Table of Contents
Wondering when things are? Take a look at the schedule!
Rituals
- Opening Rite (Rev. Michael J Dangler & Three Cranes Grove)
- Main Ritual (Rev. Jan Avende)
- Closing Rite (Rev. Michael J Dangler & Three Cranes Grove)
- Oracular Spectacular! (Rev. Jan Avende and Oracular Spectacular Crew)
- Smashing of the Red Pots (Katie B)
- Tea Time with the Slavic Pantheon (Rev. C. Oleg Wildridge)
Workshops & Events
- Ancient & Modern Fires (Scouts & Rev. Michael J Dangler)
- Bardic Circle (Mike Bierschenk)
- Bespoke Divination: Crafting your own oracle deck (Bard)
- Chop Wood, Carry Water: Paganism Between High Days (Leesa Kern)
- Everyday Spiritual Practice (Brenda McPherson)
- A left path excursion: Dark Lords, Ladies, and Demons (OpensHeart and Joyful Yes)
- The Once and Future King: Paganism in Arthurian Cinema (Mary Jones)
- Oracle Decks for ‘Tweens and Teens (Leesa Kern)
- Rhythm for Drum Circles (J. Fenn Ziskind-Waldermacher)
- Seated in Power Singing in Chains (Evan /¡\)
- Spiritual Hygiene: Staying Centered, Grounded, and Anchored While Wandering the Worlds (Leesa Kern)
- Starting a Slavic-American Practice (C. Oleg Wildridge)
- Talking to bones: Casting stories from the mountain (Mama Wes )
- Why Practice Paganism? (Wayne Keysor)
Rituals
Opening Rite (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
Rev. Michael J Dangler & Three Cranes Grove
Join your hosts, Three Cranes Grove, as we open the festival with a brief ritual.
Main Rite (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
Rev. Jan Avende (they/them) & Festival Community
Come together as a festival community to honor the Three Kindreds, co-create offerings to the spirits, and receive blessings in turn.
Closing Rite (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
Rev. Michael J Dangler & Three Cranes Grove
Say your farewells, give thanks to the connections you’ve made, and prepare to return to the mundane world.
Oracular Spectacular! (Teens Welcome!)
Rev. Jan Avende (they/them) & The Oracular Spectacular Crew
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 pediatric hospital 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.
Based out of Columbus, OH, the Oracular Spectacular is a team of skilled oracular seers. We provide open the public, free oracular rites quarterly, as well as scheduled appointments with our readers.
Smashing of the Red Pots (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
Katie B (she/her)
Join in a workshop and short ritual celebrating the Kemetic (the modern practice of Ancient Egyptian religion) New Year known as Wep Ronpet! Execrations are an ancient sympathetic magic that achieve goals through ritualistic destruction. Execrations are a favorite pastime for Wep Ronpet. Using magic utterance, Heka, we name people/places/things we consider destructive and, as they did thousands of years ago, we write the names down and destroy them. Katie will cover some Kemetic basics, then we will individually create ritual objects (materials provided), and finally come together for a group execration rite. Clean spiritual house for your new year, call out the unwanted/unneeded, and SMASH it to share glory with the Gods!
Katie has kept a Kemetic practice since 2020 and hangs out with Druids. She is madly in love with the natural world and will talk at length to anyone about critters or moss and happily spends time with nature spirits.
Tea Time with the Slavic Pantheon (Teens Welcome!)
C. Oleg Wildridge (he/him)
Join Rev. C. Oleg W. for a chance to speak with Baba Yaga & other Slavic spirits. Come to Baba Yaga’s parlor for a cup of tea and a chance to ask questions of this wise, old goddess who will speak through her oracular follower. This will give each person a chance to learn about Baba Yaga & other Slavic spirits, formulate questions to ask, and have a chance to ask those questions. Through respect, diligence, kindness and cleverness, you will be able to approach these spirits and might even gain their blessings.
C. Oleg Wildridge is a Slavic-focused ADF Druid and ordained priest (Zhrets) who lives in central Pennsylvania. He is a research goblin with a love of culture, history, and language. He is also a follower of Baba Yaga and the mighty Bogowie who guide him in his work without forgetting his obligations to Jormungandr, Loki, and the family of Loki overall. He seeks to learn, grow, and build community in Pagan space.
