Artio’s Writing Den - Weekend Recap
This weekend, we went below the surface of ourselves to pull out the words that are magick - not mundane - to explain our view of the world. Some of that was shared out loud, and some of that remained private - and that’s okay!
For the first Artio’s Writing Den - a Creative Writing Weekend Retreat, I wasn’t sure what to expect. At Deeply Rooted Church, I’ve hosted various events, mostly traditional ones like Woman’s Weekends or Sabbats, which had established ideas. I created Artio’s Writing Den to give back to my community as clergy.
Member Kim Wo experiencing “The Mother Stone” in our Druid Oak Grove Stone Circle that was built by another group of members who also belong to the ADF.
Becoming clergy is a gift that means my community trusts me to serve them and recognizes my individual contributions to the organization. I see this as the highest honor I can receive, and I want to continue paying it forward as much as I am able.
I created an itinerary for the event since people like to know the schedule, but I believe creativity happens spontaneously. I didn’t want to restrict everyone with a fixed schedule if inspiration struck and we wanted to write or craft.
We visited our Ancestor Shrine - which holds the cremains of four deceased members of our community. I speak at length about our Elder Oak Bear, who was a legend in the Pagan community and especially at Deeply Rooted Church.
I was happily surprised by everyone who came. I shared my plan, and everyone went along with it! I'm lucky as a Priestx (non-binary term for a Pagan clergy member) to have church members who are smart and flexible and contribute a lot!
To add to the delightful chaos, our solar power decided to take an unexpected vacation and went out completely. In the midst of the darkness, we shared hearty laughs while huddled together, musing over a variety of whimsical ideas that floated through the air like fireflies on a warm summer evening. We even engaged in a spontaneous creative writing prompt that sparked our imaginations and brought forth amusing tales, making the night one to remember!
I had a lot of fun when people asked for a tour of the land.
Some members joined to craft, which was great! I wanted the writing retreat to be welcoming, safe, and fun for all. I don’t like being micromanaged while engaging in spirituality or creativity, so I aimed for our crafters to feel included. In the future, I'll make sure to invite crafters to the writing retreat!
I think the pumpkins were giving me funny faces during my tour of the land. Always critics, lol.
My favorite part of the retreat was leading the land tour. People wanted it, so I was glad to help. I have a different style than Wade. He shares lots of historical facts and talks about his family background. Before Deeply Rooted Church became a safe space for Pagans (and a registered 501(c)(3)), it was a barley farm owned by the Behm-Mueller family. Wade's tour is fantastic, and everyone should try it at least once.
This is one of our celebrity trees known as Aurora, the portal tree. She is a great place to speak to the Fae.
What I can give is a tour of the Deeply Rooted I’ve come to know over the last 13 years. I’ll tell you facts about the history of the property and the organization, but I also include my own UPG (unverified personal gnosis or “my own made-up story about the land from a writing/spiritual perspective”). I share this as a template for others. I don’t want people to copy my exact idea of the nature of Deeply Rooted. I want our members to know they are free to create their own story about the unseen aspects of Deeply Rooted.
I've been thinking about the land as its own entity, not just an organization. Thirteen years ago, I started writing my own "Deeply Rooted Fan-Fiction" to explain the nature of the fae, the Gods, and the ancestors. I incorporate these elements into my rituals and watch the results of my ideas manifest. It's my way of explaining what I can't truly understand or encompass with words.
Here is the altar to the Behm family, who farmed the land of Deeply Rooted long before we were a Pagan organization. I like to thank them for being part of our story.
I've been thinking about whether Artio is a deity of UPG (unverified personal gnosis). I can't prove it, and I don't want to force my idea on others. But I think Artio is there as a muse, to help if help is requested but not to take over the entire project.
For me, I think my question was answered. I saw a group of wonderful, warm souls all engaging in different stories and forms of creativity. While writing prompts were offered, some did write about Artio - some wrote and didn’t share, some wrote about science-fiction events, and some crafted.
To me, Artio is a deity of creativity, community, and comfort. That was the answer I was looking for and all of my friends who attended answered in their own way. Paganism, for the most part, is a self-guided journey. We may assemble in covens, proto-groves, or in sanctuaries or churches - however, we are all guiding ourselves individually to an answer to a question we’ve asked. Along the way, we may find others asking those same questions and commiserating on the nature of the universe.
I’m probably going on about our most famous celebritree (celebrity tree) named Grandmother Apple. Have you ever met a 120+ apple tree who still makes fruit?
What is this all about? What is my place or purpose in it? Where does this adventure lead?
I want to thank my community and also Artio for showing me such a glowing example of what Paganism could be. We will be having a spring session of the Artio’s Writing Den - which means the bear God will be waking up from their slumber. What did they dream about?
See you then! - Quill
