SECTION III - FAMILY ISSUES
Promoting Pagan Family Values - Selene Silverwind
Goddess Flag craft project - Raven
WOMONGATHERING - 6/6-6/9, 2002 - Ashling Kelly
New Yahoo group for Illinois Single Pagans - Jamie
Promoting Pagan Family Values
By Selene Silverwind
SeleneSilverwind.com
Unless March and April have some surprises for us, which is possible, this spring should be rather mild and wonderful. I love spring and I hate spring for the same reason: the flowers are blooming. So while they're pretty and a constant reminder that the warm days are coming, I'm sneezing my head off due to my horrible allergies.
I most love spring because when I was growing up, it brought Easter. I didn't much care for the going to church part, but I loved dressing up in my new special outfit, finding my Easter basket in the morning, and hunting for eggs. Even though we Pagans celebrate Ostara rather than Easter, I see no reason why Pagan children can't also get new Ostara outfits, Ostara baskets, and hunt eggs. Instead of church, they attend ritual with you, and instead of getting their baskets on Easter morning, they get them on Ostara morning. On ritual day, they can bring their colored eggs and jellybeans to share with the adults who are celebrating spring Pagan style. Maybe even put the kids in charge of hiding eggs for the adults to find!
If you are looking for stories to help you explain about the Ostara bunny, an excellent book is "The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes" by Du Bose
Heyward. This was my favorite Easter book growing up and I recently found it again. While the book refers to the Easter bunny, it's not difficult to change it to Ostara bunny. There is nothing religious about the book at all, so it's a good choice to take to your child's school for classroom reading, and it has a good message about the rewards of hard work and compassion. The story also features a fancy sugar egg with a diorama inside, so after the story is over, ask the children to draw the inside of the egg while they munch on egg-shaped cookies and juice.
As I mentioned above, once we become adults we tend to miss out on the fun of hunting Ostara eggs. Wouldn't it be nice if everybody got to participate? Arrange an egg hunt for your whole neighborhood, regardless of their faith. Have each family decorate two eggs, one for mom and one for dad, with their names written on them, either in pen, or use wax before dyeing. On the day of the hunt, gather at one family's house. After the children have hidden the eggs in the back yard, the adults have to hunt for their specific eggs, and only their specific eggs. No fair giving hints to other adults. The first person to find his or her egg wins a prize. Maybe one of those decorated sugar eggs or a spring broom or wreath.
Thanks to allergy medicine, I now get to enjoy spring with everyone else and I intend to do that as much as possible. Happy spring everyone!
WOMONGATHERING
6/6-6/9, 2002
Northeast Pennsylvania
Submitted by Ashling Kelly
Womongathering Outreach Coordinator
Womongathering is an annual womyn-only Goddess-festival held at a private camp in northeastern Pennsylvania. Through ritual, workshops, and community we celebrate the Goddess in her many guises, and celebrate Goddess in ourselves and each other.
The weekend includes numerous workshops; this year's presenters include Edwina Lee Tyler and Diane Stein, among dozens of others. The Lakota Inipi Sweat Lodge ceremony is offered several times throughout the weekend and is led by Beverly Little Thunder. Workshops in Reiki, Essential Energy Balancing, Drumming, Astrology, Spiritual Activism, Yoga,
DansKinetics, Clay-working and many more will be offered.
Lodging is in dorm-style cabins with flush toilets, hot running water & electricity. Tenting is possible and similar amenities are provided throughout the camp. Meals are gourmet vegetarian offerings, delicious & abundant.
Registration is $260 (check or money order) by May 7th; $270 (credit card, check or money order) by May 24th; $280 at the gate (cash or check only). Registration includes all workshops, lodging, meals from Thurs. dinner-Sunday lunch, sweat lodge ceremony and participation in all rituals.
Contact: womongathr@aol.com; 856-694-2037; Womongathering, PO Box 559,
Franklinville, NJ 08322. Please visit our website at
http://www.womongathering.com
