Beltane 1997 Newsletter Australian Wiccan Conference Report

September 19th - 21st

After catching the train to the Hawkesbury River Station, I finally arrived at the check in point for this years Australian Wiccan Conference. The first one in Sydney for many, many years, and my first one ever! I'd come on my own, excited but also nervous. We took a short ferry ride across the river to arrive at the Broken Bay Sports and Recreation Facility. A beautiful area, with a crescent beach to walk and meditate on, beautifully landscaped grounds and magnificent bushwalks up the mountains that loomed behind. A bit like the camping area at the Basin, in the Karingai National Park, if you've ever been there. Such a location, so close to Sydney, is a true treasure indeed.

We piled off the ferry and found our accommodation. I was in the possum lodge with people who had come from all states in Australia, I was truly inspired by the distance some people had travelled to be a part of the AWC.

After dinner in Friday night (the food was fantastic - thanks to the Chefs!), we could be found in the main hall playing a hoot of a team trivia game called "Salem of the Century". Saturday started as a glorious sunny day, and I attended a workshop presented by Morag on Creative Inspiration, about using meditation techniques and how to incorporate these ides into your art work. I then attended a workshop presented by Chel on ritual basics. As someone who mostly works solitary, it was a wonderful introduction to group rituals. It was also a safe introduction for those who have never participated in circle work before.

After lunch, it was my turn. I presented a workshop on Paganism in Old England - what can we learn from it? My focus was on the period when the Christians met the Pagans in the Dark Ages, and how to view this encounter in a positive light. We also looked at surviving aspects of Paganism in practices, literature and place names.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the Spring Equinox ritual that was held on the beach just after dark on Saturday night. After which we all feasted in the main hall, wearing our drinking hats and listening to the band Lothlorien.

On Sunday I had the pleasure to attend a workshop on making corn dollies, and at that early hour on a Sunday, there was much confusion during the plaiting of our wheat! I then attended a forum with Lynne Hume and Tannis (a visiting academic from America), talking about Paganism in Australia and America. A very interesting discussion then followed about incorporating a male aspect into our celebration of the lunar cycle. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend all of the workshops on offer, and missed out on workshops on belly dancing, herbcraft, how to make red wine, altered states of consciousness and mask making. So many workshops, so little time...

It was then pack up time, a very difficult thing to do. After such a relaxing weekend, surrounded by so many inspiring people, we wearily caught the ferry back to the "mainland", and dragged our tired bones home.

All in all, as my first large gathering, I had a fantastic time and highly recommend something like this for those seeking others, or communion with like minded people. I look forward to the next AWC. A big thanks to the organisers and those that attended who helped make the weekend such a huge success.