In July there's going to be an alchemical fire circle in Western Wisconsin, a short drive from the Twin Cities. I've been to this kind of fire circle and they can be life changing events. There's drumming, dancing, and there can also be intense spiritual awakenings.



The first people to sign up get a better rate, with the rate increasing as more people sign up.



http://www.sacredfirecircle.hawkdancing.com/



Alchemical Circle



Here’s a brief description of the alchemical process and how it can relate to the work we do at the fire circle. It should be noted that this is an over-simplification of a complex process.



NIGREDO: Blackening. Burn and dissolve what you're working with. Earth



1) Calcination: (root chakra) burn it down to ash



2) Dissolution: (second chakra) dissolve it.



3) Separation: (solar plexus chakra) solids settle out of the liquid. Recognition of duality. What you don't want is discarded.



ALBEDO: Whitening. Moon



4) Conjunction: (heart chakra) two substances come together to form a third substance with different properties



5) Fermentation: (throat chakra) skim the crud off the surface



6) Distillation: (third eye chakra) another wash



RUBEDO: Redening. Sun



7) Coagulation: (crown chakra) behold the purity





One way this can relate to the fire circle is wardrobe. People might want to start the first night wearing black. They might want to start the second night wearing white. Toward the end they might want to wear red. Although I would not wish for anyone to think that I am suggesting a dress code. Personally the first night I’ll probably start off wearing my least mundane clothes to help get me into the right frame of mind, and stop by the circle earlier and leave a change of clothes in case I feel I need it for the sake of my own personal transformation.



Throughout the weekend, each night, or several times, hopefully we will each go through the process on a spiritual level.



(1) We burn off the mundane (transform our awareness), (2) immerse ourselves in the process, (3) separate off any bits of the mundane still holding on (complete the internal shift), (4) embrace the pure magick of the circle, (5) let truths fester to the surface, (6) allow those truths to fully manifest within us, and (7) behold the beauty of our transformations.



Or, (1) we might start off drumming and dancing in a frenzy, (2) then allow it all to flow over us as we (3) let go of burdens so we can (4) fully embrace what we’re doing (5) let it all out, possibly in chant or rant (6) release our negativity (there might be cathartic tears) and (7) experience the joy of having gone through it all.



Or, we are each weighed down by our psychological baggage (lead) and so we use the circle to transform that which weighs us down into that which raises us up (gold). (1) We begin by grounding, finding our center and clearing our focus. (2) We let go of even that conscious focus and allow ourselves to flow trance-like with our subconscious. (3) Swimming in the depths of our subconscious we find what we’ve hidden and allow it to come to the surface without shame or restraint. (4) We allow these previously hidden aspects of ourselves to be a part of our conscious selves. (5) This emerged aspect of self brings with it many emotional attachments to deal with. (6) A time of deep introspection and separation from self to cleanse impurities. (7) We experience the gold which was the lead deep within our subconscious.



Or, the lead is our sense of self, and gold is our spirit which is weighed down. (1) The spirit begins to manifest. (2) The psyche experiences remorse for having weighed down the spirit. (3) We use our will to release the remorse. (4) We accept our intuition (5) We consider what we’ve learned. (6) We trust our intuition. (7) We trust our spirit.



As a community (because our group will become a little community for the weekend) (1) we put in the effort of creating the circle together by going early and helping erect the structures, or helping create the rangoli, or simply dancing together as the evening begins. (2) We get to know each other, eat together, learn each others names, support each other throughout the nights. (3) We let go of preconceived notions of each other. (4) We come to realize that we are all part of the same community, and all friends. (5) We bond. (6) We allow ourselves to feel love for each other. (7) That love is something we can carry with us.



As you can see, there are many ways to go through the alchemical process, and use it for personal growth. I hope that everyone in attendance is able to have their own alchemical experience.

I went to see Androgyny Kings tonight and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a wonderful show, many of my favorite local people were there, and I got to dance. Wonderful.



This might seem strange, but somehow I hadn't realized that it would be a drag-king show. All this time I was under the impression that Androgyny Kings were a band, you know like musicians who perform music. It seems strange now, looking back that I never realized this, but there you are. So I sat there, completely enjoying the performance, but wondering when the band was going to perform.



It was a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing many future performances.

Disclaimer: This is not a criticism of Wicca. I've come to accept that I'll probably eventually become Wiccan. This is just something I've noticed.



I've noticed a trend in Wiccan ideology to stress polarities. It works with the concept of the God and the Goddess divide things neatly into twos, rather than the somewhat disorganized method of pluralism. I've reached a threshold of spending too much time around transgender lesbians to believe that things can be neatly divided into polarities.

I created Facesbook and MySpace accounts to promote the Twin Cities Pagan Yahoo group which itself promotes Pagan activities in Twin Cities. I decided to search for area Pagans and add them as friends to the profiles beginning with Facebook. I'm currently up to 244 and still searching. In the course of this I also discovered that Facebook has Groups and Pages so I created those which I'll actively promote once I've finished adding friends so I have a group of people to promote to. Then I can use the Group and the Page to more actively promote the Yahoo group, so that I can promote more activity in the local Pagan community.