Pagan-Musings: Metaphysical Expos & Pagan Festivals

Wowsa! Just finished doing some house keeping after today's episode of Pagan-Musings. What a day! And what a wonderful show! As usual, we seemed to have gotten off on a couple of tangents and had a few technical issues. But we are growing used to that when it comes to working with BTR. Well, at least the technical glitches. The tangential conversations are just part of who we are on P-M.

Today's episode was a discussion of past, present, and future metaphysical expos and pagan festivals. Between KaliSara and I, we have experienced a wide range of such events.

KaliSara has been lucky enough to attend Heartland Festival at Gaia Park in Missouri where she learned a lot about Paganism when she was just starting out on her path. Not to mention that she got some exposure to some of the less prudish aspects of Paganism. One day soon, we both will attend Heartland, either as participants or as vendors.

Coming up next weekend Mystic Fest. This will be Pangaia Metaphysical Store's second time with the event and the Pagan Alliance Network's third. I have been doing something with Mystic Fest for four years now. My first year I was the official helper of my friend and seamstress, Fay. She is the owner of Wytch Way Wear and can be found at Pangaia Metaphysical Store as Crone's Creations. My second year was KaliSara's first year. We ran the table for what was then called the Pagan Alliance of Nebraska. In 2009, we changed the name to Pagan Alliance Network to better reflect our broader reach in the pagan community and also brought Pangaia into the mix for Mystic Fest.

We are looking forward to a wonderful experience next week with Mystic Fest. With over 70 vendors, readers, and other participants at the event, there is sure to be something for everyone. You can find out more about Mystic Fest by visiting www.next-mil.com.
We have also attend other events as vendors.
We attended last year's Earth-Spirit-Celebration (nicknamed Escape) in Lincoln, NE. It was the first time out for Here & Back Again and they have not repeated the event yet. But it was still a successful event for Pangaia Metaphysical Store. We got our name out to local Pagans and made a decent amount of money off the endeavor.

Earlier this year we trekked up to Sioux City, Ia to participate in the First Annual Mystic Realities Bazaar. Due to a scheduling conflict for the city, it was not nearly as successful as it could have been, but the hosts learned a lot and are looking forward to doing it again next year. And we are looking forward to attending next year.

I also participated in the Mind*Body*Spirit Expo in Sioux City, hosted by the now defunct Namaste shop in Sioux City. I attended as an intuitive reader, specializing in past life insight. It was a busy weekend despite the weather. We started our with a freak ice storm the morning of the show, but by noon it was bright and sunny and people were just flooding into the building to see what we all had to offer. Once people started visiting my table I could not get a chance to breathe. And for that event, Wytch Way Wear and I took part in an article written by a local reporter. Very interesting experience that.

So, this coming weekend is Mysitc Fest, which means that for the first time ever, Pagan-Musings is not doing a live show. We suggest that our listeners tune into one of our archived episodes or listen to an archival episode of Musica Pagani, also on BTR.

Now, for those that read this blog for the music. We played six pieces during Pagan-Musings today.

1. Pagan Ways by Damh the Bard
2. Begin Again by Terri Liles Mason off Om Gaia
3. Moonrise by Jeffrey Fisher off Satyagraha
4. Papyrus to Caligraphy by Riad Abdel-Gawad off EGYPT: Mother of the Earth
5. The Mystery Revealed by Bear off Untroubled
6. Quarter Farewell by Isaac Bonewits and Real Magic off Avalon is Rising!

We do play a lot of Damh the Bard on Pagan-Musings. He is such a talented artist and was one of the first to be gracious enough to share his music with us. You can listen to more of his music and interviews with Druids and other Pagans on his podcast, DruidCast.

Terri Liles Mason's Om Gaia is a beautiful CD and well worth the listen. Her album was nominated for best new age meditation and best new age vocal album of the year in 2009.

Jeffrey Fisher's Satyagraha is inspired by the words and actions of Ghandi, peaceful protest and mindful action. Moonrise is a beautiful piece and well aprpopriate for any phase of the moon.

Riad Abdel-Gawad is one of the newest artists for me to encounter. His mix of traditional and modern instrumentation lends a very unique and appealing thread to Egyptian and Middle Eastern music. Papyrus and Calligraphy is one of my favorites off the CD and just seems to set the tone for me when it comes to writing and thinking about Ancient Egypt, one of the homes for the Gods that talk inside my head.

The Mystery Revealed by Bear is just one of many tracks on Untroubled that feel so right to listen to when meditating or preparing for the start of the day. Unfortunately we have not played much from Bear on any ofthe shows I work with, but I look forward to remedying that soon.

Last but not least, we ended the show with Quarter Farewell by Isaac Bonewits and Real Magic of their 1972 recording of Avalon is Rising! With the recent passing of Isaac, I have been listening tohis music and reading his books with new insights. And they have become inspiration for me in my NaNoWriMo project this November.

Well, that about sums it for today's episode of Pagan-Musings. I hope that you have enjoyed listening to our shows and that you continue to do so. Please remember that there will not be a live show for Saturday, October 2, 2010 as both KaliSara and I will be otherwise occupied with Mystic Fest.

Until next time, blessings upon you!
-RevKess