Between the Veil Conference

I recently attended parts of the BTV conference which is the next iteration of Pantheacon. Their focus on social justice and centering BIPOC and Queer identities was very good and appreciated.

I attended the Tarot for Creativity for Queer folks session on Saturday morning which was fun and informative. The presenter was Cassandra Snow and she provided us with her understanding of the Major Arcana, Court Cards and suits. I liked that she said the Court Cards are 16 versions of ourselves. I still think they can point to others in our lives and this other perspective opens up more meaning for those cards for me. She gave us exercises we could use with the Tarot to help our creativity. One was a Word Bank - pull a card, write down words for everything you see in the card and then use those words to start writing, or start a poem, or start a painting or drawing or whatever you feel inspired to do. Another was Before and After - pull a card and talk about what happened before the scene you are viewing and what happens after. This is to help jump start creativity and let your mind riff. Another was Quick as a Cat - pull a card and immediately start doing something, either inspired by the card or whatever you feel in that moment from that activity. She also discussed decks with non-binary images, queer images and discussed how an ace/aro person could relate to the Lovers card. Cassandra said to consider the many types of love for that card, not just romantic love and I thought it could also relate to loving ourselves for who we are or reversed, how we are not loving ourselves for who we are.

The next session I attended was the White Allies Caucus. There was a BIOPC Caucus as well which, frankly, I wish I could have attended, but totally understand why I couldn't /shouldn't. It was a thought provoking session and I was a bit disappointed that my main question was not answered or addressed directly. My concern as a white person is that I want to make any spaces I create to be inclusive to everyone. However, being white, in a white supremacist society, we often have blinders on about exactly how to do that. I understand making spaces accessible to those with different abilities, but I need more specific suggestions on how to make a space welcoming to BIPOC people. That session brought up good points about knowing the history of race, understanding colonial structures, understanding how capitalism undergirds racism, but as I find typical, it's hard for white people to figure out how to make spaces more inclusive. If anyone reading this blog can help with me what, I would be beyond appreciative.

Saturday afternoon I attended workshop on Ritual Construction presented by Joie Wolfyn. Joie discussed a general outline for rituals that could be used for many traditions or practices. Joie discussed 13 steps. Gather, Connect, Create a unified focus, Delineate the space, Elemental callings, Re-invigorate/Reconnect, Declare Intent, Strengthen/Elevate/Raise energy, Apply energy to intention, Activating intention, Re-balance/Ground/Energetic connection (cakes and ale) Release focus and Delineation, Clean up (physically and psychically), Relax. Best not to assess the ritual until 48 or 72 hours later. We heard many examples and stories about how each of these steps work. It was fascinating to hear Joie's stories and what people talked about in the chat.

Sunday morning I attended the workshop on the Magic of Keys. I was very interested in this since Hekate is strongly associated with keys. It was a wonderful presentation by Marcus Keys (https://marcusskeletonkeys.com/) He talked about the history and lore of keys (they are 4,000 years old!), keys associated with deities and saints, types of keys, magical uses of keys (divination and spells) and he answered questions. Keys can be used as offerings, mediation tools, and in place of other magical tools when one needs to be discrete. They can be left at the crossroads as an offering to the crossroads spirit. Old or new keys can be used and even the new key cards used in hotels!

Some of the sessions were recorded and they told us they will email us the links. I'm happy to share what I receive!

Between the Veils hopes that next year we can all be in person again and I'm sure an in-person gathering would be wonderful and a great next step for those of us who went to Pantheacon.