Email Sent on 10/02/2023
Merry Meet,
Many have told us they are excited to bring their own familiar to Sickle, and we are excited too!
For the safety of the animals on display, we do ask that you DO NOT BRING your personal familiars* to any rituals or workshops. There is a lot of energy at this festival, and we ask you to help us manage it to make sure all parties feel safe and are cared for.
*Please note this does not apply to service animals. If you do have a service animal, and if they causing any kind of distress to the Workshop/Experience Animals or Ritual Cast, you may be asked to leave the room.
Thank you for your understanding, and we will see you Thursday!
Email Sent on 09/30/2023
Merry Meet!
LOTS OF INFO HERE, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!
Hekate's Sickle is less than a week away! All of the volunteers helping put Sickle on are SO EXCITED to see you all in person again, it has been too long!
There are going to be
LIVE animals at this event. If you have allergies to any animals, please come prepared with any medications or precautions that will help you have the best experience possible.
Important Info on Animals:
- Please DO NOT touch or pet any animals without express consent from their handlers. ALWAYS listen to the handlers and follow their instructions when around the animals.
- If you plan to or do handle any of the animals, please wash your hands before and after handling the animals. You will be reminded, do not worry!
- There will be a dog in opening circle (quite the impressive Great Dane! He’s a big sweetie.)
- There will be a cat in the Hekate & Cat ritual on Friday morning at 11 am. If Dave the Cat is amenable to it, he will be allowed to roam the room and choose who pets him.
- Some animal experiences will only allow so many people to actually interact with them, since there are so many of us. We will use randomized system to decide who will pet them (Owls, snakes, etc.). There are others that you will be able to look at, but not touch or interact with.
Parking Note - If you registered and reserved a room at the hotel through our site/volunteers, then your parking will be dropped to $10 a day, not $35.
List of things to pack!
To help you prepare, here is a list of things that you may want to bring to help enrich your experience during the festival.
None of these things are required, just suggested!
- Ritual Items: This year, we are exploring the Power of the Witch, which includes witches’ tools! Below are the tools we are going to be utilizing and learning about. If you want to bring you own, you are MORE than welcome. If there is a ritual that NEEDS one of these things, we will have options provided for you on-site.
- Hekate & Dog (Opening Ritual): Mirror
- Hekate & Snake: Chalice
- Hekate & Cat: Athame
- Hekate & Rabbit: Wand
- Hekate & Bat: Divination tools (Tarot Cards, Pendulums, Runes, etc.)
- Hekate & Raven: Pen & journal
- Hekate & Spider: Yarn
- Hekate & Rat: Coin/Pentacle
- Hekate & Frog: Drums, Rattles (Percussion instruments)
- What to Wear: Our Lady Hekate manifests differently within each of us. How does Hekate manifest within you? We encourage you to have fun and bring your witchy wear! On Saturday, we have a Harvest Banquet (6 pm), and then immediately after we have two rituals and then the Dragon Dance! The harvest banquet is semi-formal, but it is important to us that you are comfortable in what you are in for a few hours and moving around in.
- Crystals, Herbs, Tools, Spa Treatments, etc.: for a "Spirit Spa" - essentially a Healing Shrine Hour on Saturday Morning.
- Ancestor Altar Items:
We will have an ancestor shrine on site for those who we wish to remember. Please make sure to label the item with your name if it is important to you!
- Journal: As they say, if it isn't written down, you'll forget. Bring a journal to write of your experiences so you can look back on them!
- Food:
While there is a restaurant in the hotel, and plenty of fast-food places around SeaTac, that can get expensive eating out every meal! You can keep and eat food in your room.
- Phone Charger/Banks: We will have print-outs of the schedule in your packets and posted up around the festival area, but it’s always nice to have access to the online schedule and your camera!!
- Swimsuits: The pool is open!! And the hotel has assured us the hot tub will be hot!
Other things to know and be prepared for:
- Ancestor Ritual
– this is the time when we get to honor our loved ones that have passed. If desired, you will be given 1-3 minutes to say a little about the loved on you are honoring during ritual. If we have many people, the Ritual Facilitators will be making sure we keep things short and may ask you to wrap up so all have a chance to speak.
- The Great Community Toast
– This is the second year of the Great Community Toast, where our lovely writers, poets, and speakers are encouraged to craft and deliver a toast honoring the Pagan Community as a whole. The person who gets the most claps, woohoos, and fanfare will be honored with the title of Toast of the Town and receive a Toasty Trophy!
- Skyclad Ritual:
Yes, this ritual is done in skyclad, a.k.a. clothed in nothing but the sky! Aphrodite will be there to facilitate a wonderful ritual surrounding body positivity and love. Please be sure to arrive clothed! Disrobing will happen once everyone is in the room and ready. Showers and deodorant are encouraged! Adults 18+ only.
- Drunken Divination: Bring your Divination Tools and your money! There will be a cash bar (they also take cards, though the card system can be slow-moving) available from 7 pm -11 pm!
- Saturday Harvest Banquet & Awards:
This is included in in your ticket! All are invited to join us in the Crystal Ballroom on Saturday at 6 pm for a semi-formal Harvest Banquet. We also will be presenting awards to those joining us that have worked hard to help support the ATC, Seminary, Affiliates, and all of the other wonderful endeavors the church is involved in supporting.
- Main Ritual on Saturday:
At the Hekate & Owl Main Ritual on Saturday, there will be another cash bar outside the ballroom from 7 pm – 11 pm. The Ritual will transition into a Dragon Dance & Party at the end!
- Baby Goat Pajama Party:
Sunday morning from 9 – 11 am, we will be having breakfast in the Spencer’s Restaurant inside the Hotel! It will be a buffet (not included in your ticket), and many of us are going to be arriving in animal onesies!! Feel free to come in your favorite onesie, pajamas, or whatever else you are comfortable in.
- Closing Circle:
Closing Circle will begin around 11 am, and we will be announcing next year’s Spring Mysteries Cast & Staff!
We cannot wait to see you all at the hotel!
If you have any further needs or questions, feel free to email us using the contact form below.