Writing with Tom and Cheryl- From Behind the Chair
By: Mariette Papic
Tom and Cheryl as tarot cards. Illustrated by A.A. Kopsell
How it Started:
When I first met Tom, my aunt connected us. They worked together and she said he was threatening to write a book. I laughed but said, “Sure,” and so it began.
We met at his restaurant while it was closed and he started to talk. He had all this energy and it was really exciting. I wasn’t sure where the story was, until he told me about Cheryl. The more we talked about his life, I realized it was his relationships that touched me differently than all the other items he had shared up until that moment. In one breath he could tell you about something crazy that had happened – how he had driven a member of the Village People home one night or how he had a bitter feud with his first dog. In that same breath he would tell me how he just saw a person that had hurt him or how he was going to see an ex he pined for secretly. I quickly realized that Tom didn’t give up on people. He took them how they were, good and bad. I loved that about him right away. Tom gives himself to people and all he asks for is the same kind of acceptance, that to me is a human story worth telling. Plus Tom is so funny, and he has great timing to his stories.
How it took shape:
We met a few more times and agreed on an initial plan of action. We would talk and eat. Tom would get the Italian pastries from the bakery around the corner and we would eat with no apologies. Deliveries for the restaurant would come in, sometimes a repairman would show up, and we would pause, and I’d just take it all in.
Through that setting we still found lots of quiet time to really work, for him to talk and for me to listen. Within a few sessions I came up with an outline. I realized that Tom’s sexual adventures were colorful but they were also heartfelt. I felt that this ability to love transcended labels, identity and all the other boundaries and so we went from focusing on sexuality and putting the focus on love, on how it really plays out in life. Tom was brave to do this, I felt. I also realized that the death of his friend Cheryl was still pretty fresh, and their friendship piqued my interest. Cheryl sounded wild in a good way, and sweet, like a totally wonderful Jersey Girl, one who never apologized for the big hair she had in the 80s. Yet there she was, also completely in touch with the other dimensions of existence, because Cheryl was born a seer. That felt so feminine and real to me, and like finally Cheryl from the other side, wanted other women to experience their own powers free from that fear of being alive. .
Sometimes people ask me what Tom did to warrant writing his memoir, and I usually say, “He survived.” I think something in our culture makes us think that only celebrities and royalty deserve to have their story told, and I think that needs to change.
Working with Tom and Cheryl
As we got deeper into Tom’s stories I understood that we were going to weave together the present and the past in a unique way. The whole thing was going to feel like a kind of conversation where the number one thread was Tom, and all the other threads were those relationships between him and others, almost none of whom were alive. It was a journey through ADHD and New Jersey traffic patterns.
Cheryl was a profoundly gifted individual and yet she struggled with society and expectations around what is normal and allowed, just like Tom did. In our first meeting he mentioned Cheryl, as had my aunt Sandy, before she introduced us. She had told me that Tom had paid Cheryl’s bills, and bought her food. The more I scratched that surface with Tom, about this friendship, the more potent their relationship felt. The more I asked him about the way they spent time, the more I learned about them, and about Cheryl’s knowledge. I was intrigued and felt like I understood Cherl at some level, as a woman.
I understood her fear of the world, of the harshness it doles out to women all the time. I think most women can understand that fear that for one reason or another, you could be either literally or figuratively “burned at the stake.”
Sometimes when we paused our writing session, I would have time to look at the sunlight as it came through the curtains of the restaurant, and I would just feel. I would just purify the energy, say thanks to the Highest Light, and let that feeling of love across all boundaries pour in. I’m sure it looked like I was spacing out but I wasn’t.. This was a really nice project for me, it kept me on my toes!
Tom was open to making Cheryl a really big part of the story of his life. I respected that about him. Once I realized Tom had that openness I felt a lot of freedom and creativity in our collaboration. I’ll never forget when Tom told me that he and Cheryl were going to write about her surviving cancer. I felt like she entered the room at that very moment, like I could feel the room change. The whole thing made sense and it felt like she was part of the reason I was there. From that moment I started to ask Tom to pull cards as we wrote or if we hung out together after a session.
