Many years ago now, the Council members for Covenant of the River (Jean Loomis and myself, Jordan Beard) were sitting at a table shortly after attending a rather large event within the Pagan community. We were talking about everything that we had done and seen, but mainly we were talking about how it made us feel. You see, that year we had been blessed to have the opportunity to work at several large events within the community and help put on a festival, and all of it had been such a boost to us on multiple levels. At each event we had signed up to take on some pretty hefty responsibilities; from managing the entire setup and tear-down process, to running multiple rituals daily, simply providing staffing to fill out the roster, to taking on the entire process of general operations for the event. In each we found new and wonderful things. For sure they were a challenge, but each time we were challenged, we discovered that we loved the task all the more for it as it made us feel invested in the entire event.
It’s funny the things that will bring you happiness. For us we found that the feeling of being invested and part of something bigger than ourselves was nearly ecstatic. Especially as we could look out at the crowd, the people smiling and laughing, people dancing, people in ritual, and we could say: “We helped make that happen”. And not to toot our own horn too much, but I can say that we are good at it. We are good at bringing people together to build new bonds and spiritual experiences because we love doing it. That was the key, that we really love doing it. And that is what we decided that day, so long ago at that table, that we wanted to do that more. We wanted that opportunity for the community more often, and we wanted to offer different opportunities than had been offered within the Colorado Pagan community to that point.
So we sat there and talked late into the evening about what that would look like, what was our purpose for such an endeavor, and how could we make it happen. Now many years later we have finally been able to make that a reality and we are extremely excited to offer Untamed to the community as our love letter to you and to the spirit of unity we hope to foster in festival form.
We landed on 4 major concepts which have become our 4 intentions for each person that attends Untamed.
Make Friends: One of the biggest things we spoke about was the friendships we had made at these events. To this day we have friends all over the state and across the country. So our first intention is that each person meets someone new and makes a new friend. The bonds we form within our community only serve to make us stronger, and in multiple ways.
Share and Learn: The second remarkable thing was how much knowledge, experience, and power was on display with people teaching, working, helping one another. So our next intention is that everyone learn something new. When we share our knowledge and experience we grow, both the student and the teacher. This is how we multiply our knowledge, this is how we ensure the wisdom of our elders carries on for generations.
Relax and Rejuvenate: Simply put, in the most basic terms, a festival is a vacation from the mundane world. It is a chance to recharge, to enjoy yourself, to just BE yourself even if only for a while. It is supposed to be a good time, so that is our next goal for Untamed: that each and every person who attends simply enjoys themselves.
Take It Home: Last but certainly not least we talked about how could we keep that feeling with us. We had this buzz, this spiritual high from the entire experience. Why can’t we feel like this all the time? The motivation and drive to do more, to be more, to be better people was incredible. The words of Gandhi came to us: “Be the change you want to see”**. It is up to us to bring those feelings of empowerment, of love and compassion, of enjoyment, spiritual bliss, of belonging to something larger than ourselves, to bring those feelings with us, to make them manifest in our daily lives. And that is the trick, we must make those feelings manifest in our lives. So our last intention for everyone at Untamed is that you take it with you, you make those feelings and everything you learn and gather and gain, you take it all and you make it manifest in your life. Take the feelings of Untamed with you.
Okay. So those are the intentions, our goals for Untamed. Great. So what? You can want and intend something all you want, but unless you pair those intentions with action, you will only find yourself dreaming.
As we approach the long weekend of Untamed, our dedicated team of volunteers has been tasked with just that; turn these intentions into action and let’s make everything about the experience fantastic. We are laying out road-maps and putting the pieces together so that everyone can get the most out of their time at the festival. We will be updating you here, in our blog and on the Facebook event as those plans come together. Starting today with letting you all know how we intend to set the tone for Untamed through ritual and music.
Untamed opens at 9am on Friday May 29th and we encourage everyone who can to get there early so you can join us for our opening ritual. There we intend to open and dedicate the space to all our intentions and all of our community. Coming together after all is part of what Pagan festivals are all about. So we will ask for the blessings of all the Gods and Goddesses, the land spirits, the fae, our ancestors, and the elements; that we might build magic together in this space. From there the entire weekend will be filled with magic, ritual, and aspects of the sacred including many traditions and people of all experience levels. We are blessed to be joined by Mountains Ancestors Grove ADF who will be providing the Hearthfire Sanctuary for any and all at any time of day or night, in addition to traditional daily rituals.
Another great reason to arrive early Friday is to take in all the entertainment options that evening. More details will be coming out soon on that, for now it’s our little secret. But expect some big surprises and as a little hint I’ll just say it will be some booty shaking fun.
Saturday afternoon and into the evening we are scheduling live music of all varieties. Expect some local favorites, as well as some new faces and voices. We want this to be a wide variety of incredible talent. We’re not giving away that lineup just yet either, but I can assure you that I have been in communication with many very talented artists and I think this will be a great show all afternoon. That’s a solid 7-8 hours of live music we’re looking at to take us into the evening. What that evening holds, well that’s another tale for another of our wonderful staff to tell.
We will wrap the entire festival experience up with a closing ritual Sunday afternoon giving thanks and asking for the spirits to help us take the feeling of togetherness out into the world, that it might bolster us and let us share our light with the world. Again, one of our big intentions for everyone attending Untamed.
So stay tuned. It’s going to be an amazing and magical time and we cannot wait to share this with you all. It has been many years in coming and we hope to have something for everyone, young and old, any race, any religion, any gender, sexual orientation, background, or experience level. We want to share this with you. With YOU. Please share your light with us, and let us share ours with you. We hope to see you there.
Many Blessings to All.
Jordan, Untamed Music and Ritual Coordinator
**Historically speaking, this is not actually a quote of Mahatma Gandhi, but it is most commonly attributed to him. At the time of the conversation, that is who we had heard the quote attributed to and so we have referred to it here in that manner. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/10/23/be-change/