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Mystic South 2026: Good On So Many Levels

Mystic South 2026: Good On So Many Levels

Last updated on: July 20, 2026 at 12:27 pm by John Beckett

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Mystic South 2026: Good On So Many Levels 2026-07-20T12:27:41-06:00 John Beckett

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I wasn’t planning to do a Mystic South recap blog post this year. I have a lot to do today, blog readership is at levels I haven’t seen since before I moved to Patheos, and if there were any overriding spiritual themes at this year’s conference, I didn’t pick up on them.

But I started writing a Facebook post to sum up my experiences and it got longer and longer until I realized yes, I do have something to say that’s blog length, more or less.

The main thing I want to say is just how much I enjoyed this year’s conference. I had a conversation with Heather Greene yesterday about how Mystic South’s tagline is “theory – practice – play” and I did all three. And I had a great time doing them. I had fun this year, and I desperately needed that.

And now for a few observations.

Reading Tarot went well

I will definitely be reading Tarot again. I enjoyed it, my clients seemed satisfied, and I learned (or perhaps, remembered) some important things about reading for the public. Namely, don’t overcomplicate things. Help the querent form a good question and then draw just enough cards to answer it. I only used one ten-card spread in the whole session, and I quickly realized that while it did a good job of explaining the situation, it didn’t answer the question nearly as well as a simple five-card spread.

And while the readings themselves are of course private, I don’t think I’m breaking any confidences when I say that three out of the four readings had a card that screamed “use your magic!” We are magical people and we need to remember to use all our tools and skills.

Or, as Jason Miller likes to say “make a plan that doesn’t require magic to work and then use magic to improve the odds that it will work.”

The Call of Cernunnos

I was very happy with the “Call of Cernunnos” presentation. My original plans were to update a PowerPoint presentation I’ve done a couple times before, but Himself had other ideas. So I worked from an outline instead. I spent about a third of the presentation on history and lore and another third on some of my own experiences – and it was great having my Denton Pagan friends in the presentation. They were there when these experiences happened. And then then final third covered how we can respond to the call of Cernunnos here and now.

Less corporate polish – more sharing experiences.

this shirt has seen better days – Cernunnos is as present and as relevant as ever

Books and book signing

Special thanks to everyone who bought The Book of Cernunnos. For the first time, I didn’t have to take unsold copies home. If you didn’t get one, you can order it (it’s published through Amazon’s print-on-demand service – that the only way anyone including me can get a copy) and I’ll be happy to sign it next year.

I didn’t do a book signing last year. I did this year, and I’m very glad I did. I still signed plenty of books in between workshops, but sitting at the signing table is an open invitation to people who may not feel comfortable approaching an author in a public setting. Unless we’re clearly occupied, most of us are happy to stop for a conversation that may or may not include signing a book – I certainly am. But this made it easy for anyone and everyone.

Another first time experience

For all the years I’ve been doing Pagan and magical stuff, I had never been to a Gnostic Mass. So I went to the one on Friday night and I found it fascinating. It’s not my thing, but after experiencing it, I have a much better idea of what Aleister Crowley was doing and why it was so important at that time and place. Thanks to Frater OOsa and all those who presented it.

Good presenters, good workshops

I will go to any workshop led by Ivo Dominguez Jr., Morgan Daimler, Laura Tempest Zakroff, or Daniela Simina any time I can. I don’t care what they’re presenting on – it will be informative and inspiring, and especially (though not exclusively) in Tempest’s case, entertaining. And though he’s not as well known (at least in Pagan circles – he’s very well known in the gaming theory world) James “Pigeon” Fielder always gives presentations that are informative and fun. If you’ve been to college, you’ve had engaging professors and boring professors. Pigeon definitely falls into the first category.

Sing This Corrosion to me

Those of you who know me well (or really, who know me even a little) know I’m not a party person. It’s just not who I am. But in just the right environment, unexpected things can happen. Combine the Phoenix Ball, three good friends dressed marvelously, some relevant dinner conversation beforehand, and just the right amount of alcohol (not so much that I was ever illegal to drive, though there were times when I wouldn’t have driven had the situation presented itself) and I found myself dancing to Sisters of Mercy in the way I wanted to many years ago, and occasionally in the years between.

Don’t count on me doing it again next year. But also, don’t assume I won’t.

Many thanks to Leigh Parrott for taking this picture, and – along with Cynthia Talbot and Becca DeLozier – for helping make it possible.

There’s a reason people curse the Atlanta airport

My only real complaint the whole weekend was the same one it is every year – air travel. Every year I have a quick and easy trip to Atlanta on Thursday and then a long and frustrating trip home on Sunday. It’s not like I didn’t live in Atlanta for four years or that I didn’t grow up 100 miles north of Atlanta – I know there’s a good chance of thunderstorms every summer afternoon and thunderstorms play havoc with airport operations. Last year I finally had sense enough to take Monday off from work instead of getting home after midnight and trying to go back to work the next morning. Next year I think I’m staying over Sunday night and going home on Monday morning.

Also, Hartsfield-Jackson’s T concourse is very convenient but it’s a really bad place to hang out when there are delays. It’s much more crowded with fewer food options. I expect I’ll be on a different airline (and thus in a different concourse) next year, but that’s another story for another time.

I love Mystic South

There are many good hotel-based Pagan conferences. I had a wonderful time at Sacred Space in the “before times” and a good time at Convocation earlier this year. But there’s a reason I’ve been to every Mystic South since the first one in 2017. Great programming, a great location, and most importantly, great people organizing it and making sure it runs smoothly.

The 2027 dates aren’t set yet, and in any case I have some big changes coming next year. But I will be at Mystic South again next summer.

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