Sacred Paths Center Survives
Posted by admin in News & Reviews on August 1, 2011
They needed to raise $12,000.00 to help them refocus, restructure and fulfill their mission. People from near and far sent them $13,140. Now THAT's a first harvest. Happy Lammas, all! They sent out a newsletter with all the details>
EarthHouse Midsummer Gather Memories – 2011
Posted by Jack Green in News & Reviews, Ritual, Sabbatts & Celebrations on July 24, 2011
EarthHouse Project’s 11th Annual
Midsummer Gather for 2011
Litha 34,255 S.W.R.
By Rev. Jack Green of Hollow Hills Coven
If you like Labyrinths or home brewed mead this is the place to be. If you don’t mind camping in drizzle and lots of earwigs visiting while you’re hanging out with a bunch of pagans and singing, drumming and dancing around a roaring fire, then this is it. Jenny Green and I left Paganistan for the Blue River and Eagle Cave on Dyad 19, the 19th day of Dyad Moon (that’s Sunday, June 19th in the Roman calendar.) It took about 5 hours to get to the campsite. We had done our Esbat, our Full Moon rite the night before (Saturday) but the Full Moon was on Dyad 15, Wednesday June 15th three days before. It’s always on the 14th or 15th day of the Moon when you start the day count at New Moon so we circle on the nearest Saturday.
The Campsite and it's History
Eagle Cave is in Southern Wisconsin (An Ojibwe word) in what was Dakota Country around 1600, then Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Country by 1800. By 1860, what was left of the First Nations after the wars and the plagues were all pretty much rounded up and corralled onto the various reservations. The Nearest Reservation is the Ho-Chunk Rez about 70 miles almost due north. Despite Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s modern depredations the names of the land itself still tell the story. The old native tribes are now numbered with our spiritual ancestors and our future allies for though we are only Second Nations here we are the First Nations reborn in the Old Country: Europe.

Practicing the Abbot's Bromley Horn Dance
Settling in at the Campsite
Once there, we set up our camp. It had been a while since we had been camping and it took a bit to get my woodland legs back. Fortunately, the EarthHouse registration packet included a list of things to bring. Unfortunately, we got there just as the opening ritual had begun, so we waited until the gate was again open. Then we pitched our new tent and borrowed a tarp for our sheltered area. The brand new tent was larger than we thought so we used two tarps underneath rather than just one as planned. The community fire was already going and the first night’s drumming had begun by the time we finished our set up. This is the same overall site as the old Pagan Spirit Gatherings I had attended in 1988 and 1996 and it was just as hilly so my legs and ankles got a good work out. While finding a relatively level spot for the tent was tricky, it was possible.
Jenny and I attended some workshops together and others separately to better cover our bases, but we couldn’t see everything we wanted to. Read the rest of this entry »
Sacred Paths Center Future in Question
Posted by admin in News & Reviews on July 10, 2011
Here it is in a nutshell . . . the SPC has run out of cash. Actually, based on the amount they need, it looks like they ran out of cash a couple of months ago and are behind. This second crisis of the SPC has been covered in detail by PNC-Minnesota and the Wild Hunt, so if you want details, you should read there. Or you can just go the Sacred Path Center Website where they make a plea for donations. Basically, they have enough to keep their doors open temporarily, but might have to close at the end of the month. If you have any questions those articles don't answer, you can eMail the SPC at ClosingQuestions@sacredpathscenter.com
International Pagan Coming Out Day is May 2nd
Posted by admin in News & Reviews on April 28, 2011
Are you still in the Broom Closet? Do you want to come out? Now there is a movement to help support your efforts. IPCOD or International Pagan Coming Out Day has a website: http://pagancomingoutday.com/ to help you evaluate the decision to come out and some guidance, as well. If you've never heard of an official day for pagans to come out before, it's because this is a new organization. Not only that, but Minnesota's own Cara Schultz (editor of PNC Minnesota) chairs the executive committee for IPCOD.
So maybe you are wondering, what is Pagan Coming Out Day? Well, according to the FAQ,
It’s a day when individuals, deciding on their own terms, take a step that helps foster a society that truly does tolerate all religions. It’s also a day when our religious community comes together to support those coming out to a person or group and celebrates the more public emergence of their Pagan identity.
There is at least one event to honor the day. It is a full evening community celebration which includes ritual, a special showing of the new movie, AMERICAN MYSTIC, and potluck at Sacred Paths Center at 777 Raymond Ave in St. Paul. (read more about event)
Faery Seers in Minneapolis
Posted by Jenny Green in Energy Work, News & Reviews, Path & Practice on March 1, 2011
This past weekend here in Minneapolis, several people filed out of their driveways through the snow canyons the streets have become to converge in Uptown to learn to be Faery Seers. One associates faeries with green and growing things, not with the white mounds that mark one of the snowiest winters on record. But like my companions, I was excited to learn about these teachings offered by Orion Foxwood.
I signed myself and my husband up for the course as soon as it was announced last fall. We had just begun the process of forming our first coven after years of working with other groups. With his intensive studies of the Stone Ring peoples and my intuitive work with the Faery, we dedicated the Coven of the Hollow Hills at Mabon. Learning the Faery Teachings was simply acting in accord for us as we began our journey.
