
Sophia at <kdk44@juno.com>
Infinite Diversity
In Infinite Combination
- Vulcan Motto
=============================================
=============================================
New England Pagan Conference Registration Form
$35.00 Until Aug. 20th
$40.00 Until Sept 20th
$50.00 after Sept 20th
Cash only accepted at Door!!!
Make checks payable to: New England Pagan Conference
And send to: PO Box 384
Groton, MA 01450 - 0384
To Pay through Visa or MasterCard Contact Teri Kalgren at
Artemesia Botanicals in Salem, MA
at (978) 745-0065
Name (Contact, if more than one person):
Address:
Phone daytime:
evenings:
E-mail:
Number of persons:
Amount enclosed:
*** Hard copies of directions as well as information about lodging, campsite areas, restaurants will be mailed out if you do not have an e-mail address.
Please - feel free to print and pass out copies of the above registration form as well as the flier below. We are non-profit and can use All the help we can get. If you can't come, let others know and/or send a donation check to us for the shelters we are sponsoring OR to a shelter in YOUR area. Let them know the money was donated by a concerned Pagan or in the name of a Pagan organization/group you are a member of.
=============================================
=============================================
Abbreviated Text
for printing out hard copy fliers
if you would like to help us by passing them around:
-----------------
First Annual
New England Pagan Conference
Join us in celebrating and honoring the diversity amoung us!
"There CAN be Unity Within All Of Our Diversity"
Place: Stagecoach Inn - 128 Main Street (Rt.119) Groton,MA - 6 miles west of Rt 495 (Exit # 31)
Date: Saturday, September 29th, 2001
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Featured Guest Speaker/Panelists:
Oberon Zell-RavenHeart: Founder of Church of All Worlds & Green Egg Magazine
Skydancer Windwalker: organizer of the Pagan Freedom Quilt Project
Also featuring author and activist Charles Arnold, popular speaker and teacher Christopher Penczak, noted Activist with CUUP's, AREN, Pagan Summit, Jerrie Hildebrandt, AND a host of others!
~.~.~.~.~.~.
Ongoing Conferences & Discussion Group
Harvest Buffet Dinner
Pagan Fashion Show and
Concert: Featuring
Gypsey Salem's HP'ess of Song & Shawna Carol with Katerine & Friends of Goddess Chant
Pre-Registration:
$35.00 Until Aug. 20th
$40.00 Until Sept 20th
$50.00 after that and at Door
* Share-the-Pot raffle tickets will be on sale at the
Registration table
Money from the Raffle will be donated to area shelters.
* Overnight accomodations available at Groton Inn and several nearby campsites.
REGISTRATION
Make checks payable to: New England Pagan Conference
And send to: PO Box 384
Groton, MA 01450 - 0384
Please include # of attendees, name of contact person, address, phone number and e-mail address when registering
**If you would like to pay by Visa or MasterCard Contact Teri Kalgren at
Artemesia Botanicals in Salem, MA (978) 745-0065
Cash only accepted at Door!!!
For more information: Call Diane DesRochers at (978) 448-5584
e-mail: GrotonWitch@aol.com
------------------------------
Friday Nite & Sunday Collateral Camp-0ut - Hubbardston, MA
(Saturday is the BIG Main Conference in Groton, MA)
. Drumming . Dancing . Rituals . Campfire Conferencing
. $15 Separate Registration - In addition to CONFERENCE registration fee information on request: e-mail <cauldronfarm@hotmail.com> or call (978) 928-4198
=============================================
=============================================
Onsite LODGING Available at the
Stagecoach Inn & Tavern
128 Main Street
Groton, MA 01450 - On Rt 119 6 miles west of Rt 495 (Exit # 31)
(978) 448-0016
1 (800) 782-4346 - Toll free
(978) 448-5614 - fax
E-mail: grotonstage@aol.com
Website: Groton-Inn.com
====== Campsites ======
Willard Brook & Pearl Hill State Parks
Ed Torcoletti (supervisor) (978) 597-8802
. Drivetime from Devens Approximately 35 minutes
. Directions on request, when you pre-register for the Conference.
Campground Office Hours: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
(you must check in during those hours)
MA Residents: $10.00 per night
Non-MA Residents: $12.00 per night
. Quiet time After 10:00 PM
. Fires out after midnight
. Alcohol forbidden onsite
. Rules and site map available at check-in
. Pets allowed, but must present proof of Rabies shots
at check-in and must be attended at all times.
Willard Brook State Park - Duncan Pond Campsite
No reservations taken for this site. It's on a first come,
first served basis. Duncan Pond is about a 10-minute
drive from Pearl Hill.
Pearl Hill State Park Campground
www.state.ma.us/dem/parks/phil.htm
Reservations: 1(877) 422-6762
. No more than three sites can be reserved per person.
. Pre-register by credit card to insure a reserved site.
. Attendees CAN register at the gate. There should be ample sites available at that time of year, but no guarantees, especially if the weather is still warm. So it is best - if you can - to pre-register by phone.
. There is a lovely pond in the Pearl Hill State park for late
season swimming - but no lifeguards on duty after Labor Day.
. In-ground Fireplaces and raised grills at each site.
(firewood for sale at campgrounds)
. Bring your own food
. Bring drums and other acoustic musical instruments
. Camp Conference Fee $15.00 (This is separate from site registration costs which YOU are responsible for yourself. We are not permitted by Park officials to pre-register for you. All the information you need will be provided . We are just coordinating the weekend. After any general expenses entailed, half of the remaining money will be set aside as startup for next year's Conference, the rest will be donated to the area shelters listed below.
The New England Pagan Conference Planning Committe will be organizing a few activities for Friday evening as well as Sunday morning and afternoon.
