Electronic Foghorn
The Newsletter of Fog City Nest
A Congregation of the Church of All Worlds
Issue #35 April 1993
BELTANE RITUAL
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This year's Beltane ritual will be conducted by Don Eigenhauser.
It will be a Tuscan witchcraft ritual where we will explore Diana
and her daughter Aradia through skit and a conjuration of lemon
and pins based on Leland's Gospel of the Witches. There are
parts available for several characters. Contact Don if you are
interested in playing a part and he will send a script to you.
It will take place at Sutro Heights; meet at the bus shelter on
Pt Lobos and El Camino del Mar at 7:00 pm.
What: Beltane Ritual
Where: Sutro Heights
When: Thursday, April 29
7:00 pm
Cost: $3 Suggested Donation
Bring: Cakes and wine to share, offerings for Diana, musical
instruments if inclined
Who: Don 415-751-4009
(This should be a great ritual. Don't miss it, I'll be there.)
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Transformational Ritual
Workshop Report
by Toni Spizman
We had an excellent workshop on March 28 presented by Wendy
Hunter Roberts on Making Ritual Real. We discussed the purpose
of ritual and what had caused ritual to work for us in the past.
Wendy talked about the need for presence in ritual and she broke
presence into four categories:
1) Presence of self
2) Presence to each other
3) Presence of the Divine
4) Presence of Purpose
This is just the bare bones of the discussion. What is hard to
put in a few paragraphs is the sudden shafts of light that sud
denly bring big chunks of your past experience together but that
seem so basic in retrospect. I could tell you what they were for
me, but I suspect they were different for everyone.
If you missed this workshop, you may want to contact Wendy Hunter
Roberts to see if she will be presenting the material again.
Wendy also teaches classes and is available for counseling. Her
phone number is 510-535-0857.
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Earth Day - April 24
To honor the Earth and to do service to the community, Fog City
Nest members (at least one of us) will help work on the Aids
Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The
Grove is on Bowling Green Drive near the Tennis Courts. Bring a
lunch, sturdy shoes, a warm shirt (layers you can take off), and
work gloves with leather palms if possible. The Dept of Rec and
Park provides the tools. In case of rain, 621-3260. Thank you
to Maxine for researching this community project for us.
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Camping Trip
The camping trip is June 4, 5 and 6th. We are going to a place
called Emerald Earth in the Anderson Valley in southern Mendocino
county. There is a cabin with a sleeping loft and mattresses.
There are mosquitos. There is poison oak. There are 189 acres
of land which we will have to ourselves to explore and do ritual
on.
Here are the details: We will be doing a communal food thing -
expect your meals to be provided, although you may want to bring
snacks. There is a hot water heater but it is small; each person
gets one SHORT shower. Each person is expected to do 2 hours of
work per day on the land. We expect the days to be warm and the
nights to be cool.
Basic List: shorts, jeans, sweats(?), swimsuit, sandals, sneak
ers, hiking boots, t-shirts, long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt,
socks, work gloves, tent, sleeping bag, pillow, flashlight,
canteen, teddy bear.
Are you excited? Are you eager? Are you bursting with enthusi
asm? Then send $35 to Toni Spizman at 692 San Jose Ave #6, San
Francisco, CA 94110 to hold your spot. I will also need your
name, transportation situation (do you need/can you provide a
ride?), what time you are available to leave on Friday, special
dietary considerations, and ideas for rituals.
A note regarding transportation: Transportation expenses are not
included in the $35 charge. You will be expected to give the
driver of the vehicle at least $5 toward gas and bridge tolls.
We often seem to have more riders than cars. In a pinch, we will
rent a car to get everyone up to the site. If that happens,
everyone will be asked to pay an additional fee to cover all
transportation expenses (so that the people in the rental car
don't end up with a much higher expense)
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A ROCK 'N' ROLL SPRING
EQUINOX RITUAL, 1993
Members of the Fog City Nest attended a powerful ritual celebra
tion of the Spring Equinox in Oakland last month. The Sabbat
ritual was held at Leona Lodge, and co-sponsored by pagan record
ing artist Leigh Ann Hussey, her bank Annwn, and the Black Oak
Fellowship of the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
(NROOGD).
