All times are Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4). For those attending the Annual Meeting remotely, please remember to adjust accordingly.
Thursday 5/21
1:30 PM Social Fire Lighting and Event Opening
This brief ritual consists of lighting the community fire that we will keep burning for the rest of the event, and offering welcome to all who have come from near and far to be present.
8:00 PM Opening Ritual led by Stone Creed Grove
Our first evening ritual is an opportunity for all present to connect with two beings who feature prominently in all of ADF’s rituals under many different names and forms: The Earth Mother, and the Gatekeeper. Done in ADF Core Order style, this ritual also allows us to experience the energy of the permanent idols of those figures carved by artist Sidney Bolam of Black Bear Grove, as well as unite all the folk attending the festival around our spiritual purpose and work.
Friday 5/22
8:45 AM Morning ritual at Community Altar
The morning ritual is a very short set of offerings and prayers to start off our day with a focus on the sacred. All are welcome to come.
10:00 AM Patricia Robin Woodruff – Commonalities of Celtic and Slavic Paganism
As a scholar of ancient European religion, Patricia Robin Woodruff will guide us through the key commonalities of pagan religious practice ranging from the Slavic regions of southeastern Europe to the Celtic practices of the western areas of the continent, and what those practices reveal about the underlying folk religions of Europe.
11:30 AM Jenni Hunt – Ager to Urbs: What everyone should know about how Roman religion
Neopagans can learn a lot from ancient Romans – and not just about building roads and sewers! Romans successfully transformed their earliest agrarian-based religion to function in urban environments, celebrating hearth, family, community, and State. In this workshop, you will learn the basic premises of Ancient Roman Religion and a wee bit of Latin. Most importantly, however, we will discuss what modern Neopagans can learn from the Romans about adapting agricultural festivals and traditions to spiritual applications that are meaningful to them, no matter where they live.
2:00 PM Arlechina Verdigris – Shapechanging Traditions of the Mediterranean
Most are familiar with the cultural depictions of lycanthropes, particularly in German areas, but what kinds of shapechanging creatures are common in the Mediterranean? In this talk, we will learn about the folklore of southern Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia that contribute to the concept of shapechangers, and what they can tell us about our own spiritual experiences.
3:30 PM BJ Swain – Dreams Allies, Spirit Allies
The magician is often imagined in his places of power, standing tall with magical tools, commanding the forces of nature and drawing spirits to serve him. For many magicians today, this romanticized wizard is less appealing than a deep and rewarding relationship with the spirits with whom we share the world. Still, we often expect them to come to us. In this class, we will look at how Dreams can be spirit allies, how our spirit allies can help carry us to a place of True Dreaming, and how in that place, we can meet with spirits instead of simply expecting them to come when called.
5:00 PM Wellspring Bardic Chair Competition – Prepared Pieces
Each competitor for the Wellspring Bardic Chair will perform the song, poem, and story that they have brought to demonstrate their bardic skill. Those performances will be judged by a panel of past winners, ranked ADF bards, and/or current or former ADF Bards Laureate.
8:00 PM Oracular Seidr Ritual led by Diana Paxson
Oracular Seidr is a Norse religious practice of using deep trance for divination purposes. Diana Paxson has been a key part in modern times for re-developing and recovering this practice, and will lead those present in the process of having a seer work their way into asking questions of the deities and ancestors.
Saturday 5/23
8:45 AM Morning ritual at Community Altar
The morning ritual is a very short set of offerings and prayers to start off our day with a focus on the sacred. All are welcome to come.
10:00 AM Tabitha Woodruff – Paganism and the Law
A practicing public-interest attorney will go over common legal issues pagans face and some tools that we can use to defend ourselves in court against injustices. She will use the state of Ohio in particular as an example, but the tools and ideas and resources she offers will be useful for visitors from other places as well. As a reminder, while this presenter is a lawyer, she is not your lawyer and will not be providing specific legal advice to your exact situation during this presentation, but she can give resources for how to find a pagan-friendly lawyer should you need one.
11:30 AM Sara Mastros – Strategies for Survival: Non-Christian Community Structures in Feudal Christendom
When bad times come, is it better to be a visible minority or an invisible one? To answer this, we’ll examine various non-Christian communities that existed inside Medieval Christendom, the different tactics they took to negotiate a frequently hostile over-culture, and how those choices played out over the course of the second millennium CE.
2:00 PM Wellspring Bardic Chair Competition – Collaboration and Short-Order Poetry
Those competing for the Wellspring Bardic Chair will perform as a group, demonstrating their skills for effective collaboration with other performers. They will also be given a prompt and have 9 minutes to write a 9-line poem on that topic, which they will then perform to demonstrate their skills at improvisation and instinctual writing. The panel of judges will then be responsible for determining the winner and providing whatever feedback they wish to the competitors about their performances.
