Tuesday, February 21, 2006
STARWOOD DONS A WINTER COAT
Ohio Pagans can get recharged at WinterStar Symposium when the energy from Starwood begins to wear off. WinterStar, also sponsored by the Association for Consciousness Exploration (ACE) together with Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, Inc., will sponsor the "Sects & Sex", WinterStar Symposium 23, at Atwood Lake Resort in Ohio, this coming weekend.
Advertised on the Cincinnati Drum Circle & Circle Tribal Dance website as "a unique opportunity to experience spiritual growth and good company in luxury-resort surroundings", WinterStar stretches "spiritual" to the breaking point, as can be seen by Rev. Ivan Stang's report on WinterStar 2001. This "spiritual growth" is of the material kind. The event took place in the four-bedroom cabins at Atwood, and consisted of all-night partying, coupled with Rev. Stang's preaching. Notice the picture of Pope Robert Anton Wilson while you're in there. Presumably Wilson will be attending WinterStar again this year, provided his wheelchair is well greased. His cabin-hopping may be somewhat limited by the mechanical device, however.
This year's line-up features, in no particular order:
** Initiated tantric Donald Michael Kraig, author of MODERN SEX MAGICK: SECRETS OF EROTIC SPIRITUALITY, and other books on the subject
** Sheri Winston, teacher of Wholistic Sexuality, who offers "playshops" in which loving, intimate relationships can be explored
** Second generation Pagan priestess LaSara Firefox, who is expected to facilitate gender bending, and a water sharing ritual of the Church of All Worlds. She also offers a class on women flirting with women at which men are welcome
** Garan Du, a scholar of queer and transgendered spiritual history, who writes for Out in America
** Rev. Ivan Stang, First Primate of the Church of the SubGenius
** Phil Farber, guru of group mind, gods, demons and imaginary friends turn-on
** Suzette Henderson, feminist activist
** Ea, an initiate of the Minoan Brotherhood, a Thelemic magical order for Gay and Bi Men, speaking on the GLBT's as guides to the Underworld
** Snakes Rising will perform
Naturally Joseph Rothenberg will provide his spirituality via biofeedback machine that he offers at each of these gatherings.
But all of these presenters pale in comparison to the star performer. This, afterall, is a Catholic blog, so the star of the show, and back for a repeat performance, is...
** Dagmar Braun Celeste ** .
Ohio Pagans can get recharged at WinterStar Symposium when the energy from Starwood begins to wear off. WinterStar, also sponsored by the Association for Consciousness Exploration (ACE) together with Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, Inc., will sponsor the "Sects & Sex", WinterStar Symposium 23, at Atwood Lake Resort in Ohio, this coming weekend.
Advertised on the Cincinnati Drum Circle & Circle Tribal Dance website as "a unique opportunity to experience spiritual growth and good company in luxury-resort surroundings", WinterStar stretches "spiritual" to the breaking point, as can be seen by Rev. Ivan Stang's report on WinterStar 2001. This "spiritual growth" is of the material kind. The event took place in the four-bedroom cabins at Atwood, and consisted of all-night partying, coupled with Rev. Stang's preaching. Notice the picture of Pope Robert Anton Wilson while you're in there. Presumably Wilson will be attending WinterStar again this year, provided his wheelchair is well greased. His cabin-hopping may be somewhat limited by the mechanical device, however.
This year's line-up features, in no particular order:
** Initiated tantric Donald Michael Kraig, author of MODERN SEX MAGICK: SECRETS OF EROTIC SPIRITUALITY, and other books on the subject
** Sheri Winston, teacher of Wholistic Sexuality, who offers "playshops" in which loving, intimate relationships can be explored
** Second generation Pagan priestess LaSara Firefox, who is expected to facilitate gender bending, and a water sharing ritual of the Church of All Worlds. She also offers a class on women flirting with women at which men are welcome
** Garan Du, a scholar of queer and transgendered spiritual history, who writes for Out in America
** Rev. Ivan Stang, First Primate of the Church of the SubGenius
** Phil Farber, guru of group mind, gods, demons and imaginary friends turn-on
** Suzette Henderson, feminist activist
** Ea, an initiate of the Minoan Brotherhood, a Thelemic magical order for Gay and Bi Men, speaking on the GLBT's as guides to the Underworld
** Snakes Rising will perform
Naturally Joseph Rothenberg will provide his spirituality via biofeedback machine that he offers at each of these gatherings.
But all of these presenters pale in comparison to the star performer. This, afterall, is a Catholic blog, so the star of the show, and back for a repeat performance, is...
** Dagmar Braun Celeste ** .
Yes! Former Ohio First Lady, "ordained" Roman Catholic priestess in the Diocese of the Danube, June 2002, Celeste will be performing her Roman Catholic mass ritual on Sunday morning for the entertaiment of the magickal, mystical crowd just as she did at WinterStar 22.
Mocking religion has been on the agenda of these fun-loving Pagans before. The Speakers & Workshops for WinterStar Symposium 1998 included Wavy Gravy, the "magical Court Jester of the Counter Culture". Was he featured at a Catholic clown mass symposium back in the '70s when Catholic priests were mastering the art of clowning for Jesus? In any case, I see that he suggests on his website that Mother Theresa and Harpo Marx were more than passing acquaintenances.
Then there was "Religion and Humor" presented by Paul Krassner, (WARNING: lewd picture) who discussed the "Zen Bastard path of spirituality". You could have learned about "Magickal Balladry and the Psychedelic Experience" and "Singing for the Gods." They also offered "Sound Vibrational Healing" and "Northern Shamanism" back in '98. Could some of our trendy Catholic nuns have attended in disguise?
"The Dances of Universal Peace", creation of Sufi teacher Samuel L. Lewis, were also on the program.
2006 presenter Sheri Winston offered an "Arousal & Sexual Energy Skills" workshop in 2005. Sheri, a certified midwife among other things, provides "primary gynecological care at Mid-Hudson Valley Planned Parenthood. She also offered "Touch Magic - The Rites of Touch", though I doubt that anyone asked the babies about the feel of her hands.
WinterStar 2005 was titled "Rites and Rights".
Incredibly--or maybe not so incredibly--the Unitarian Church is one place where flyers for Sects & Sex might be placed according to the suggestion at the WinterStar website. They also offer promotional tarot cards to place in select "hip and progressive venues." Perhaps they should contact von Balthasar. He might enjoy passing them around wherever he happens to be at the moment. I'm sure he and his "friend" would be welcome at this event. There are probably a few priests who would be as well.
(Ok. /sarcasm.)
DePaul faculty member Patricia Monaghan does not seem to have been invited to WinterStar 23. She was, however, a presenter at WinterStar 1992.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
