Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

[Guest guest]

Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion Writer

 

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

 

 

Altars to the dead lined the basketball court at Kezar Pavilion: One was a

shrine to pets, another memorialized with photographs of the first thousand

U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, mourned the war dead.

 

They set the stage for a ceremony where a thousand witches, druids and pagans

prepared to meet the dead. It opened with a procession of goddesses, including

the Virgin of Guadalupe and Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility, who wore a

mask decorated with wheat. A procession of six gods played out a cycle of death

and reincarnation.

 

With emotions building, those in the crowd shook their bodies, flapped their

arms and stomped their feet in an ecstatic, pulsing release of energy.

 

" We feel the ancestors longing for us, " trance leader Beverly Frederick told the

gathering in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.

 

This was the apex of the Spiral Dance, a five-hour, modern celebration of the

ancient Celtic roots of Halloween.

 

Now quiet, with hands on their hearts, the congregants listened to Frederick

talk of a journey to the mythological Isle of Apples, where pagans believe

spirits move upon death.

 

" Let us move into our hearts, our tender hearts. Let us find that gateway, and

as we find that gateway, let us move through it. "

 

People around the nation who cavort tonight as witches and ghosts, conjuring

visions of death and the paranormal, will unwittingly honor the ancient pagan

holiday Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced SOW-in).

 

The millennia-old tradition of welcoming ancestors and celebrating the harvest

occurs when pagans believe the veil between the worlds of the dead and the

living is thinnest.

 

Halloween speaks to a primal need to encounter the dead, focus on one's own

mortality and face related fears, said an Oakland musician and witch who gave

his name as Brook. " Because there's no arena for this to come out in any

legitimate way, it has to come out in this sideways manner, this play, " Brook

said of Halloween. " We have these needs fundamentally as humans, and it

expresses itself. It doesn't fit in the myth of what is religion and what isn't.

 

" We need this. We all need to do this. "

 

Pagan practitioners, bookstores and events are spread across the region --

there's even a " Witchcamp " every year in Mendocino. Statistics on the number of

pagans and witches are hard to come by, in no small part because it's a purely

self-identifying and varied group.

 

M. Macha NightMare, 63, a San Rafael resident who teaches at an online pagan

seminary, said Bay Area pagans estimate they number 30,000.

 

The pagan umbrella covers people such as Wiccans and Earth-worshipers, who might

not always identify as members of the same group.

 

Awareness of such practices has been growing. Wiccan beliefs, for example, have

been highlighted through television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and,

in particular, the Harry Potter series of books and movies.

 

Spiral Dance, the region's largest pagan celebration of the faith's holiest day,

began in 1979 as a celebration of a book by the same name that was one of the

first to describe the theological roots of pagan practice. The rites have been

modified since the release of the book " The Spiral Dance, " by Starhawk, a San

Francisco resident and the region's most prominent pagan.

 

All are welcome, a reflection of the pagan belief that the divine is present in

all things and people. There is little dogma, and participants hail from many

different traditions.

 

" I'm Hecate, " said Kala Levin of Oakland. " She's the goddess of death. "

 

Levin walked using a staff and wore a hooded cloak and leather mask depicting

another Bay Area witch who had died.

 

" When you have choices in your life, and you're at the crossroads, she guides

you, " Levin, 60, said of Hecate.

 

Depicted in pop culture as a witch flying across the moon on a broom, Hecate

typically walks with a hound, which wasn't feasible Saturday inside the

pavilion, which is usually a basketball gymnasium.

 

A self-described pagan Jew emceed the event in a cloak and yarmulke. And a

lapsed Roman Catholic enjoyed the pantheistic nature of pagan worship, which she

said reminded her of the variety of Catholic saints.

 

Jaynie Lara, a 50-year-old member of the Yaqui people, who are native to the

Southwest, said worshiping with pagans made sense.

 

" They honor mother Earth, they honor sacred animals ... they honor the

ancestors, " said Lara, who said the Yaqui traditions she practices also

recognize that this time of year is the best opportunity to communicate with the

dead.