The alchemy of writing with Cheryl and Tom, what do you mean by that?
A writing session with Tom was fun and generally straightforward, but there were times when I needed to do some of the writing alone, that was my role. With Tom I could go back and ask if I got it right and he could correct me, but I had to do the weave of how the whole bunch of stories would flow to became a single story. With Cheryl, I had to go inward to come to Tom again, with deeper questions, with those little details that would make the ground of the story, bringing it full circle.
The same with Tom’s parents – he would tell me his story, give me his insight. Later, I would be responsible for the weave of the story, and so I might bike or drive by a location, or I might ask for some guidance silently. We did visit Tom’s childhood home, where he and his sister and brother were raised. Tom trusted me so much that we went and experienced places and faces from the past. This helped entire scenes come alive and get into the book. The liquor store guys, where Napoleon came from, we would visit them, too. That whole area in Bradley Beach, NJ probably deserves its own series of books, because it is full of small businesses and each one of those is definitely each a story.
How did you come to Auguries and Alchemy?
Intuition led the process for sure. The book had been done for some time and it hadn’t been published. We didn’t want to self publish, at least I didn’t think we should. I wanted to find an ally, someone who would love this story and its real life characters. One day I was in an online writing class, one that I produced with a friend. It’s a meditative writing course tied to the Transcendental Meditation technique and movement. Some of the course participants wanted to know where they could find writing prompts after the course was over and I was looking for some links to share while my friend continued her instruction. Somehow in that process I landed at a website with a blurb about this new press. I followed the link and found that the tone was incredible. The more I read about the founder, Pamona Sparrow, the more excited I became. She was perfect for us. She had a history in using LeNormand decks, which Cheryl loved. She also had a career as a hairstylist and since Tom and Cheryl were also in that business, I felt a kind of “click.” This was it. I sent out an approach letter within an hour or two. When I heard back I felt that magical, natural connection deepen and I said to Tom, “Hey, I think we have our publisher. She’s our third partner in this.” Sure enough, here we are publishing together, and I couldn’t imagine a more caring or professional publisher than Pamona and Auguries and Alchemy.
“Hummingbird stay for a fractionalsharp sweetness, and’s gone, can’t take more than that.” – Denise Levertov
Spotting a hummingbird is always exciting. Seeing that magical floating flash ofcolor is like spotting a fairy. Small as your thumb, quick as a thought, blink and it’sgone. Like most things in nature however, they have two sides and are not always assweet as they seem.
They have tiny teacup size nests built by the female. In fact, the female does allthe work when it comes to homemaking and raising the chicks. The males are very aggressive when it comes to mating. They will go so far as to stab a rival in the throatwith their beak.
Hummingbirds as a whole are antisocial.
They don’t get along with other birds or each other. They will occasionally come together to go to war with bees who they also don’t get along with. The fight over territory isn’t surprising given their nature and the fact they are always hours away from starvation. Their metabolism is so high they have to consume more than their body weight in nectar daily. They are able to store just enough energy to survive over night. Then they do it all again.When food is scarce or temperatures are low, they go into a deep sleep state called torpor to conserve their energy.
They are also quite smart. Their brains are bigger than most birds in relation to their body size. Because of this, they are able to remember appetizing flowers they have seen far away and can travel up to 23 miles per day in search of a meal.This is no problem for them since they can fly around 34 miles per hour. They are also the only bird who can fly backwards as well as upside down allowing them to easily switch directions. But, for all of their zipping around and fighting, they also appreciate stillness.Hummingbirds will perch on a high branch and meditate, sometimes for and hour.
The message a hummingbird brings is one of fleeting beauty. It’s bright, intelligent, attractive, but not one to hang around. Appreciate it for what it is because it is stunning and always a joy to encounter. Just remember that the hummingbird is concerned with consuming the sweetness in life, then it’s gone.