As a two day workshop, I expected a certain level of intensity as I immersed myself in the experience. I was not disappointed, as Orion is a charming and informative speaker, he began by telling us a bit about the Faery Seer work as he was taught it. I filled page after page with notes, and we learned some wonderful exercises. His teachings are less about connecting with the little spirits in nature than about the Shining Ones or the Gentry. Tall and majestic they are the faeries of light and enchantment who work with humankind to maintain a balance on earth. Read the rest of this entry »
The Bright Lady of Imbolc
Posted by Veronica Cummer in Sabbatts & Celebrations on December 31, 2010
Even as Yule is a sabbat about hope and the return of light, so Imbolc or Candlemas is also a festival of fire and light. Whereas Yule may be better associated with fire of the Sun, light, and life (often symbolized by a child), Imbolc is more properly a celebration of the fire of creativity, of enlightenment, even of revelation. If Yule is birth, then Imbolc is rebirth, the awakening to inner knowledge and the forging of body, mind, and spirit required to hold the bright spark of the divine. It is not so much the fire of the returning sun, but of home, hearth, and the fire within.
Many pagans venerate Brigid or Breed at this time, Brigid being a Goddess of poetry, prophecy, the forge, and of healing, among other things. Her association with fire can be seen in how She may be depicted as a pillar of fire or having fire on Her head, the same sort of "tongues of flame" that was said to have descended on the Christian apostles and meant they were imbued with the Holy Spirit, a spirit that some equate with the feminine and who is sometimes even called "The Lady." She is the spirit of divine truth, which must then also be named enlightenment or gnosis.
A sign of this is often shown as a "halo" or circle of light above or behind the head of someone who has been "sained," or made holy. Oddly enough, another way that Brigid is depicted is with a serpent coiled around Her head, a creature long linked to eternity, rebirth, and knowledge. Serpents have a long association with various ancient Goddesses and also represent fertility. Brigid's serpent is no different, and if you make a Breed's Basket for Her, you could just as well put a serpent in it as a wand or other phallic symbol.
Serpents may also be depicted as dragons and both are traditional guardians of sacred treasure troves that contain the riches of mystery and knowledge. Old stories relate how special dragons or great serpents have stones in their heads and, if you can slay the creature and take the stone, you will be granted immortality or divine wisdom. This stone is most probably related to the great Emerald said to have fallen from the forehead (third eye) or crown of Lucifer. Despite the negative press He has been given for many years, Lucifer's very name stems from light and He is still known to some as the Light-Bearer who brought divine fire to the Earth. This Emerald may be also equated to the Emerald Tablet, from which the phrase we all know, "as above so also below" descends.
These then are the tongues of flame, the sacred doves of The Lady, the serpents or dragons of fire that bestow knowledge at Imbolc, as well as fertility, creativity, and resurrection. This is the forge of Brigid and of Tubal Cain on which we are remade for the light within. This is the whirling flame into which we can descend and come to speak with the voice of the divine, whether as poetry or prophecy or in the form of charms and spells. This is the treasure we seek, the gems of insight that can inspire not just ourselves but our community.
To make an altar for Brigid or to celebrate Her in ritual at Imbolc, you can use not just lit candles then, but dragons, serpents, emeralds and other gleaming gems, white doves, whistles (used to call Her during rituals), water from a sacred well, eggs (symbolic of both new life, the birth of the sun, and of Logos itself), and beer or ale. Writing a poem in Her honor would also be most appropriate.
© 2010, Veronica Cummer, all Rights Reserved.
Minnesota Fringe Festival Comes to the SPC
Posted by Jane Hansen in Art & Culture on August 2, 2010
This year, in addition to community meet and greets, classes, and healing services, Sacred Paths Center has established itself as a venue for touring Pagan musicians. But now, they are stepping even farther out, hosting "The Quest," an improv performance as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. The show is presented at 7:00 p.m. daily, and running from Friday, August 6th through Sunday, August 15th. Tickets are available at the door or Click Here to Buy Tickets.
Described as, "A modern day quest for… something important. You tell us what. The hero's journey surrounds your seats and moves between them. Joseph Campbell's classic hero cycle twisted by our own interesting times." This is an long-improv performance, drawing on Joseph Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces. For each performance, The Myth Players will invite the audience to determine the specific locations at the start of every performance. It's a lighter, comedic look at Myth. To get a feel for it, check out their awesome trailer:
Producers Damian Johnson and Matt Kelly took their inspiration from Michael Gellman's teachings on how to improvise full stories. The show isn't about props and settings, since the audience determines the local. It is about taking the journey in the mind. The players will use the shape of the space, their bodies and pathways through the audience to build the terrain for The Quest.
The Myth Players are a mix of new and more established improvisers – Rita Boersma, John Eisenrich, Damian Johnson, Matt Kelly, Josh Lanset, Emily Schorr Lesnick, Adam Litz, Matt Pitner, Joe Rapp, Taj Ruler, Jen Scott, Eric Simons, Josh Stenseth; directed by Jason Bindas. Discover The Quest at Sacred Paths Center at 777 Raymond in St. Paul, right off University, near the 94 and 280 intersection.
Ritual Blessings and Blunders
Local Pagans Celebrate Memorial Day
Posted by JRob Zetelumen in News & Reviews on June 4, 2010
Out of the clay and sandWe rose…out of the mist and darkWith our first breathWe dared…to sail beyond the Ninth Waveinto your future of mythic talesUpon our sturdy backsWe carved…in blood and bonethe history of your communityAs memories and dreams,We gifted…Our eternal legacyto your children’s childrenIn the circle of time,We are you!Remember us, we cry!
New Energy Technology
Posted by scienceboy in News & Reviews on June 4, 2010
For all you ecofreak and technophile pagans out This is a major game changer! They finally did it! A cheap fuelcell! NASA made it reliable, these guys made it cheap. Check out this YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6DLyruTqHI





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