 

Samhain is one of eight major festivals that pagans celebrate, one at each

solstice and equinox and the midway points in between. The holiday honors the

death of the growing season and recognizes a time when people believed their

ancestors would return.

 

" Death is never seen as something final, " Starhawk, 55, a witch and priestess,

said in an interview. " It's always seen as part of life, part of the whole

cycle, so that's what the ritual is focused on. "

 

Through an escalating series of ceremonies, the rites that make up the Spiral

Dance are believed to transform participants individually and as a group and

change the world at large. The evening culminates when believers hold hands in a

line and wind around one another in a spiral, in which each person is supposed

to be able to look into everyone else's eyes.

 

The dance stops at this climax, but the choir's chants continue and the singing

rises. It becomes an arms-in-the-air, foot-stomping, rhythmic and explosive

drumming release of energy.

 

Spiral Dance participants believe this energy is directed into a " cone of

power, " directed " toward a particular intention or goal, " said Starhawk.

 

The goal this year, she said, was to " turn the wheel of life back to courage,

creation, justice and healing ... to put our energies toward shifting our

society away from greed, corruption and destruction. " Political issues such as

the war in Iraq, the right of a woman to choose an abortion, and global warming

were given voice throughout the night.

 

But the Spiral Dance is also about grief and creating a public space for

catharsis, said Starhawk.

 

In the trance led by Frederick, participants believed they communicated with the

dead. Weeping is not uncommon.

 

Laura Belk's mother died eight years ago.

 

" I loved her very much, but we had pain, " said Belk, 45, a self-described

" pagan, Buddhist Deadhead, " who came from Nevada City for the ceremony. So at

last year's Spiral Dance, Belk's fourth, " I called my mother to heal my old

wounds. "

 

Every night at sunset for the past year, Belk said, the two worked out problems

such as low self-esteem. That work came to fruition on Saturday.

 

" I felt like my mom got freed from an in-between place, " said Belk. " She's

lighter, not carrying around the baggage we had together in this world. "

 

It was only possible, Belk said, " because of all these witches coming together

and creating this sacred space. "

 

E-mail Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila.

 

Page A - 1

[Guest guest]

Hi Fraggle

 

You know, there's something really rather cosy about getting an e-mail posted to an e-mail list by someone living 6,000 miles away, about a random public event, which mentions several friends :-)

 

BB

Peter

On 31/10/06, fraggle <EBbrewpunx wrote:

Pagan dance honors roots of HalloweenMatthai Chakko Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion WriterTuesday, October 31, 2006

Altars to the dead lined the basketball court at Kezar Pavilion: One was a shrine to pets, another memorialized with photographs of the first thousand U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, mourned the war dead.

They set the stage for a ceremony where a thousand witches, druids and pagans prepared to meet the dead. It opened with a procession of goddesses, including the Virgin of Guadalupe and Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility, who wore a mask decorated with wheat. A procession of six gods played out a cycle of death and reincarnation.

With emotions building, those in the crowd shook their bodies, flapped their arms and stomped their feet in an ecstatic, pulsing release of energy. " We feel the ancestors longing for us, " trance leader Beverly Frederick told the gathering in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.

This was the apex of the Spiral Dance, a five-hour, modern celebration of the ancient Celtic roots of Halloween.Now quiet, with hands on their hearts, the congregants listened to Frederick talk of a journey to the mythological Isle of Apples, where pagans believe spirits move upon death.

" Let us move into our hearts, our tender hearts. Let us find that gateway, and as we find that gateway, let us move through it. " People around the nation who cavort tonight as witches and ghosts, conjuring visions of death and the paranormal, will unwittingly honor the ancient pagan holiday Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced SOW-in).

