Dear Full Circle Friends and Members,
In
this April edition of our newsletter we have:
New location for the Witches Ball * Healthy Diet Pyramids * Unicorn Sightings * For the Birds * Go Kids * Pagan Greetings * The Garden Song * Events of Interest * The Coyote Under My Coffee Table
Today, I am very pleased to announce that
negotiations are complete, contracts are signed, and that Full Circle has a new
site for the 2002 Witches Ball. On
Saturday, October 12th, the 2002 Witches’ Ball will take place at
The San Jose Civic Auditorium:
http://www.sjcc.com/civic_auditorium/index.html
This auditorium is a lovely, Spanish style building
that dates from 1932. It has recently been renovated and it looks
fantastic. The Civic Auditorium has 5
times the ballroom space of the Scottish Rite building at one third the
price. This means that we can take a
bigger hall this year without raising ticket prices. Huzzah!
The Civic Auditorium is located in the heart of
downtown San Jose, across the street from the Tech Museum on one side and the
Convention Center on the other side. It is within walking distance of many
wonderful restaurants, pubs, city parks, shops and hotels. It is conveniently located near the 280
& 17 freeways. Both the downtown
buses and the light rail stop directly in front of this building. This area is
very safe both day and night. There will be plenty of parking for all.
The auditorium itself has a large
interior stage with modern equipment. There is plenty of seating all around
dance floor. The dance floor itself can easily accommodate 1,000 people.
It is very important that we keep this event
affordable for the majority of our members.
At the same time, this is a Charity Event and we needed a site that
allows us to raise money for the Humane Society and lets us take in seed
money to fund future Witches’ Balls.
Happily, the SJ Civic Center allows us to meet all of those goals.
This large space comes as a difficult gift because
it presents a major challenge to our Decorators and our Vendor
Coordinator. I’m confident that they
will rise to meet this challenge with their usual skill and grace.
DECORATING: Our Decorating Chair is already on the job; she
held a brainstorming session with her senior staff last week that garnered some
very creative and interesting ideas.
As most of your know, our Theme this year is Bohemia
and the Moulin Rouge. We choose
this theme because it presents many possibilities both for costuming and for
decorating. Our intention is not to
slavishly copy the movie but to come up with something uniquely our own. It is our attendees, after all, who are the
real works of art. What we create is
the atmosphere in which they will appear to best advantage. If you are
interested in working on the Decorating Committee this year, please contact
tammy@wanzer.org. The first formal meeting of this committee
will be in April.
VENDING: Our Vendor Coordinator is faced with an equally
daunting task. He has to decide how to
accommodate our cherished Vendors in a space that is very different from last
year’s hall. We have decided that
Vending in 2002 will be on a juried basis.
Those who wish to apply will want to contact Azeraeis@aol.com.
TICKETS: Tickets for the ball will go on sale via our
website at Beltane. As
always, the early birds get the best prices. Ticket prices will start at $20.00
each. The price will go up as the year progresses. Tickets will appear in
local stores in September and by then the price will be $35.00 each. Tickets at the Door on the night of the
event will be $40.00 each.
Folks, It’s going to be a great evening. We hope to see you there.
Backstory: The very first Witches’ Ball took place at the Lucy
Stern Center in Palo Alto in October of the year 2000. To my knowledge, this was the very first
time that any Pagan group in California had organized a combination charity
event, Pagan pride event and costume ball.
Well, we built it and
you folks came - to our surprise and delight, over 300 people attended this
event. We realized then that we would
need, as the saying goes, a bigger boat.
In 2001 we moved to
the Scottish Rite Center in San Jose.
We were able to accommodate over 600 attendees and we tripled the number
of Vendors. We loved the space and we
liked working with the folks there, but it is a very expensive place to rent
and we found that, yet again, we needed a bigger boat. And so, in December of 2001 we began to
search for a new site.
Now
that we’ve found a new venue, the real can work begin. Wish us luck.
