icourtland!

the last several days have just been a whirl of activity. besides trying to get another issue of World Energy Monthly Review out the door by Monday afternoon, i have had just a whole bunch of really cool social things going on as well.

a week ago yesterday was the big Reclaiming Traditions Spiral Dance for Samhain. this is pretty much the biggest pagan event in the whole Bay Area, and it sure was a big crowd that night too. this was our second year to go, and i think that in some ways i got a lot more out of it this year. these events are usually pretty long, and sitting through some of it can be a bit tiresome, but the overall event is SO worth attending. the Spiral Dance itself went a bit off in some parts, i felt like my arms were going to be pulled right out of their sockets when we got really stretched out, but it was as usual a complete blast!

so then a couple of days later on Wednesday – the actual day/night of Samhain – one of the leaders of CAYA Coven (the group that i have been celebrating with) hosted a pot-luck at her new store, Sacred Well. it was a great turn out, great people and great food. we had a bit of an impromptu drum circle, some great conversations and some new friends to help bring in the new year the right way.

then came Thursday the 1st – Marcus and my anniversary! hard to believe it, but this was number 11! this really blows a lot of people away when they hear that number. i see such shock and surprise on people faces, even if they themselves have been in a relationship that long or longer. don’t quite know if it is just a response to the ever-growing disposable nature of some relationships, or if they look at two guys and find it hard to imagine that we have stayed together for that long. i don’t really care. as long as he and i are happy i really just don’t care what the rest of the world thinks one way or the other.

now we come to Friday – and the Day of the Dead celebration/march in the Mission district. we had never been before, and we will not be missing it ever again. what an amazing event! we originally went to meet up with some of the folks from CAYA (ended up finding them almost by accident!) and spent a good deal of the night marching/walking the route with them. amazing make-up on some people, amazing drumming going on for blocks and blocks and the altars set up to honor ancestors and honored dead were, well in a word, amazing. this is an event that is not to be missed.

that brings us up to last night, and another meet up with the CAYA folks – this time for our Samhain ritual and celebration! time of the year i guess. we witchy folks like to get our pagan on for the new year! this is the first really big event that CAYA has put on that Marcus has attended along with me. we had a wonderful time. really heart-felt and intense event with lots of tears, lots of laughter and a whole lot of drumming. we had out own little Spiral Dance, this time with dozens instead of over a thousand and more! i really loosened up and had a wonderful experience. meeting these people and getting involved with them has opened up my life quite a bit. i can feel changes happening, really good positive changes. it feels really good – and makes me so proud when Marcus points out that he can see them happening.

today i am back to work – yeah on a Sunday. tired but in such a good way.