The millennia-old tradition of welcoming ancestors and celebrating the harvest occurs when pagans believe the veil between the worlds of the dead and the living is thinnest.Halloween speaks to a primal need to encounter the dead, focus on one's own mortality and face related fears, said an Oakland musician and witch who gave his name as Brook. " Because there's no arena for this to come out in any legitimate way, it has to come out in this sideways manner, this play, " Brook said of Halloween. " We have these needs fundamentally as humans, and it expresses itself. It doesn't fit in the myth of what is religion and what isn't.

" We need this. We all need to do this. " Pagan practitioners, bookstores and events are spread across the region -- there's even a " Witchcamp " every year in Mendocino. Statistics on the number of pagans and witches are hard to come by, in no small part because it's a purely self-identifying and varied group.

M. Macha NightMare, 63, a San Rafael resident who teaches at an online pagan seminary, said Bay Area pagans estimate they number 30,000.The pagan umbrella covers people such as Wiccans and Earth-worshipers, who might not always identify as members of the same group.

Awareness of such practices has been growing. Wiccan beliefs, for example, have been highlighted through television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, in particular, the Harry Potter series of books and movies.

Spiral Dance, the region's largest pagan celebration of the faith's holiest day, began in 1979 as a celebration of a book by the same name that was one of the first to describe the theological roots of pagan practice. The rites have been modified since the release of the book " The Spiral Dance, " by Starhawk, a San Francisco resident and the region's most prominent pagan.

All are welcome, a reflection of the pagan belief that the divine is present in all things and people. There is little dogma, and participants hail from many different traditions. " I'm Hecate, " said Kala Levin of Oakland. " She's the goddess of death. "

Levin walked using a staff and wore a hooded cloak and leather mask depicting another Bay Area witch who had died. " When you have choices in your life, and you're at the crossroads, she guides you, " Levin, 60, said of Hecate.

Depicted in pop culture as a witch flying across the moon on a broom, Hecate typically walks with a hound, which wasn't feasible Saturday inside the pavilion, which is usually a basketball gymnasium.A self-described pagan Jew emceed the event in a cloak and yarmulke. And a lapsed Roman Catholic enjoyed the pantheistic nature of pagan worship, which she said reminded her of the variety of Catholic saints.

Jaynie Lara, a 50-year-old member of the Yaqui people, who are native to the Southwest, said worshiping with pagans made sense. " They honor mother Earth, they honor sacred animals ... they honor the ancestors, " said Lara, who said the Yaqui traditions she practices also recognize that this time of year is the best opportunity to communicate with the dead.

Samhain is one of eight major festivals that pagans celebrate, one at each solstice and equinox and the midway points in between. The holiday honors the death of the growing season and recognizes a time when people believed their ancestors would return.

" Death is never seen as something final, " Starhawk, 55, a witch and priestess, said in an interview. " It's always seen as part of life, part of the whole cycle, so that's what the ritual is focused on. "

Through an escalating series of ceremonies, the rites that make up the Spiral Dance are believed to transform participants individually and as a group and change the world at large. The evening culminates when believers hold hands in a line and wind around one another in a spiral, in which each person is supposed to be able to look into everyone else's eyes.

The dance stops at this climax, but the choir's chants continue and the singing rises. It becomes an arms-in-the-air, foot-stomping, rhythmic and explosive drumming release of energy.Spiral Dance participants believe this energy is directed into a " cone of power, " directed " toward a particular intention or goal, " said Starhawk.

The goal this year, she said, was to " turn the wheel of life back to courage, creation, justice and healing ... to put our energies toward shifting our society away from greed, corruption and destruction. " Political issues such as the war in Iraq, the right of a woman to choose an abortion, and global warming were given voice throughout the night.

But the Spiral Dance is also about grief and creating a public space for catharsis, said Starhawk.In the trance led by Frederick, participants believed they communicated with the dead. Weeping is not uncommon.

