I’m a fucking idiot

I mentioned in the last post that the Starry Bull Gathering is going to be in 2016 – since that’s different from what I’ve been saying I figured I ought to elaborate a bit.

I had originally been planning to follow up the success of the Polytheist Leadership Conference with a three-day ritual retreat in the woods for the thiasos and anyone else who wanted to experience Dionysian ekstasis in its proper communal context sometime in mid-summer of 2015.

I’m a fucking idiot.

Having done this rodeo a couple times before, I really should have known better.

Organizing an event of this scale isn’t easy, especially when you factor in all of the communal drama and interpersonal bullshit that comes with being part of a minority religion in this country – especially our variety of minority religion.

If I read a laundry list of the fires I’ve had to put out behind the scenes over the last couple months you’d laugh your ass off. Then probably weep until you had no tears left. And you don’t have to be a mantis to know that all of that is just going to intensify as we hit the final stretch.

But we’re almost there. This thing’s actually gonna happen! And it’s gonna be fucking awesome. Every time I read over the list of presenters I have a little electric thrill run through me.

And the Starry Bull Gathering is going to be even better. Three days of drunken conversations and frenzied ritual in the wilds – oh fuck yeah! I want that so bad. That’s what all of this has all been about for me. “Giant Bacchanalia in the woods! Giant Bacchanalia in the woods!” When things get tough I repeat that to myself over and over again like a mantra. “Giant Bacchanalia in the woods!”

But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen in 2015.

I’d pretty much have to go directly from the Conference into putting this monster together and even then I’m not sure a year is enough time for folks to save up for it. I think I’d like the down time to work on some books, teach some classes, do some speaking engagements and nurture the growth of my cult.

On the other hand I’m concerned about losing momentum and enthusiasm; frankly, I think a big part of why the Neos Alexandria gathering failed was because I set it too far ahead – something that was kind of confirmed with the PLC. (Under the crunch people are capable of producing results that far surpass expectation: I bet if you’d asked Rhyd, Julian and Aine two years ago if they could raise as much money as they did as fast as they have they’d be a little surprised to hear that.) Plus with this I’ll mostly be dealing with drunkards, lunatics and thiasos folk – it’s the “normal” people who cause the most trouble I’ve generally found.

So I guess we’ll see but for now I’m about 95% certain that the best course of action would be to put the Starry Bull Gathering off until spring or early summer of 2016 – which isn’t to say that there won’t be anything else in the interim. I’d kind of like to do a smaller, regional thing for Hellenic polytheists in the Northeast and that wouldn’t take much planning or cash at all. Since I know four or five of us will be attending the Polytheist Leadership Conference (and hopefully one more) perhaps we should start up a conversation about that. As long as Dionysos is welcome, I’ll be there!