essay from newsletter - not archived
BACK FROM CHAOS:
“Reality is what you make of it”. That is what my friend, Bruce, always says. I thought about that this week when I decided to do a little “reality tweaking” of my own.
I’m very organized as a rule. Or at least, I was, until six months ago when work for Full Circle took over so much of my life. Once the Witches Ball was over, I took stock and found that piles of paperwork belonging to my writing life, my personal life, my priestess life and my business life had been too long neglected and had gotten way out of hand. So, I put out a call to my friend, Maggi (the Owner of Chaos Consulting) and my other friend Tammy (who teaches classes in Organization for Magickal People) and I asked them both to come over and help me out of this terrible hole I’ve found myself in.
It’s a week later and amid much laugher and a lot of caffeine, we three have gotten to the point where we can now see the top of my desk. Gods, I love organized women – there’s nothing they can’t do. I feel better going into the Pagan New Year knowing that my house and my life are more in order. Give me another week and I’ll be ready to host Thanksgiving for those eight friends of mine. (Note to said friends: Please pay no attention to the stuff that’s currently hidden inside certain closets – I’ll get to it…I’ll get to it….)
So, life is looking good. We’re not done, of course. It’s going to take weeks before I’m back to what I (as Scotch/German woman) consider to be normal. I’ve still got to get my office back into shape and then more of my household needs to get under control and then my writing life. Don’t even get me started on the garden…or those closets. Full Circle dropped a house on this Witch’s life this year and it’s going to take a while before I can get out from under. But thanks to Tammy and Maggi, I’ve got some hope of daylight and that helps a lot. (See you ladies next week!)
As I get older, I find that I value simplicity more and more. This is best served by organizing my life so that things run easily and smoothly. When things are in their place, I have more time to read, write, love, dance and work. I spend less time worrying about what I need to do and more time living my life. It’s a busy life and I need all the space I can get for it. Thus, the need for order.
Mind you, I’m very respectful of Chaos. I do some of my most creative work that way. There are times when you just have to go into the cauldron and trust that the strengths you have will come together in an alchemy that produces a better you. I’m comfortable with that process and I understand the necessity for it.
What I don’t like (and never have) is a constant state of drama, craziness or stress. It’s bad enough when the world spins me about – it’s worse when I do it to myself, either because I didn’t set certain boundaries or because I didn’t have things in place before one of life’s tornadoes hit town.
This might sound strange to some of you, but I find that I’m a much more spiritual person when I know where my garden trowel is. I like my tools (both practical and magickal) to be in their place so that I can find them when I need them. Hunting about and worrying dissipates energy that I need for other things. Why stress over finding the paperwork for my business taxes when I have this sexy and very interesting partner to pay attention to? A gal’s got to have her priorities. So I keep the paperwork in it’s place and then I have time to make a candlelight dinner for my beloved. Uncle Sam and I both prefer it that way.
I used to joke that I was anal retentive but I’ve stopped doing that. As a Pagan, I know that I can create and shape much of my reality. My friend Bruce’s quote reminds me of that. So, with that in mind, I’ve stopped using humor to denigrate my skills. I’ve stopped speaking about my love of order as if it was some form of character flaw and I’ve begun to accept it for what it is, which is a Magickal Talent. These days, I see people like Maggi, Tammy and myself as Mages. In my Tradition, a Mage is a magician (either male or female) who works to bring order out of chaos. Usually this work is done for the greater good of the tribe or for the spirit of the people involved. In a larger context, it involves a commitment to creating a life and to living it as fully as possible. This year, I think I’ll take more time to honor that side of myself.
I meditated on this fact recently and I saw that, overall, it was going to be a good year for me and for Full Circle and I’m looking forward to it. We’ve done a great deal of the back-breaking ground work here at FCE and next year is going to be much easier then the last two have been.
As for my personal life, well, good stuff is already starting to happen. For one thing, when we cleared one of the paper piles in my house, we found the phone. I think I’ll use it to call some friends and see who wants to get together. There’s this Harry Potter movie I’ve been waiting to see ….
Here’s to the simple life and here’s to the friends who stick with you and who help you find your way back from Chaos.
Sia
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Sunday, November 11, 2001
The Witches Ball 2001
The Witches' Ball 2001
As you may have heard by now, the Witches Ball was a rousing success. Over 600 people attended and a splendid, fun loving group they were, too. Everyone was friendly and kind hearted and it made us proud to see you all gathered together and enjoying yourselves.
The Dj this year was brilliant. He played the songs our people had requested and every type of music you can imagine. The dancers were all very happy and the three level dance floor was jumping all night long. My thanks go out to Corvid, our Chief Bard and to Chuck, our Dj for making the music selection so very special. We’ve asked Chuck to serve as our Musical Magician again next year and I’m delighted to announce that he said “Yes”.