Hummingbird Auguries & Alchemy
“Hummingbird stay for a fractional sharp sweetness, and’s gone, can’t take more than that.” – Denise Levertov
Thomas Sharpe was raised in an ultra conservative home at the Jersey shore, where most days he felt like he didn’t fit in. Three months after Tom and his twin brother turned 21, their father suddenly passed away from a massive heart attack. That event stretched Tom between the grief of losing a parent and the sweetness of a life of new found freedom.He started his life out of the closet journey by enrolling in cosmetology school. He graduated from the Wilfred Academy of Beauty in 1982 and went on to cut hair at people’s homes, their sick beds, and in working class salons along Routes 37 and Brick Boulevard, six to seven days a week. Tom is an avid gardener and a doting godfather. As an adult, he has kept the unrelenting Protestant work ethic he inherited while breaking most of the other rules that he considers judgments, not truths. He has learned magic and tarot and regularly finds practical ways to apply it to everyday life.
Mariette is an author and multidisciplinary artist based in writing and photography. She was born in Newark, New Jersey to immigrant parents. She was raised in a vibrant extended community that spanned her childhood home in New Jersey with frequent visits to Astoria and Jackson Heights, Queens, NY.As a bilingual child, Ms. Papic began her studies at Rutgers University, concentrating her time in French Literature studies along with Italian and numerous interdisciplinary classes that focused her mind on the philosophies of political and social currents. She abandoned her degree studies and turned towards studying at The International Center for Photography, as well as studying documentary filmmaking at the New York Film Academy, both in New York City. She went on to study with Mary Ellen Mark and Irish writer Nuala O’Faoloin among others. Mariette is the author of the 2016 non-fiction book, The Digital Nomad Manifesto, which explores bender dynamics in the context of climate and the development of quantum computers. The DNM explores pre-internet culture and its links to today’s social movements. She has performed poetry and provided installations around the United States, most notably at New Museum, Bowery Poetry Club, and at the Grace Space, all in New York City.You can find out more about her work at her website thunderandstars.com
“We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard defining edges.”
—Gene Wolfe
Writing Systems and Joseph Campbell
Opportunity often comes in the guise of challenge, and there is nothing more challenging for a writer today than an earnest attempt to master their craft. Beware, O pupil, of searching the words “How to write a book” online. The writinggurus crowd every digital street corner. The lifestyle hackers find us where we scroll. The ten commandments come to us in blogposts on obscure websites. There’s a deluge of gurusdispensing unquestionable truths about Story.
Some of these gurus have earned great acclaim, and rightfully so. Blake Snyder, Chris Vogler, Lester Dent, Georges Polti, Ronald B. Tobias, John Truby, Lajos Egri, Syd Field, Robert McKee, Shawn Coyne, K.M. Weiland. The list continues to grow every day. Some pupils may study at the altar of each and every guru, and learn much. Yet adherence to the tenets, the rules, and the intellectual principles taught by these gurus results in little more than a sad scholasticism. There is a veritable avalanche of new media adhering to such Systems. Agents reject manuscripts for lacking a strong three-act structure. Contests eschew any screenplay with a misplaced midpoint. Readers shrug off books without a palpable character arc. Story is our only religion, and we have swiftly become the foot-soldiers of a nascent orthodoxy.
This deluge of gurus owes everything to Joseph Campbell who once wrote “The gods as icons are not ends in themselves. Their entertaining myths transport the mind and spirit, not up to, but past them, into the yonder void.” Joseph Campbell is remembered today chiefly for writing a book called The Hero With a Thousand Faces and discovering (or inventing) something called the Monomyth, now better known as the Hero’s Journey. Everyone who has heard of the Hero’s Journey knows that Campbell discovered (or invented) it by studying mythologies and folktales from cultures around the world and discovering their essential similarities.
However, fewer know that Campbell was a card-carrying Jungian. His was a living cosmos. His interest was not chiefly sociological, but psychological and indeed magical. He was not looking for recurring forms, but recurring themes. He was interested in symbolism, not signifiers. He believed the collective unconscious guided the creation of all myths worthy of the name.
