Paths of the Sacred: Voices from Contemporary Pagan Traditions ~ Monday, September 28, 2026 5:30 Pacific, 8:30 Eastern Time

What does it mean to walk a Pagan spiritual path today? Join us for a lively conversation with practitioners from several contemporary Pagan traditions—including Witchcraft, Druid, Goddess spirituality, Wicca, and Feraferia. Each panelist will share thoughts about their tradition, what draws them to it, what their personal practice looks like, and moments when they have felt deeply connected to the divine, or the sacred source of life.

This intrafaith conversation is sponsored by the Pagan Solidarity Alliance. It is an opportunity for people within the broad Pagan community to discover some of the diversity of our traditions and the common ground that connects us. It will provide time to explore different understandings of the sacred, shared values and practices, and experiences of interfaith and Pagan collaboration. Everyone is welcome, whether you are deeply involved in a Pagan tradition, or simply curious about Pagan spirituality.

This is a free event. The Zoom link will be on this page:   https://pagansolidarity.us/plenary

Before Mount Vesuvius covered Pompeii with ash, a spiritual center flourished near the city. Women experienced profound initiations there, similar to those of Eleusis, but focused on womanhood. Gorgeous murals in the Villa of Mysteries illustrated the journey. Linda Fierz-David's book "Women's Dionysian Initiation" shows how this supported individuation in the Jungian sense, and is as relevant now as it was 2,000 years ago. We will discuss the literature, explore the murals, and use trance to go there and experience the initiation ourselves. Jo Carson will present. February 18, 2019, 11:00 to 12:30 in the San Jose Room, PantheaCon, Doubletree Hotel, San Jose. Please allow time to park and register; for more info, see www.pantheacon.com

The evening was surprisingly blustery, so our members and friends retreated from the Henge to the quiet, wood-paneled living room. We had gathered earlier this month, the first weekend in August, to celebrate Lammas, evoke Fred's spirit, and exchange blessings with him. Lammas is very much a celebration of the first harvests, so we started by making corn dollies out of husks. Eating the yummy corn-on-the-cob later was sweet!

Each of our corn-dollies came out different.

We wanted to honor and remember Fred, so we brought some of his favorite things, including Almond Butter (thank you Barbara!), cigarettes courtesy of Chris, and fresh fruit. We had a selection of Fred's writings here - all the Korythalia newsletters, plus a quirky ode he wrote on a box-top (below) the year before he died. Chris brought some of his ashes, too. Several of us shared memories of Fred, and for those who hadn't met him, we showed a few minutes of video of Fred teaching his landscape yoga at a pagan festival in Georgia. Then we did a trance to open up to whatever Fred might want to share with us... Each person had their own experience of that, and we talked about it afterwards. Mine (Jo) was about moving more strongly toward getting a paradisal sanctuary established!

It felt right to check in with Fred; we have done a lot since he passed, what with getting "Dancing With Gaia" out (gaiadancing.com), then two editions of Celebrate Wildness: Magic, Mirth and Love on the Feraferia Path. The next project is Earth's Green Pulse: A Celtic Oracle of the Seasons. This is still in the works, having gotten more complex once we realized it actually integrates all the 72 Tarot cards, not just the Major Arcana. More soon on this!

Here is the box-top Ode to Her by Fred Adams:

Chasms and caverns of the mystic Body

The Grand Rite of writhing and twisting in sexual rapture!

She is a soprano, a coloratura sapphire with hummingbird wings of gold...

Traveling back and forth from coast to coast, spanning continents in a twinkle...

the Timeless Instant of Delight (TID)!

The impalpable yet surpassingly sensual queen of trees and stars gently pulsing through the universe

The hidden rose of transcendental sensuality

Transcendental dentistry

The rose of transcendental sensuality, trance n dental sensuality

In the paradisal sanctuary: highest priority!

......© Frederick Adams/Feraferia 2007

Here is a nice obituary for Fred Adams, https://www.controverscial.com/Frederick%20McLaren%20Adams.htm

Hermetic Hour with Poke Runyon interviewed Jo on The Green Pulse Oracle

Here is the show description:

On Thursday June 23rd, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon and guest Jo Carson will present a preview- review of her forthcoming book: "The Green Pulse Oracle - A Tool for Eco-Psychic Insight." Lady Jo Carson is the President of Feraferia, America's First Goddess-centered, Ecology-oriented Neo-Pagan religion founded in 1967 by Artist and philosopher Frederick Adams (1928-2008). Jo Carson is the leader of Feraferia and dedicated to preserving and continuing the work of Fred Adams and his consort Lady Svetlana Butyrin. As a film maker Jo has produced and directed "Dancing with Gaia" (2009) a documentary DVD on ancient and modern Paganism centered on Fred Adams and Feraferian activities. She is the author of "Celebrate Wilderness" (2014) a portfolio book of Feraferian art, text and photos.

She is presently readying "The Green Pulse Oracle" for publication. This is a system of divination similar to Geomancy and I-Ching. It is based on Fred Adams' further development of Robert Graves' Tree Alphabet from his modern classic "The White Goddess." Adams delineated and extended Graves' twenty Celtic Ogham glyphs into a twenty-four letter system that he mounted on a series of Hermetic Enneasphere mandalas coordinating them with the Trees, the Tarot Trumps, astrological and planetary signs, and myth themes. Jo Carson reconstructed the system from Fred's rudimentary publications, notes and graphics. We have experimented with the Oracle and found it to be remarkably accurate and inspiring. So join us as we explore the divinatory magick of an American master as revealed by his worthy successor.

You can listen to the show any time.