The Starwood Festival is a seven-day New Age neopagan and world music festival. It takes place every July in the United States. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. [1] [2] There are also live musical performances, rituals, bonfires, multimedia presentations and social activities. It is a clothing optional event, and skyclad attendance is common. [3]
The Starwood Festival was founded in 1981 by the Chameleon Club, a recognized student organization at Case Western Reserve University, which later founded the Association for Consciousness Exploration (ACE). It has been operated by ACE since 1983 under its co-directors, Jeff Rosenbaum and Joe Rothenberg. [3] It featured entertainment, public ceremonies and rituals, [4] and classes on subjects such as sensory isolation, Kirlian photography, Neopaganism, shamanism, Wicca, holistic health, tarot divination, Thelema, and past life regression. [5]
The first Starwood was held July 24–26, 1981 at Coopers Lake Campground, the same site as the Society for Creative Anachronism's Pennsic War in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. From 1982 through 1985 it was held at Devil's Den Park in New Philadelphia, Ohio, a former state park run by Whispering Winds Nudist Camp. In 1986 and 1987 it was held at Bear Creek Amphitheatre (part of Bear Creek Resort Ranch KOA) in East Sparta, Ohio, and at Echo Hills Ski Resort in Logan, Ohio (on the Buckeye Trail) in 1988 and 1989. The event moved to Brushwood Folklore Center, a private campground in Sherman, New York. [6] from 1990 through 2009. Since 2010, Starwood has been held at Wisteria Campground in Pomeroy, Ohio. [7]
The event began as a weekend festival, and grew over the years to a seven-day event. Attendance has grown from 185 in the first year to peak at around 1800 people in 2002,[ citation needed ] and has stayed between 1500 and 1650 since 1999. [6] Since 1982, Starwood has been a clothing optional event, and skyclad attendance is common. [3]
Starwood offers approximately 150 workshops, on topics including alternative lifestyles, political & spiritual activism, spiritual traditions, consciousness-altering technologies and substances (such as biofeedback, sensory-isolation, mind machines, entheogenic and other mind-altering substances), martial arts & movement systems, history, magic, folklore, art & music, metaphysics and environmental issues. [2] [1]
There are classes on the drumming and dancing styles of Africa, South America, Ireland, the Middle East and elsewhere. All-night drummers' bonfires are held each night of the event in at least two locations: the "Paw Paw Patch" for larger drums such as djembes, and the "DidgeDome" for smaller drums such as bongos and tablas, accompanied by didgeridoos and quieter instruments. There are concerts held every lunchtime, dinnertime, and evening, and all-night multi-media enhanced parties in an inflatable structure called the "PufferDome" and in an adjacent area called the "G-Spot". Starwood provides child care and children's classes and programs in a playground area called "Kids' Village", [3] and a schedule of classes and activities for teenagers. There are several areas devoted to multi-cultural ceremonies and rituals, and a non-Native sweat lodge. Friday night features a multi-media presentation, (often including fireworks, lasers, fire dancing, and synchronized music), and on the final night a torchlight procession leads to a huge bonfire.
Starwood is attended by people of all ages. Followers of diverse beliefs attend Starwood. According to the event organizers, the festival is designed for members of all spiritual paths to share their customs and beliefs. Some specific groups whose members regularly appear at and attend Starwood include the Church of All Worlds (CAW), [3] [8] the Church of the SubGenius, [9] the Neo-Druidic group Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF), [10] and various Neopagan covens and organizations [4] [11]
Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an American Neo-Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Bonewits had been heavily involved in occultism since the 1960s.
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by a range of modern pagans, marking the year's chief solar events and the midpoints between them. British neopagans crafted the Wheel of the Year in the mid-20th century, combining the four solar events marked by many European peoples, with the four seasonal festivals celebrated by Insular Celtic peoples. Different paths of modern Paganism may vary regarding the precise timing of each celebration, based on such distinctions as the lunar phase and geographic hemisphere.
Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, Inc. is a non-profit religious organization based in the United States, dedicated to the study and further development of modern Druidry.
Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today is a sociological study of contemporary Paganism in the United States written by the American Wiccan and journalist Margot Adler. First published in 1979 by Viking Press, it was later republished in a revised and expanded edition by Beacon Press in 1986, with third and fourth revised editions being brought out by Penguin Books in 1996 and then 2006 respectively.
Jeff McBride, also known as "Magnus", is an American magician and magic instructor. He is known for his sleight of hand skills and specializes in the manipulation of playing cards, coins, and other small objects. His stage performances blend elements of kabuki, a Japanese theater form, with traditional conjuring. He has been recognized by the Academy of Magical Arts, the Society of American Magicians, and the International Federation of Magic Societies. He has also has set several Guinness World Records.