Campbell’s project was to shed the light of consciousness upon the hitherto unconscious mythmaking process at the very moment it was fading into the far reaches of our collective rear-view mirror. His book was never meant to become a System, a “How To” guide. His book was meant to be an injection of purpose, of meaning, of vision into the veins of the young writer. His book was meant to be a scalpel slicing through the defenses of the conscious mind, creating a living link between the individual and the collective. He was pointing to the yonder void.
One must note the melancholy in such passages: “There can be no question: the psychological dangers through which earlier generations were guided by the symbols and spiritual exercises of their mythological and religious inheritance we today must face alone. This is our problem as modern, ‘enlightened’ individuals for whom all gods and devils have been rationalized out of existence.” This is not a man attempting to impart a Confucian wisdom of Proper Writing, but a man attempting to inject modern life with the Divine it sorely lacks.
Writers today should confer less with gurus, and more with the yonder void.
Archetypes and Carl Jung
Whether we’re talking about a two-thousand year old parable, or a blockbuster film streaming today, what makes a myth resonate is not its structure but its symbolism. The modern pantheon of gods may inspire us to Marvel for a day at the dazzling spectacle, but it’s those rare stories that contain the power of living archetypes that really remain with us, for the archetypes we encounter in these stories are the same archetypes that live within our own psyches.
But what exactly is an archetype?
The concept has a genealogy. Freud, in his early studies of his patient’s dreams discovered recurring motifs, what he called “Archaic remnants.” Jung explains how Freud saw these motifs as “mental forms whose presence cannot be explained by anything in the individual’s own life and which seem to be aboriginal, innate, and inherited shapes of the human mind.” Jung and Freud both saw “the analogies between the dream pictures of modern man and the products of the primitive mind, its ‘collective images,’ and its mythological motifs.”
Jung took this concept and ran. He compared these mental motifs to, “an instinctive trend, as marked as the impulse of birds to build nests, or ants to form organized colonies.” And yet, he also claims they “manifest themselves in fantasies and often reveal their presence only by symbolic images. These manifestations are what I call the archetypes.”
Archetypes, to simplify, are universal, living symbols.
But what exactly is a symbol? Jung writes, “The sign is always less than the concept it represents, while a symbol always stands for something more than its obvious and immediate meaning. Symbols, moreover, are natural and spontaneous products. No genius has ever sat down with a pen or a brush in his hand and said: ‘Now I am going to invent a symbol.’ ”
To recapitulate: The stories that resonate with us are not necessarily those that most accurately follow a manmadeSystem, but ones that are injected with the energy of universal, living symbolism. Armed with such knowledge, we should be living through a mythical renaissance, for Jung observes that, “We know more about mythological symbolism than did any generation before our own.” Yet this fact has a dual impact: on the one hand, we have a unique ability to create myths with a high degree of consciousness regarding their purpose, and on the other hand, we are more alienated from our own mythmaking, more ironic and self-aware, and thus skeptical and overfamiliar with them. We seek novelty even as we drown in novelty. We reject “tired tropes” like “the Chosen One” without wondering if those tropes can hear us.
Perhaps they appear “tired” because they are immortal.
Jung, like Campbell, takes these claims at face value. He lives in a divine cosmos. He writes, “Modern man does not understand how much his ‘rationalism’ has put him at the mercy of the psychic ‘underworld.’ He has freed himself from ‘superstition’ (or so he believes), but in the process he has lost his spiritual values to a positively dangerous degree. His moral and spiritual tradition has disintegrated, and he is now paying the price for this break-up in world-wide disorientation and dissociation.” Our storytelling practices become complicit with this “dangerous disintegration” when we study Systems rather than archetypes. If we are to follow Campbell and Jung, our storytelling practices must become a magical praxis.
Storytelling, therefore, when it engages with living archetypes and aspires to the status of myth, becomes a sort of psychoanalysis of the commons. This is how you (as a writer) can change the world: not by telling your audience what to think, but by allowing them to encounter their own psyche. Not by “representing reality as it is” but by representing the numinous.
