On the lovely chilly morning of October 31st, 2024, I had the distinct pleasure of serving Hekate, my patroness, by riding up to Index and back with some friends and beginning preparing for Hekate's Sickle at the Aquarian Tabernacle Church's (ATC's) Mother Church property in Index, WA to pack up a U-Haul trailer in order to prepare for Hekate's Sickle Festival. After returning home, I hurriedly packed my bags and made my way to a bus stop to head down to SeaTac, WA. I made my way via bus and high speed transit train in the chilly rain in a big red raincoat while listening to "The Ballad of the Witches Road (Sacred Chant Version)" by the Cast of Marvel's Agatha All Along to check in to the hotel and get a good night's rest to prepare for a spiritual and leadership journey. This journey was not only spiritually fulfilling, but an opportunity to be in community with friends I often do not get to see.

     After checking in, unpacking my belongings, chatting it up with some friends, and getting some rest, I made my way to the Convention Center to start my day, help set up for the event, and serve at the Volunteer Coordinator for the event. In this role, I had the opportunity to connect attendees, who engage in sacred service in order to ensure the event runs smoothly, with volunteer opportunities that fit their strengths and personalities. Volunteers had the opportunity to serve at the registration desk, as hospitality volunteers who ensure the safety and comfort of those attending, as assistants to those holding workshops, and with setting up and tearing down the event and its various moving parts. I was honored to see this process unfold in a manner in which everyone had their needs met and any last minute needs were fulfilled. I was honored to have this opportunity as a volunteer leader and to serve the Goddess in this way.

     The first night of the actual event, I had the opportunity to participate in one workshop and four profound rituals that gave me much insight. First, I had the opportunity to participate in Opening Circle, a ritual at which we set the magical circle for the festival. In this ritual we experienced sacred dance and the informed practices of the ATC in holding a festival by establishing safety protocols and expectations of the event from the beginning. Next, I participated in a brilliant workshop with Celia Farran in which she taught participants about how to use their whole bodies as instruments with which to sing and a song that she composed for the event to call Hekate to the space. This beginning of my day was a great way to get the energy going.

     The next ritual was a Rite of Release in which those present honored their beloved dead with beautiful words and lit flameless candles for them. This ritual was immediately followed by Hekate's Deipnon a beautiful ritual in which participants were called by Hekate to let go of the ideas and things that no longer serve themselves, place them in a skull-shaped-vessel filled with water by adding food coloring into them, emptying the contents into Hekate's cauldron, and leaving the room. This ritual was based on the monthly rituals to Hekate that were held by the Ancient Greeks at the dark moon and was very profound for me. I found myself processing in a state of meditation that involved letting all of these old thought processes go.

     I then prepared for a Skyclad Ritual with Aphrodite in which we explored self care and treating the parts of our body with love and kindness rather than bullying and mistreatment. This profound ritual left me with a changed mindset for how I speak about my body. After all, as a witch, I know that my words have power and the way that I speak to my body matters deeply.

     As on most festival nights at a hotel, I had the pleasure of setting up for the next morning and spending time with my friends after this, catching up and decompressing in the hot tub. I often find that these moments lead to conversations that help to break down ideas that we struggle with and still need to process, while also making space to get to know people better and have fun.

     This evening, there was an unexpected interruption in my sleep, as a fire alarm woke me up because of an electrical fire under the stairs in another building. The community however, came together to make sure that everyone was okay and to make the scary moment something much better for the children in attendance with music, singing, and dance. Knowing what happened and handling my own anxiety in this moment, was definitely a learning moment for me. Once I could go back to sleep, I got some rest and woke up bright and early to get the event going once again in the morning.

     The next morning, a number of other workshops and rituals happened and a lot of volunteering helped to make the event a success. I led Morning Devotionals in which participants got to hear the Charge of the Goddess, share their gratitudes and intentions for the day, and sing the Witches' Rune to send their gratitudes and intentions up to the Gods. This is always a favorite ritual of mine, as it sets the day on the right foot and gives people and opportunity to start their day gently. I then participated in one more workshop and ended the day with a number of other rituals that ended the day.

     At the workshop I attended, Rev. Lilliana Blackstar presented on Trauma-Informed Care and its importance for clergy and spiritual professionals as people who lead rituals and provide spiritual counsel. In this workshop, I learned the most important aspects of Trauma-Informed Care and got an introduction to the topics most important to ensuring we care for our covens, clients, and people attending events we lead at.