Laura Belk's mother died eight years ago. " I loved her very much, but we had pain, " said Belk, 45, a self-described " pagan, Buddhist Deadhead, " who came from Nevada City for the ceremony. So at last year's Spiral Dance, Belk's fourth, " I called my mother to heal my old wounds. "

Every night at sunset for the past year, Belk said, the two worked out problems such as low self-esteem. That work came to fruition on Saturday. " I felt like my mom got freed from an in-between place, " said Belk. " She's lighter, not carrying around the baggage we had together in this world. "

It was only possible, Belk said, " because of all these witches coming together and creating this sacred space. " E-mail Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila

..Page A - 1To send an email to -

[Guest guest]

i sent that specifically fer you and jo.......

Peter Kebbell Nov 1, 2006 7:55 AM Re: Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

Hi Fraggle

 

You know, there's something really rather cosy about getting an e-mail posted to an e-mail list by someone living 6,000 miles away, about a random public event, which mentions several friends :-)

 

BB

Peter

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. William O. Douglas

[Guest guest]

Hi Fraggle

 

Thanks for the article. I could be wrong but I believe Peter knows someone

called Brook - I know America is an enormous place, but I wonder if it is

the same person. Maybe he will let us know.

 

Jo

 

-

" fraggle " <EBbrewpunx

" vegan chat "

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 8:47 PM

Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

 

 

> Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

> Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion Writer

>

> Tuesday, October 31, 2006

>

>

> Altars to the dead lined the basketball court at Kezar Pavilion: One was a

shrine to pets, another memorialized with photographs of the first thousand

U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, mourned the war dead.

>

> They set the stage for a ceremony where a thousand witches, druids and

pagans prepared to meet the dead. It opened with a procession of goddesses,

including the Virgin of Guadalupe and Demeter, the Greek goddess of

fertility, who wore a mask decorated with wheat. A procession of six gods

played out a cycle of death and reincarnation.

>

> With emotions building, those in the crowd shook their bodies, flapped

their arms and stomped their feet in an ecstatic, pulsing release of energy.

>

> " We feel the ancestors longing for us, " trance leader Beverly Frederick

told the gathering in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.

>

> This was the apex of the Spiral Dance, a five-hour, modern celebration of

the ancient Celtic roots of Halloween.

>

> Now quiet, with hands on their hearts, the congregants listened to

Frederick talk of a journey to the mythological Isle of Apples, where pagans

believe spirits move upon death.

>

> " Let us move into our hearts, our tender hearts. Let us find that gateway,

and as we find that gateway, let us move through it. "

>

> People around the nation who cavort tonight as witches and ghosts,

conjuring visions of death and the paranormal, will unwittingly honor the

ancient pagan holiday Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced SOW-in).

>

> The millennia-old tradition of welcoming ancestors and celebrating the

harvest occurs when pagans believe the veil between the worlds of the dead

and the living is thinnest.

>

> Halloween speaks to a primal need to encounter the dead, focus on one's

own mortality and face related fears, said an Oakland musician and witch who

gave his name as Brook. " Because there's no arena for this to come out in

any legitimate way, it has to come out in this sideways manner, this play, "

Brook said of Halloween. " We have these needs fundamentally as humans, and

it expresses itself. It doesn't fit in the myth of what is religion and what

isn't.

>

> " We need this. We all need to do this. "

>

> Pagan practitioners, bookstores and events are spread across the region --

there's even a " Witchcamp " every year in Mendocino. Statistics on the number

of pagans and witches are hard to come by, in no small part because it's a

purely self-identifying and varied group.

>

> M. Macha NightMare, 63, a San Rafael resident who teaches at an online

pagan seminary, said Bay Area pagans estimate they number 30,000.

>

> The pagan umbrella covers people such as Wiccans and Earth-worshipers, who

might not always identify as members of the same group.

>

> Awareness of such practices has been growing. Wiccan beliefs, for example,

have been highlighted through television shows such as Buffy the Vampire

Slayer and, in particular, the Harry Potter series of books and movies.

>

> Spiral Dance, the region's largest pagan celebration of the faith's

holiest day, began in 1979 as a celebration of a book by the same name that

was one of the first to describe the theological roots of pagan practice.

