Sacred Space Series 1: Meeting the Community

I attended the Sacred Space Conference this year. This was my first time, and the first time I attended a multiday witch gathering. The Sacred Space Conference is held for intermediate and advanced practitioners and it hosts a variety of authors and educators of the pagan, esoteric, witchcraft community. Over the next couple weeks, I will be sharing my experiences in a Sacred Space Series.

Random photo of the conference room floor that had patters similar to how I envision different communities connecting and overlapping

            First, I wanted to acknowledge, the many people I got to meet. I was planning to go alone, show up for the classes and rituals, and keep to myself. I was fighting a bit of imposter syndrome, and old feelings of not being good enough were simmering. Yet I quickly became adopted by a lovely group of women from Annapolis the first day. Then I realized Elyse, with whom I had done a Spring Equinox retreat the week prior, was in attendance. She and her co-host Leandra (The Magic Kitchen Podcast) welcomed me in as well. I also ran into a friend of mine that I didn’t know was a witch!

            At each session, I felt comfortable with those around me because they understood. I didn’t feel awkward. People understood if you needed a break from the energy. They were open if you wanted to chat. The conference had a great vendor hall, and I was able to chat with a few of the creators there. I truly felt seen and accepted just by being in the environment.

            I am grateful to Elyse and Leandra for introducing me to several of their friends and acquaintances. I am grateful that Mortellus pushed everyone to go talk to someone new after one of the rituals they led. I got to make some great connections overall.

            In each part of this blog series, I will be highlighting 2-3 of the rituals and/or workshops I attended. For this post, I would like to focus on a panel of Latinx practitioners who spoke about their experiences in the pagan/witchcraft community. The panel included: Solomon Pakal, Ivo Dominguez Jr, Wendy Mata, Rev. Ron Padron, and Jesse Hathaway Diaz.

            I wasn’t originally planning to attend this talk. I wasn’t quite sure what the main focus of the talk would be since it was a panel discussion. I am not Latinx, so I haven’t delved into any of the cultural practices. Yet, I was pulled to attend in order to understand their experiences because hopefully one day I will have a half Latinx child who might be interested in that line of their ancestry.

            My husband was born in Colombia, South America and was adopted when he was a couple weeks old. He doesn’t follow any specific Colombian culture. He doesn’t speak Spanish. But on a DNA level he is most likely fully Colombian. We have been trying for a child for a couple years now. That story will come in time.

            As I listened to the panel, I appreciated hearing their experiences coming from different countries or being raised in the United States. Both sides often feeling like they weren’t enough. Many talked about the importance of their ancestral roots, all of which are ancient and thought to have been wiped out. However, they educated that some of these peoples, like the Mayans, did survive. They reiterated the importance of documenting and sharing their oral traditions because they have been destroyed in the past by oppressive colonists.

To support the panel members find them at:

Ivo Dominguez, Jr: https://www.ivodominguezjr.com/

Wendy Mata: https://www.bruja.us/

Rev. Ron Padron: https://www.whiterosewitching.com/

Solomon Pakal: https://www.facebook.com/SolomonPakal

Jesse Hathaway Diaz: https://www.jessehathawaydiaz.com/

            One attendee asked how they, a white non Latinx person like myself, could help hold space for Latinx practitioners. Many of the panel supported the notion of providing money to their causes or buying their goods and services. They also reiterated the importance of connecting with the land regardless of your heritage. That is something I am hoping to incorporate into my practice more. I would like to get in tune with the actual land I live on.

            One of the ways I could potentially do this is utilize “The Triangle of Stillness”, a technique Ivo Dominguez Jr taught in a different session. I believe he said the directions for this “container” can be found in one of his books. I will not be sharing the full details here. In short, the Triangle of Stillness is arranged with certain crystals and creates a permeable barrier in the shape of a triangle. When one is in the circle, it can help aid in healing and meditation. I believe I could try it out when attempting to connect with the land and commune with the spirits.

I realized that the witchcraft community is vast and stretches beyond this physical world. I knew that, but now I am becoming more aware of how the physical and metaphysical worlds link to create this larger sense of belonging. In my next post in this series, I will be reflecting on liminal spaces and connections to cosmos!