The different Belly Dancers who entertained us at 7 PM and then at 9 were amazing to see. My thanks go out to Jamaica Sinclair; her elegant, magickal dancing opened the ball for us, and to the ladies from United We Dance for their outstanding performance prior to the Award Ceremony.
Best of all to my eyes, were the fabulous costumes worn by our attendees. The various Courts of Faerie were well represented, as was Ancient Egypt, Mythic Greece and many lands I wot not of. Surprisingly, neither of the fairy catchers were successful.
The pictures will be up on the website soon, so you can see for yourselves. Many of these photos come to us courtesy of our official Witches Ball photographers http://www.avalonearts.com/. Their booth was a huge hit – I saw people lining up to have their pictures taken all night long.
(Please note: We have been careful to put up pictures of folks when we
a) Have their permission or
b) If you can only see their costumes and can’t tell who they are.
If you had your picture taken there that night and you will allow us to to post it on the web, please write to us care of info@fullcircleevents.org and let us know that. And if you want your name mentioned, we recommend that you use your Craft Name.)
The Vendor Room was also very popular. Our 13 Vendors http://www.fullcircleevents.org/ball2001/vendors.shtml
brought a variety of treasures and the large room was very busy as folks checked out the food, costumes, jewelry, clothing and gifts for sale there. The Food Vendor was very well received and they have been invited to return again next year.
There was plenty of seating this year so attendees could sit and watch the crowd whenever they got tired of dancing or shopping. We had chairs and tables set up inside the ballroom itself, in the large Vendor Room, in the hallways (an excellent spot for people watching) and out doors on the back terrace. The night was perfect, clear and cool, without being too cold and it was a pleasure to sit out there and watch the stars when we got hot from too much dancing.
The presentation of the Gaia’s Guardian Award to this year’s winner:
http://www.fullcircleevents.org/ball2001/award.shtml
was great fun. Deborah Noel and her dog, Sheeba, had a splendid time and they send their love and thanks to you all. Deborah has now received her plaque and I now have my husband back. (Inside joke, folks: You had to be there).
My special thanks go out to our Decorating Committee who made it all look lovely and to our great volunteers who helped up put it all up and take it all down again when it was over. Our FCE volunteers worked wonders during Set Up and Break Down and they did it with great humor and patience. I would also like those attendees who lingered after the ball and lent a hand – your help was very much appreciated.
Word has gone out all over the California as folks talk and write about the good time they had. YOU folks have made it a success and you can be very proud of yourselves.(Now I'm getting all fla-klempt. ....Talk amongst yourselves. Here, I'll give you a topic....”Responsible Pagans are not a myth, nor is the phrase an oxymoron”.......Discuss).
People came to the ball from all over California (including San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, Marin, Santa Rosa and L.A.). They also came in from Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona. The crowd itself was a wonderful mix of Pagans, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, New Age Folks, Secular Humanists and a host of other Paths, Traditions, "Fill in the Blank" and "None of the Above" types. All these people worked together and danced together in harmony and joy. When you think about it, that works out to Tolerance 1 - Prejudice 0 and, again, say I, you made us proud.
Azeraeis asks me to give his special thanks to all those who helped out in the Vendor Area during Set Up and Break Down. Our Vendors had a great experience at the ball and they were very happy to have all the cheerful help from our volunteers. Many of them have already signed on for next year. I would personally like to thank Molly and Uncle Jon at Hearthstone Circle http://www.hearthstonecircle.org for acting as our Money Fairies all night long. As many of your know, Jon designed and constructed all the arches for the splendid Owl Arch and our scenic Backdrop and he also Chaired our Lighting Team. This Team did an amazing job with some very antiquated equipment. My thanks go out to Hawke, Sean, Captain Lightning and Jon for their hard work and creative “field modifications”.
Molly, Jon’s partner, was our Second in Command on the Decorating Committee and she did much behind the scenes these last 6 months to give us the “Froudian” look you saw that night. Molly and Jon also worked the Ball all night long. As a result, we have decided to award Molly and Jon our MVP (Most Valuable Pagan) Award for this year. Hazzah!
To my immense delight, Molly has agreed to be the Chair of the Decorating Committee next year. I can’t wait to see what she and her Team come up with.
The Fair Jennifer (of Purple Dragon House) and her Team from our Decorating Committee also deserves special mention for the design and decoration of the Froudian Owl Arch that greeted our attendees as they entered the hall. I would also like to thank Robert Tharp and the stylish members of FLARE for taking such good care of our people that night. These were the 17th Century pirates who roamed the halls that evening. (My personal favorite was the handsome lad wearing the pirate scarf over the Mickey Mouse ears.) FLARE made all our attendees feel very safe and welcome. Besides being such a classy bunch, they are also generous. FLARE alone raised $600 for the Humane Society from among its members - all of whom worked the ball, for free, as well. We love you guys and gals! Come back next year - your Green Room will be waiting for you.