Besides socializing and swimming some possible activities we are considering would be Drumming Circles, Bardic Circles, a potluck Sunday afternoon pre-departure feast,
Informal Pagan-to-Pagan fireside dialogues - NO elders/notables coordinating discussions.
Those who wish to KISS (keep it simple, Stupid), and come to the campgrounds only, for Friday evening and Sunday AS WELL AS ALL DAY SATURDAY, CAN register just for that.
--------------------
KOA Minuteman Campground
264 Ayer Road (Rt 2A - 2 miles east of Ayer Rotary)
Littleton, MA
(978) 772-0042
Has pool, public showers and toilets.
Tenting for two NO hookups ............................$24.00
" " " electricity/water ....................$29.00
" " " electricity/ water/sewage ......$33.00
Cabins (electricity - no water or toilets - bring own pillows, linen and towels)
Cabin that sleeps 4 ...............................$41.00
Cabin that sleeps 6 ...............................$51.00
---------------
Cauldron Farm Q-Moon / HearthGrove Coven
Raven & Bella Kaldera Cauldronfarm@hotmail.com
12 Simond Hill Road
Hubbardston, MA 01452
(978) 928-4198
1. We are in Hubbardston, just south of Fitchburg/Gardner and north of Worcester. Don't get much more MA central than that, especially if you except to get the Northhampton crowd. Hour to an hour and a half from Boston and Northampton, an hour from Nashua, an hour from Lyndeboro, 20 mins from Fitchburg, 45 from Worcester. Bloody middle of the state.
2. The price is *negotiable*. Come and negotiate it.
3. We have 18 acres, a beautiful private field with firepit, stone altar, gate of the winds, a new latrine with two seats, a geodesic dome that I will be putting a pavilion-top on later this summer, many campsites in the woods, a field kitchen with barbecue, coolers, and counter space, tables and benches for 50, many random pagan shrines, and a women's lodge and a men's lodge. We tractor people's belongings out to the woods as part of the site fee.
4. If you are going to pay money to camp in the woods, why not camp on Pagan Holy Ground? This is sacred space, totally Pagan friendly, closed to all outsiders and onlookers. We host about 10 gatherings a year here, including 4 pagan ones. By renting our space, you support Pagan land, organic small family farming and homesteading, etc.
Cons: People would have to bring their own tents, as there are no cabins. There is no electricity. It might be a tad difficult for
people in wheelchairs, altho we could probably drive them out on the bed of the tractor. (If you think there will actually be wheelchair people, we could build a special cushioned trailer.) There is no insurance, as it's not a commercial campground, it's my giant outdoor temple.
==============================================
Food
Bull's Eye Pub
At the Conference Center!!!
Wendy's, McDonalds, and KFC on the Ayer Rotary just outside Devens' Barnum Gate (where Rt. 110, Rt. 2A and Rt. 111 converge)
Tiny's Restaurant
Breakfast menu available
(978) 772-2917
Great sea food/great prices! 10 Minute ride from Devens Inn and Conference Center - at the Junction of Rts. 2A and 111
Rull Run Restaurant
(978) 425-4311
Rt. 2A in Shirley
15 Minute ride from Devens Inn and Conference Center.
JP O'Hanlon's Irish Pub & Restaurant
(978) 772-9282
9 Main Street in downtown Ayer
10 Minute ride from Devens Inn and Conference Center
=============================================
=============================================
Sponsored Shelters
Warning: we will be hitting you up for donations. If you can't make it to this year's Conference but would like to make a donation, you can either send it to us or mail it directly to the shelter of your choice (please let them know we put you up to it).
House of Hope - a Catholic homeless shelter
812 Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01854
(978) 458-2870
e-mail: hoh812@aol.com
Director: Debra (Debbie) Chausse
Rape & Assault Support Services
- Operates shelter for battered women in area
PO Box 217
Nashua, NH 03061
(603) 889-0858
RASSNH1@aol.com
Director: Dawn Reams
Contact Person: Gail Kennedy-Hains
(either Pagan or very Pagan friendly)
A Safe Place - Shelter for battered women in the NH area
PO Box 674
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(603) 436-7924 - general
Director: Pat Spiller
(603) 436-7955 ext. 102
e-mail: pats@ttlc.net
======================================
What is
GrotonWitch's Grimoire
It is a free onliine newsletter which is published in two separate mailings.
The Grimoire is dedicated to informing its readers of attacks against our First Amendment rights, with special emphasis on issues of religious freedom.
The Subscribers' Soapbox section offers readers a forum for rebuttal and airing their own observations.
The companion Off-Topic posting deals with unrelated items of interest including descriptions and/or samples of other Pagan or activist publications and websites along with announcements of upcoming gatherings, entertainments, workshops and classes.
There are also two other separate companion publications:
. First Amendment/Pagan Pertinent NEWS - which reprints news articles and editorials from newspapers and magazines from around the world as well as press releases and summaries from other activist organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, People For The Amerian Way, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, etc.
. Wit & Wisdom From GrotonWitch's Grimoire - a forum for sharing jokes, poetry, individual & group rituals, magick, meditations, etc.
... We publish, on an average, two or three times per month ...
depending on volume of submissions
Submissions are gratefully accepted in all the above mentioned categories; but remember: if you need to have something printed ASAP, please keep it brief and to the point. Longer, expository articles or essays that are not time sensitive may take a few weeks.
Submission Guidlines: Please keep news bytes, announcements, reader commentary, etc. as brief and to-the-point as possible. Depending on volume, submissions over 200 words may be subject to abridgement at the discretion of the editor. Lengthy articles or essays may have to be published in two parts in consecutive issues. So it is suggested the authors indicate where they would prefer their work be sectioned - if need be.