OLDWAYS
HEALTHY EATING PYRAMIDS:
Interested in eating healthy this summer? Oldways presents a new form of Diet Pyramid
for Latin American, Asian, Mediterranean and Vegetarian eating plans. These present actual, traditional diets from
around the world – ones that have been proven to be healthy. You can see these
via their website at http://www.oldwayspt.org. Click on the page that says "Pyramids".
UNICORN SIGHTINGS:
Celebrate the Year of the Horse in High Pagan style;
with unicorns! For you unicorn fans,
here is a great page:
http://www.unicorncollector.com/links.htm
This has lots of great links to unicorn history,
art, poems and songs and stories. It
even has a page that teaches you how to make unicorn origami. Enjoy.
FOR
THE BIRDS:
If you sit in a park or relax your backyard this
month, you’ll hear the sounds of birds everywhere around you. This is their busy time of year. For those of you who love birds and for
those of you would like to get to know the wild birds in their neighborhood,
here is a website with lots of helpful birding information:
This will answer your questions
about which bird is which, the right type of food to offer birds in your area,
where to go to see birds in Northern California, what calls and songs they
produce, how to make bird crafts and lots more. It’s a great time of year to do some birding and connect with the
beings you see around you every day.
Have fun.
Are you looking for summer adventures for your
children in the Bay Area? Then try this
website:
This site’s mission is "to
inform visitors on the who, what, where of schools, organized activities, and
athletic programs developed specifically for kids." The site list has it all - from arts to water sports.
For more information on places to go and
things to do in the Bay Area, visit out website’s Links Page at http://www.fullcircleevents.org
If you are looking for a way to send Pagan
Greetings on-line to friends this coming Beltane, you might enjoy this site: http://www.rowanpress.com/blessbe.htm
It
offers a colorful selection of free, Pagan e-cards. You can choose from a variety of graphics, all donated by Pagan
artists. You can then add your own
message and send it along. There is
even a music option. This is a nice
way to remember your friends and family in a uniquely Pagan way.
And if you are the old fashioned type (as I am), then you’ll want to check out the beautiful greeting cards at your local Pagan and New Age stores. Both the on-line stores and the "bricks and mortar" stores offer a wide array of art cards and greeting cards for the Earth Wise community.
Spring is a wonderful time to
remember old friends. So take the time
and make a phone call, send a card of some sort or meet a friend for lunch in
the park. Reach out to someone you
haven’t seen for a while. Let’s
remember those among us who might be lonely, blue, sick or house bound. This is the season of renewal, so let’s take
the time and renew those bonds that connect and strengthen us all.
Do you know the Garden Song? It’s a great one to sing with your kids or
when sitting around a campfire: http://www.netpuppy.com/gardenbkg.htm
This has been recorded hundreds of
times. My favorite version appears on a
CD titled "Precious Friend" by Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger. This same CD has the Pagan version of "Old
Time Religion".
EVENTS OF INTEREST:
April
1st - Ongoing - John Cleese
to do 6 part lecture on: "The Monty Python Ritual Form" with Silly Walk
Workshops to follow – Santa Clara University, Santa Clara.
Visit
http://wilstar.com/holidays/aprilfool.htm
for more information.
April
2nd – Power Animal Meditation – San Rafel
Call
415-457-4191 for more information.
April
3rd – A Bouquet of Essential Oils class – San Francisco
Call
(415) 821-099 for more information
April 3rd - The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay proudly present Dervish – Santa Cruz
The
flyer says: The tremendous, tumultuous, take-no-prisoners, top-notch
traditional Irish group, graces Santa Cruz with its presence again at The Vets
Hall in Santa Cruz at 7:30PM. Tickets will go on sale at More Music on March
6th but you may reserve now by calling Sheila at (831) 464-2128, Bob at (408)
847-6982 or e-mail celtsoc@aol.com
April
4th – Witches & the Web with Macha Nightmare – San Jose
The
flyer says: Macha is a Member of the Reclaiming Collective &
Co-author of "The Pagan Book of Living and Dying". This Mini-workshop is
based on Her New Study of Technopaganism, Witchcraft, and the Web. Please call
(408) 446-0590 to guarantee a space in class.