Thank are also due to Brian and Wendy Froud
http://www.worldoffroud.com/ for donating the print that we used in our raffle and the signed print that we used in our Silent Auction that evening. Both prints were gorgeous and they added very nicely to the amount that we will give to the Humane Society this year. The raffle alone raised over $300 and folks went home with some fine prizes, a cat candle lamp, a puzzle and a Witches Brew coffee cup. The last three were donated by Snapdragon Gifts http://www.snapdragongifts.com/. (1)
Our sincere regards also go out to the folks from the Santa Clara Humane Society who staffed their information booth at this year’s ball. http://www.scvhumane.org/.
We greatly admire the work you folks do and it is an honor to have you join us. It was especially nice to see our good friend, Officer Christine Franco, there with her fella. As many of you remember, Christine was our Gaia’s Guardian Award Winner last year. She was at the Humane Society booth (looking maaarvelous) and she and Monica (our Witches Ball Director) were the two lovely ladies who conducted our raffle on stage that night.
Thanks also go out to Lee Ann, our Ticket Queen, and to Fernalia, our Volunteer Coordinator. These ladies are as capable as they are wise and it is a pleasure to work with them both.
Last but not least, I have to say a few words about our Full Circle Council. Monica, Corvid, Azeraeis (and Captain Lightning, our Web Wizard) have worked long and hard for over a year to make the Witches Ball and our other events happen. Neither the Ball nor Full Circle Events would be what it is today if it weren’t for their creativity, their dedication and their many skills. I couldn’t think of a better group of people to work (and play) with. So here’s to you folks and to a new year that is rich and full and a lot easier on all of us.
As we speak, Azeraeis and I are still working on the final, yearly budget and collecting money from those 12 stores that were kind enough to sell tickets to the Ball. We hope to have the Full Circle budget ready in time for the December newsletter (as per usual). We will also make our donation to the Humane Society at that time and this, too, will be announced in that newsletter.
As you may have heard by now, the Witches Ball was a rousing success. Over 600 people attended and a splendid, fun loving group they were, too. Everyone was friendly and kind hearted and it made us proud to see you all gathered together and enjoying yourselves.
The Dj this year was brilliant. He played the songs our people had requested and every type of music you can imagine. The dancers were all very happy and the three level dance floor was jumping all night long. My thanks go out to Corvid, our Chief Bard and to Chuck, our Dj for making the music selection so very special. We’ve asked Chuck to serve as our Musical Magician again next year and I’m delighted to announce that he said “Yes”.
The different Belly Dancers who entertained us at 7 PM and then at 9 were amazing to see. My thanks go out to Jamaica Sinclair; her elegant, magickal dancing opened the ball for us, and to the ladies from United We Dance for their outstanding performance prior to the Award Ceremony.
Best of all to my eyes, were the fabulous costumes worn by our attendees. The various Courts of Faerie were well represented, as was Ancient Egypt, Mythic Greece and many lands I wot not of. Surprisingly, neither of the fairy catchers were successful.
The pictures will be up on the website soon, so you can see for yourselves. Many of these photos come to us courtesy of our official Witches Ball photographers http://www.avalonearts.com/. Their booth was a huge hit – I saw people lining up to have their pictures taken all night long.
(Please note: We have been careful to put up pictures of folks when we
a) Have their permission or
b) If you can only see their costumes and can’t tell who they are.
If you had your picture taken there that night and you will allow us to to post it on the web, please write to us care of info@fullcircleevents.org and let us know that. And if you want your name mentioned, we recommend that you use your Craft Name.)
The Vendor Room was also very popular. Our 13 Vendors http://www.fullcircleevents.org/ball2001/vendors.shtml
brought a variety of treasures and the large room was very busy as folks checked out the food, costumes, jewelry, clothing and gifts for sale there. The Food Vendor was very well received and they have been invited to return again next year.
There was plenty of seating this year so attendees could sit and watch the crowd whenever they got tired of dancing or shopping. We had chairs and tables set up inside the ballroom itself, in the large Vendor Room, in the hallways (an excellent spot for people watching) and out doors on the back terrace. The night was perfect, clear and cool, without being too cold and it was a pleasure to sit out there and watch the stars when we got hot from too much dancing.
The presentation of the Gaia’s Guardian Award to this year’s winner:
http://www.fullcircleevents.org/ball2001/award.shtml
was great fun. Deborah Noel and her dog, Sheeba, had a splendid time and they send their love and thanks to you all. Deborah has now received her plaque and I now have my husband back. (Inside joke, folks: You had to be there).
