Workshop and Event List
- Bardic Circle
Mike Bierschenk - Chaplaincy Skills for Pagans
Rev. Jan Avende - Cooking Lessons Through the Veil
Oonagh Maher - Creation Coexistence
Kayla Blume - Dr. Strangecult or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Syncretic
C. Oleg Wildridge - Finding Symbols for ADF Magical Work
Rodney Cox - Let’s Create an ADF Ceremonial Magickal System!
Rodney Cox - Main Ritual
Rev. Jan Avende - Navigating the Forest of Belief
C. Oleg Wildridge - Opening Ritual
Rev. Michael J Dangler - Talking to bones: Casting stories from the mountain
Wesley Watkins - Tending the Inner Grove: A Journey into Self-Energy and Spiritual Magic
Maggie Dangler - Warm Up Your Bones
Katie Burns
Workshop Descriptions
Bardic Circle
Emcee: Mike Bierschenk
We’ll open with a brief invocation to connect to Inspiration and to the bard within all of us, and then it’s time for sharing: stories, songs, poems, and whatever else the Spirits inspire. Come enjoy the talents of your fellow festivalgoers, and consider sharing your own!
Chaplaincy Skills for Pagans
Presenter: Rev. Jan Avende
As paganism continues to grow up, we will find ourselves stepping into more mainstream religious professions and will need to draw on and adapt the knowledge and skills from traditions who have been doing this much longer. Rev. Avende has spent the past year working and learning in Clinical Pastoral Education at Grant Medical Center as a full-time chaplain, where they have acquired a great deal of professional insights and skills. In this workshop they will share some of this knowledge, practices that that anyone can use to help move the modern pagan movement forward, especially when it comes to helping our peers who are in difficult and dark places.
Rev. Jan Avende (they/them) is an Initiate and Priest of Ár nDraíocht Féin, currently serving as the Archdruid. Locally, they serve the Central Ohio pagan community out of Three Cranes Grove, ADF and work professionally as a hospital and prison chaplain. They are a talented Bard, Liturgist, and Spiritworker, with a passion for mentoring others, building resources for pagan families, and making the work that we do as pagans accessible for all. You can see more of their writing at hellenicdruid.com and support their work at patreon.com/skylark913.
Cooking Lessons Through the Veil
Presenter: Oonagh Maher
Identity can be shared with loved ones through food. There can be stories behind why a dish is made the way it is; sometimes there are recipes that are secret, either well-guarded or open; and there are recipes that people are known for. Any time we cook these foods, we share in that story.
Think back to when you were learning to cook. What do you smell? What do you hear? There are times when we have not had the opportunity to write down a recipe before a person who has it memorized has crossed the veil, and sometimes it can be comforting to take a moment to cook with that person again. Come join in a discussion to bring up those memories and recipes; if you’re willing, engage in a meditation to connect with this person. This will give you an opportunity to intentionally connect with the past, while also being able to grow knowledge and understanding.
No materials are needed, but attendees may want to bring a favorite recipe or other form of documentation of loved ones and their recipes.
Oonagh (she/her) has been an official member of ADF for about ten years and an unofficial member for longer. She started her pagan journey with Stone Creed Grove and regardless of how far she roams, manages to return to her roots here in Ohio (even if we are a bit further south).
Creation Coexistence
Presenter: Kayla Blume
In this class, we explore the intertwined roots of humanity, animals, and the natural world—a lineage that stretches deep into the earth and branches out into the future. Together, we learn how to live in harmony with the creatures that share our ecosystems, recognizing their roles in our shared legacy and the vital balance of life on Earth. Like the forests that shelter us, our relationships with animals reflect both ancient instincts and emerging understandings. This journey invites us to honor the wisdom of the wild, protect what is precious, and grow new ways to thrive—side by side—with all living beings.
Kayla Blume (she/her) follows nature spirits and the wisdom of trees, spending as much time as she can hiking and connecting with the wild. Other free time is spent reading or journaling. She is a veterinary assistant graduating this fall as an RVT, and is certified in animal Reiki.