The rites have been modified since the release of the book " The Spiral

Dance, " by Starhawk, a San Francisco resident and the region's most

prominent pagan.

>

> All are welcome, a reflection of the pagan belief that the divine is

present in all things and people. There is little dogma, and participants

hail from many different traditions.

>

> " I'm Hecate, " said Kala Levin of Oakland. " She's the goddess of death. "

>

> Levin walked using a staff and wore a hooded cloak and leather mask

depicting another Bay Area witch who had died.

>

> " When you have choices in your life, and you're at the crossroads, she

guides you, " Levin, 60, said of Hecate.

>

> Depicted in pop culture as a witch flying across the moon on a broom,

Hecate typically walks with a hound, which wasn't feasible Saturday inside

the pavilion, which is usually a basketball gymnasium.

>

> A self-described pagan Jew emceed the event in a cloak and yarmulke. And a

lapsed Roman Catholic enjoyed the pantheistic nature of pagan worship, which

she said reminded her of the variety of Catholic saints.

>

> Jaynie Lara, a 50-year-old member of the Yaqui people, who are native to

the Southwest, said worshiping with pagans made sense.

>

> " They honor mother Earth, they honor sacred animals ... they honor the

ancestors, " said Lara, who said the Yaqui traditions she practices also

recognize that this time of year is the best opportunity to communicate with

the dead.

>

> Samhain is one of eight major festivals that pagans celebrate, one at each

solstice and equinox and the midway points in between. The holiday honors

the death of the growing season and recognizes a time when people believed

their ancestors would return.

>

> " Death is never seen as something final, " Starhawk, 55, a witch and

priestess, said in an interview. " It's always seen as part of life, part of

the whole cycle, so that's what the ritual is focused on. "

>

> Through an escalating series of ceremonies, the rites that make up the

Spiral Dance are believed to transform participants individually and as a

group and change the world at large. The evening culminates when believers

hold hands in a line and wind around one another in a spiral, in which each

person is supposed to be able to look into everyone else's eyes.

>

> The dance stops at this climax, but the choir's chants continue and the

singing rises. It becomes an arms-in-the-air, foot-stomping, rhythmic and

explosive drumming release of energy.

>

> Spiral Dance participants believe this energy is directed into a " cone of

power, " directed " toward a particular intention or goal, " said Starhawk.

>

> The goal this year, she said, was to " turn the wheel of life back to

courage, creation, justice and healing ... to put our energies toward

shifting our society away from greed, corruption and destruction. " Political

issues such as the war in Iraq, the right of a woman to choose an abortion,

and global warming were given voice throughout the night.

>

> But the Spiral Dance is also about grief and creating a public space for

catharsis, said Starhawk.

>

> In the trance led by Frederick, participants believed they communicated

with the dead. Weeping is not uncommon.

>

> Laura Belk's mother died eight years ago.

>

> " I loved her very much, but we had pain, " said Belk, 45, a self-described

" pagan, Buddhist Deadhead, " who came from Nevada City for the ceremony. So

at last year's Spiral Dance, Belk's fourth, " I called my mother to heal my

old wounds. "

>

> Every night at sunset for the past year, Belk said, the two worked out

problems such as low self-esteem. That work came to fruition on Saturday.

>

> " I felt like my mom got freed from an in-between place, " said Belk. " She's

lighter, not carrying around the baggage we had together in this world. "

>

> It was only possible, Belk said, " because of all these witches coming

together and creating this sacred space. "

>

> E-mail Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila.

>

> Page A - 1

>

>

>

> To send an email to -

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Peter

 

I thought I recognised some of the names, and I know you know Starhawk. I believe Brook is someone you know - who else?