Permission is granted to other publications (on and off-line), websites, chatrooms, and private lists who wish to reprint any or all, so long as they credit the newsletter and its contributers.
...
A Witch's Book of Shadows is where the basic knowledge, seasonal sabbats, full and new moon rituals and rites of initiation for their particular tradition (denomination) are kept. It might euphamistically be referred to as our 'Holy Book'.
The newsletter takes its name from the Witch's Grimoire, which is essentially a Witch's 'cookbook' of magickal spells and metaphysical miscellany.
---------------------------------
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intentionally send any more uninvited postings. Please feel free to distribute this invitation to any folk you think might be interested.
Sample Mailings
IF YOU WISH TO SEE SAMPLE MAILINGS OF THE
ABOVE DESCRIBED NEWSLETTERS BEFORE SUBSCRIBING,
I WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO SEND THEM TO YOU.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHICH, IF ANY, YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE TO:
. GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE - Newsletter
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*** Please reply with "ADD" or "SEND SAMPLE ISSUE" in the Subject heading - and be patient if I can't immediately respond. You may request a sample mailing of the current issues of the Grimoire and the companion publications, noted above.
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May the Gods always stand between you and harm
in all the empty places you must walk.
Diane Des Rochers, BA;MC
Board of Directors &
Chairperson of the Committee for Religious Freedom
FIRST AMENDMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND:
Citizens Against Censorship
Editor/Publisher for GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE
(A Free online Newsletter)
HP'ess: Temple of AppleMoon Coven and Teaching Grove, Inc.
Author of WALKER BETWEEN THE WORLDS
(a "psi-fi" metaphysical, novel published by Llewellyn)
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 384
Groton, MA 01450-0384
(978) 448-5584
E-mail: grotonwitc@aol.com
*** FIRST AMENDMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Citizens Against Censorship
President: Art Ketchen <Solus68443@aol.com>
QUESTION AUTHORITY! THINK FOR YOURSELF
- Before it becomes illegal.
FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE.
IT IS PAID FOR WITH CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
NEVER AGAIN THE BURNING!
Infinite Diversity
In Infinite Combination
- Vulcan Motto
"Courtesy is owed, respect is earned, love is given!"
Science without religion is lame;
Religion without science is blind.
- Albert Einstein
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully
as when they do it from religious conviction."
Quoted in Sam J. Ervin, Jr.
"Protecting the Constitution"
Michie, 1984
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
The United States Constitution
Orthodoxy is a response to a religion's loss of piety.
Fundamentalism is a religion's response to a loss of power.
****************************************************
A Pagan Credo
We worship the Great Goddess of Nature in all Her resplendent diversity. She is the Birthgiver: the origin of all life on this planet.
Threefold are Her ways: Maiden, Mother, and Crone, for She is all Goddesses and all women. We honor Her everywhere: for She is everything; and in everyone: for She is all of us.
We worship the Horned One, Lord of Field and Forest.
He is the wild and natural man in each of us: innocent, unfettered, and untamed. He is Lord both of Light and of Darkness: all Gods and all men.
Our Lord is both Seed and Sower, Hunter and Prey; the eternal cycle of Sunlight and Shadow. We honor Him everywhere: for He is everything; and in everyone: for He is all of us.
Our Temple is a Sacred Space between the Worlds of Gods and Mortals. We worship in the Circle and in Nature: in our bodies, hearts, and minds. Our Gods are everywhere; but most of all they are within us. Therefore it is both our right and our sacred duty to discover and develop the Being within: for we may claim no greater Power than that of our own Higher Nature.
Our Goddess says: "If what you seek you do not find within yourself, you shall never find it! For behold: I have been with you from the beginning of Time and I am that which you shall embrace at the end of all your desire."
We are a free people who dare to be Ourselves. To each of us is given the right to choose Good or Evil, Truth or Falsehood, Wisdom or Folly as our own understanding shall determine them. To each of us is given the responsibility for our choices: our thoughts, our words, and our actions.
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will," is, and shall ever be, the greatest of all our Laws.
by Sally Eaton
(Lady Balachandra)
Please, please, please Pass This Along:
OK, here's the straight poop!!! The date of the Conference is less than six weeks away and there haven't been enough registrations to cover even the cost of site rental - a lot of e-mailings back and forth: assurances of interest, planning to come; BUT NO MONEY!!!
Bottom line IS the bottom line: Unless there ia sufficient number of registrations IN our mailbox by next Tuesday to cover the basic costs for site and food, we will have to cancel - in which case, those who have already registered will have their money refunded.
It is a sad reflection on the local New England Pagan "Community" that there is so little concern about the issues that are dividing us or willingness to admit our own culpability. It is so much easier to blame those other blankety-blank Christians or them Pagan wanna'-bes.
Well, guess what, folks! I HAVE MET THE ENEMY - AND S/HE IS US!!!!!
BUT WHETHER OR NOT THE CONFERENCE MATERIALIZES OBERON ZELL-RAVENHEART WILL STILL BE COMING!!!
Even before plans were laid for the Conference, He had been invited to be our houseguest for a social visit. His travel expenses would be paid for by us and to make up for time away from Mythic Images, his income source, we agreed to set up set up a series of paid lectures and provide transportation to and from them.
As the schedule remains (subject to change):
Monday, 24 Sept - Arrival at Boston's Logan Airport
Oberon will be staying in Groton, MA (midway between Lowell & Fitchburg)
Thurs, 27 Sept - Opening of the Salem MA Pagan Community Ctr.
Oberon will be speaking on art as a magickal working. Plans for this are still Tentative.
