The athame queen the wooden spoon and the bard… Introductions

This story started as a response to a post on the witchware boards and I was posting new additions to it until I got up to about part 6 and realized that it was growing into a full fledged story.  Also with work and family and other things coming into it I did not continue this story for a while.  So below here it is . I will post a new chapter every day.. it is a long tale yet of some little worth and amusement. 

This story is a gathering of traditions and rituals and events from a number of gatherings  and events in Australia.  For those of you who know me and of my wanderings in the Australian Pagan scene you will no doubt recognize a lot of these people and the rituals and gatherings that they point to.  For those who know me as the online forestmuse come take a journey with me to the country of Australia and visit the Pagan Summer gathering.  This is a story with a definite thread and a definite reason.  Pagan gatherings are a chance for people to get together , to celebrate their pagan beliefs together, to share their different paths and followings through workshops, and discussion, and ritual.  This is a story , the contents of which have been debated muchly, of the debate of tradition over intuition

As I continue with my story I will leave you with a favorite saying of mine.. of carlos castenada.. Follow the path with heart.  Follow the path that comes from YOUR inner self, not what anyone tells you to follow or to be.  For that is one of the reasons I am a follower of the pagan path.. as I found my traditional spiritual path of what I grew up with as trying to shape me to a mould and to a particular path, without providing me with adequate explanation or understanding.. in a lot of cases merely you must believe.  This is based on pagan paths .. yet you could easily change the labels and put buddhist or christian or zarostrian fire walker.. and the basis would be the same.  This is a story of a number of different pagan paths and hopefully gives you a bit of a introduction to each of them.

The basis of my story is around the time when I was travelling round Australia ( I am an aussie grin ) for about 2 years and i went to a number of gatherings.. and there were two people I kept bumping into.. This is a story primarily about a wiccan .. a witch.. and a bard.. no offence is meant.. just my perceptions .. of which you can make of as you will. As I said.. I was travelling round Australia in a little mazda ( you would call it in america a compact car..)..running drum making workshops.. attending pagan gatherings and generally having a great time. As I went to these different gatherings I kept meeting two people that fascinated me.. One I shall call the Athame queen ( who has the most athames wins) and the other the wooden spoon witch..(hmm hey that stick would make a lovely casting wand..) and myself interacting with them The bard ( with a few tunes loose of a full symphony)..This is a story of the difference between having the RIGHT stuff.. and finding what you need wherever you are.. and the debate between formalized path as versus perhaps a more relaxed one.. Shall we begin...