I DARE YOU.

So.

Today was a really, really, really long (and satisfying/productive) day, starting with an early 2 hour drive to play for a dance class and then an hour to work... then 2 classes, a rehearsal, and an hour drive home. I'm wiped.

I drive home and forget that I need food and drink; instead of going straight into town, I am on automatic and head over off the main road to the route that takes me home, which is currently much longer than usual due to a broken bridge. "Dang it," I thought, I just want food and rest!

So I drive the long way into town.

I stopped at Ramunto's Pizza, my favorite place in town, and step out of the car. On the way in the owner is also walking in the door. "Hello there," he says - "how are you doing? Done for the day? Did you have a good day?" I answered yes, and said how happy I was not to cook because it had been a rather brutal day as far as energy was concerned.

"Well I tell ya what. How many folks you feeding tonight?"

"Just myself," I said.

"Tell ya what. Please have three slices on me - anything you want."

....

....

WHAT?

"Are you serious?" I said? "Yep!" he replied, and we talked a bit about music and such while the folks got my slices ready. Thanking him, I went home, bemused at being hit by a RANDOM act of kindness. You know what? It feels great being on that side of the fence!

So here's my dare.

Commit a random act of kindness to a stranger this week. And then leave a comment here to tell your story! What did you do? What was the result? How did it feel?

Or if you've been a recipient, your story would be great!

Randomly,
Joss

New Orleans Presentation Update

Hello, beautiful ones!

For those who do not know, I presented a paper last weekend on fire festivals at the Popular Culture/American Culture Associations' Joint National Conference last weekend in New Orleans. Special thanks to those of you whom I spoke with at length either on the phone or via email, and thank Everyone for inspiration, both around the fire and particularly through this blog.

Our 15 minutes of fame was in the Ritual and Religion panel of the Festivals and Faires Area of the conference; because I was chairing, I got to go last, after the "Cult of the Good Death in Colonial Mexico City" paper and the "Christian Woodstock" paper. It was an awesome panel! I ended up presenting the all-night fire and fire festivals (note: festivals *specifically* created to be all about the Fire Circle, for lack of a better way of putting it) in the context of Victor Turner's Rite of Passage schema, which is cool, because both the fire circle and the entire festival itself mirror this schema. Liminality, temenos, and communitas (Janet, you're my hero) were major motifs throughout the entire area, so much so that by the time I gave my paper, I had some line about liminality being the new black.

So, using the well-known liminality framework for theory, I concisely defined and explained (as best as I could) "What. We. Do."--without getting into the variations (too much) between circles. My objective was to "bring" (I join others on this, notably Joshua Levin) these fire festivals into the academic dialogue and to see if people were interested in what I had to say.

They were.
In spades.

Mostly because I went last in the panel, about 3/4 of the Q and A session was directed to me. After saying Very Little about what actually happens around the fire besides vague phrases like "personal transformation" and "opening up to the numinous" (!!!) I got questions like:

"So, these festivals sound amazing...can you talk about how the seeming eclectic spirituality of these festivals is both celebrated and yet possibly problematic?"

"Do participants have particular roles that they serve at these festivals and, if so, are they fixed or fluid? For example, are there specific healers or shamans that help lead people through their process through the night?"

"Can you speak to the dynamics between the drummers? I mean, can anyone pick up a drum and play, or is it more hierarchical, based on talent?"

I KID YOU NOT. And that's only three of many questions I got.

So, that says a couple of things to me: 1) I successfully presented all of this in 15 minutes in a way that was accessible and led people to ask, ahem, familiar questions, and 2) Dude, Fire is cool. People were all over it.

So, that's the update--thank you again...and, by the looks of it, I will likely be pestering all of us in the future for more insights and may well go all hard core and get some questionnaires going for future research. We'll see what Joss says about that.

OH--and the Coolest thing?!! About ten minutes before I started my paper, guess who sauntered into the room with a knowing smile on her face?!

Bellavia!!!

Much love and gratitude,

Lyra

Update series #3: Early Registration and the start of spring

Happy Spring all -

Just an update on where things are right now with SpiritFire - we have one of the highest registration counts for the early reg period since our "peak" attendance year in 2005, which is amazing to see! While we've adjusted our maximum attendance limit down since then (makes for a much more gentle and solid container), I'm hoping there will be a spot for everyone that would like to come to SFF 09.

There hasn't been a lot of direct activity during winter's long, drawn-out finale as far as events within the gathering. The major things that needed to get done included solidifying the 2009 crew roster, making scholarship decisions and notifying those folks about the results, and continually updating the presenter/workshop pages to reflect the current flow.

Crew: We have a rockin' group on for this year's heavy-lifting and toting and setting up! A few crew folks have agreed to take on some additional time working the welcome tent and arrival traffic to help ensure a smooth, friendly entry for all of us - I'm grateful. If you aren't on crew but are looking to help, one thing we could use is for folks to arrive at the start of the day, when the gates open, and then sign up for an early community shift either at registration or the welcome tent/sherpa areas.

