Next Saturday is the annual North Eastern Pennsylvania Pagan Pride Day, wahoo! I’ve been attending and presenting at NEPA Pagan Pride since its inauguration a few years ago, and it is one of my favorite “localish” Pagan Pride events.
Although it is a full 3 hour drive to Wilkes-Barre, PA, the organizers ensure that workshop presenters have a safe landing space to sleep, transition into magical mode, and enjoy the hospitality of the area. The weather is utterly gorgeous, with blue skies, clean air, and mountains surrounding the city. Kirby Park is lovely, has ample free parking, and the hospitality of the Wyoming Valley CUUPs organization is fantastic!
Most importantly, it is the ONLY local Pagan Pride Day I have attended & presented at that honors disabled pagans and supports necessary adaptations in order to ensure everyone has access. I am partially deaf/HOH and have worn a hearing aid since 2020 (started learning ASL then, too). The organizers always ensure that I have a microphone and speaker so that I can listen and understand attendees’ questions, and can be heard over workshops that run at the same time. The sidewalks and disabled parking spots allow wheelchair access for pagans who need it, too!
This year, I will be conducting a ceremony for attendees: Soul Retrieval for Sin Eaters. It is part of my series of free ceremonies I am facilitating up and down the East Coast.
“Within Celtic history, the ritual of Sin-Eating was performed by tribal members who would “eat” the energetic residue of the community’s pain, disappointment, power struggles, malicious behavior, and misalignment in order to return the community to “right relationship.” This increased the health of the community, the sharing of resources, and the ability to survive hardship. This ritual was also performed for the recently dead to help prepare their Soul for the Otherworlds. Throughout the centuries, this ritual has continued, although it has been twisted and misappropriated in modern times. Join Rev. Monika Kojote in a Soul Retrieval ritual for all members of the pagan community who have been forced to swallow the sins of others without consent, leading to complex trauma and soul loss.“
Hope to see you there, aaOOOOooooooOOOOOOooo!
Kojote & Kroh Shamanism 