Panels for Gaia Gathering 2012 in Toronto!

Finalized Topics!

1. Ageing and the Elderly in the Pagan Community
   As our Neo-Pagan communities grow up we are also growing old! How can we build a community that will tend to the needs of our elders? What types of infrastructure is required to make sure that their wisdom is not forgotten? How do the roles of our various priesthoods change in our golden years?
2. Mental Health in the Pagan Community
   Our community is diverse and accepting of eccentricities. How do we manage a situation when eccentricity crosses the line into mental health issues? How do we tell the difference between delusion and profound spiritual experience? How do we support leaders in our community experiencing Pagan community mental exhaustion?
3. Marketing and Advertising of Pagan Events
   Pagan events are often running on a shoestring budget! How do we spread the word about our events without breaking the bank? Find out what resources are out there and the most effective marketing and advertising tools that really work for our communities from the folks who work with these things in their Pagan and mundane lives.
4. Revitalizing the Community
   A vital community involves Pagans of all ages and experience levels. How do we retain the longtime community members and engage them with the same enthusiasm as the new comers? How do we make public events enticing to all the members of our communities and introduce new people to local resources? Where are the opportunities for folks to meet and network?
5. Religious Tolerance
   Most Pagans come to their own spiritual paths from an existing religion often rejecting their religion of birth. As an open community how accepting are we of each other’s spiritual paths within the Pagan umbrella and within society in a whole.
6. Social Networking
   The internet has changed the way Pagans meet and communicate to each other. New ways of communicating keep growing and developing. How do blogs, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest impact the Pagan dialogue and community? Do they help or just water things down? Are we as accountable for our actions in this world?
7. Are you willing to pay for your Spirituality?
   Some traditions have strict rules about accepting money for teaching, some think nothing of it. When is it appropriate to pay for Spirituality? Is it ever appropriate? This panel will tackle this topic from different viewpoints.
8. Gender Balance
   How much of an issue is gender balance in our Canadian Pagan scene? Where is the pendulum swinging these days? Are we really a female dominated community? Are the opportunities equal for men and women? Are the Gods and Goddesses worshipped equally? Do they need to be?
9. Reconstructionist Traditions
   How do you respectfully honour the Gods and rituals of a past era? How can you revive forgotten practices from a distant place? Modern practitioners of old ways discuss how they breathe new life into ancient practices.
10. Pagan Arts
    How is the Pagan movement represented in art? Who are the creators of Pagan art and is our community supporting their effort? How do the artists honour their Gods and traditions through their chosen media? This panel of Pagan artists discuss how they work and why.
11. Ancestors in the Pagan Mosaic
    Ancestor reverence or a special time set aside during the year to remember our ancestors is common across many Pagan traditions, even if we approach it differently. It seems to be a piece of the Pagan mosaic that we all share. This panel discussion features Pagans who each place an emphasis on ancestors in their traditions or spiritual practice.
12. Supporting Social Change with Magic
    Some Witches and Pagans see magic as a tool that can be used during public protests and demonstrations such as the Occupy movement and environmental demonstrations. Who are the people who engage magic and activism together, why do they do it, and what tools have they found to be effective in demonstrations. Pagan activists share their stories.
13. Pagan Book and Media Share
    What are your favourite Pagan titles and who are your favourite Pagan authors? Join us at this facilitated round-table discussion as we introduce each other to the best books, podcasts, magazines, blogs and websites out there, especially Canadian ones.
14. Gender and Sexual Identity in Paganism
    This panel round table discussion will explore Gender and Sexual Identity within Paganism focusing on the moral implications of tolerance, acceptance and integration. The purpose of the panel is not to define a specific morality but instead get Pagans talking about issues that many would like to avoid or have just never thought about.
15. Planning Large Public Ritual
    Putting on a public ritual can be both exhilarating and terrifying. What are the skills and steps necessary to successfully plan and execute a public ritual? What makes some rituals more successful than others? What re the pitfalls to avoid (or at least consider)? Experienced public ritual planners from across the country share their successes, failures, and advice.
16. Conjures, Spellcraft, Rootwork, and Petitions. Oh My!
    Folk magic is practiced by Pagans and non-Pagans alike. It is also known by many different names, each with their own distinct flavour and style. What are these different types of folks magic? How do they differ and what makes them the same? And what traditions are they associated with. Join a diverse panel of magical practitioners as they discuss their flavours of folk magic.
17. Pagan Chant Share
    Chant plays an important part in many Pagan rituals for creating a group mind and raising energy. It's also fun! In this "roundtable", we will share songs and chants from our communities or personal repertoires. Don't worry if you don't have anything to share, simply join us to add to your own repertoire. The facilitators have more than enough songs and chants from across the country (and continent) to fill the time.
18. Ceremonial Magick
    Ritual Magicians have often been misunderstood, misrepresented and quite regularly maligned. With a magical path that seems to be secretive, solitary, and with few practitioners its easy to understand where information might be misinterpreted. Well no more! Join two active Ceremonial Magicians who will cut through the veil with truth and openness. You will get to experience actual ritual practises that will lead to a greater understanding of the theory and energy behind ritual magick.

Still to be finalized!
Pagans on Film