Scholarships in particular were an amazing situation this year. Everyone knows the economy isn't all that healthy, but somehow not only did we get more registrations in the first period, we were able to offer a scholarship to every single application that came in to us as the result of some very generous donations from our community, both individual and group members. Some folks gave $10, some $100, and some more than that - it truly was awe-inspiring. I'd like to say that if any more scholarship donations come in, that funding will still be used to directly help those in need of assistance with registration this year, or if no further assistance is needed, it will be banked for next year.

Workshops: most workshops are finalized as far as descriptions and such, but as always the schedule will be tweaked and adjusted at least 1-2 more times as I try to make sure that 1) similar workshops don't conflict, 2) folks playing for or or assisting presenters don't get scheduled for conflicting workshops, and 2) a good balance and variety of workshops reflecting the pathways are available in all of the sessions. Once the schedule is finalized I'll post a note on the workshop page letting everyone know that's the case.

The circles are still being shaped; we're really trying this year to make the fire lighting times inclusive, engaging, and meaningful. Hint: have you been to SpiritFire before? Do you think you know what the agreements, promises, and requests between the pathways are for the circle we dance together? Might want to check that out! ;-)

Stay in touch! More soon.

Magick Is Real

I remember reading something a long while ago that said, you shouldn't invest so much energy into objects or things because the magic comes from within you. Don't depend on that lucky penny or piece of jewelry as the strongest talisman you can have comes from your own soul. That always stuck with me because I don't have one special piece of jewelry that I wear consistently apart from my wedding band, I usually mix it up. However, something can be said to speak for the total opposite and here's what I find fascinating.

Every religion has a symbol or symbols representing something we can all look to whatever our faith may be, and find comfort or solace in that object. For some it is an actual place of worship, for others it might be ornamental things we display in our yard or lawn, while for others it might be a piece of jewelry, a stone, a memento someone gave us, that object we found on the ground shortly after something miraculous happened to us so forever after we carry it with us. Whatever it might be, it hits home for us in a special way that reminds us of the path we are on together and individually.

As I pondered this I realized that even though I might mix up the actual objects I carry or wear, that there are things that I carry with me always, especially when traveling. You can take the term "traveling" any which way you choose here. The point is, there are special items that I find that comfort or have healing energy within them. It's a tough feeling to describe so I can shortly sum it up by saying, the actual item resonates in my hand from the energy I give it or receive from it when holding it or wearing it.

Even when I am done wearing or carrying it, and place whatever it is back in its special case or pouch or on the mantel, wherever its usual "home" is when I am not using it, that energy stay nestled within it. Part of that is the energy that I am reminded of when I pick it up once again. In this way I am creating a harmony within myself, and creating a special magic that flows from it to me and back again. So much do I believe in this type of energy work, that I offer this short story to you.

My daughter went around the fire with me when she was still in my womb. She felt the energy of the drumming from everyone in the circle as the beats of the drums vibrated off of my body. Throughout my entire pregnancy, I wore the same talisman of the Goddess which I only took off once she had been born and we brought her home, where it has quietly and lovingly hung above her crib since. The only time it is not there, is when I travel with her. I say my prayer to her and to this talisman every night, as that energy I carried then, still watches over her now while she sleeps.

Also during my pregnancy, I wore my prayer beads that my beloved sister and friend had given me out love and friendship. When I do not wear them they are in their special resting place. These prayer beads have been to several gatherings with me, where they have been around fire, where they have been lovingly touched knowingly or unknowingly by so many of you. That energy that I carry from these events and from all of you still resonates to and from these prayer beads. Recently when I took my Djembe out of its protective bag, my daughter became instantly fixated on the prayer beads that dangled from the shoulder straps for the drum. She now has taken them to be hers, and I grok this.

What I find fascinating, is that she is very gentle with them, She focuses on each bead, she wears them around her neck, she holds them, twists them, walks in patterns around the house with them all the while jibber jabbering in her own prayers. A few weekends ago my same beloved sister and friend came over and stayed the night. While she slept late into the morning, my daughter went straight for the prayer beads, and literally did circles around where my beloved one slept. All the while she remained focused. She did four laps, she repeated the movements she did on each lap, holding them up while she rounded a corner, touching the ground with them while she rounded the place where my beloved sister slept, putting them around her neck on the third corner, and on the fourth sitting down, reflecting and wrapping them around her wrist.

She was priestessing energy while my beloved sister slept restfully, peacefully, unaware of any of this while I quietly sat and felt the magical energy my 18-month-old was weaving throughout the house. She was creating safety and nesting space for her special friend. And without knowing it, my friend was sending that energy back to her in her sleep. My sister told me that she slept so well, wrapped in an energy of comfort and love.

