The Wider Community
You maintain a packed schedule of workshops and public appearances, being a familiar figure at many Pagan festivals. What have you taught/demonstrated/lectured about in the past?
Wow. Well, you asked for it. I have taught dowsing and all sorts of divination; candle, color, knot, mirror, scent and symbol magick; community building; a wide variety of topics related to sacred sexuality; how to create really effective ritual; how to get your writing published; how to put on a festival or similar event; ritual body art; what a responsible HPS or HP should have studied and know; how to publish a Pagan magazine; where we (the Pagan community) is now and where we might be able to go; and about a hundred other things.
What is your schedule for 2004 and what can people expect to learn about if they attend these workshops/appearances?
So far I only have a few events booked in 2004 and the exact list of classes that the organizers want me to present hasn't been completed. You see, the organizers are sent a list of my classes for a year and they pick and choose what they want. I know that I will be at the Mid-Atlantic Pagan Alliance's Beltaine celebration in New Jersey in late April; Free Spirit Festival in Maryland in June (speaking about the Pagan Veterans Headstone Campaign) and the Spirits of the Earth Festival near London, Ontario in July.
Actually, I am looking for additional bookings across the US and Canada as well as in Britain and Europe and if any event organizers would like a list of my classes for 2004, all they have to do is email me at RitBodyArt@AOL.com and ask for one. My fee schedule and conditions, as well as biographical information and testimonials are included.
Which is your natural habitat: public events, quietly writing on your own or participating in internet communities?
I spend more time on the Internet, especially with the Pagan Veterans Headstone Campaign but I am what is technically referred to as a Computer Unfriendly piece of Wetware. As for writing, I am not a disciplined writer. When there is something buzzing around inside of my head, I have been known to write for 12-19 hours a day for up to a month at a time. But once the pressure is gone, I get really lazy.
When presenting publicly, my basic Leo personality shows itself, whether I am actually enjoying myself or not.
If you want the truth, I am most myself out on a boat or in a canoe, fishing; quite preferably someplace warm
You are a member of several on-line pagan groups, how does Witchgrove rate within this context in your experience?
Witchgrove is one of the most wonderful, caring, loving, funny, hard working groups I have ever met. Mab has put in hours and hours helping the Pagan Veterans Headstone Campaign. Others from the group have also become very deeply involved. And, in the midst of all of this, some of the craziness on the Yahoo list leaves me nearly in need of changing my knickers. Several of the Witchgrove people are missing out on very lucrative careers as stand up comics. And then there are the poets; and what poets they are. I simply don't have the words to recommend Witchgrove nearly as highly as it deserves.
Any final word about being Charles Arnold?
I'm glad I'm the only one; I wouldn't wish me on my worst enemy. And my one motto for magick, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" Tony Beretta
Thank you for your interest and taking the time from your busy schedule to interview this short, over weight, middle age, eccentric and highly opinionated kitchen witch.
It's been a pleasure.