Pantheacon 2012 (Part 3): Rituals

Below is an extract from a piece written by John Halstead on his site, "The Allergic Pagan", discussing his experiences at PantheaCon:

“Feraferia: A Dance for the Goddess"

This was by far my favorite ritual. It was truly a multi-sensory experience and it was well planned and well executed. It was a seasonal celebratory ritual honoring the god and goddess of the sea, which Feraferia dedicates its Imbolc ritual to. There was incredible music being played by Matt Venuti on the Hang (which you should really check out). There was an interpretive dancer dancing to the music. They made good use of what lighting effects were available. We were offered water from a chalice and berries as a kind of communion. We were anointed with scented oil and aspersed with water. There were statues of the god and the goddess to which we offered candles. There were poles with colored pennants and Fred Adams’ artwork. And there was poetry. They kept us moving. We held hands and danced in a circle. I can only imagine how great it must have been if performed outside (as I believe it usually is). Evoe Kore!

(later in the article, after describing many other rituals)....I went to the Con with the intent of exposing myself to many different traditions and different ritual experiences. I succeeded in that regard. But I just was not able to fully immerse myself in the experience every time. I found the seasonal celebratory Feraferia ritual the most satisfying. It engaged all five senses (without using incense) and the choreography was near perfect. (There is an art to moving people around without any prior instruction.)

Thank you John Halstead!