As the world rapidly changes, the whispers of the old ways and tales of ethereal beings persist, challenging the boundaries of our empirical understanding. This conference aims to bridge the divide between myth and perceived reality, shining a light on the phenomena of fairy encounters in the modern world.

This year’s conferences will focus on the interactions between the human world and the realm of fairy, including a space for sharing stories of encounters with the hidden crowd.

Join us at the Ventura Avenue Library Community Room, 606 N Ventura Ave, Ventura, CA 93001. We will be having a open discussion about the impact of loneliness, including how it has effected our practice and community through the pandemic, and the ways we might strengthen and provide community in Ventura County.

The Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers (COMPASS) is looking to create a space where Pagan teachers can meet regularly, share expertise and resources, and work collaboratively to improve teaching and understanding for all their students.

The first meeting of the Pagan Teacher Commons will be August 7, 2022, at 4:00 PST.  We will be meeting via Zoom.  Individuals that have completed the Pagan Teachers Survey will have the Zoom link emailed to them.  You can find the Pagan Teachers Survey at https://forms.gle/hacECDxQXXV9iLnr9.  The responses gathered from this survey will help us to better meet the needs of this project and assist us in identifying teachers who would be interested in participating.  Please feel free to distribute the link to this survey to any Pagan teachers.

During this first meeting we will be reviewing the results of the Pagan Teachers Survey and developing a schedule and topics or discussion.

For more information email Jeffrey at jeffreykalbaugh@gmail.com.

The Virtual Symposium of Pagan Thought and Practice presents:

Dying and Death: Pagans Engaging End of Life Issues

July 23, 2022, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM PT

Death is an experience we hold in common. Whether it be the passing of a loved one or our own departure from life, the inevitability of death brings with it equally inevitable challenges. For Pagans of all paths and traditions these challenges may present differently, with no easy or compatible solutions offered by the currently dominant over culture. How do we, as magical folk, prepare for death? Where are the priests and priestesses to tend our passing? How shall our families, or friends, the people of the community celebrate our lives or dance upon our graves? How is the body disposed of? How are we remembered? How do we sit with Death?

This year we are proud to feature presentation on dying and death from end-of-life preparations, through grief and interment, and the processes through which those left behind remember the lives of their beloved dead. Presenters include Selena Fox, Gordon Cooper, Ben Luoma, Frances Billinghurst, Griffin Ced, Carrie Wolf, Hauk, Rev. Kathleen Reeves, Herleena Hunt, Bettie Bune, Rev. Michael Brazell, Natasha Kirby, and Macha Nightmare.  The schedule will be posted on the Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers website at https://www.pagancommons.org/.

Tickets for this one day virtual event are $16, and can be purchased at Stripe https://buy.stripe.com/7sIcNLcqcfuPbhScMM or through Venmo at COMPASS @Compass1313

The Virtual Symposium of Pagan Thought and Practice focuses on where ideas, beliefs, and practice meet. This annual virtual gathering holds space for the sharing of academic and philosophical ideas, spiritual and religious practices, and how they align and give life to Contemporary Pagan beliefs, ideas, and communities. The symposium's target audience includes both academics and practitioners from all pagan paths. For the purposes of The Virtual Symposium of Pagan Thought and Practice, Contemporary Paganisms encompass the widest range of spiritual and religious expressions, including but not limited, to Animists to Atheopagans, Druids to Wiccans, Witches to Heathens to Reconstructionists Pagans and indigenous spiritual practitioners to Contemporary Shamans.

Teachers of Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganisms, and other magical practices either teach how they were taught, or develop their own lessons.  With few exceptions, they often do so in isolation.

The Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers (COMPASS) is looking to create a space where Pagan teachers can meet regularly, share expertise and resources, and work collaboratively to improve teaching and understanding for all their students.  The aim of the Pagan Teachers Commons (PTC)  is not to dictate content--what we teach--but to inform our practice of teaching methodologies, so that we may be better facilitators of our educational settings.  The PTC is modeled after the idea of a Professional Learning Community, which relies on reflective dialogue, a focus on student learning, interactions among teacher colleagues, collaboration, and shared values and norms.

The members of the PTC will collectively decide on governance, frequency of meetings, and topics discussed. Language for the section with the Survey: The responses gathered from this survey will help us to better meet the needs of this project and assist us in identifying teachers who would be interested in participating.  Please feel free to distribute the link to this survey to any Pagan teachers.link: https://forms.gle/7sPFT3HMixdnavqv8 

The Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers will be at Los Angeles Pagan Pride on November 7, 2021, at the Golden Grove, El Dorado Park in Long Beach from 9 am to 4 pm. Covid-19 permitting, COMPASS will host a booth featuring Pagan artwork, poetry readings, and a spot of shade to rest in and chat with the community. We will also be presenting the main ritual.

If you are interested in showing your art or participating in the poetry readings, please don't hesitate to contact us at compasspagansandseekers@gmail.com.

Join The Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers for an event honoring our beloved dead on October 23, 2021 at 12:00 PST. Participate by submitting a five-minute video eulogy memorializing one of your beloved dead.

Making a short video is as easy as recording it on your iPhone, or as complex as producing a short video with images and music. Please make sure to introduce yourself, and give details and live events of the beloved dead you are remembering for this event.

To submit a remembrance video, or for more information, please email compass.memento.mori@gmail.com.

What is remembered, lives.

This event aims to bring Pagan teachers and seekers together. In addition to providing time to network between teachers and seekers, there will be breakout sessions specifically targeting Pagan instructors, those seeking teaching, and folks on solitary paths. Breakout sessions include The Seekers Guide to Pagan Teachers, How to Up You Pagan Teaching Game, and Discerning Reliable Resources.

Finding Your Pagan Path will take place on Zoom. Tickets for this event are $7.00, available on PayPal https://paypal.me/COMPASS13?locale.x=en_US.

The Ventura County Spiritual Commons has been meeting Thursdays on Zoom since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. We've have watched and discussed interviews with prominent Witches and Pagans in our communities, including Ivo Dominguez, Selena Fox, Amy Hale, Aidan Kelly, Denny Sargant, and Byron Ballard, as well as discussing various topics of interest. If you are interested in joining in the conversation, please join us on Zoom on Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Ventura County Spiritual Commons.

Come meet the board members of COMPASS. Find out what this non-profit is all about, and what events we have planned for the upcoming months. Share your own ideas and learn how you can get involved. Let’s connect, reconnect, and begin sustaining and building community. The meeting can be joined on Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81016230819?pwd=d01vVE5MbXQ3ZTRBbitHL0thV3pnUT09.