Well Kassandra & Grim made their way to Austin last weekend to vend at the Pagan Pride Day celebration in Zilker Park. It wasn't too hot (at least for Texas), being only in the high 90's with a nice breeze. After setting up the tents (with a little Duct Tape help), the show got under way. Everyone saw old friends, made new ones, browsed the many awesome vendors, at some of the best dang bratwurst & sausage, met the author (and got kissed by) Ed Fitch, and generally had a great time!
While there, we were very grateful to be interviewed by Goddess Edana! Cauldron Craft Oddities is going to be transitioning from an online shop with weekend vending roadtrips into a real brick-n-mortar shop!!! This was a wonderful opportunity to get the word out and we appreciate everyone who took a flyer or told their friends.
Here is another video about a festival goer's experience.
Some individuals might be scratching their heads asking 'What is a Pagan?' or why would we want to be associated with something that is 'weird' or potentially 'anti-religious?'. For starters, Paganism is NOT against any form of spirituality, being in fact very inclusive of ALL paths to The Sacred. I strongly support this organization and it's efforts to build community trust, educate, and have a lot of fun in the process.
http://www.paganpride.org/
Statement of Purpose:
The Pagan Pride Project is a non-profit organization. The primary purposes of this corporation shall be the advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs. Mission Statement: The mission of the Pagan Pride Project is to foster pride in Pagan identity through education, activism, charity and community. Defining the Mission Statement: We try to keep our purpose balanced through the inspirations of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth:Air: Education We're never going to be able to practice our spiritual paths openly if we don't give the public accurate information about what we do and do not do.
Fire: Activism People aren't necessarily going to go out of their way to find out what Pagans really do. We have to have the courage to act on our convictions and do what we need to do.
Water: Charity We know that what we do returns to us. We need to demonstrate this by offering compassion to our communities where it is needed. When we share our own abundance, we show that we trust the Gods to share abundance with us in return.
Earth: Community We're never going to be able to practice openly if we don't know anyone else in our local Pagan communities. We need to weave networking webs in our cities, in our towns, in our rural areas. We need these webs to support one another. That support will also show those who would restrict our practice that we are not just a few isolated wackos, but are a growing congregation of people who adhere to a faith that, while different, is as valid as their own.
History
What is a Pagan? The following definition is for the purposes of the Pagan Pride Project. Others may define themselves or their group in different ways, and that's OK. Some groups that fit the categories we list may not call themselves Pagan, and that's ok too - that's why we say that first and foremost the definition of a Pagan is someone who self-identifies as a Pagan. But the following was created in order to have a functional definition to help educate the public about the spiritual paths we cover:Definition: A Pagan or NeoPagan is someone who self-identifies as a Pagan, and whose spiritual or religious practice or belief fits into one or more of the following categories: Honoring, revering, or worshipping a Deity or Deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal, or tribal mythology; and/or Practicing religion or spirituality based upon shamanism, shamanic, or magickal practices; and/or Creating new religion based on past Pagan religions and/or futuristic views of society, community, and/or ecology; Focusing religious or spiritual attention primarily on the Divine Feminine; and/or Practicing religion that focuses on earth based spirituality.
The video below shows why education and community outreach are important.
http://www.wthr.com/story/19614139/pagan-pride-festival-upsets
A very angry man from the Catholic Youth Organization was 'outraged' that he had to share a massive park with us. I really didn't think that we were that controversial but apparently we are very dangerous in some people's eyes. He repeated 3 times that we were "silly people who worship ourselves and trees" and we didn't need to be at the park near children. "They can pagan themselves to death at the Statehouse lawn; south side of the Statehouse lawn. They can do it someplace else. It is inappropriate here. It is embarrassing and I was outraged by it." I'm not sure someone would be allowed to carry on like that about say Jewish, Native American, or Hindu festivals... it sounds extremely bigoted and that's just silly.