 

BBJo

 

-

Peter Kebbell

Wednesday, November 01, 2006 3:55 PM

Re: Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

 

Hi Fraggle

 

You know, there's something really rather cosy about getting an e-mail posted to an e-mail list by someone living 6,000 miles away, about a random public event, which mentions several friends :-)

 

BB

Peter

On 31/10/06, fraggle <EBbrewpunx wrote: Pagan dance honors roots of HalloweenMatthai Chakko Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion WriterTuesday, October 31, 2006 Altars to the dead lined the basketball court at Kezar Pavilion: One was a shrine to pets, another memorialized with photographs of the first thousand U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, mourned the war dead.They set the stage for a ceremony where a thousand witches, druids and pagans prepared to meet the dead. It opened with a procession of goddesses, including the Virgin of Guadalupe and Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility, who wore a mask decorated with wheat. A procession of six gods played out a cycle of death and reincarnation. With emotions building, those in the crowd shook their bodies, flapped their arms and stomped their feet in an ecstatic, pulsing release of energy."We feel the ancestors longing for us," trance leader Beverly Frederick told the gathering in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. This was the apex of the Spiral Dance, a five-hour, modern celebration of the ancient Celtic roots of Halloween.Now quiet, with hands on their hearts, the congregants listened to Frederick talk of a journey to the mythological Isle of Apples, where pagans believe spirits move upon death. "Let us move into our hearts, our tender hearts. Let us find that gateway, and as we find that gateway, let us move through it."People around the nation who cavort tonight as witches and ghosts, conjuring visions of death and the paranormal, will unwittingly honor the ancient pagan holiday Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced SOW-in). The millennia-old tradition of welcoming ancestors and celebrating the harvest occurs when pagans believe the veil between the worlds of the dead and the living is thinnest.Halloween speaks to a primal need to encounter the dead, focus on one's own mortality and face related fears, said an Oakland musician and witch who gave his name as Brook. "Because there's no arena for this to come out in any legitimate way, it has to come out in this sideways manner, this play," Brook said of Halloween. "We have these needs fundamentally as humans, and it expresses itself. It doesn't fit in the myth of what is religion and what isn't. "We need this. We all need to do this."Pagan practitioners, bookstores and events are spread across the region -- there's even a "Witchcamp" every year in Mendocino. Statistics on the number of pagans and witches are hard to come by, in no small part because it's a purely self-identifying and varied group. M. Macha NightMare, 63, a San Rafael resident who teaches at an online pagan seminary, said Bay Area pagans estimate they number 30,000.The pagan umbrella covers people such as Wiccans and Earth-worshipers, who might not always identify as members of the same group. Awareness of such practices has been growing. Wiccan beliefs, for example, have been highlighted through television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, in particular, the Harry Potter series of books and movies. Spiral Dance, the region's largest pagan celebration of the faith's holiest day, began in 1979 as a celebration of a book by the same name that was one of the first to describe the theological roots of pagan practice. The rites have been modified since the release of the book "The Spiral Dance," by Starhawk, a San Francisco resident and the region's most prominent pagan. All are welcome, a reflection of the pagan belief that the divine is present in all things and people. There is little dogma, and participants hail from many different traditions."I'm Hecate," said Kala Levin of Oakland. "She's the goddess of death." Levin walked using a staff and wore a hooded cloak and leather mask depicting another Bay Area witch who had died."When you have choices in your life, and you're at the crossroads, she guides you," Levin, 60, said of Hecate. Depicted in pop culture as a witch flying across the moon on a broom, Hecate typically walks with a hound, which wasn't feasible Saturday inside the pavilion, which is usually a basketball gymnasium.A self-described pagan Jew emceed the event in a cloak and yarmulke. And a lapsed Roman Catholic enjoyed the pantheistic nature of pagan worship, which she said reminded her of the variety of Catholic saints. Jaynie Lara, a 50-year-old member of the Yaqui people, who are native to the Southwest, said worshiping with pagans made sense."They honor mother Earth, they honor sacred animals ... they honor the ancestors," said Lara, who said the Yaqui traditions she practices also recognize that this time of year is the best opportunity to communicate with the dead. Samhain is one of eight major festivals that pagans celebrate, one at each solstice and equinox and the midway points in between. The holiday honors the death of the growing season and recognizes a time when people believed their ancestors would return. "Death is never seen as something final," Starhawk, 55, a witch and priestess, said in an interview. "It's always seen as part of life, part of the whole cycle, so that's what the ritual is focused on." Through an escalating series of ceremonies, the rites that make up the Spiral Dance are believed to transform participants individually and as a group and change the world at large. The evening culminates when believers hold hands in a line and wind around one another in a spiral, in which each person is supposed to be able to look into everyone else's eyes. The dance stops at this climax, but the choir's chants continue and the singing rises. It becomes an arms-in-the-air, foot-stomping, rhythmic and explosive drumming release of energy.Spiral Dance participants believe this energy is directed into a "cone of power," directed "toward a particular intention or goal," said Starhawk. The goal this year, she said, was to "turn the wheel of life back to courage, creation, justice and healing ... to put our energies toward shifting our society away from greed, corruption and destruction." Political issues such as the war in Iraq, the right of a woman to choose an abortion, and global warming were given voice throughout the night. But the Spiral Dance is also about grief and creating a public space for catharsis, said Starhawk.In the trance led by Frederick, participants believed they communicated with the dead. Weeping is not uncommon. Laura Belk's mother died eight years ago."I loved her very much, but we had pain," said Belk, 45, a self-described "pagan, Buddhist Deadhead," who came from Nevada City for the ceremony. So at last year's Spiral Dance, Belk's fourth, "I called my mother to heal my old wounds." Every night at sunset for the past year, Belk said, the two worked out problems such as low self-esteem. That work came to fruition on Saturday."I felt like my mom got freed from an in-between place," said Belk. "She's lighter, not carrying around the baggage we had together in this world." It was only possible, Belk said, "because of all these witches coming together and creating this sacred space."E-mail Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila .Page A - 1To send an email to -