Workshops & Events
Ancient & Modern Fires (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
Scouts & Rev. Michael J Dangler (he/him)
Join the Scouts who have graduated from the only chartered Cub Scout pack chartered by an ADF Grove (and maybe the only Pagan-chartered Cub Scout pack anywhere) to learn the finer points of fire building, facilitated by our adult-leader Fire Priests and Eagle Scouts. As is fitting for ScoutingAmerica, this workshop is Scout-led, with adults to keep it safe and offer a bit of additional advice and practical experience. Respect for fire and starts with building them safely and efficiently, with an eye toward comfort and reciprocity. Even if you’ve never built a fire before, you can become an expert with the help of these talented Scouts.
Bardic Circle (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
EmCee: Mike Bierschenk (he/him)
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 festival-goers, and consider sharing your own!
Bespoke Divination: Crafting your own oracle deck (Teens Welcome!)
Bard (He him/Xe xym)
Have you ever gone to your LMS (Local metaphysical Store) and look at all the tarot sets and ask yourself “I wish their was a deck tailored just for me?” well you’re in luck. I’ll be talking about how to make your own bespoke divination set. For those want their own person set that speaks to them. Or those with a crippling addiction to tarot deck collecting and want something custom, and for those who have way too much creative energy. I will be talking about personal symbology, special interests, materials and tools and how upgrade and adapt your deck. I will also be talking about other lot drawing methods like playlists, symbol disks or sticks (like runes), or turning like MTG cards into a personal deck. I’ll also be talking about tarot vs Oracle decks and the pros and cons of them.
Active in both Buddhist and Pagan spaces, Bard has been practicing for over 15 years. Deeply passionate of intersection of queerness and paganism. Xe is involved in wild foraging as well divination and seer-work.
Chop Wood, Carry Water: Paganism Between High Days (Teens Welcome!)
Leesa Kern (she/hers/hey you)
Lots of workshops advise to “do the work,” but very few talk about how to get started. So let’s get started! Bring a notebook or journal and get started thinking about and planning how often, when, and where to incorporate more spirituality into your life. Decide what is important to YOU on your path, and how to best incorporate it. Part One: Daily and Weekly Work. We will talk about devotionals and other rites that can done on a daily or weekly basis. Part Two: The Wheel of the Year. We will review the general themes of the wheel of the year, no matter how many separate holy days there are, and also discuss plans for making meaningful observances when larger gatherings or observances are not feasible.
Leesa Kern has been a Pagan since 1993, a Druid since 2007. She has held many positions in ADF, including Non Officer Director, Preceptor of the Warriors Guild, Senior Druid of Three Cranes Grove. Currently she is the chief of the Order of the Crane. In her spiritual life she is working towards being a seer, a healer, and a warrior, as she believes these are all journeys, not destinations. In her mundane life she teaches sociology and criminology at a small liberal arts college, and believes that learning never stops.
Everyday Spiritual Practice (Teens Welcome!)
Brenda McPherson (she/her)
Pursuing a spiritual path can present challenges, but incorporating daily practices may enhance focus and commitment. Establishing routines, whether morning or evening, can foster purpose and a sense of connection. This presentation is designed to assist you in identifying methods to enrich your spiritual journey, empowering you to navigate your personal path with greater intention and awareness of your surroundings.
Brenda brings well practiced and researched approach to her classes and workshops. She always tries to make sure all of the students have a complete understanding of the material. Teaching others is a great passion of hers.
A left path excursion: Dark Lords, Ladies, and Demons (Adults Only)
OpensHeart (he/him) and Joyful Yes (she/her)
In autumn 2025, we made unexpected contact with a Dark Lady/Goddess/Demoness. It was not anything like we had thought. Either demons have changed, or we (society) have, or we’ve been wrong about them for centuries. Our experience has triggered months of reading, study, learning, discussions, and further experiences. This presentation is to share some overall concepts as we have come to understand them. It has been awakening to understand our bias to the light/”right” side. Real life and Spirit is distributed evenly between light and shadow. It is true, one must be an adult and know oneself and one’s environment wherever one is at. But, that being said, there is as much help, navigational aid, understanding, acceptance, companionship, and peace available on the dark side as the light, sometimes more. This experiential walk has made me (Open) more human. {I even got along with my mother for 8 days!)