April
5 – 7th – Celebrate Spring – Women’s Rituals of Renewal – Bodega Bay
The
flyer says: A weekend of music, shamanic healing and ritual to awaken our
powers of wisdom and regeneration. Come together with other women to
share the joy of possibility inherent in the return of Spring. Like
Persephone coming out of her cave, we will renew our hopes and
dreams for a better world by singing, chanting and sharing healing
together. Bring drums, rattles, a
special shawl or a blanket and your
Motherpeace Tarot deck. This retreat is held at a pristine retreat center in
Sonoma County, close to Bodega Bay, 90 minutes north of San Francisco. Please read more information and see
photos of the incredible retreat center on our weblink for this event at: http://www.sacredjourneys.com/retreats.html#spring
or contact:
Sacred
Journeys for Women
POB 8007, Roseland Station, CA 95407
Toll-free:
1-888-779-6696
April
5, 2002 - Rituals for Life: A New Women's Group with Z Budapest - Oakland
The
flyer says: Join Z Budapest in forming an ongoing women's group in
Oakland. Twice a month (Sessions on the first and last Fridays of each
month.) we will focus on our lives and listen to each other; we don't
judge. Z will lead us in appropriate and powerful rituals to support our
goals. Register online at http://www.zbudapest.com
April
6, 2002 – CALIBAN performing at the Tartan Day Scottish Festival,
Ardenwood
Historic Farm, 34600 Ardenwood Blvd.
The
flyer says Afternoon Show, please phone for more details: (510) 796-0663. Visit
http://www.tempestmusic.com for more
information.
April
12th – 17th – Spirit Retreat – Santa Cruz
Visit
http://www.spiritmoving.com for more
information.
April
12, 2002 - Celebrate Hina, Hawaiian Goddess of the moon and the new moon in
Aries with Daughters of the Goddess – East Bay
The
flyer says: Hina is the Goddess of women's work. For more information visit: http://www.daughtersofthegoddess.com
April
20th – Native Plant Sale – Berkeley
The
flyer says: Pick up ground cover Manzanitas, Douglas Iris, or even a bit of
Muhlenbergia rigens—that's Deer Grass to most of us—at this annual sale. Don’t
worry about working up a hefty appetite from browsing—park volunteers will be
on hand to sell refreshments. Bring along a cardboard box or two to cart off
your plant purchases. Visit http://www.nativeplants.org for more
information.
April
26th & 29th – New Age Expo – San Francisco
The
flyer says: At this huge event, you'll find 250 exhibits and more than 75
speakers on alternative health, nutrition and natural foods, the environment,
conscious parenting, and many other topics. Among those appearing are Julia
Butterfly and renowned yoga practitioner and teacher Rodney Yee. For more information, visit http://www.newageexpo.com
April
27th – "Egypts" poetry reading – San Jose
The flyer says: Dennis Saleh evokes the voices of scribes, priests, pharaohs, and queens as he reads from "Egypts," a collection of poetry set in ancient Egypt, and passages from a novel-in-progress "Bast," also set during the 22nd Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Visit http://www.rosicrucian.org/museum/ for more information.
April
28th – 29th – Apple Blossom Festival – Sebastopol
Visit
http://www.sebastopol.org for more
information.