For Leigh Ann, the sabbat was a personal celebration, as well as
a public one, for she was celebrating her 10th anniversary in the
Craft. Her band, Annwn, "reconstructed" from its earlier mani
festation as the band Daoine Sidhe, was charged up with an the
additional excitement of marking the milestone for Ms. Hussey.
The ritual was recorded on audio and videotape for both posterity
and an upcoming tape or album! The audience/ritual participants
were offered masks to shield their pagan identities (if they felt
it necessary), but I counted only one mask in the crowd of nearly
one hundred people attending.
The turn-out was much larger than anticipated, making our Circle
more of a magickal Oval oozing out of the hall, but a "more-the-
merrier" camaraderie was pervasive. The Oakland Park District
lodge was a perfect setting for the concert ritual, replete with
wooden floors for a'stomping and a wilderness watchtower from
every lodge window. The sound crew was considerate of the bound
aries of our space. A professional light show splashed petri-
dish paisleys into the ebbs and flows of colored light across the
floor and as a backdrop to the band.
The whole of the sabbat ritual was done in the rock and roll,
Celtic-romp that is Annwn in motion. Most of the vocalization
was sung by Leigh Ann Hussey, who called the Quarters most im
pressively, but long-time associate Elton Wildermuth provided his
voice and guitar, also. Instrumental contributions included the
fiddle, bass, drums, guitars, and the bodhran.
Church of All Worlds participation involved more than our Nest's
mere attendance, as CAW members were featured in the dances
accompanying Leigh Ann's quarter-casting! We took pride in
watching CAW Secretary Jessica Weiss (as Water) and our own Fog
City-sister, Patricia Croteau (as Earth), both accomplished
dancers. Equally enjoyable to watch was Selene Vega of IDES
Nest, dancing as the Goddess-invoked.
Dance and sound, dance and sound; we celebrated the returning of
the Light! a "Jig of Power" was raised amidst the exhausting
dance and frenzied shuffle of all present; the music and merry
motion raised true celebratory power! We dropped to the floor in
an abounding grounding, the band most apparently satisfied that
we had successfully empowered the Equinox.
Wine and non-wine complimented tasty loaves to revive us and
bind us. After our necessary respite, the God and Goddess were
dismissed and the Quarters were bade a hail and farewell. The
Circle was opened, but, you know.....
Afterwards, the lodge took on a socializing mood, and I congratu
lated an exuberant Leigh Ann Hussey on ritual well done. Other
CAW folk present included the delightful Fran Nowve, Bear, and
"Nearly NORML" John Daies. (Incidentally, this was the first
time I saw sushi offered at a public ritual - tray shriek!) Our
Fog City contingent boarded our NROOGD provided shuttle to the
BART, happy that we had been a part of the ritual. Blessed be!
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April Fool
by Maxine Grodjinsky
The Fool's identities include the madman, the mystic, the dream
er, the one who becomes like a little child in order to enter the
kingdom of Heaven. The Native American concept of the "sacred
clown" is an extension of these images, a further illumination of
the higher esoteric truths of this key. The clown's role in the
religious ceremonies of the Pueblo Tribes of the American South
west exemplifies the unlimited freedom of the void that exists
before creation, and the beginnings of the spiritual journey
introduced by this initial card of the Tarot deck.
The clowns behave in a manner contrary to the way in which one is
supposed to act by doing everything one is not supposed to do.
They walk backwards, eat filth and turn the lodges inside out.
They are shameless beggars and thieves who dress shabbily and
terrorize the villages. They disturb the ceremonies by substi
tuting ashes for sacred cornmeal and trying to capture the spirit
beings. Their disrespectful behavior mocks the mores, shamans
and rituals of their cultures.
This behavior serves several functions. Their anti-social ac
tions remind the people of what is considered unacceptable. The
laughter at their performances clears the worry from the minds of
the participants, thereby opening them to the experiences of the
ceremony. Most essentially, by exposing the forms of the ceremo
ny as merely forms, the clowns remind us that all form is a
representative expression of the power behind it, that all visi
ble materializations are created by invisible forces. Their
lesson is that the form is not to be worshiped as a "false idol"
but that one must seek the inner truths veiled in outward appear
ances.