[Guest guest]

I thought you had - thanks Fraggle.

 

Jo

 

-

fraggle

Wednesday, November 01, 2006 4:46 PM

Re: Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

 

i sent that specifically fer you and jo.......

Peter Kebbell Nov 1, 2006 7:55 AM Re: Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

Hi Fraggle

 

You know, there's something really rather cosy about getting an e-mail posted to an e-mail list by someone living 6,000 miles away, about a random public event, which mentions several friends :-)

 

BB

Peter

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. William O. Douglas

[Guest guest]

i've heard starhawk speak quite a few times...

she is quite active in the bay area

jo Nov 1, 2006 10:05 AM Re: Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

 

Hi Peter

 

I thought I recognised some of the names, and I know you know Starhawk. I believe Brook is someone you know - who else?

 

BBJo

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. William O. Douglas

[Guest guest]

Hi Jo

 

>Thanks for the article. I could be wrong but I believe Peter knows someone

>called Brook - I know America is an enormous place, but I wonder if it is

>the same person. Maybe he will let us know.

 

I think you're thinking of Rook who is on the far opposite corner of America :-)

 

However, I have once met a Brook from California, and as he is involved in Reclaiming, it's very likely the same one, as Spiral Dance is organised by Reclaimers. I also know Macha and Starhawk, and I think I met a couple of the others at the Feri ritual at Pantheacon last year....

 

 

BB

Peter

[Guest guest]

HI Peter

 

I should have remembered - a bird's name. It is nice to know people all over the world.

 

BBJo

 

-

Peter Kebbell

Thursday, November 02, 2006 4:37 PM

Re: Pagan dance honors roots of Halloween

 

Hi Jo

 

>Thanks for the article. I could be wrong but I believe Peter knows someone

>called Brook - I know America is an enormous place, but I wonder if it is

>the same person. Maybe he will let us know.

 

I think you're thinking of Rook who is on the far opposite corner of America :-)

 

However, I have once met a Brook from California, and as he is involved in Reclaiming, it's very likely the same one, as Spiral Dance is organised by Reclaimers. I also know Macha and Starhawk, and I think I met a couple of the others at the Feri ritual at Pantheacon last year....

 

BB

Peter