For details contact Christinea <Christinea313@aol.com> or Teri Kalgren <Botcrone@aol.com> owner of Artemesia Botanicals in Salem, MA (978) 745-0065
Saturday, 29 Sept - Conference?????
Sunday, 30 Sept - 7:00 pm Lecture at Salem, MA Witch Village,
sponsored by P.R.A.N.C.E.
Lecture topic to be announced.
For details e-mail Marie & Tony Guerrero <ATeegee13@aol.com>
Monday 1 Oct: 7:00 PM at New Moon Magickal Shop
Lecture topic to be announced.
For more info and directions, contact Sabazius
<Sabazius@magickisafoot.com> or see the shop's
website: http://www.MagickIsAfoot.com
New Moon
268 Worcester Rd in Princeton
Princeton, MA 01541
(978) 464-2900 - shop
Friday 5 Oct - Sunday, 7 Oct - Athens, (northeastern) PA
Featured guest at Freedom Quilt Project Fundraiser
Lecture topic to be announced.
For directions and more info contact Skywalker
<covenant_of_the_sacredmoon@yahoo.com>
Covenant of the Sacred Moon
PO Box 424
Dunmore Pa 18512
570-342-2858
Sunday & October or Monday 8 October - Oberon goes home
---------------
If any individual or group in the New England area would like to sponsor an appearance and lecture by Oberon it's not too late. Contact me at <GrotonWitch@aol.com> or (978) 448-5584
Brightest Blessings,
GrotonWitch
=======================================
First Annual
New England Pagan Conference
Witches, Druids, CAW, Asatru, Ifa, Santeria, Voodon, Discordian, Buddhist, Native American...
"It is NOT our differences that divide us.
It is our inability to recognize & celebrate those differences."
THERE CAN BE UNITY WITHIN OUR DIVERSITY
PLACE: Stagecoach Inn - 128 Main Street (Rt.119) Groton,MA
6 miles west of Rt 495 (Exit # 31)
DATE: Saturday, September 29th, 2001
TIME: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
BRING DRUMS!!!!!
THERE WILL BE DRUMMING AT OPENING RITUAL AND AN ONGOING/OUTDOOR/ALL DAY DRUM CIRCLE - DANCERS WELCOME TO JUMP IN!
Conference & Speaker Coordinator: Diane DesRochers
As High Priestess of Temple of AppleMoon Coven and Teaching Grove, Incorporated, Diane DesRochers also holds a Masters degree in psychological counseling and does pastoral as well as psychic counseling and spiritual healing from the privacy of her home.
Formerly New England Regional Director of WADL (Witches'
Antidiscrimination Lobby, founded by Dr. Leo Martello over thirty-five years ago) - before the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Br'th demanded a name change and presently on the Board of Directors & Chairperson of the Committee for Religious Freedom for FIRST AMENDMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Citizens Against Censorship. She is the Editor/Publisher of GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE (A Free online Newsletter), HP'ess of Temple of AppleMoon Coven and Teaching Grove (Incorporated as a tax exempt relligious organization in Massechusetts), and Author of WALKER BETWEEN THE WORLDS (a "psi-fi" metaphysical, novel published by Llewellyn)
Having organized a number of gatherings and festivals in the past, she is also coordinator of this, the First - and hopefully Annual - New England Pagan Conference.
A Witch since the 1970's, she is also the author numerous articles which have appeared in Pagan publications over the years. Admitted into The Order of the Bad Toad, by Janet Farrar, she maintains herself as a member in good standing by espousing unpopular causes and making waves when she sees an injustice that needs to be addressed.
*************************************************
Guest Speaker/Panelists
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
is a 58-year-old Sagittarian with Aquarius rising who has accomplished many things in his long and colorful career. A modern Renaissance man, Oberon is a transpersonal psychologist, metaphysician, naturalist, theologian, shaman, author, artist, sculptor, lecturer, teacher, and ordained Priest of the Earth-Mother, Gaia. He is also an initiate in the Egyptian Church of the Eternal Source, a Priest in the Fellowship of Isis, and an initiate in several different Traditions of Witchcraft. He holds academic degrees in sociology, anthropology, clinical psychology, and theology.
Oberon co-founded the Church of All Worlds on April 7, 1962, inspired by Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 science-fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land. First to apply the terms "Pagan" and "Neo-Pagan" to the newly emerging Nature religions of the 1960s, and through his publication of the award-winning Pagan magazine, Green Egg (1968-1975; 1988-1996), Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, which for the last third of a century has been reclaiming the religious heritage of pre-Christian Europe.
Oberon is the author of numerous published articles on history, Gaean thealogy, magic, shamanism, mythology, anomalies, dinosaurs, archaeology, cosmology and related topics, and has been interviewed and quoted extensively in many books on New Age religious movements and the occult. With many years of theatrical experience, Oberon has been an entertaining guest on a number of radio and television talk shows around the country (and in England, Canada and Australia), as well as being a regular featured speaker at various Pagan festivals and conventions. Oberon is also an accomplished ritualist, creating and conducting rites of passage, seasonal celebrations, Mystery initiations (such as the Eleusinia and the Panathenaia), Earth-healings and other rituals for up to 3,000 people.
Oberon's artwork has illuminated the pages of various fantasy,
science-fiction, and metaphysical magazines since the late 1960's, as well as illustrating a number of books. His favorite art project is his ongoing sculpture series of ancient Gods and Goddesses, and of mythological, prehistoric and legendary creatures, currently being marketed through TheaGenesis LLC as the Mythic Images Collection. His masterwork is "The Millennial Gaia."
