Below are reviews of San Francisco Bay Area services, stores, and festivals that in my judgment have made profound contributions to the women’s spirituality or neo-pagan movements, and have enabled both newcomers and advanced practitioners to connect, explore questions, and acquire the knowledge and tools to deepen individual practice. We have lost several women’s gathering spots in recent years, unfortunately, and so those that have hung on deserve our support. I have participated in all of the activities described below and heartily recommend them!

Ruth Barrett and the Temple of Diana

Ruth Barrett succeeded founder of the Dianic Tradition, Z. Budapest, in her Los Angeles ministry in 1980 and went on to found Temple of Diana in Wisconsin. Okay, so she’s not in the Bay Area, but she performs and teaches at sites around the country and her Website has an excellent reading list, among other resources. Ruth was the teacher of my teacher , Felicity Artemis Flowers, and so I owe her a debt of gratitude in paving my path to the Dianic Tradition: www.templeofdiana.org

Ancient Ways

The first stop on any pagan’s visit to the Bay Area is Ancient Ways, where knowledgeable, helpful staff sell sacred ritual objects and maintain an events book. Ancient Ways sponsors the national PanthaCon pagan festival every February–an excellent venue in which to explore the wide variety of pagan cultures. These weekends can be overwhelming, so if you’re a newcomer bring a friend to help ground you and limit your time in large groups: http://www.ancientways.com/

Max Dashu

Here in the East Bay we have a pagan/women’s spirituality national treasure, Max Dashu and her Suppressed History Archives. She has worked tirelessly to retrieve and promote critical information about our spiritual and political ancestors from around the world that has been erased in mainstream and even alternative history. Max offers accessible and affordable lectures and webinars: http://www.suppressedhistories.net/

The Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium

I have been attending this fantastic gathering, when I’m able, for the past 10 years and always leave feeling rejuvinated, grounded, and connected to community. Even if you’re not a “Green Witch” you’ll enjoy the variety of workshops, the beautiful land, and the terrific vegetarian food: http://www.womensherbalsymposium.org/pages/symposium.html

Elderflower Womenspirit Festival

This gathering has been going on for decades and provides a wonderful forum for women of many spiritual traditions to connect, share, and celebrate in the Mendocino woods. This festival’s strengths are simplicity, land, and community. There are no “stars” here since women offer workshops for each other, and the space is wonderful to present your own teachings for the first time or to assist in ritual: http://www.elderflower.org/

Pagan Pride Festival by the Pagan Alliance

This is a lovely 1-day event held in Berkeley “town square” near city hall. There is a fun participatory parade, terrific vendors (I usually stock up on basics here), group ritual, and performance. It is typically held on the Saturday after Beltane: http://thepaganalliance.org/

Please comment below on these or other resources you would recommend!