So now we come to the most interesting part. Without fail my daughter reaches for "my beads" as she calls them whenever she is home. She takes them with her as often as she remembers to grab them. At the beginning of the week, when at her daycare and without her beads, she spiked a fever of 104 degrees. The staff there told me they hadn't seen a fever come on so fast and go so high so quickly, and that apart from the high temperature, she seemed perfectly herslf. She was still smiling and happy and had no issues at all which was hard for them to understand. She is teething and fevers are common, but a fever that high in a child is dangerous as so many things can happen and they need to be instantly given attention to bring their body temperature back down, and quickly.

I got the call, I picked her up, I took her home, I did all the mommy things I needed to do. But, the very first thing she wanted was the prayer beads. Within a fifteen minutes of her holding her beads, before medicine of any kind was given, before a cool bath was given to bring her temperature down, her fever dropped three degrees. My only explanation, if you can attempt at all to describe devine intervention or miracles, is that the magic is real. That the energy given to and taken from those beads is very real. It is not that I never believed that, it is that I never felt it be more true than when this happened. I cannot describe the tears and laughter that washed over me as I took her temperature as saw the results.

By the time I had gotten her to the doctors office, her fever had almost fully disappeared. She wore the beads all the way there, she wore them the whole time she was in the exam room even moving them slightly out of the way to make room for the stethoscope, and she wore them all the way home. When she finally slept I kept them in her room near her bed so when she woke up she would have them readily available to her. I totally felt a deeper connection with my child than I thought could be achieved apart from the time I carried her within my womb. My little priestess doing her thang.

So, the long and short of it is, that no matter what path you find yourself on, no matter what symbol or symbols bring you comfort, re-energize you or deepen your faith, they are your talismans for a reason. Yes, that energy you carry within your soul is the best one of all, but there is something to be said for carrying that penny for luck as well.

Love and Light,
SarahFae

Gratitude

Someone just gave $150 scholarship donation.

To you and to all those who have donated - you are helping us make sure that what we do around the fire is accessible to as many people as possible. We are all grateful, thank you!!

We are still in need of scholarship funding, since as projected we're behind what we had to offer last year. When you register for SpiritFire please do consider making a donation - any size makes a difference.

Happy Spring,
Josselyne

Call for Contributions

In a month, I go to New Orleans for the Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association Joint National Conference. The Festivals and Faires Area has papers on Burning Man, Renaissance Faires, State Fairs, Mardi Gras...and, this year, a paper on Fire Festivals.

I have about 15 minutes to define: the sacred fire circle, fire festivals, the fire family/tribe, etc. In my proposal I ask origins questions, so I'll trace our origins back to RoS and Starwood. I'll mention Mayfire, Fires Rising (or not...), Sacred Soul Fire, SpiritFire, PhoenixFire, Forest Dance. From my proposal: "All of the above-mentioned festivals are annual events that run for less than one week and have beugne within the last decade. How does a new community rapidly define itself, and how is one's identity as a member of the "fire tribe" negotiated?"

I have a fairly good idea about what I'm walking in with and what I want to present. That said, I'd wager a bet that every single one of ye has a thing or two to say about this. This is the place to do so. For clarification: Lyra's going to an academic conference. The area that she's presenting in is the Festivals and Faires area, which is filled with cool crazy cats. That said, she's still bringing the fire tribe into the ivory tower, and her paper may be published. Does anyone have any responses to: What are these festivals, and how are they different from older ones? Why have they grown so in the last 15 years? Who goes to them, and why? What is this all about?!

Mo' Betta'

It's March?! How did that happen??

Now that I've been out of the tropics for two winters, I realize that I have been much more focused on seasonal changes than I had been for several years. This is perhaps one of the most potent periods for me, Imbolc to Spring Equinox, for it's delightful to see the afternoon light linger just a wee bit more each day.

Common advice/inspiration for this time of year is to take stock of our seeds, so to speak, and start planting the ones that we can and plan--specifically--to plant the rest when the time is right. Specificity is a good focus word for me this year. It's easy for me (many of us?) to frame my desires in the abstract, but of course without concrete, specific plans--and planting!--nothing comes of it.

So, my questions to all y'all are what you would like to see manifest this year at SpiritFire. Or what you *plan* on manifesting. Do you use SFF as a yearly benchmark, like I do? In other words, ok, by SpiritFire I'm going to shed an inch off of my waist. (Blimey! Now it's witnessed! Now I *really* have to do it!!) What about plans for the event and community itself? Like, ok, a few years ago, (insert cool thing) happened at SFF. Could I somehow bring (cool thing or variation thereof) back?

This would of course apply to the other side, the stuff we write on the feedback forms for staff and say, hey, that thing, um, with the people, and, um, the stuff...sucked...can that not happen? I don't know that we need to go down that path--there's something kinda cool about focusing on what we specifically want to *do* *create* *cocreate* etc, as opposed to focusing on what we don't want. I guess the balance would be, if something wasn't working for you last year, or hasn't been working for you for awhile--what is your plan to make it mo' betta'?