Astute readers of this blog may have noticed that I stopped mentioning Bacchanalia 2013 back around October. And for those who weren’t following this blog at the time or simply forgot here’s a brief refresher: I pledged to Dionysos that I’d do something big for him if he helped me get a job after a prolonged bout of unemployment. Two weeks to the day after I made the vow I got the gig at the convenience store. The big thing I planned to do was go back to Pantheacon and host another large ritual in his honor. Once the excitement passed I started thinking about what that venue is actually like, how difficult it would be to do the kind of ritual I was envisioning there, how aside from this and participating in Ekklesia Antinoou activities, schmoozing with a couple folks and maybe one or two other things there wasn’t a whole lot that even vaguely appealed to me about going there versus the many, many (many, many, many …) negatives such as cost, the environmental impact of flying, the crappy food, being around that many Pagans, etc. Then another idea occurred to me, one that was far more sensible and meaningful. I did some divination and Dionysos indicated that either one would be okay – he just wanted me to make the decision myself. (Being a Libra that is, of course, a big challenge and you know how he likes to challenge us.) So I spent some more time thinking about what I really wanted to do and then decided to shelve it all until after the busy winter season. If I didn’t get a strong urge to do Pantheacon before then I’d start pursuing the other option. That urge never came and so a couple weeks ago I got started implementing Plan B – talking it over with Dver, contacting some important people, figuring out what I’ll need to do to make this happen, how to generate the funds necessary to put it on, etc. I’m going to wait until I’ve heard back from a couple folks before I announce my new plan – but I figured I ought to make my withdrawal from Pantheacon official. And just to clarify this has absolutely nothing to do with that thing that nearly every other Pagan blogger is currently obsessing about except that the whole fiasco just confirms in a very large way that this was the right decision for me to make.
I certainly understand your decision. There were a number of people talking about your presence there next year, and looking forward to it, but that should not influence your decision one bit (seriously!). So, I hope the other plans end up working out well instead!
What I need is a wealthy benefactor. :)
You and me both, dear friend! ;) If I find one for myself, I’ll make sure to share, though!
Ditto.
I know you will do the right thing, Sannion and that Dionysos will be pleased with the result. I pray that everything goes well for you with this endevor.
thank you, my friend
If you ever have anything in the so-cal area I would love to try to make it(being in a wheelchair makes going places harder). Blessings.
-DarkRose
sorry, pretty much everything i do is limited to Oregon.
I think you’ll appreciate this blog post… apropos of nothing in particular other than phalloi :)
I’ve talked with this blogger some over the years on the ShintoML yahoogroup, he’s a sharp guy – you might find the blog worthwhile overall.
that was an awesome post (so many phalloi!) and a pretty neat blog, too. thanks for the recommendation!
Drat! (Only in that it provisionally provided a chance to potentially meet you and Dver finally.)
OTOH, if I’d be welcome, Eugene is closer, and almost certainly has better local intoxicants available. (Bias: the one hour or so I spent in town passing through was at one of the Rogue pubs.)
That’s certainly a possibility!
That’s understandable. Though for the record, I was considering attending for the first time next year largely because I’d love to attend the ritual you were planning!
This definitely won’t be the last time I attempt some kind of big public ritual for him … it just won’t be at Pantheacon.
I’ve thought for a long time about doing something similar. . . but then, ran into something along the same lines. I don’t know . . . I really don’t feel its in the best interest of my spiritual practice to put on a show, and in the end, it seemed more disrespectful to him, to me, to put on a grand “show” and rub a bunch of strangers noses’ in it as opposed to a small group whom I know would be respectful at the very least. I’ve been to Pantheacon three years in a row, now-once as a presenter, twice as a guest-and the more I thought about it, the worse the idea seemed. And when something doesn’t feel right to me, I go with my gut. So, I relate to this. TL:DR. :P
If there was ever a justification for ethnic cleansing, Pantheacon is it.
I daresay there’s a lot there I didn’t/don’t find particularly useful. As a matter of fact, it’s hard for me to really comprehend how practical Underwater Basketweaving is really at ANYtime.