My special thanks go out to our Decorating Committee who made it all look lovely and to our great volunteers who helped up put it all up and take it all down again when it was over. Our FCE volunteers worked wonders during Set Up and Break Down and they did it with great humor and patience. I would also like those attendees who lingered after the ball and lent a hand – your help was very much appreciated.
Word has gone out all over the California as folks talk and write about the good time they had. YOU folks have made it a success and you can be very proud of yourselves.(Now I'm getting all fla-klempt. ....Talk amongst yourselves. Here, I'll give you a topic....”Responsible Pagans are not a myth, nor is the phrase an oxymoron”.......Discuss).
People came to the ball from all over California (including San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, Marin, Santa Rosa and L.A.). They also came in from Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona. The crowd itself was a wonderful mix of Pagans, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, New Age Folks, Secular Humanists and a host of other Paths, Traditions, "Fill in the Blank" and "None of the Above" types. All these people worked together and danced together in harmony and joy. When you think about it, that works out to Tolerance 1 - Prejudice 0 and, again, say I, you made us proud.
Azeraeis asks me to give his special thanks to all those who helped out in the Vendor Area during Set Up and Break Down. Our Vendors had a great experience at the ball and they were very happy to have all the cheerful help from our volunteers. Many of them have already signed on for next year. I would personally like to thank Molly and Uncle Jon at Hearthstone Circle http://www.hearthstonecircle.org for acting as our Money Fairies all night long. As many of your know, Jon designed and constructed all the arches for the splendid Owl Arch and our scenic Backdrop and he also Chaired our Lighting Team. This Team did an amazing job with some very antiquated equipment. My thanks go out to Hawke, Sean, Captain Lightning and Jon for their hard work and creative “field modifications”.
Molly, Jon’s partner, was our Second in Command on the Decorating Committee and she did much behind the scenes these last 6 months to give us the “Froudian” look you saw that night. Molly and Jon also worked the Ball all night long. As a result, we have decided to award Molly and Jon our MVP (Most Valuable Pagan) Award for this year. Hazzah!
To my immense delight, Molly has agreed to be the Chair of the Decorating Committee next year. I can’t wait to see what she and her Team come up with.
The Fair Jennifer (of Purple Dragon House) and her Team from our Decorating Committee also deserves special mention for the design and decoration of the Froudian Owl Arch that greeted our attendees as they entered the hall. I would also like to thank Robert Tharp and the stylish members of FLARE for taking such good care of our people that night. These were the 17th Century pirates who roamed the halls that evening. (My personal favorite was the handsome lad wearing the pirate scarf over the Mickey Mouse ears.) FLARE made all our attendees feel very safe and welcome. Besides being such a classy bunch, they are also generous. FLARE alone raised $600 for the Humane Society from among its members - all of whom worked the ball, for free, as well. We love you guys and gals! Come back next year - your Green Room will be waiting for you.
Thank are also due to Brian and Wendy Froud
http://www.worldoffroud.com/ for donating the print that we used in our raffle and the signed print that we used in our Silent Auction that evening. Both prints were gorgeous and they added very nicely to the amount that we will give to the Humane Society this year. The raffle alone raised over $300 and folks went home with some fine prizes, a cat candle lamp, a puzzle and a Witches Brew coffee cup. The last three were donated by Snapdragon Gifts http://www.snapdragongifts.com/. (1)
Our sincere regards also go out to the folks from the Santa Clara Humane Society who staffed their information booth at this year’s ball. http://www.scvhumane.org/.
We greatly admire the work you folks do and it is an honor to have you join us. It was especially nice to see our good friend, Officer Christine Franco, there with her fella. As many of you remember, Christine was our Gaia’s Guardian Award Winner last year. She was at the Humane Society booth (looking maaarvelous) and she and Monica (our Witches Ball Director) were the two lovely ladies who conducted our raffle on stage that night.
Thanks also go out to Lee Ann, our Ticket Queen, and to Fernalia, our Volunteer Coordinator. These ladies are as capable as they are wise and it is a pleasure to work with them both.
Last but not least, I have to say a few words about our Full Circle Council. Monica, Corvid, Azeraeis (and Captain Lightning, our Web Wizard) have worked long and hard for over a year to make the Witches Ball and our other events happen. Neither the Ball nor Full Circle Events would be what it is today if it weren’t for their creativity, their dedication and their many skills. I couldn’t think of a better group of people to work (and play) with. So here’s to you folks and to a new year that is rich and full and a lot easier on all of us.
As we speak, Azeraeis and I are still working on the final, yearly budget and collecting money from those 12 stores that were kind enough to sell tickets to the Ball. We hope to have the Full Circle budget ready in time for the December newsletter (as per usual). We will also make our donation to the Humane Society at that time and this, too, will be announced in that newsletter.
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