April
28th – Rose Garden Tour – Woodland
Explore six private gardens and the rose garden at the Woodland library, where you can learn about the progression of the rose from its earliest species through modern hybrid teas. Docents will be on hand to help identify blooms. Included on the tour is the garden of an early 20th century Craftsman bungalow. Rain date is Sunday, May 5. Primary Phone: (530) 666-2098
April 28th – Jennifer Berezen Concert to
celebrate her new CD – Berkeley
Their flyer says: Space is limited For reservations RSVP to Laura at laura@numoonus.com or call 650-919-5416 650-363-1052. Suggested donation: $50-100 Includes a copy of new CD: "Praises for the World"
May 3rd – 5th – Second Annual
Spring Gathering with Firedrum Circle
Their flyer says: Drumming, dancing, workshops and community - All in a beautiful, natural setting. Visit their new website for more information: http://www.firedrumcircle.com
May
4th – Beltane in the Park – Santa Cruz
Visit
http://www.communityseed.org for
more information.
THE COYOTE UNDER MY COFFEE TABLE:
His name is Ody, AKA Odious, AKA Odiferous. His full name, in truth, is Odysseus; so
called because he has traveled far and has had many adventures. We call him Ody
for short.
Ody is a dog.
What kind of dog is anyone’s guess. He seems to be a mix of German
Shepherd, Golden Labrador and (just possibly) Swiss Mountain Dog. This means that our Ody is a very big
boy. He is now 79 pounds and
growing. His head comes up to my waist, which puts him within easy
snitching distance for anything carelessly left out on the dining room
table. We have no idea how big he will
get or what age he really is. We guess
that he’s between 6 and 8 months old because most of his adult teeth are in.
Ody is not our dog.
He is a foster puppy, a rescue, and he’s been here at our house since
January. When he was younger he lived
in a mountain town called Weaverville.
He was running loose when some boys found him. They put him in the back of their truck but they didn’t tie him
in and he fell out the back. The car
traveling just behind them ran over his back right leg. The bones in his foot were crushed, his
ankle was badly broken and his hip was knocked out of place. The boys brought
him into the town Vet and told him what happened and the quickly disappeared.
All this happened on December 24th. We were in Weaverville to visit my folks and
we heard about Ody. My partner and I
told the Vet that if he could save the dog, we would pay the bills.
Ody got good care while he was there and lots of
loving attention. But this is a small
town Vet and they don't have the state of the art facilities like they do here,
so we decided to bring him down to Silicon Valley to have his leg surgery. The plan was that he would live with us
while he recovered.
As of this writing, Ody is doing very well. We’ve just heard from the surgeon that he
will be able to keep his leg, which is good news. The bad news is that that his ankle is too damaged to heal
naturally. This means that she will
have to surgically lock his ankle into place.
Ody will be able to walk and run but he will never be an athletic sort
of dog.
Ody is everyone's baby. Vets see a lot of
dogs, so when the one you have becomes a favorite at three different hospitals,
when they know his name and not yours, and when you discover that the staff
don't keep him in his cage but let him hang out with them under their desks in
the reception area on his days there, well then you figure that you've got a
pretty neat dog.
I say that now.
Two months ago I was carping and moaning to friends about all the extra
work and trouble Ody caused.
Unfortunately, my partner came down with pneumonia just before Ody
arrived, so I soon found my self caring for both my beloved and this new, very
large, very needy puppy. This all
occurred at a time when I was exhausted by the old year and I entered the New
Year longing for some peace and quiet.
Fat chance.
Luckily for me, my friend Maggie knows dogs. So, while I cared for my beloved, my friend Maggie hopped in her
truck and drove the 12 hours to and from Weaverville to bring Ody home to
us. Maggie has been very generous with
her time since then and has taught us how to care for Ody. She, my friend Kristil, and my partner and I
have since spent a great deal of time socializing Ody, and his training is
going very well. Somebody, somewhere is
going to get a great dog.
It’s been
fun but it hasn’t been easy. Introducing a large puppy into a house with 4 cats
and a sick person is no easy matter.
And if, like me, you haven’t had a dog in over 20 years and you’ve no
idea how to care for an injured one, well!
And in the middle of all this there were taxes that needed doing and
lots of work for Full Circle and there was always my business to run (pesky
thing) and the usual duties of daily life.
There were lots of days when something had to give. Usually, it was me.