-------------
Skydancer Windwalker ( Patricia Clark);
HP'ess and founder of The Coven of Thunder Oak and the Coven of Faerie Meadow. Eclectic Wiccan practicing for 23 years. The President and Founder of the Covenant of The Sacred Moon in Pennsylvania and the Originator of the Religious Freedom Quilt Project. Before moving to Pennsylvania Sky served as Secretary on The Connecticut Wiccan Pagan Board, and was an Area Representive for CWPN in the Danbury Area. She was also a member of the PCC Interfaith Council in Connecticut. She is also a Pagan Pride Co-Ordinator in the Scranton, Lackawanna County.
---------------
Charles Arnold
holds degrees in traditional and eclectic Wiccan orders and has been active in the Pagan community for decades. He has been an officer of The Wiccan Church of Canada, Executive Director of Wicca Communitas, Editor of "Rags to Witches Magazine," and High Priest of The Temple of the Elder Faiths. He sat as a member of the Humber College Multiculturalism Task Force and its Education Committee and Humber College's President's Advisory Council. His current responsibilities are those of Temple Dog of The New Temple of Astarte, and Founding Director of the Blessed Be Political Action Committee. He is also on-call Pagan chaplain for the Vermont State Veteran's Administration hospital. In addition to his involvement in the Pagan community, Charles also serves in a variety of positions at VFW Post #792:
Post Judge Advocate, Chairman of the Americanism Committee, Chairman of the Voice of Democracy Committee, Public Relations Officer and member of the Post Honor guard. He is active in his local Toast Master chapter where he is a Vice-president. Other responsibilities have included serving as President of Central Vermont Adventure Gamers, Vice-president of Central Vermont Kustom Klassics Car Club, and an active candidate for the Vermont Legislature.
Charles has taught or lectured at Mohawk, Sir Sanford Fleming, Dawson, Humber, Durham, and Goddard Colleges. He has been an invited speaker at BBMMDC, Between the Worlds, The Celebration of Eros, Ecumenicon, Etheracon, Free Spirit Gathering, FSA Beltaine, FSA Fall Mysteries, Goddess Gathering, MPA Beltaine, Pan-Pagan Festival, Rites of Spring, Sacred Space, and Wic-Can Fest.
His appearance list includes the BBC, CBC, CTV, WRC Radio, Group W Radio, Global Network News, The Dini Petty Show, Canada AM, Monitor, Breakfast Television, and VT Public Radio. Stories featuring him have appeared in publications from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times, to Fate, Playboy, and Penthouse. He is included in both Kevin Marron's Witches, Pagans and Magic in the New Age, and Rosemary Guiley's Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft.
He is the author of Goddessborn, Communitas Press (1987), and Ritual Body Art-Drawing the Spirit, Phoenix Publishing (1997). His articles have appeared in Circle Network News, Converging Paths, Green Egg, Harvest, Moonstone, Pagan Unity News, Pagana, Seasonal Silver, Shadowplay, The Vigil, The Wiccan, Wiccan Rede, Wyrd, Yggdrasil The Wiccan-Pagan Times, and many other Pagan publications.
His areas of expertise include community organizing, grassroots political organizing, public relations (traditional and guerilla), and interacting with the media.
----------------
Christopher Penczak
is an eclectic witch, combining several magical styles into his own tradition. He is a full time healer, teacher and writer. He has contributed to national (Green Egg, Genre) and local (Horns And Crescents, Kaleidoscope) journals, publishes The Second Road newsletter and is the author of City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism. (Samuel Weiser, Inc.) Christopher also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts.
--------------------
Raven Kaldera
is an intersexual female-to-male transgendered pagan activist,
a minister in Hearthgrove Church, a born-again shaman, and a spiritual homesteader who runs Cauldron Farm, the teaching farm for the Institute for Heritage Skills. He is the author of "Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook", and has had many years of committed work with the Pagan GLBT community.
---------------------
Sabazius Athame
along with his wife, Hilary, Is owner of New Moon, a magickal Shop which recently moved from Marlboro to Princeton, MA. Once a Christian minister and now Pagan clergy, Sabazius has been coordinating a popular and heavily attended Monday evening discussion group out of his shop for the last several years.
-----------------------
Paul Cognata
Paul Cognata (Argus) is High Priest of Ildanach (All Craftsman) Coven and has been a Third Degree initiate in the Alexandrian Tradition since 1987.
He has been listed as Pagan Clergy for the state prison system in New Hampshire since 1995 and maintains a full time ministry for Pagan religious groups at two NH locations, offering classes, group Circles, and individual spiritual counseling. All facilities (men/woman) are covered including Minimum Security Units and Halfway Houses - a total of seven. Emphasis is on reintegration back into the community which has been accomplished.
-----------------------
Jerrie Hildebrand
is active in CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans), AREN & Pagan Summit. She has done numerous workshops over past five years at Rites of Spring and PSG.
-----------------------
Art Ketchen
is a Celtic scholar, art teacher and, along with his wife, Joanne, publishes Celtic Beat, a magazine that focuses on Celtic music and culture. A political activist, Art is founder and president of First Amendment Legal Defense Fund: Citizens Against Censorship
-----------------------
Heidi Couture
has been practicing Wicca for over 13 years. She was initiated as a High Priestess in 1997, and currently leads her own coven as well as conducts open Wiccan rituals. Heidi has been studying the Tarot for 10 years and is a public Tarot reader, she has also worked extensively with various forms of divination and healing modalities. Heidi has her Masters degree in Communication and teaches at the college level. Heidi combines her background in Communication with her desire to educate the public to the truth and beauty of Wicca.
Heidi is an experienced ritualist and has made a conscious decision to serve as a spokesperson to promote tolerance and understanding of Wicca in mainstream society through public education and informational media work.
