Dandelion Features at RQ.org
This is a preliminary report from the gathering. Come back soon for more reports, photos, and personal accounts of Dandelion 2006. Send material to quarterly@reclaiming.org
Becket, Massachusetts - May 17 -21, 2006
Dandlion Gathering 2006
We come to celebrate our communities,
The Seen and the Unseen,
To remember our lineage,
To strengthen our resolve to serve all beings.
Watered by Spring rains, the 2006 Dandelion Gathering took root in mid-May in Western Massachusetts, bringing together over 150 adults and 15-20 young people who are part of the Reclaiming Tradition.
Becket, Massachusetts YMCA camp, site of the 2006 Dandelion Gathering
Through a combination of powerful magic, political creativity, and the occasional timely joke, the second-ever all-Reclaiming gathering discussed and eventually consensed on the beginnings of a structure for the international network. The structure is named BIRCH, the Broader Inter-Reclaiming Council of Hubs.
Since its birth around 1980, Reclaiming has grown into a polyglot mixture of local communities, Witchcamps, activist networks, local and regional teaching groups, ritual circles, and solitary practitioners. The formation of BIRCH creates a container in which these groups can nourish and support one another's work.
The 2006 Gathering also featured nightly rituals planned by different groups, workshops, a talent show, and endless conversations on everything from magical activism to apprenticeship programs to supporting new groups and communities.
The gathering was a chance to talk with Reclaiming folks from across North America and Canada as well as from England.
Perhaps most importantly, the gathering gave people who know one another mainly via email or telephone a chance to spend time together. Dandelion wove new connections among the many diverse communites and groups who call themselves Reclaiming.
The plan is for Dandelion Gatherings to happen every other year, with meetings of BIRCH to take place as one part of the gatherings. Anyone who identifies as part of the Reclaiming tradition, or as a friend or ally (including families and children) is welcome to attend. Watch RQ.org for details on the 2008 gathering, or visit www.dandeliongathering.org
More stories will be posted at RQ.org soon!
You can be part of these discussions by joining Reclaiming's RIDL listserve. For more information, visit the Reclaiming website, www.reclaiming.org
For the "back story" on Reclaiming's history and development, visit our Spiral Dance feature.
Photos by Luke Hauser/RQ unless otherwise indicated. Please do not copy, reproduce, fold, spindle, mutilate, or otherwise use them without contacting RQ. Thanks!
|
