Pantheacon – And So It Begins

Last updated on: February 9, 2016 at 4:14 pm by The Witches Next Door

Pantheacon – And So It Begins 2016-02-09T16:14:18-08:00 The Witches Next Door

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There’s a pile of clothes staring back at us from the bed, daring us to fit them all in the suitcases. Rituals have been written. Well, perhaps it’s more accurate to say they’ve been thought about long enough to have them mostly where they need to be. Facebook invites for after-parties and before-parties and during-parties have been sent or accepted and the Time Turner has been ordered because it is quite possible that we’ve both committed to being in several places at once. Such is the nature of Pantheacon.

We’re both excited for this year’s conference. If you’ve not been before or have not been in a long time, Pantheacon is full of presenters and ritualists and authors and bloggers and vendors and academics and, believe it or not, even a few thousand attendees!

Many traditions, from Heathens to the African Diaspora to British Traditional Witches will be there, holding events. Druids will be winding there ways to the hospitality suites. Reclaiming Witches will be having spontaneous, ecstatic rituals in the restaurants. Polytheists will hang out with Pagan Atheists and many conversations will be had by all. P-Con is a roiling, bustling, boisterous, intensely earnest and wholly magical temporary village that’s created in San Jose, California – because, when one thinks “Where would I find a large Pagan gathering?” – one naturally thinks of a Double Tree hotel, slap bang in the middle of Silicon Valley, right?

And while there is plenty of fun to be had, there’s also a wonderfully serious side to Pantheacon. Real people (as opposed to their/our online profiles) will find themselves gathered in stairwells continuing conversations that started in workshops they attended. Real people, having just discovered the Craft, will find that they are not alone in their beliefs and that the Pagan world is quite literally everywhere. Real people will connect, face to face, and engage in difficult dialogues, aimed at bringing our collective blind spots into focus. Real people will get to sharpen our community senses and notice where we hold privilege, where we don’t, where we shouldn’t and where we might.

All of this will happen in the next few days and then there will be the aftermath. Writers and Bloggers and affected parties will begin to dissect Pantheacon – What worked and what didn’t. Undoubtedly and unfortunately there will be something or some many things that happened at P-Con that will be controversial or will be written about as to seem controversial. It’s an important part of the process, and although there will be times when the cry of “This is why I don’t go to Pantheacon!” will be raised, it’s important to remember that, by and large, these controversies are actually very much worth it.

Note here: Being assaulted, being belittled, being put in a position of being unsafe are not good things, in any way. What we’re saying here is that the conversations and critique and changes that come from these often painful circumstances, are a necessary bi-product. These challenges inform folks throughout our community that were not at the event, that such undercurrents do run in our collective communities and should be examined in our “home” groups and traditions.

Another Note here: We always, always, always hold out that there will not be any kind of issue or hurt or inconsiderate behaviour and that everything written about PCon will be glowing and wonderful.

And so, we’re both eyeing the pile of clothes and ritual gear and altar items and a portion of a fence (come to the Baba Yaga Ritual to see why we’re bringing a fence) with much trepidation. Our car is often called the “Vehicle of Requirement” because it does seem to stretch to fit an ever increasing load of whatever we’re bringing, but this time…Phew! It’s gonna be close!

We hope to see you at PantheaCon in a ritual or at the Reclaiming Hospitality Suite or standing in a line, waiting for that incredible ritual we’ve all been talking about to begin. And we hope to chat afterwards too, so we can dish all the details.

Being A Witch

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