Those of you who follow this newsletter may remember
an essay some months ago wherein I celebrated the gifts of organization and
cleanliness. " Well," says Coyote, the sly and ancient Trickster, "no
more!" My house, let us be frank, is a
mess, My office is a joke and my garden (alas!) is sadly neglected. My "look" these days is more "malpropre"
then proper. I appear to be "le dame de sac" most of the time. What is worse, I smell like "le chien". My main concern now is to keep enough chew
toys in the house.
Cats, simply put, do not do this to a person.
So while Ody is a wonder of a dog he is also a world
of work and worry. After getting to
know him and looking at x-rays, we’ve realized that Ody was beaten and kicked
by his former owner. For that reason,
he is afraid of strange men. Somehow
his sprit remained intact and he is very loving and friendly to everyone he
meets. He really loves women, best,
especially blond women, and he’s a terrible flirt. But his history of abuse means that Ody needs a great deal of
patience, attention and love. Our petty
concerns didn’t enter into it. I’m glad
to say that Ody has responded beautifully to our treatment of him. He grows happier and healthier every day. He
has formed a truce with the cats and he adores my partner. I think he has realized that there are more
good people out there than bad, and he greets the strange men he meets with
less fear and more friendliness then he had before.
If you had asked me three months ago to take on this
task, I would have said "No!" very loudly and explained that I did not have the
energy, the money or the time to do this work.
And yet….there he sits. And here
I sit. And it’s all good because I find
as I write this that Ody has given me a lot more these last three months then I
have given him.
Ody has forced me to slow down and take the time to
be with him. Like any growing puppy he
needs play time every day so I am forced, forced I tell you, to go out into the
yard and play ball and hide-and-seek and tug.
Even wearing a cast, he needs walks and so we go out into our
neighborhood twice a day. I admire the
new spring flowers in my neighbor’s gardens while he sniffs the ground and
admires the ….well, let’s just say he enjoys knowing that there are other dogs
in the area.
We go to parks every other day so that Ody will
learn how to relate to other dogs and kid and people. We take joy rides in the car so that he’ll see it as a good thing
and not fear it as that evil machine that ferries him to the Vet. All this takes time out of my busy
day. And thank goodness, say I, for
that.
So it seems that I got my break, after all. I also got a reality check. Last weekend, I set time some aside to sit out in my back garden with a book. "Sacred Contracts" by Caroline Myss has just come out and I had been eager to get my hands on it. So at lunchtime I took my book and a cup of coffee out to our little wooden table and I sat there reading this wonderful work. I began to get deep, deep, deep into the book, and I was enjoying the discussion on sacred archetypes when Ody came up to me, tail wagging. He wanted to play. "Go away, Ody", I said. "Mommy, will play with you later on." Ody brought me his ball. "No, Ody", I said. "Not now. Mommy is reading". Ody dropped the ball and sat at my feet. "Not now, dog, I’m reading!". Ody lay down, put his head down on his paws and looked up at me with big, sad eyes.
I went back to my book and continued to read about honoring the sacred in our lives while Coyote sat at my feet. He continued to stare. I tried to read. He kept staring. I looked down at him and it was then that I realized what an ass I was being. Here I sat, reading about connecting with nature, while ignoring the loving creature at my feet. "Twenty years a priestess", I thought, "and still so much to learn." So, I put down the book and played with Coyote until it was time to go in. That night after dinner, I sat down on the couch and prepared to read. Ody was in his favorite spot underneath my coffee table. I opened my book and found this sentence waiting for me: "Spiritual insight is not an end in itself, but a means to transform our life on Earth from mere survival and dominance into compassion and service to others."" While I read on Ody sat there at my feet, happily chewing on his favorite squeak toy. Now and then he looked up and me and grinned.
Happy
Spring to you and yours,
Sia
http://www.fullcircleevents.org
Full
Circle Events
"Honor
the Past, Celebrate the Present, Create the Future"