     After dinner, rituals commenced, starting with an Awards Ceremony for pagan covens and the ATC to honor significant leaders. Many amazing pagan leaders were recognized, covens awarded members with awards that recognized their contributions, and donors to the ATC were recognized for their contributions that make what the ATC does possible. Visories were also installed for the Temples of Eleusis, a role that allows for someone to lead particular volunteer roles that are under the auspices of that particular deity. I was honored to be called to be installed as the Visory of the Temple of Poseidon in this ritual, the Temple that oversees Volunteer Coordination.

     Following this, the current Vessels (people who hold the energy of a specific deity or ancestral spirit), Votives (people who previously held the roles of said deity), and Votaries (people who oversee the mysteries of said deity) of the Spring Mysteries Festival put on a performance that recognized and honored all of the members of all of the Temples of SMF's Eleusinian Priesthood. SMF is an event in the Spring that continues the Eleusinian Mysteries of Ancient Greece with the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone and includes temples for the Greek Gods of Eleusis and many other integral roles to their mysteries. This event was very fun and concluded with a formal announcement of who would hold the role of Vessel for the various temples at the upcoming 39th SMF in 2025. 

      At this event, I got to honor the Temple of the Royal Family of Eleusis as the current Vessel of Triptolemus, pass on this vesselage to the new Vessel, and was passed on the vesselage of the Temple of Poseidon. All of this was not only exciting, fun, and emotional for many, but also leads to a profound magical journey for those participating in this ministry. For the next year, they hold the role of Vessel for this temple and represent it at the many ATC events that are related to the temple. If you would like to learn more about Spring Mysteries Festival, please go here: https://www.springmysteries.com.

     This was then followed by a beautiful concert that involved looping tools, opportunities to sing along, and lots of mirth and reverence by the one and only Celia Farran. She even sang my favorite of her songs, Walking the Labyrinth. The performance was a great way to lead into ritual and ended with her new song, performed alongside those who attended her workshop. This was a very spiritual moment for me, as a witch who grew up singing and works with Apollo as their Patron God.

     Following this, participants had an opportunity to have their skull cups refilled and blessed by Hekate in Hekate's Noumenia, a ritual held by the Ancient Greeks at the new moon. The ritual participants were given the opportunity to take in this blessed water as they felt comfortable, keeping it, blessing themselves with it, or drinking it. Then, the opportunity to receive a more personal message from Hekate was opened up alongside some fun music to dance to at the Witches' Ball and an opportunity for Drunken Divination. This ritual gave me profound realizations about the manner in which I receive love, the openness I have for love, the need I have to be able to live in a space that is my own, and my own journey with self-confidence. I am deeply grateful for those lessons and the opportunity to decompress after receiving them.

     Throughout the event, Bingo Cards were given to participants that earned them tickets and the opportunity to win a prize by purchasing from the Vendor Hall and an Art-Walk took place that participants voted on with beads to award the best artist. The vendors sold amazing wares including statuary, art, clothing, magical items, ceramics, candles, and music. They also provided spiritual counsel including sound healing, shamanic healing, tarot, and astrological readings. The Art-Walk included amazing works of art in many mediums from all ages.

     To close out the event, the final day began with an a breakfast buffet at the Hotel Restaurant to which people showed off their best onesies and enjoyed the morning together in community. Then, Closing Circle was held. Volunteers were recognized, prizes were won by those who put in their tickets for a raffle, Bingo Cards resulted in a prize, and the winners of the Art-Walk were also given a prize. Then, circle was closed and the event began to be ended and the stage and props were taken down.

     All in all, this weekend of fun, unexpected events, spiritual growth, and opportunities to lead and be in community was life-giving. I was grateful to be part of making it happen, even as I was occasionally interrupted to make sure things kept running smoothly, I enjoyed every moment, including my volunteer role. The Gods have done something special with Hekate's Sickle and I am very grateful to be part of this festival family.

This is the spiritual insights, contemplations on tarot, & Wiccan thought pieces by Soleil Étoilé. Soleil is an intuitive tarot reader, student at Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, First-Degree Priestx of the WISE-ATC Tradition of Wicca under Darrell and Minty Delph of the Ever Green Hearth in Centralia, WA, & a Third-Degree Priestx of the Eleusinian Priesthood of Spring Mysteries Festival. You can learn more about spiritual services with Soleil at soleiletoiletarot.com.