The Tarot and the Law of One
Now, after I’ve suggested that any writing System is inherently limited, I would like to advance a new writing System. It does not come from me, nor from any human, but from a sixth-dimensional entity originating from the planet Venus who calls itself Ra. If you find this hard to believe, I salute you, and yet I’d urge you to stay with me a moment longer.
Ra’s teachings come to us in a 5 volume book entitled “The Law of One” (which is essential reading for any seeker of higher-dimensional truths). My contention is that this book of New Age philosophy also contains a powerful writing System, more malleable than Save the Cat, more meaningful than The Writer’s Journey, more personal than Creating Character Arcs. You likely already know this tool. We call it the Tarot, or more specifically the Major Arcana.
There is an ongoing debate regarding the origins of the Tarot. The earliest known decks are from the mid-15th century in Europe. Some argue that the cards originate with the Egyptian mysteries. Ra claims that this system of 22 images was devised millions of years ago on Venus with the purpose of familiarizing the initiate with the living archetypes of the collective consciousness unique to our solar system. This is where I would glance around the room to see how everyone is doing. Alas, I cannot see your face, O reader. Instead, I provide citations.
Ra says, “We wish not to form that which may be considered by any mind/body/spirit complex to be a complete and infallible series of images. There is a substantial point to be made in this regard. We have been, with the questioner’s aid, investigating the concept complexes of the great architecture of the archetypical mind. […] In no way whatsoever should we, as humble messengers of the One Infinite Creator, wish to place before the consideration of any mind/body/spirit complex which seeks its evolution the palest tint of the idea that these images are anything but a resource for working in the area of the development of the faith and the will.” Thus, take this System with a multi-dimensional grain of salt. It’s not meant to becomea dogma, or an object of academia. It merely points to yonder void.
The System Itself
The best way to learn this System is to simply spend time with the cards themselves. Find yourself a deck and spread them out before you as they are spread above. Then spend ample time considering each card. Consider each card alone and in sequence. Remember: there are no answers in the back of the book. Each of these cards reflects back to you an aspect of your own psyche. These cards are mirrors of the deep mind. No insight is without value.
Classically speaking, each card in the Major Arcana is numbered. We progress from the top left to the top right, before progressing to the second row, etc. In Ra’s System, the first 7 cards correspond to the Mind, the second 7 to the Body, the third 7 to the Spirit. The 22nd card, usually called the Fool, in this system is called the Choice. It stands alone. The first card of each row is called Matrix, the second Potentiator, the third Catalyst, the fourth Experience, the fifth Significator, the sixth Transformation, the seventh the Great Way. Thus, each of the three rows is split into seven columns, creating a grid that helps us see our Story at a glance.
The Matrix represents a status quo. It’s not static or stagnant, but it is skirted by a limited horizon. For example, card 1, the Magician (Matrix of Mind) is meant to represent the conscious, rational mind. It can build, it can plan, it can trap birds in cages. Yet, its magic is always grounded in “reality”(he’s pointing down). The Magician must be “Potentiated” by the unconscious mind, represented by the High Priestess, who reveals the limitations of the Magician’s horizon, revealing how reality itself can change. In a sense, this is our “Normal world” and our “Call to Adventure” in Campbellian terms. The Catalyst represents transformative encounters with the external world, while the Experience represents the internalization of these encounters. Together they form the “Road of Trials” and the “Ordeal” in Campbellion jargon. The Significator represents the Mind, Body, or Spirit most directly. For example, the Hierophant is the classical depiction of Mind: a figure whose power and influence is drawn from their knowledge. At this phase, the Hero has passed through their “Ordeal” and claimed their “Reward.” And yet, the journey is not complete. The hero has grown, but the horizon is still limited; the elixir is not ours. A further Transformation must occur to challenge the Significator to expand beyond a final frontier. This is the Campbellian “Resurrection.” The final stage of this System, the Great Way, is the Hero’s Apotheosis, the “Elixir” at the end of the Journey.
You can likely see how this System corresponds to the popular three act structure (Mind, Body, Spirit) however I would caution against such one-size-fits-all pronouncements. This could also work as a seven act structure. The beauty of this Gridis that it’s modular. There’s so much space for the individual writer to shuffle the cards as it were, and develop their own idiosyncratic relationship to these cards.
