I’m just back from The Witches Revival event in Lancaster (UK). What a few days full of magic and deep healing it was.
I stepped on stage for the first time in 4 years to give a talk on Creatrix for the first time. I taught creative writing live for the first time in 16 years. I met our Womancraft author Carly Mountain for the first time, and Sarah Robinson for the second. I met many online friends in person for the first time. It was our first Womancraft book stall since the pandemic.
And on the final day, I led 130 people in song…and a spiral dance. I channeled Starhawk as we sang her powerful chant:
What serves life will stand
And what does not will fall
The power is in our hands
Love changes all.
Starhawk and the Reclaiming tradition.
This ended in a spontaneous group hug around organiser Cali White and myself, where dozens of women started humming and toning, I could feel the vibrations throughout my body for hours afterwards. (Do head over to my Instagram @lucyhpearce to see a video of the song, dance and hug, as well as more images from the event.)
So many firsts. And at all times I felt safe and held.
I spoke (and hugged) so many of my readers from aged 11 to women in their 70s, each wanting to share how my books had touched their lives, by day 4 I was starting to lose my voice!
I spent the few days of the event living, working, eating and talking with Yoga for Witches author Sarah Robinson and Descent and Rising author Carly Mountain. We each spoke and taught and ran the Womancraft bookstall together, We sold out of the massive stock – 8 large boxes of books! – by mid afternoon on Saturday. It was a powerful and healing few days and we can’t wait to go back next year.
Whilst that was going on, we were checking our social media for updates from our US sisters at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Authors Liz Childs Kelly (Home to Her) and Gina Martin (When She Wakes trilogy) were joined by Caryn Moon of the Divine Feminine App and two more wonder women to give a talk. Liz’s book won a gold Nautilus award and Nautilus were there with a stand, so she got to meet them in person.
I had a moment where it hit me and brought me to tears – seeing the books there with our authors and our readers, all in one room, and knowing the same was happening on the other side of the world, almost simultaneously: I did this! We’re doing this! All this work we do unseen, all the worries and stress and details, every book chosen and edited and designed, every email written, every contract signed, parcel packed, every trip to the post office made this happen. So much of our work is virtual, I’ve met so few of our authors in real life, we work online, we sell most of our books online. We get lovely emails and reviews and the occasional letter and gift, but to see the reality of Womancraft work and people out in the world was powerful and as we approach the celebration of our first decade, it fired me up for our second decade – one where we do more on the ground, out in the world – more events and meet ups. Our first decade was about establishment and seeding, the second will be about expansion.
So please do get in touch with us if you are organising or know of an event in your area that you think I, or any of our Womancraft authors and bookstall would be right at home at. We certainly can’t promise to attend them all, but we’d love to see what is possible.
[fblike layout="button_count" action="like"]