She was a featured speaker at The Eastern Mass Pagan Pride Day 2000, and has led Wiccan ritual affinity groups at the EarthSpirit gathering Rites of Spring.
She is the founder and director of The Wiccan Educational Society (WES) a non-profit corporation. The goal of WES and Heidi's mission is to provide a safe, supportive and structured environment for eclectic Wiccans interested in developing their spiritual path through education, ritual, gatherings, workshops and the formation of a sacred community.
------------------------------
After the speakers and panel discussion there will be a
Harvest Buffet Dinner
Followed by an Evening
Pagan Fashion Show
and
Concert - Featuring Goddess Chant
Pre-Registration:
$35.00 Until Aug. 20th
$40.00 Until Sept 20th
$50.00 after that and at Door
* Share-the-Pot raffle tickets will be on sale at the
Registration table
Money from the Raffle will be donated to area shelters.
* Overnight accomodations available at Groton Inn and several nearby campsites.
For more information: Call Diane DesRochers at (978) 448-5584
e-mail: GrotonWitch@aol.com
%%%%%%%
Friday Nite & Sunday Collateral Camp-0ut - Hubbardston, MA
(Saturday is the BIG Main Conference in Groton, MA)
. Drumming . Dancing . Rituals . Campfire Conferencing
. $15 Separate Registration - In addition to CONFERENCE registration fee information on request: e-mail <cauldronfarm@hotmail.com>
or call (978) 928-4198
%%%%%%%
Fashion Show
If you would like to show your own creations or volunteer as a model
Contact: Rhonda at <Aisling39@aol.com>
AND
Sophia at <kdk44@juno.com>
Infinite Diversity
In Infinite Combination
- Vulcan Motto
=============================================
=============================================
New England Pagan Conference Registration Form
$35.00 Until Aug. 20th
$40.00 Until Sept 20th
$50.00 after Sept 20th
Cash only accepted at Door!!!
Make checks payable to: New England Pagan Conference
And send to: PO Box 384
Groton, MA 01450 - 0384
To Pay through Visa or MasterCard Contact Teri Kalgren at
Artemesia Botanicals in Salem, MA
at (978) 745-0065
Name (Contact, if more than one person):
Address:
Phone daytime:
evenings:
E-mail:
Number of persons:
Amount enclosed:
*** Hard copies of directions as well as information about lodging, campsite areas, restaurants will be mailed out if you do not have an e-mail address.
Please - feel free to print and pass out copies of the above registration form as well as the flier below. We are non-profit and can use All the help we can get. If you can't come, let others know and/or send a donation check to us for the shelters we are sponsoring OR to a shelter in YOUR area. Let them know the money was donated by a concerned Pagan or in the name of a Pagan organization/group you are a member of.
=============================================
=============================================
Abbreviated Text
for printing out hard copy fliers
if you would like to help us by passing them around:
-----------------
First Annual
New England Pagan Conference
Join us in celebrating and honoring the diversity amoung us!
"There CAN be Unity Within All Of Our Diversity"
Place: Stagecoach Inn - 128 Main Street (Rt.119) Groton,MA - 6 miles west of Rt 495 (Exit # 31)
Date: Saturday, September 29th, 2001
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Featured Guest Speaker/Panelists:
Oberon Zell-RavenHeart: Founder of Church of All Worlds & Green Egg Magazine
Skydancer Windwalker: organizer of the Pagan Freedom Quilt Project
Also featuring author and activist Charles Arnold, popular speaker and teacher Christopher Penczak, noted Activist with CUUP's, AREN, Pagan Summit, Jerrie Hildebrandt, AND a host of others!
~.~.~.~.~.~.
Ongoing Conferences & Discussion Group
Harvest Buffet Dinner
Pagan Fashion Show and
Concert: Featuring
Gypsey Salem's HP'ess of Song & Shawna Carol with Katerine & Friends of Goddess Chant
Pre-Registration:
$35.00 Until Aug. 20th
$40.00 Until Sept 20th
$50.00 after that and at Door
* Share-the-Pot raffle tickets will be on sale at the
Registration table
Money from the Raffle will be donated to area shelters.
* Overnight accomodations available at Groton Inn and several nearby campsites.
REGISTRATION
Make checks payable to: New England Pagan Conference
And send to: PO Box 384
Groton, MA 01450 - 0384
Please include # of attendees, name of contact person, address, phone number and e-mail address when registering
**If you would like to pay by Visa or MasterCard Contact Teri Kalgren at
Artemesia Botanicals in Salem, MA (978) 745-0065
Cash only accepted at Door!!!
For more information: Call Diane DesRochers at (978) 448-5584
e-mail: GrotonWitch@aol.com
------------------------------
Friday Nite & Sunday Collateral Camp-0ut - Hubbardston, MA
(Saturday is the BIG Main Conference in Groton, MA)
. Drumming . Dancing . Rituals . Campfire Conferencing
. $15 Separate Registration - In addition to CONFERENCE registration fee information on request: e-mail <cauldronfarm@hotmail.com> or call (978) 928-4198
=============================================
=============================================
Onsite LODGING Available at the
Stagecoach Inn & Tavern
128 Main Street
Groton, MA 01450 - On Rt 119 6 miles west of Rt 495 (Exit # 31)
(978) 448-0016
1 (800) 782-4346 - Toll free
(978) 448-5614 - fax
E-mail: grotonstage@aol.com
Website: Groton-Inn.com
====== Campsites ======
Willard Brook & Pearl Hill State Parks
Ed Torcoletti (supervisor) (978) 597-8802
. Drivetime from Devens Approximately 35 minutes
. Directions on request, when you pre-register for the Conference.
