This last weekend I went to the Northwest Fall Equinox festival sponsored by 9 Houses of Gaia. I had an amazing time there, and came away feeling that I'd attended a festival on the East Coast or Midwest, because the sense of community was similar to what I'd found at such festivals. More importantly, I felt that I connected a lot more with my community out here. I saw a lot of people I already knew and met many more, and I spent a lot of quality time with different people. Festival space is its own special space. It's a Temporary Autonomous Zone created for people to come together and share their experiences and fellowship. I participated in the Lakshmi Ritual for this event (and will discuss that in more depth in my emptiness post for month 11), and spent a lot of time at the Tantric temple connecting with different people over conversation about magic and other mutual interests.
I enjoyed the food, which the cooks made. I also enjoyed the drumming and the concert. Mainly though, I enjoyed being at this festival and feeling like I had come home to my spiritual community. I definitely plan on going each year to this festival. It's a good break from everyday life and is a good way to connect with my spiritual community.