Four Quarters So Far…

Whew! Life goes by FAST here! I guess that’s what happens when you’re working your ass off .

I arrived at Four Quarters Interfaith Earth Sanctuary a little over a week ago and have since become part of the incredibly hardworking staff that keeps this lively, nurturing, legendary place going. From building a deck to feeding a baby – cooking for 100 to weeding the garden after dinner. We start early…end late. School and the worries of academic life are far behind me.

Needless to say, I’ve met some incredible people and turtles so far and am eager to meet many many more! It’s pretty phenomenal meeting so many Pagans from all walks of life and to be in a place where the fact that a child loves playing with a certain Eleggua statue isn’t overlooked by anyone! It’s also been incredible hearing everyone’s stories about this land, the lives and families that have interconnected on it, and the ever-evolving sagas of creating community.

It’s been an ongoing quest to figure out exactly what brought me here – what made me, in my newfound friend Bunny’s words, make the “ballsy decision” to throw myself into a 7-day/week staff position at a place I’ve never been to, a community I’ve never met. And quite honestly, I don’t have a clue.

But today was the first day that I actually walked the mile from the farmhouse into camp, and it seemed to make a huge difference, giving me a much better perspective on what happens here. The land itself is beautiful with a high meadow, an oft used creek, two drum circles, and a tremendous Stone Circle that is expanded each year. The event, Stones Rising, is memorialized by a metal sculpture near the office.

Tomorrow ends “Fires Rising”, the alchemical fire circle festival that happens each year led by Las Vegas magicians (stage and spirit) Jeff and Abby McBride. Participants sleep during the day and dance from midnight to dawn in circles that mimic the planets’ orbits and properties. Though I’ve been spending 12-hour days in the kitchen, I finally got to attend it last night. Needless to say, it was beautiful.

Finding time for myself has proven a bit difficult so far and I’m hoping that my move into camp tomorrow (I’ve been in the dorms) will give me some space and distance from my work sites. I’ll update soon on how that goes in addition to my recent adventures in wildcrafting (with pictures!).

Post-Semester Crazy

My semester ended somewhat roughly and after three days and traveling through 6 states, I find myself back in my hometown catching my breath (sort of). Here’s what went down:

Thursday - Handed in my final portfolio for a class that was desperately trying to beat the crap out of me all semester, despite the fact that I loved it so and cried for mercy numerous times.

Saturday – Turned 22 amidst the clutter of a room and campus in mid-pack for the summer. Come eve, frivolity did in fact ensue (I’ll leave the details to your imagination).

Sunday – Headed up to Wendell, MA with Karin, my wifey, to help her move into her summer internship cabin at the most adorable little farm run by a lesbian separatist couple “who returned to the land in the 70s”. Um…that’s friggin’ amazing.

Then we drove to her Dad’s in Bushkill, PA, stayed the night, and on…

Monday – Drove down to where I’ll be interning this summer — Four Quarters Interfaith Earth Sanctuary — in Artemas, PA. I had my first camping experience on a beautiful piece of empty land under a bright full moon that illuminated the area. It truly signified a completion for me.

Tuesday morning we dropped off most of my stuff in the dorms and headed up to our hometown on Long Island where we’ll be staying until this weekend before departing to our respective crunchy internships.

Needless to say, I’m in a transition period (which, if you know me at all, spells CATNIP). Hence, the 6 of Swords image at the top of this post. The card’s symbolism speaks to more than just my travel to PA in a few days, but to this time in my life. It’s the first time I’m going to be surrounded by lots of Pagans and the first time I’ll be in semi-wilderness for an extended period…and my last summer before graduating from college.

That whole “what’s my purpose?” thing is kicking in hardcore and I’m hoping that a summer exploring both my independence and my place in a Pagan community will be fruitful. And I’m thinking that time away from a college town (spelled “boys”) will be good for me too as there’s a couple of things — patterns, habits, etc. — I’d like to put in check before letting myself get swept off my feet again.

Despite of the hard physical work I’m expecting to do this summer (and some leftover homework), I’m definitely hoping to strengthen my practice. This goes especially for those techniques that are directly tied to the natural world, which I’ll be surrounded by. I hope to post a lot more “magickal” stuff, a lot more pictures, and a lot more about my daily life as it won’t be filled with humdrum papers and e-mails for a while.

Feel free to send some light my way for a safe and healthy arrival. Much thanks in advance.

Oh, and keeping me company on this journey is the novel I’ve been wanting to read for about a year now — Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”. WOOT! It’s bomb. More about that later.