For example, perhaps your story has a “Tower Struck Down” moment near the start. Perhaps it’s your “inciting incident.” Perhaps there’s even a scene of a lightning bolt striking a pyramid, as the Potentiator of Spirit depicts. Perhaps placing this card 16/22 through your story makes no sense. In that case, perhaps a seven-act structure makes more sense. Perhaps for your purposes, instead of moving through the seven cards of Mind, to the seven cards of Body, and finally to the seven cards of Spirit, you instead move from the Matrices to the Potentiators to the Catalysts, etc. In this alternate system, the Magician remains card 1, but Justice becomes card 2, and the Devil becomes card 3, the High Priestess card 4, The Hermit card 5, and so on.
In this alternate system, only 4 cards retain their original number. The Magician remains card 1, and the World remains card 21. The Fool or the Choice remains card 0, of course, but the card in the middle also remains card 11. In this system, that card is Strength.
In other Tarot systems, Justice (sometimes called Balance, card 8) and Strength (card 11) are swapped. It’s good to keep an open mind, but in this case I insist that the original is superior. Justice is far more of a “Matrix,” depicting a status quo (she even holds scales!). Whereas, Strength is the paradigmatic “Experience” by depicting a woman taming a lion—a delicate balancing of wills which offers a twist on our initial concept of what “Strength” actually looks like. It’s not about strength of arms, but about courage. Inner strength. Love! This is the central card of the Major Arcana. Look at the spread above—it’s literally the center. And it’s a Lion, Leo, a classic symbol for the Sun, around which the other cards orbit as planets. (Sure, there’s also a card called ‘The Sun,’ but in this case we’re talking about the inner sun, the Heart.)
Thus, Strength (or the Experience of Body) is the midpoint in the Hero’s Journey.
The True Hero
What I find so appealing about this System is that the structure is not simply a dead skeleton upon which to fashion your symbols. The structure is itself the symbol. If you are stuck, figure out how the cards relate to your story. The cards will show you what’s missing.
Just as the Hero passes out of the “Normal world” and into the “Special world,” so the writer must pass beyond their consciously grasped concepts and Systems, and enter the unknown world of the unconscious. Delve into the archetypes. Become the archetypes. These are not intellectual figures, these are aspects of your own soul. If your story is to resonate with others, you must pass beyond the individually meaningful, into the universally meaningful. Go deep, pupil. Then come back and share what you’ve discovered. If you cannot put your insights into words, but require a narrative to make sense of them, then you have succeeded.
Today, the true Hero who returns from their journey with an elixir to heal his riven world is not a warrior. The true Hero is the creative individual who can fearlessly confront their own psyche, their own demons, and ask “Which of the 22 are you?” and wait patiently for an answer. The true hero is the lover of the archetypes, who can tame the Lion without bodily strength. Even the Devil, even Death are but aspects of your shadow. Integrate them. Greet them. Love them.
This is easily my favorite time of the year. It’s the pause between the the rush of summer and the chaos of the holiday season. It’s the time to appreciate the stillness. I enjoy the shorter days and the crisp autumn air. I love the see the leaves floating down from the trees or twirling, suspended as if by magic only to realize they got caught in a spider’s web. I like to feel them crunch under my feet and the way they smell as they decay on the ground. I’m not much for raking unless it’s for a leaf pile for the kids to jump in. I prefer to let them complete their cycle and nourish the soil for Spring planting.
A little decay is good for us as well. Some things in life are meant to cycle and die. We can’t keep everything alive, nor should we try. Samhain is the last harvest festival of the season, the Witches New Year. On this cross quarter day it is time to enjoy what we have harvested and let the rest fall away to be reborn in another capacity. It is also a time to reconnect with ancestors and lost loved ones, to honor and visit with them. We set out a plate for them at dinner or honor them on our ancestral altar. We can ask for their assistance and guidance then bid them farewell until next time. They are not meant to stay. This is a time to revisit and asses our past year and put down what does not serve us or contribute to our growth. It’s prep time for the darkness. Celebrate with friends, dress up, have parties, eat candy, and carve pumpkins, then take a breath and go within. Get ready to settle into the dark part of the year and work on your own decay.
