Witch Camp 2010!

So, it's taken me almost a week to digest and integrate my experience at the Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium. This year was a HUGE heart opening, mind-expanding trip! My heart chakra literally felt sore for days afterwards. That is some "hippie shit" but it's true, I tell you! 

This year I let myself off the hook insofar as even making it to classes.... I just wanted to really be on my own schedule, and let the day take me where it would. Ever since leaving my day job, my inner Night Owl has emerged with full force (shaking off her wings somewhat huffily, and asking me what the heck I was thinking the past decade, trying to get out of bed before eleven a.m.). Anyway, there is amazing "night life" at the Symposium around the campfire, and that is where I found myself til the wee hours every night. (I did end up in a couple of classes, by happenstance!)

One of my best friends in the whole universe, Linda, came this year. Linda lives in San Francisco, and we do get to see each other a lot, but the Symposium is our very special yearly Hang Out Sesh. We got to spend soooooooo much "quality time" together, mostly laughing our heads off. There is just nothing better in life!

Here is a whole gaggle of friends, old and new, in front of one of the tepees in the main camp:

  

Linda, me, Deborah, Tamaura, Erica, Summer, Liza (with Erica's daughter in front)

Summer is my good friend from Nevada County, one of the neatest and sweetest gals you would ever want to meet. It was her first year at the Symposium, and I was so glad that she was "feeling it" (the special magic of being with five hundred ladies who are into plants, magic, and community) like I do! Tears of joy.... tears of joy.

 

More Nevada County lovelies: Deborah and Tamaura, at the Marketplace! I bought this awesome silkscreened t-shirt (with a horseradish plant!) and a pair of Tamaura's very special, energetically charged feather earrings. 

 

A new friend, Arielle, who is a beautiful spirit with an angelic voice. She sang a version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" at the campfire that moved everyone to awed silence.

 

My new friend Liza, and her amazing necklace that she made from securing different pieces of metal together with wire! I am so inspired by her art.

 

I loved this idea of making a waist-belt/fanny pack out of the top of a pair of pants (with some added embellishments). There are always sooooo many pants at every thrift store, and I imagine a lot of them end up in the landfill. This is such a practical way to recycle them! And it is a fairly easy project, you wouldn't have to be a seamstress to do it. The belt buckle was added, and you could add anything extra that you loved!  

Sunday evening is the big Ritual, which included a ceremony for young girls who are celebrating their first Moon, and a celebration for women who have entered into Crone-dom (post menopause). Everyone wears their most festive outfits, and gathers in a huge circle to welcome the Maidens, who process towards us. Here comes the parade:

 

In my dreams, I paired this beautiful caftan with an elaborate pink feathered head dress. In reality, I am not that much of a pre-planner, but I realized I had brought these ruffled bloomers in my bag "just in case". They made a perfect last minute head dress (and also made everyone crack up)!

 

This is the Crone's Celebration, which involves, well, a lot of laughing. The woman on the right is the eldest crone at the Symposium- she is 90 years old! In her youth, she danced with Martha Graham-- and she is still dancing. She did an elaborate interpretive dance for us that involved howling at the sky. She made getting old look like so much fun-- because clearly, at a certain point, you can get away with ANYTHING!

 

I am so thankful to everyone who works so hard every year to make the Symposium such a special event. I don't know any other experience that is like it, and over the years that I have gone (I think this was my seventh time!) it has enriched my life deeply. The support and encouragement of these powerful women has enabled me to step out into my own power in the world, and do things that the shy/socially phobic/worrywart part of me never thought possible. 

It is so great to have people on your side when you are living a whole life on the Path Less Traveled. During the years I have been going to the Symposium, I decided to go the Herb School instead of staying on the regular academic track. I decided to move to the country to try out a whole new life, with no friends and no job waiting for me. I decided to deal with my stage fright and rock my heart out, even though I am self taught and I am "too old to be a rock star". I decided to start my own business, even though "the economy is in the toilet" and "a steady paycheck is safety". I have always wanted to live a life that uses my intuition and creativity, and I feel like every year that I go to the Symposium I get a big Thumbs Up saying "right on, sister, you're doing great!" In my every day life I don't always get that support and feedback, and believe me, I need it. We all do.

The Symposium is a safe, special place where women can truly open up, share, connect, become inspired, and feel recognized and honored for their work in the world. This is a lot for a gathering to aspire to, right? So imagine my joy when I see it actually happening every year, for myself and for hundreds of other women. Wow. 

 

Me n' Linda
  
          

Comments

[Katie from Zombielace]

So inspiring, as usual. I got into "the Path Less Traveled" when I was about 14 and to this day have still never met a big group of fellow travelers! I must say, it looks fantastic and fulfilling. Someday!

[heather]

so incredibly moving and inspiring...this is what my little group of gals aspires in our hearts to expand upon in our daily lives. someday i'd like to go i think, it looks truly bewitching. and i think that you are an amazing enchantress living the dream!

[HollyB]

Beautiful and moving, brought tears to my eyes, keep on keeping on souk!

[*winter]

Sounds amazing! that pants pocket purse, doing it.

[runic rhyme]

"During the years I have been going to the Symposium, I decided to go the Herb School instead of staying on the regular academic track. I decided to move to the country to try out a whole new life, with no friends and no job waiting for me."

I feel this so deeply. Love love love to you!

[Violet Folklore]

Ahhhh I am near tears. So beautiful. So grateful.

[Toniroxanne]

This was so awesome and inspiring! I really gotta gotta gotta get there next year! So much beauty and inspiration there! AND I love!!!!! the head piece!!! you are so awesome miss sasha! xoxoxoxoxox
Toni

[Milla]

Oh my Goddess what a lovely happening! I'm so delighted for you and all the lovely ladies involved and thankful that you let us experience it secondhand via the magical internets.

[wendyvanwagner@gmail.com]

Thanks for sharing Sasha. I love reading your blog and this one was extra sweet and heartfelt! I agree that when you live life on the path less traveled it is important to have people cheering you on!!

[Kendra]

To have done all this while you are socially phobic is wonderful! Very social!

But I can also see a spirit in this place, that may have helped! I find that spirituality in general helps my social anxiety tremendously. I like Social Anxiety Anonymous for that reason (a 12 Step program for social anxiety problems), http://www.healsocialanxiety.com