Performing at Oasis: Creating Art and Community

Photo of "Finding Eleusis" taken by Angie Buchanan

This past June, the directors and staff of Earth Traditions created a new intensive retreat for the People of the Earth, and named it Oasis. An oasis is a place to refresh the body and mind. It is a central place where the Spirit can find care, and people from great distances can connect to exchange goods, ideas, and commune together in peace. The staff of Earth Traditions made all of the above possible with their tireless efforts.

Photo of "Betwixt and Between" taken by Angie Buchanan

Terra Mysterium was included in the planning process from the start. We wished to present all three of our current touring productions for this community. As a performance troupe, we are currently an itinerant company of storytellers, bards, and myth-makers on the winding road. To be given the gift to perform for a community who would understand our intent was a powerful experience. Our work found a home in the hearts of those who attended Oasis. Many of these people have been long familiar faces, while others became new friends. All were a part of the birth of something new, rich, and powerful.

The twin forces of art and community creation allow those of us who engage in the work to explore the intersection of culture and mystery so that what fuels us (in the end) is the need to embody a creation of substance. Earth Traditions created a space where everyone could explore deeper magicks, more complex subjects, and find ways to create and invest in community. Far from a festival experience (which can be a wonderful and rewarding experience as well) Oasis was intended as retreat, but, for me personally, it embodied a lovingly crafted challenge. This challenge asked me to examine how I might reinvest, rethink, and reengage in the world around me. As the Pagan, Earth-based, Nature-centered, Dark Green Spirituality movement matures, we need more events like Oasis. We need to gather as a community to share deep knowledge and hard won personal gnosis. While play is essential to the work at hand, we must continue to engage each other in profound and substantial ways that will benefit the land and the people.

Photo of "Professor Marius Mandragore's Salon Symposium" taken by Angie Buchanan

Terra Mysterium is committed to the work of culture creation. We walk in wonder upon and within the “Land of Mystery” that is theatre, storytelling, myth, and magic(k), and life itself. Our works are created to inspire, challenge, and invite the audience to participate with us in the creation of a new culture. The ancient myths are alive and walking though us and with us everyday. When the land, animals, and people around you are no longer seen as commodities but instead as sacred, mysterious, and full of wisdom, then you have made the shift to a place where magic happens, where all possibility exists, and where a tale is being created.

Terra Mysterium would like to give thanks to the staff of Earth Traditions, and to the creators of culture everywhere. We are glad to be a part of this work, and look forward to walking the winding road with you wherever you may be.