Campground Office Hours: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
(you must check in during those hours)
MA Residents: $10.00 per night
Non-MA Residents: $12.00 per night
. Quiet time After 10:00 PM
. Fires out after midnight
. Alcohol forbidden onsite
. Rules and site map available at check-in
. Pets allowed, but must present proof of Rabies shots
at check-in and must be attended at all times.
Willard Brook State Park - Duncan Pond Campsite
No reservations taken for this site. It's on a first come,
first served basis. Duncan Pond is about a 10-minute
drive from Pearl Hill.
Pearl Hill State Park Campground
www.state.ma.us/dem/parks/phil.htm
Reservations: 1(877) 422-6762
. No more than three sites can be reserved per person.
. Pre-register by credit card to insure a reserved site.
. Attendees CAN register at the gate. There should be ample sites available at that time of year, but no guarantees, especially if the weather is still warm. So it is best - if you can - to pre-register by phone.
. There is a lovely pond in the Pearl Hill State park for late
season swimming - but no lifeguards on duty after Labor Day.
. In-ground Fireplaces and raised grills at each site.
(firewood for sale at campgrounds)
. Bring your own food
. Bring drums and other acoustic musical instruments
. Camp Conference Fee $15.00 (This is separate from site registration costs which YOU are responsible for yourself. We are not permitted by Park officials to pre-register for you. All the information you need will be provided . We are just coordinating the weekend. After any general expenses entailed, half of the remaining money will be set aside as startup for next year's Conference, the rest will be donated to the area shelters listed below.
The New England Pagan Conference Planning Committe will be organizing a few activities for Friday evening as well as Sunday morning and afternoon.
Besides socializing and swimming some possible activities we are considering would be Drumming Circles, Bardic Circles, a potluck Sunday afternoon pre-departure feast,
Informal Pagan-to-Pagan fireside dialogues - NO elders/notables coordinating discussions.
Those who wish to KISS (keep it simple, Stupid), and come to the campgrounds only, for Friday evening and Sunday AS WELL AS ALL DAY SATURDAY, CAN register just for that.
--------------------
KOA Minuteman Campground
264 Ayer Road (Rt 2A - 2 miles east of Ayer Rotary)
Littleton, MA
(978) 772-0042
Has pool, public showers and toilets.
Tenting for two NO hookups ............................$24.00
" " " electricity/water ....................$29.00
" " " electricity/ water/sewage ......$33.00
Cabins (electricity - no water or toilets - bring own pillows, linen and towels)
Cabin that sleeps 4 ...............................$41.00
Cabin that sleeps 6 ...............................$51.00
---------------
Cauldron Farm Q-Moon / HearthGrove Coven
Raven & Bella Kaldera Cauldronfarm@hotmail.com
12 Simond Hill Road
Hubbardston, MA 01452
(978) 928-4198
1. We are in Hubbardston, just south of Fitchburg/Gardner and north of Worcester. Don't get much more MA central than that, especially if you except to get the Northhampton crowd. Hour to an hour and a half from Boston and Northampton, an hour from Nashua, an hour from Lyndeboro, 20 mins from Fitchburg, 45 from Worcester. Bloody middle of the state.
2. The price is *negotiable*. Come and negotiate it.
3. We have 18 acres, a beautiful private field with firepit, stone altar, gate of the winds, a new latrine with two seats, a geodesic dome that I will be putting a pavilion-top on later this summer, many campsites in the woods, a field kitchen with barbecue, coolers, and counter space, tables and benches for 50, many random pagan shrines, and a women's lodge and a men's lodge. We tractor people's belongings out to the woods as part of the site fee.
4. If you are going to pay money to camp in the woods, why not camp on Pagan Holy Ground? This is sacred space, totally Pagan friendly, closed to all outsiders and onlookers. We host about 10 gatherings a year here, including 4 pagan ones. By renting our space, you support Pagan land, organic small family farming and homesteading, etc.
Cons: People would have to bring their own tents, as there are no cabins. There is no electricity. It might be a tad difficult for
people in wheelchairs, altho we could probably drive them out on the bed of the tractor. (If you think there will actually be wheelchair people, we could build a special cushioned trailer.) There is no insurance, as it's not a commercial campground, it's my giant outdoor temple.
==============================================
Food
Bull's Eye Pub
At the Conference Center!!!
Wendy's, McDonalds, and KFC on the Ayer Rotary just outside Devens' Barnum Gate (where Rt. 110, Rt. 2A and Rt. 111 converge)
Tiny's Restaurant
Breakfast menu available
(978) 772-2917
Great sea food/great prices! 10 Minute ride from Devens Inn and Conference Center - at the Junction of Rts. 2A and 111
Rull Run Restaurant
(978) 425-4311
Rt. 2A in Shirley
15 Minute ride from Devens Inn and Conference Center.
JP O'Hanlon's Irish Pub & Restaurant
(978) 772-9282
9 Main Street in downtown Ayer
10 Minute ride from Devens Inn and Conference Center
=============================================
=============================================
Sponsored Shelters
Warning: we will be hitting you up for donations. If you can't make it to this year's Conference but would like to make a donation, you can either send it to us or mail it directly to the shelter of your choice (please let them know we put you up to it).
House of Hope - a Catholic homeless shelter
812 Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01854
(978) 458-2870
e-mail: hoh812@aol.com
Director: Debra (Debbie) Chausse
Rape & Assault Support Services
- Operates shelter for battered women in area
PO Box 217
Nashua, NH 03061
(603) 889-0858
RASSNH1@aol.com
Director: Dawn Reams
Contact Person: Gail Kennedy-Hains
(either Pagan or very Pagan friendly)
A Safe Place - Shelter for battered women in the NH area
PO Box 674
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(603) 436-7924 - general
Director: Pat Spiller
(603) 436-7955 ext. 102
e-mail: pats@ttlc.net
======================================
What is
GrotonWitch's Grimoire
It is a free onliine newsletter which is published in two separate mailings.