Joyful and Open have known each other for 25 years and have been married to each other for 7. Both have had a lifetime of spiritual and other explorations. Open started in a Fundamentalist Baptist Bible College, Joyful started as a devout Catholic. Both of us have been drifting ‘left’ ever since. Separately and together, we’ve stuck our noses into Tarot, oracles, Goddess worship, ordeal work, ritual theater, Reiki, sacred sexuality, and a lot more. Interestingly both of us have at times been labeled by the ignorant and/or hostile as “satanists.” We have been dismissing such nonsense while following our pagan path — until last fall when a Dark Lady met us one night.
The Once and Future King: Paganism in Arthurian Cinema (Teens Welcome!)
Mary Jones (she/her)
Since Jessie Weston’s landmark 1920 work FROM RITUAL TO ROMANCE, scholars have noted the relationship between Arthurian literature and pre-Christian beliefs. The Holy Grail, the Fisher King, the Lady of the Lake, Morgan le Fay, and most especially Merlin, all have antecedents or analogues in Celtic mythology and religion which have filtered into Arthurian literature. While medieval literature melds these elements to a Christian milieu, cinema has taken up the work of scholars and reincorporated Pagan themes into Arthurian films–John Boorman’s EXCALIBUR, David Lowrey’s THE GREEN KNIGHT, Terry Gilliam’s THE FISHER KING, Antoine Fuqua’s KING ARTHUR, and many more draw on these themes to add depth and meaning to these well-worn stories, bringing renewed interest to them, while reflecting a modern need for a more Pagan worldview.
Mary Jones is a podcaster, writer, medievalist, and musician from the Philadelphia area. She has been a pagan for twenty-nine years, and movie-watcher for forty-seven.
Oracle Decks for ‘Tweens and Teens (Tweens & Teens Only)
Leesa Kern (she/hers/hey you)
An informal space where ‘tweens and teens can learn how to use and work with oracle decks. (Some will be provided as examples, but attendees should feel free to bring their own.) All ages are, of course, welcome, however this workshop is for ‘tweens and teens to have their own sacred space to explore and discuss.
Leesa Kern has been a Pagan since 1993, a Druid since 2007. She has held many positions in ADF, including Non Officer Director, Preceptor of the Warriors Guild, Senior Druid of Three Cranes Grove. Currently she is the chief of the Order of the Crane. In her spiritual life she is working towards being a seer, a healer, and a warrior, as she believes these are all journeys, not destinations. In her mundane life she teaches sociology and criminology at a small liberal arts college, and believes that learning never stops.
Rhythm for Drum Circles (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
J. Fenn Ziskind-Waldermacher (they/them)
If you put metronomes on a slightly wobbly surface and start them asynchronously, they will find a consensus rhythm and all beat the same. If enough people march in time, they can break down bridges, or even tyranny. Drumming is so old that it almost certainly predates our divergence from chimpanzees and bonobos. You, too, can drum. At our festival, as is true at many, there will be drumming around the fire at the Fire Circle at night, and this workshop is intended to introduce interested drummers to each other and some percussion instruments!
J. Fenn Ziskind-Waldermacher (they/them) has provided live percussion professionally for more than twenty years. They have worked with bands, musicians, dancers, and vocal groups in the Columbus area to provide individualized sounds, often making or modifying their instruments to suit the needs of the performance. Fenn applies this hands-on approach to their entire life — as a multidisciplinary and pan-media creator, maker, and teacher, they seek to make, and help others make, the world a better place!
Seated in Power Singing in Chains (Teens Welcome!)
Evan /¡\ (he/him)
Allow me, if you will, to kindle in you
a desire to explore a living Celtic Craft:
Cynghanedd [harmony], Cerdd Dafod
[tongue poetry], aka Canu Caeth [captive song]
is a unique cultural expression of Cymraeg
[Welsh language] which moves & empowers
strictly measured words o’r glust i’r galon
[from the ear to the heart].
In the workshop I’ll introduce you the nature and history of Cynghannedd tradition. Our session will be comprised of I do, we do, you do style instruction on Lusg, Sain & Draws / Groes. I’d encourage participants to look into Mererid Hopwood & Gwilym Morus-Baird for more details from a Cymry [native Welsh] perspective.