2:30 PM Diana Paxson – Paganism, Patriotism, and the American Civil Religion
The United States, while not having a pagan history like many European nations, has begun to develop important symbolic figures such as Lady Liberty and Columbia that fill much the same role as the ancient pagan deities did. ADF founder Isaac Bonewits often remarked about these symbols and how they create a paganism that is uniquely culturally relevant to the modern USA and its current difficulties.
4:00-5:00 PM ADF Annual Meeting
The ADF Annual Meeting is a presentation and celebration of the work of the organization over the last year, and also a chance to pose questions to ADF’s leaders.
6:30 PM Potluck Feast
Bring dishes to share with others, and enjoy what others have brought with them to share. Groceries are available nearby for those that need them.
7:30 PM Musical performance by Blackout Rose
Blackout Rose is the new WorldRock Afropunk superfuge of Unbridled Rock n’ Soul! Rebranded and Reborn from formerly being known as Daddy Longlegs’ Homegrown Revival, the band once known solely for Mardi Gras-esque live performances, has grown to develop and become its own force of genre. Led by frontman Davidione Pearl bringing the energy shoulder to shoulder with bassist Lovest Watson, guitarist Mike McNamara, and drummer Gregg Garlock, Blackout Rose is ready to bring you a spirited high energy show to remember.
8:45 PM Bardic Performances
ADF is blessed by having many talented performers, including poets, musicians, storytellers, and dancers. This open mike session will feature some of ADF’s Bards Laureate as well as previous and current Wellspring Bardic Chair winners in a friendly supportive atmosphere. Please contact the evening’s Master of Ceremonies if you are interested in performing.
Sunday 5/24
8:45 AM Morning ritual at Community Altar
The morning ritual is a very short set of offerings and prayers to start off our day with a focus on the sacred. All are welcome to come.
10:00 AM Colin Wildridge – Introduction to Scythian Paganism
The Eastern branch of the Indo-European family is often forgotten in modern Neo-Paganism. While the view is fastened on Western Europe and the Mediterranean, we miss the fascinating world of Eastern Europe and the Eurasian Steppe. The Scythians were Iranian Steppe peoples who populated the Pontic Steppes (modern-day southern Ukraine) for hundreds of years and had their own rich religious traditions. For an ADF Druid, this presents an opportunity to connect with the deities of the Scythians and this workshop will be a crash course in the history, culture, and the deities of the Scythians and how to incorporate them into one’s practice. Please join us for this unique opportunity to explore and connect!
11:30 AM Avalon Bryght – Using the Oghams for Divination
The oghams are a deceptively simple-looking system of markings used by ancient druids as a writing system. Like other systems of writing, oghams are used in modern times for divination among other forms of magic, typically by drawing lots. In this beginner’s workshop, you will learn how to understand the meanings of each symbol and how to use them effectively as a divination tool.
1:00PM Artisan’s Guild Gallery Showing
The Artisan’s Guild brings works from across ADF’s membership to Wellspring for display. Engage with these skilled and innovative pieces in a wide variety of media such as painting, drawing, fiber, sculpture, and diorama. The public may also vote on what they consider best in show. Wine and cheese will be served.
Chenille Canopy luncheon
The Chenille Canopy is a long-standing informal group within ADF for women and female-presenting non-binary people, created as a safe space for socializing and discussion without men present. They meet every Wellspring Gathering, as well as having separate retreats and gatherings throughout the year.
2:00 PM Evan Cutshaw – Introduction to Cynghanedd Poetry
Evan will introduce us to the Welsh artistic tradition of Cynghanedd (harmony), Cerdd Dafod (tongue poetry), and the related term Canu Caeth (captive song). This unique use of the Cymraeg language moves and empowers strictly measured words o’r glust i’r galon (from the ear to the heart).
3:30 PM BJ Swain – Weaving a Story, Weaving a World
Truth can hold great power, but so can fiction. In this class we will look at how our relationship with magic and the world around us can be expressed through our relationship with speech, narrative, stories, truths and lies.
8:00 PM Main ADF Ritual, led by Archdruid Jan Avende
This ritual will connect the work of the folk here at Wellspring with the magical work done both at the many ADF groves and the many home shrines influenced by ADF’s practices. Attendees will receive a blessing that they can take with them as they return to their home and lives after the festival is over.
After Ritual Song Circle – Social Fire
After the last ritual is finished, folk are encouraged to sit around the main social fire sharing songs as a community. Bring things you want to share with the group, and/or things you want to have folks sing along to.
Monday 5/25
9:00 AM Farewell Blessing / Closing Ritual
In the interests of making it easier for those with long journeys ahead to participate before they have to leave, we will start the day off with our closing ritual. Meet at the Community Altar to have one final sacred goodbye and turn our attention back to secular activities.