Dr. Strangecult or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Syncretic
Presenter: C. Oleg Wildridge
Deep in the roots of Paganism lies much paleo-Pagan value and a power we are awakening today. Even though we trace our roots to that ancient seed and grow our practice from the mulch of its traditions, we are not a single, lone tree but one in a mighty grove of religions and ways of knowing. In a world that has been proselytized, globalized, and colonized it is impossible to remove the bits of our spirituality that is shared or adapted from one another. In a word: Syncretized. Humans have always shared and exchanged cultural and religious features either by choice of coercion. Our mighty tree has drawn nutrients from many sources and shared connections across the great mycelial networks of belief and practice.
In this workshop, we will expand our knowledge of how the seed of Paganism began to take root, how it has grown, and most importantly, those features that we share or have borrowed from our neighbors especially globalized religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. This is how we can learn to stop being afraid of other religions, but learn to love the syncretic life. this doesn’t mean we may plunder our neighbors, that is appropriation which we will address, but we can take part in the grand network of religious pluralism and exchange.
C. Oleg Wildridge (he/him) is a member of Hemlock Vales Protogrove ADF and Happy Valley Golden Wheel in State College, PA. He is focused on Slavic and Scythian Druidry with a background in Norse, Welsh, and Irish Paganism. He seeks to serve the Pagan community as a teacher, student, and organizer in hopes of a more Pagan, more equitable future.
Finding Symbols for ADF Magical Work
Presenter: Rodney Cox
ADF magicians often lament the lack of a complicated, in-depth magickal system, which is the hallmark of the Western Ceremonial Magickal Tradition. Whether this is because ADF is restricted to Indo-European sources, or because the magician is reluctant to work within a Jewish or Christian framework makes little difference. The yearning still remains. So what to do? Make up our own!
This workshop is the first part of that work, where we will discuss magical symbols needed for general magical work. Then, using group trance journey work, we will seek magical symbols from the Deities of Magic. This serves two purpose. First, we will have tools to gain further knowledge, if needed. And second, the symbols we acquire today will provide the basis for tomorrow’s workshop, “Let’s Create an ADF Ceremonial Magickal System!“
Note: While this workshop is focused on building a magickal system for ADF, non-ADF attendees are very welcome — as long as you come in a spirit of openness and honesty to do this work, your effort enhances our own.
Let’s Create an ADF Ceremonial Magickal System!
Presenter: Rodney Cox
ADF magicians often lament the lack of a complicated, in-depth magickal system, which is the hallmark of the Western Ceremonial Magickal Tradition. Whether this is because ADF is restricted to Indo-European sources, or because the magician is reluctant to work within a Jewish or Christian framework makes little difference. The yearning still remains. So what to do? Make up our own!
This workshop follows up on yesterday’s workshop, “Finding Magical Symbols to Use in ADF Magical Work.” Using the magical symbols found in that workshop we will, as a group, create a ceremonial style magickal system unique to ADF, from banishing rituals to specific ritual formats for things like initiations, summoning spirit entities, self-improvement and more. This will be an exercise in magical theory and crafting. Magicians of all skill level are welcome from true beginners to old, white haired wielders of esoteric magical knowledge. This system can then be added to over the years until it rivals the Golden Dawn in scope and depth.
Note 1: While this workshop is focused on building a magickal system for ADF, non-ADF attendees are very welcome — your input and knowledge enriches ours.
Note 2: You do not need to have attended yesterday’s workshop to attend! We will review the symbols found in the prior workshop.
Rodney (he/him) has been a member of ADF since 1998. He is a former Chief of the ADF Magicians Guild and the current Chief/Preceptor for the ADF Order of Raven and Falcon. He has studied magic and magick for many years, creating several magical systems, namely Run Valdr and Ljos Valdr.
Main Ritual
Liturgist: Rev. Jan Avende
Join us for an ADF-style ritual to honor the Gods and Spirits by celebrating the ties that join our communities together. This year, a special treat: the ordination of C. Oleg Wildridge.
We will gather at the Pavilion around 4 or 4:15 for pre-ritual briefing, then process to the Fire Circle
Navigating the Forest of Belief
Presenter: C. Oleg Wildridge
In a complex and globalized world, we have to navigating a winding forest of belief, non-belief, and cultural identities in the world around us. These can range from organized religions to indigenous practices to paths of humanism or non-belief. As Pagans, we have our own exclusive truth claims, unique cultures, and personal identities and it can be difficult to navigate such a complex and fraught interfaith landscape. That doesn’t mean our Pagan tree doesn’t deserve the same light and water as those of the other traditions in our forest of belief. We can show up to Interfaith space and share the rich earth of belief and community across difference while also maintaining the integrity of our uniqueness and truth claims as well as those of others.
