Pagan Pride Day, and the end of summer

Hello all. Maine Pagan Pride Day was awesome, as always. This (I believe) was my fourth year attending. It was a little smaller this year, with less workshops but it was still fun and had that awesome open-minded, completely free atmosphere. Its amazing to be surrounded by people with similar beliefs, and to not be worried about odd stares and misunderstandings.

The day usually starts off the same...we (my boyfriend and I) get there and check out all the vendors. Theres usually 10-15 different vendors selling various goodies such as jewelry, candles, incense, home made crafts and other pagan essentials. We go to each booth two or three times before we start going to workshops. This year, we went to "Kitchen Witchery" and learned about cooking with positive energy, and how much our mood affects our food. It was really interesting and I think I'd make a good kitchen witch if I got over my dislike of cleaning, especially dishes. We also learned what different foods/spices are used for and how to make your kitchen a spiritual space. It was really neat and I liked it more than I thought I would. After the workshop, we participated in the harvest ritual. In early august is a holiday called Lammas, and it celebrates the first harvest. So, the ritual at pagan pride day usually is celebratory, in celebrating the summer, and the first harvest. We sing, dance and have a grand' old time. Its usually pretty eclectic, sometimes they call quarters (feel free to ask if you have no clue what I'm talking about) and other times (like this year) it is more open and we did not cast a circle or called quarters, but we did raise energy. So, it all depends but in general pagans are VERY eclectic and no two are the same, so it can be hard to have a ritual where everyone is comfortable. However, they did a great job.

So, pagan pride day went well, renewed my love of my faith and I need to get out in nature more and start feeling the love of god/goddess more frequently. It is to easy to let mundane tasks take over my thoughts and forget to nurture my spiritual self (very important!)

That's all for now. I am looking forward to the fall, crisp air, pumpkins, and of course samhain! (Halloween)

blessed be!