I am Evan /¡\ author of
ADF COoR Welsh Liturgical Handbook
& sleepwalker of Cadair Idris1
I’m a folked up fool
I am a damned dreamer
I, a mere apprentice poet
I, not I, Gwiwer2 will instruct
in the construction of verses
We will sing of the Divine Prisoner
We will speak with the voices
of the Dead & the Everliving
of the PenCerddiad Pritanī 3
1 I hiked & slept upon a Welsh mountain where
it’s said you wake a poet, a madman, or not at all.
2 [Squirrel] My bardic name connected to Gwair
3 Chief Bards of the Isle of Britain
Spiritual Hygiene: Staying Centered, Grounded, and Anchored While Wandering the Worlds (Teens Welcome!)
Leesa Kern (she/hers/hey you)
Or…How not to get lost when traveling the otherworlds, and what to do if it happens anyway. Have you ever left a ritual feeling extra spacy, even though had your cakes and ale? Have you ever “came back” from a guided meditation and felt like you left something behind? Does the state of the world make you feel out of step? In this workshop we will discuss both prevention and triage. We will talk about practices that can reduce the likelihood of “getting lost” and then also how to triage if you or someone in your party has post-ritual difficulties, including what to carry in your “post-ritual spiritual first aid” kit.
Leesa Kern has been a Pagan since 1993, a Druid since 2007. She has held many positions in ADF, including Non Officer Director, Preceptor of the Warriors Guild, Senior Druid of Three Cranes Grove. Currently she is the chief of the Order of the Crane. In her spiritual life she is working towards being a seer, a healer, and a warrior, as she believes these are all journeys, not destinations. In her mundane life she teaches sociology and criminology at a small liberal arts college, and believes that learning never stops.
Starting a Slavic-American Practice (Teens Welcome!)
C. Oleg Wildridge (he/him)
Join Rev. C. Oleg Wildridge for a quick start guide to building a Slavic Diaspora practice that can fit into multiple Pagan paths. We will go over some of the critical history and context of Slavic Paganism, its roots and branches, and then explore the real treasures: holidays, myths, observances, deities, and spirits. This will lead to a brief introduction ceremony to open the door for each person to build a connection to the Slavic Hearth Culture.
C. Oleg Wildridge is a Slavic-focused ADF Druid and ordained priest (Zhrets) who lives in central Pennsylvania. He is a research goblin with a love of culture, history, and language. He is also a follower of Baba Yaga and the mighty Bogowie who guide him in his work without forgetting his obligations to Jormungandr, Loki, and the family of Loki overall. He seeks to learn, grow, and build community in Pagan space.
Talking to bones: Casting stories from the mountain (Kids & Teens Welcome!)
Mama Wes (he/him)
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.
Why Practice Paganism? (Teens Welcome!)
Wayne Keysor (he/him)
Have you ever stopped to wonder why one should practice Druidry, Witchcraft, or Paganism at all? What is our practice for? This presentation and discussion will focus on understanding the theology of Pagan practice. What goals might one reasonably hope to attain from a Pagan practice? Why do we think these goals are possible? Why are these goals worth pursuing in the first place? This session will explore these questions, and is designed to help participants reflect on their own experiences and motivations and make explicit their underlying assumptions about what they want out of Pagan practice. This process is intended to help participants strengthen their own practice by giving it an explicit focus, while simultaneously clarifying what goals Pagan practice is unlikely to achieve. Participants will be invited, but are not required, to share their own experiences about their goals for their spiritual paths. This presentation is essentially a “why-to” rather than a “how-to” discussion.
Wayne Keysor holds a B.A. in philosophy from St. Lawrence University, a M.S. in defense and strategic studies from Missouri State University, a M.A. in liberal studies with a concentration in philosophy and religion from Notre Dame of Maryland University, a M.A. in classics from the University of Maryland College Park, and an M.A. in eastern classics from St. John’s College, Santa Fe. He has completed the ADF’s Dedicant Path and Initiate’s Program, and is currently a student in the Clergy Training Program. He has had numerous articles published in OakLeaves; has contributed to two collections of essays on contemporary Pagan theology published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina; and has written the book “Why Do We Practice: Fundamental Questions in Contemporary Pagan Theology” (ADF Publishing 2024).