What have you neglected? What is left to nourish you? I feel like parts of us need to die and complete their cycle so we can come back shiny and new in the Spring. Confront and embrace the dark spaces within you. Don’t fear them. The darkness is part of us all and to deny that is to deny and important part of yourself and to be left unbalanced. I’m not suggesting that you become Michael Myers in your darkness. I’m suggesting that you acknowledge all of you, your whole self. Only then can you know yourself. You cannot grow and evolve if you do not know yourself. Look at your fears, your traumas, your weaknesses. Sit and face them. That is how you start to heal what needs healing. That is how you grow and evolve. It isn’t easy. In fact, it’s probably one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. It’s uncomfortable. It’s upsetting, sometimes excruciating. It always seems easier to accept flaws and weakness in our friends than it is to admit that we have those same flaws. Be gentle on yourself as you shine a light on your demons. Become friends with yourself. Talk to your ancestors during this time if you need their guidance or if healing your trauma means you need to confront them. Use this time of the thinning veil to do your inner work. The things you learn may surprise you.
I do have one last piece of advice before you begin. This work is taxing. Light a fire or just a candle. Grab a blanket, get cozy and save some of the offerings that you bought to give the roaming neighborhood goblins. Confronting your darkness goes a lot smoother if you have a bag of chocolate at your side.
Come celebrate the turning of the wheel with a day of workshops and speakers, 20+ vendors, readers, food, a limited bar, and community!
Special Guests include: Tish Owen, Meade Neumann, and more!
Admission: Donation of a non-perishable food or pet food item. Forgot your food donation? Make a cash donation instead!
All donations benefit Second Harvest of East TN
It is the mission of Pagan Pride of East Tennessee to promote the advancement of religious diversity, to eliminate prejudice and discrimination based on spiritual beliefs, and to foster pride in pagan identity through education, activism, charity, and community.
When
Where
Pagan Pride of East Tennessee at The Councourse Knoxville, TN Show: 11:00AM
Auguries and Alchemy will be vendors at this year’s HexFest.
East S.M. will be signing copies of her debut novel Mercy’s Quest- The Return and Pamona Sparrow will be there with her new Auguries Bird Oracle deck.
What is HexFest?
Tales of the magic of the Crescent City of New Orleans stretch back over centuries. It is an enigmatic place where Voodoo, Hoodoo, Witchcraft, and even Christianity blend at a crossroads of spiritual power. On August 12 to 14, 2022, Brian Cain, Christian Day, and the Witches of New Orleans present HexFest: A Weekend of Witchery held in the heart of the historic French Quarter. The conference opens with a Riverboat Ritual and dinner, held on an authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River, followed by two full days of workshops, drumming, and ritual at The Bourbon Orleans Hotel, a venue riddled with a history of hauntings.
HexFest has gathered Witches, rootworkers, Voodoo priests and other magical teachers from within New Orleans and around the world to offer their time-honored wisdom. Between workshops, attendees will love the magical shopping in our on-site vending hall where you can purchase powerful ritual tools, signed books, exquisite jewelry, and spellcrafts handmade by true practitioners!
Presenters for 2022 hail from across the spectrum of Witchcraft and magic and include Brian Cain, Christian Day, Angel Griffin, Baba Teddy and Lady Kate, Carie Ewers, Christine Stephens, Dragon Ritual Drummers, Elhoim Leafar, Elie Barnes, Fatima Mbodj, Geraldine Beskin, Jennifer Medway, Krystal Madison, Levi Rowland, Lilith Dorsey, Martha Moran Gonzalez, Michael Correll, Poppa Capp, Priestess Miriam, Rebeca Spirit, Silver RavenWolf, Sorita d’Este, Tara Sanchez, Witchdoctor Utu, and Yeshe Matthews.
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced practitioner, HexFest will help you to discover the secrets of Witchcraft and expand your mastery of the magical arts!