This workshop will help you to develop those interfaith skills and best practices to navigate the forest of belief while maintaining our own tree and supporting those of others across differences in belief and practice. It will guide you through the ways to build bridges, have the tough conversations, and how to voice your personal truth in Interfaith space. Let us use this space to flourish and thrive amid the forest of religious diversity.
C. Oleg Wildridge (he/him) is a member of Hemlock Vales Protogrove ADF and Happy Valley Golden Wheel in State College, PA. He is focused on Slavic and Scythian Druidry with a background in Norse, Welsh, and Irish Paganism. He seeks to serve the Pagan community as a teacher, student, and organizer in hopes of a more Pagan, more equitable future.
Opening Ritual
Liturgist: Rev. Michael J Dangler
Come join us for our opening rite as we connect ourselves to the space we will share. Those waters that flow in the gorge, the Earth that supports us, the fire at our center, and the branches that shelter us all.
Bring your drums to give energy to the ritual and carry us into post-ritual revelry!
Talking to bones: Casting stories from the mountain
Presenter: Wesley Watkins
Everyone has a story to tell. It could be a caterpillar spinning a yarn about transformation, or a brook babbling on about going with the flow. The wind, the stones, the bones — they all speak. You only need to know how to listen. In this workshop I will introduce you to a folk-based casting system rooted in the teachings and practices of my Appalachian upbringing. This isn’t just a divination system, it’s conversation. A way of hearing the wisdom that’s whispered through charms, bones, and bits of the mountain. Come sit with the stones. Come listen to the mountain.
Wesley Watkins (he/him) is a member of Three Cranes Grove and Mountain Ancestors Grove. He grew up running the hills and hollers of southern Ohio. Raised on sassafras roots and collard greens, he was steeped in the old ways passed down through both family and land. A lifelong listener to those spirits of his Appalachian home, he weaves ancestral story, folk tradition, and sacred practice together. His work centers on deepening connections, to place, to kin, and the whispers that rise from root and from stone. He walks a path shaped by listening, and helps others learn to hear.
Tending the Inner Grove: A Journey into Self-Energy and Spiritual Magic
Presenter: Maggie Dangler
Each of us carries a sacred center—calm, creative, compassionate, and curious. This energy is an essential inner resource, connecting us to the spirits, the world around us, and one another. Yet life’s experiences often give rise to protective patterns that pull us away from this center, dimming our access to our own inner magic.
In this experiential session, Maggie draws on the principles of Internal Family Systems Therapy and her own spiritual journey to guide participants through an expanded version of ritual work she first introduced ADF’s recent archdruid installation. Through reflection, gentle inner exploration, and spiritual practice, you’ll be invited to turn inward and compassionately welcome the parts of yourself that get in the way of connection, or perhaps that may have been cast aside — parts that, when acknowledged, can open the path back to your natural power, presence, and magic.
Attendees should bring anything they need to help support their body’s needs, to be comfortable, and tp help promote a sense of safety for themselves. Journaling tools welcome, but not required.
Note: Please be aware that this is an experiential introduction, not a group therapy session.
Not just Rev. MJD’s wife, Maggie Dangler (she/her) is a whole-ass person on her own! Maggie has been a member of 3CG and ADF for nearly 20 years — so deeply held is her connection to the Cranes that she got a big ol’ Garanus tattoo. While more behind the scenes in the spiritual community, Maggie has grown into a leadership role professionally in community mental health. She is a licensed clinical social worker, trauma specialist, clinical supervisor/manager, and trainer. She loves to help people find ways to find safety and social connection. Maggie finds joy in being with beloved community, her kids, baking, running, and hugging any tree that calls to her.
Warm Up Your Bones
Presenter: Katie Burns
Join us in a guided gentle stretching of the body. We will be grounding ourselves, checking in with our bodies, and honoring our bones by giving them some time and attention. Stretches will be while standing or while seated in a chair, and using breath work.
Katie (she/her) has been a Friend of Three Cranes Grove for several years, and loves being outdoors in almost any capacity. Please show Katie your cool plant and animal pictures. She maintains a kemetic practice that emphasizes animism.