Information about sacred clowns is from "the Clown's Way" by
Barbara Tedlock in "Teachings from the American Earth: Indian
Religion and Philosophy" edited by Dennis Tedlock and Barbara
Tedlock (New York: Liveright, 1975)
This article originally appeared in the "Tarot Network News."
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Tarot Musings
The Star
Patricia Croteau
After the powerful transformative energy of the Devil and the
Tower, the Star brings much needed rest. In the Devil you see the
status quo for what it is - no longer useful to you. In the Tower
the old is swept away. Now you must decide what to put into that
empty place. Who are you ? Who do you want to be ? This is a time
of rest and contemplation. A time for renewal and possibilities.
You have a sense of flow and of being connected to the source.
Limitless creative energy is available to you. Temperance care
fully pours her energy from cup to cup conserving what she has.
But the Star pours her energy out without reservation. She has no
need for caution as she is connected to the goddess who is the
source of all creativity. More is always available to her for the
asking.
My favorite version of this card appears in the Motherpeace deck.
A Native American woman is floating in a pool in the desert. She
is surrounded by flowers and animals. This card exudes a sense of
peace and beauty that is not evident on the Rider-Waite deck.
Traditionally the star has been a symbol of aspiration and hope.
Who hasn't wished on a star ? To the ancients the stars were a
means of orienting themselves in both time and space. The move
ment of the constellations across the sky marked the passage of
the year. Sailors guided themselves using the positions of the
stars as references. For the twentieth century stars symbolize
the hope of space flight and the possibility of alien cultures.
The Star stands for a time of hope, possibility and rest. It is a
sigh of relief after the hectic energy of the previous two cards.
Resource box:
Patricia is a Tarot teacher and co-founder of the Practical Tarot
Collective. She may be reached at 415-252-8520 or by writing to
1041 Page St. San Francisco CA 94117
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Letter to the Editrix
Dear Editor:
President Clinton wants people to call his 800 numbers and write
letters with suggestions for saving money. I suggest we save a
quick $11 billion a year by eliminating the unjust, expensive,
and ineffective War on Drugs. The U.S. imprisons more of its
people per capita than any other nation in the world, more than
Russia, more than China, more than South Africa, more than any
one, and a quarter of those are for drug use. That's use, not
sale or manufacture. The $11 billion doesn't even include the
costs of imprisonment.
If you agree, write to Clinton and/or Gore at 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave., Washington, D.C. 20006. Mark the envelope "Re-inventing
Government." Or call the Dept. of Justice at 800-869-4499.
Sincerely,
David Brubaker
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This newsletter runs on Donations. Lately I have not had access
to a copy machine so if you know of a source of low cost copies,
let me know.
Donations, Articles, and Letters to the Editrix should be sent
to:
Toni Spizman
692 San Jose Ave. #6
San Francisco, CA 94110
Or electronically to:
navarra@well.sf.ca.us
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LATE ADDITIONS OR "HOW COULD I BE SO DUMB AND FORGET THIS STUFF"
Heartfelt apologies but I forgot some important stuff.
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Business Meeting May 22, 7:00 pm. Be one of the Wheeler Dealer
Power Brokers of the Nest. Attend the Business Meeting and be in
on all the inside happenings. Katrina's place. 954 Hampshire
between 21st and 22nd Streets.
Don Eigenhauser has set up a Cash Scholarship available to any
High School student in the San Francisco School system for the
best essay on "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein.
If you know a high school student who would like to make some
easy money, tell them about it. Oh yeah! How Much? $200
While I'm at it. It is my policy (and therefore the policy of
this newsletter while I'm Editrix) that anyone can get one free
newsletter for the asking. If you would like to continue to
receive the newsletter after that, please send a donation of AT
LEAST $1 or 3 stamps of $.29 each. I need to know I'm not send
ing my energy into a black hole.
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End of Electronic FogHorn