The Grimoire is dedicated to informing its readers of attacks against our First Amendment rights, with special emphasis on issues of religious freedom.
The Subscribers' Soapbox section offers readers a forum for rebuttal and airing their own observations.
The companion Off-Topic posting deals with unrelated items of interest including descriptions and/or samples of other Pagan or activist publications and websites along with announcements of upcoming gatherings, entertainments, workshops and classes.
There are also two other separate companion publications:
. First Amendment/Pagan Pertinent NEWS - which reprints news articles and editorials from newspapers and magazines from around the world as well as press releases and summaries from other activist organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, People For The Amerian Way, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, etc.
. Wit & Wisdom From GrotonWitch's Grimoire - a forum for sharing jokes, poetry, individual & group rituals, magick, meditations, etc.
... We publish, on an average, two or three times per month ...
depending on volume of submissions
Submissions are gratefully accepted in all the above mentioned categories; but remember: if you need to have something printed ASAP, please keep it brief and to the point. Longer, expository articles or essays that are not time sensitive may take a few weeks.
Submission Guidlines: Please keep news bytes, announcements, reader commentary, etc. as brief and to-the-point as possible. Depending on volume, submissions over 200 words may be subject to abridgement at the discretion of the editor. Lengthy articles or essays may have to be published in two parts in consecutive issues. So it is suggested the authors indicate where they would prefer their work be sectioned - if need be.
Permission is granted to other publications (on and off-line), websites, chatrooms, and private lists who wish to reprint any or all, so long as they credit the newsletter and its contributers.
...
A Witch's Book of Shadows is where the basic knowledge, seasonal sabbats, full and new moon rituals and rites of initiation for their particular tradition (denomination) are kept. It might euphamistically be referred to as our 'Holy Book'.
The newsletter takes its name from the Witch's Grimoire, which is essentially a Witch's 'cookbook' of magickal spells and metaphysical miscellany.
---------------------------------
Unless I receive a reply, rest assured: after today, I will not
intentionally send any more uninvited postings. Please feel free to distribute this invitation to any folk you think might be interested.
Sample Mailings
IF YOU WISH TO SEE SAMPLE MAILINGS OF THE
ABOVE DESCRIBED NEWSLETTERS BEFORE SUBSCRIBING,
I WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO SEND THEM TO YOU.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHICH, IF ANY, YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE TO:
. GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE - Newsletter
. GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE - OFF TOPIC
. First Amendment/Pagan Pertinant NEWS
. WIT & WISDOM
*** If replying, please specify which list(s) you wish to subscribe to - or if you wish sample issues sent first.
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May the Gods always stand between you and harm
in all the empty places you must walk.
Diane Des Rochers, BA;MC
Board of Directors &
Chairperson of the Committee for Religious Freedom
FIRST AMENDMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND:
Citizens Against Censorship
Editor/Publisher for GROTONWITCH'S GRIMOIRE
(A Free online Newsletter)
HP'ess: Temple of AppleMoon Coven and Teaching Grove, Inc.
Author of WALKER BETWEEN THE WORLDS
(a "psi-fi" metaphysical, novel published by Llewellyn)
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 384
Groton, MA 01450-0384
(978) 448-5584
E-mail: grotonwitc@aol.com
*** FIRST AMENDMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Citizens Against Censorship
President: Art Ketchen <Solus68443@aol.com>
QUESTION AUTHORITY! THINK FOR YOURSELF
- Before it becomes illegal.
FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE.
IT IS PAID FOR WITH CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
NEVER AGAIN THE BURNING!
Infinite Diversity
In Infinite Combination
- Vulcan Motto
"Courtesy is owed, respect is earned, love is given!"
Science without religion is lame;
Religion without science is blind.
- Albert Einstein
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully
as when they do it from religious conviction."
Quoted in Sam J. Ervin, Jr.
"Protecting the Constitution"
Michie, 1984
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
The United States Constitution
Orthodoxy is a response to a religion's loss of piety.
Fundamentalism is a religion's response to a loss of power.
****************************************************
A Pagan Credo
We worship the Great Goddess of Nature in all Her resplendent diversity. She is the Birthgiver: the origin of all life on this planet.
Threefold are Her ways: Maiden, Mother, and Crone, for She is all Goddesses and all women. We honor Her everywhere: for She is everything; and in everyone: for She is all of us.
We worship the Horned One, Lord of Field and Forest.
He is the wild and natural man in each of us: innocent, unfettered, and untamed. He is Lord both of Light and of Darkness: all Gods and all men.
Our Lord is both Seed and Sower, Hunter and Prey; the eternal cycle of Sunlight and Shadow. We honor Him everywhere: for He is everything; and in everyone: for He is all of us.
Our Temple is a Sacred Space between the Worlds of Gods and Mortals. We worship in the Circle and in Nature: in our bodies, hearts, and minds. Our Gods are everywhere; but most of all they are within us. Therefore it is both our right and our sacred duty to discover and develop the Being within: for we may claim no greater Power than that of our own Higher Nature.
Our Goddess says: "If what you seek you do not find within yourself, you shall never find it! For behold: I have been with you from the beginning of Time and I am that which you shall embrace at the end of all your desire."
We are a free people who dare to be Ourselves. To each of us is given the right to choose Good or Evil, Truth or Falsehood, Wisdom or Folly as our own understanding shall determine them. To each of us is given the responsibility for our choices: our thoughts, our words, and our actions.
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will," is, and shall ever be, the greatest of all our Laws.
by Sally Eaton
(Lady Balachandra)