The Free Spirit Alliance (FSA) is a non-profit spiritual networking organization serving the Pagan and pantheist communities. Founded on May 21, 1986 and based in the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States, FSA's focus has been presenting regional and local events where people from diverse backgrounds can learn and share ideas. Its promotional literature and website state that the organization has striven to develop a national reputation for being willing to work with often sensitive and personal issues in a friendly and safe environment.
Celtic neopaganism refers to any type of modern paganism or contemporary pagan movements based on the ancient Celtic religion. One approach is Celtic Reconstructionism (CR), which emphasizes historical accuracy in reviving Celtic traditions. CR practitioners rely on historical sources and archaeology for their rituals and beliefs, including offerings to spirits and deities. Language study and preservation are essential, and daily life often incorporates ritual elements. While distinct from eclectic pagan and neopagan witchcraft traditions, there is some overlap with Neo-druidism.
Phyllis Curott who goes under the craft name Aradia, is a Wiccan priestess, attorney, and author. She is founder and high priestess of the Temple of Ara, one of the oldest Wiccan congregations in the United States. She has been active as a leader in the Parliament of the World’s Religions since 1993 in multiple roles including co-chair of the inaugural 1993 Women’s Task Force and current Program Chair of the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. She is also author of several published volumes on modern witchcraft and Goddess spirituality.
The Association for Consciousness Exploration LLC (ACE) is an American organization based in Northeastern Ohio which produces events, books, and recorded media in the fields of "magic, mind-sciences, alternative lifestyles, comparative religion/spirituality, entertainment, holistic healing, and related subjects."
Sally Eaton is an American Wiccan high priestess, liturgist, singer and actress, whose credits include creating and playing the role of Jeannie in the Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions of the musical Hair, and acting in Doric Wilson's plays Now She Dances! and Street Theater.
Louis Martinié is an author, "internationally known" percussionist, practitioner of a multitude of religions among them being New Orleans style Voodoo, and co-author of the book New Orleans VooDoo Tarot (1992), with Sallie Ann Glassman.
Oberon Zell is a Neopagan writer, speaker and religious leader. He is the co-founder of the Church of All Worlds.
Rev. Robert Lee "Skip" Ellison is a Druid priest and liturgist and an author in the fields of Druidry, Magic and divination. He was initiated into a Celtic Traditional Wiccan coven in 1982. He has been a member of the Druidic organization Ár nDraíocht Féin since 1990, serving on its Mother Grove since 1992. He served as ADF's Archdruid, and is Chief of its Magician's Guild. He was the grove Organizer for Muin Mound Grove, ADF, and became its second Senior Druid, a position he held since 1992. He has been a frequent speaker at Neo-Pagan events including the Starwood Festival, Sirius Rising, and the Wellspring Gathering. He has created a magical training system based on the trees of the forest, and has authored four books on Druidry and divination. He is also a retired industrial electrician.
Circle Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and legally recognized neopagan church based in southwestern Wisconsin, US. It aims to encourage community celebrations, spiritual healing, research, networking and education.
Modern paganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest modern pagan religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in the early 1970s. Hellenic Neopaganism appeared in the 1990s.
The Pan Pagan Festival (PPF) is one of the United States's first and longest running nature spirituality festivals, organized by the Midwest Pagan Council that spans from Wednesday through Sunday in late July or early August each year. The first Pan Pagan festival was held in 1976 as a way of bringing different groups together to share knowledge and experience. The festival grew each year until 1980 which was the largest Pagan gathering ever held up to that time, with an attendance of almost 600, including Raymond Buckland, Isaac Bonewits, Z Budapest, Herman Slater, Prudence Priest, Margot Adler, and Selena Fox. From the Pan Pagan Festival other festivals grew including Circle's Pagan Spirit Gathering and Chrysalis Moon.
Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spiritual or religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as well as with nature deities, and spirits of nature and place. Theological beliefs among modern Druids are diverse; however, all modern Druids venerate the divine essence of nature.
Sarah M. Pike is an American author and professor of comparative religion in the Department of Religious studies at California State University, Chico. Her interests include paganism, environmentalism, religion and ecology, and ritual studies. Her research on neopaganism and radical environmentalism has been lauded as being significant to the study of festival and group behaviour. She is the president of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, co-chair of the American Academy of Religion, Ritual Studies Group, and director of the California State University, Chico Humanities Center.
Modern pagan music or neopagan music is music created for or influenced by modern Paganism. Music produced in the interwar period include efforts from the Latvian Dievturība movement and the Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt. The counterculture of the 1960s established British folk revival and world music as influences for American neopagan music. Second-wave feminism created women's music which includes influences from feminist versions of neopaganism. The United States also produced Moondog, a Norse neopagan street musician and composer. The postwar neopagan organisations Ásatrúarfélagið in Iceland and Romuva in Lithuania have been led by musicians.
 |