Sarah Heartsong

Well I started the month of April off fabulously by attending the Aquarian Tabernacle Church’s 25th Spring Mysteries Festival ( ATC-SMF). Sarah Heartsong from New Mexico came in a rental car and we drove up the NE tip of the Olympic Penninsula to Fort Flager together. I only get to see Sarah once a year, and it was delightful as always. Saw lots of dear old friends including Blackcat who was invoked as Pan and Jimbo who was in cast as Triptolemus, and the first person who ever told me she was a witch, (before I was a witch), Melanie Harold and Lori Campbell who is about to move to Austin, Texas. SMF is a re-creation of the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, the rites of Demeter and Persephone which eventually got watered down in modern times into a tale of how seasons change. The Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated continuously for 2,000 years in Greece and thus were a significant part of religious history. I love this festival. My favorite part of it is when the human beings who are part of the ritual play stay invoked as the Deities they are portraying and all the festival attendees have the opportunity to visit them in their shrines. This year this happened on Saturday and the time was extended to three hours. I went to see Aphrodite as I do every year and rededicated myself to her. I also spent time with Hermes, Hekate, The Sirens of Poseidon, Ares, Artemis, Athena and Pan. The Shrines were lovingly and beautifully decorated. The Pan shrine was especially spectacular. I took photos so you can see them.