Yesterday was the 5th Annual Pittsburgh Witches' Ball, held by the local Black Hat Society, a pagan organization. The event was to celebrate both Samhain and the Día de Muertos, albeit a bit belatedly. I went with my bff, even though she is agnostic.

We showed up a few hours into the festivities, between getting lost and other problems. The ball was held at a lodge north of the city, in the middle of nowhere. We got to the door and saw a sign requesting all firearms and weapons be left in the car, as it was a place of peace. ...I am usually armed with at least one knife. -.- Which meant a trip back to the car was in order. So we went in, got our tickets in order and our wristbands for the evening, then went back to the car and shed our coats and weaponry. I only had my police knife and my brass knucks, but leaving them behind felt so /weird/.

We returned and set about exploring the place. There were three rooms on the top floor, with artisan tables in the rooms on either end and the live music happening in the center. There was a lot of handcrafted jewelry and trinkets for sale... Sadly I have no need for more jewelry. Downstairs, there was a small room designated as the altar room. There was a sign encouraging people to leave offerings for their dearly departed as well as warning that it was a 'highly scented area' (due to the incense). We walked in, and saw one table covered in candles, food, beer bottles, unlit cigarettes, and other things. The other was devoted to pictures of the departed, with more candles (all burnt out by this point) and another offering of beer & cigars. I hadn't known about this ahead of time, or I would have come with a stack of photos and other gifts. The other places of interest downstairs were the dining room, with which a buffet had been laid, and the restrooms, which... yeah. XD

We grabbed some noms, (mostly vegan food, which gave me heartburn -.-) walked around and admired people's costumes. The dress code was casual, but with tasteful costumes encouraged. (Devil's horns were specifically pointed out as being inappropriate). As such, a lot of people were walking around in medieval/renaissance, steampunk, fantasy, and even Grecian garb. Skull/sugar skull paint was common, as were masquerade masks. Corsets and top hats were everywhere. I felt underdressed, being in just an oversized Misfits shirt & matching skinny jeans, but the sheer number of compliments on my shirt and fingerless gloves (Nightmare Before Christmas ones) made up for it. My friend & I are planning on dressing up more next year.

At some point, we discovered the chocolate confectioner's table that would be my undoing. XD This woman makes the best chocolate I have ever tasted in my life! Better, all of her chocolates are molded into some pagan theme- the Goddess, bars stamped with the triple horns or with Bast, pentacles, the Green Man, chocolate covered Oreos with the elements or the chakras drawn in colored icing, "altar sets" where everything was shaped like an altar tool, "rune stone" sets... even Mjölnir. Only the roses, the chocolate bark, the chocolate covered pretzels & the maple bacon truffles were non-pagan. Her specialty flavors have my head spinning. X3 Peach white, pomegranate semi-sweet, orange dark, mint and "spiced" (which basically has all the spices you add to pumpkin). There were others, but they would have triggered my nut allergy so I ignored them. Hers was the only table I purchased anything from & I spent $20. XD Mind you, things were like $1-$2.50 a piece... I bought stuff for my parents, sister, bro, & bff as well as myself though.

We spent a good deal of time in the dining room after the dessert table was open, eating sweets. X3 The tables were covered with paper, and crayons were laid out so people could draw on the tablecloths as they ate. It was silly and fun and some people drew some pretty amazing things. :3

We watched the band Morticia's Chair in its entirety. They were the best act of the night. After, things were set up for the costume contest. A Viking gent had entered. Not one of those warped, horned-helmet-wearing stereotypes sort of Viking, but a real one. His clothes were so stunningly accurate to the time period that I just wanted to hug him. X3 He lost to an equally-stunning pirate. Ah, well... The raffle was next. My bff & I were picked at random to draw tickets, and I think because of that, we were handed random gift bags after. There... wasn't any explanation to the gifts, we were just handed them and the lady kept walking. They each held sticks of sandalwood incense, quartz points, and chocolate coins though. ...Which makes me laugh even now. It's so... So typical, almost cliche, to be given incense & quartz. XD

There was a bit of random dj-ing while the next event was set up. They played the Time Warp and Thriller. There was much dancing.

The night ended with a ritual to honor the dearly departed. I've never done a group ritual, so I was really excited and nervous. First was the casting of the circle/calling of the quarters. That involves invoking the 4 elements -earth, air, fire, water-. For the first time, I could sense when each element answered the call & arrived... it was so weird. Then when the one priestess told the group to picture your loved ones, feel them with you right now... I tried to invoke my grandparents but instead all there was... was Sam. Just this... overwhelming sense of Sam. I got teary eyed. I tried again to invoke my grandparents but... it was like... there was this block preventing it. Like they didn't want to, because it was not a Christian situation and they didn't approve. (Which would be their reactions, honestly...) So instead, I focused on Sam & my Uncle Kim, whom I'd never met, but feel a lot of love for. I thought I felt my uncle but Sam was so strong... and I'm not entirely sure how to recognize his presence...

After the ritual ended, I sought out the lady who organized the event, whom I'm going to call the High Priestess, because she more than likely was. XD I thanked her for the evening and she hugged me and talked for a moment. I also finally mustered the courage to compliment the one fellow Asatru on his Mjölnir pendant. He wasn't particularly cute, but we had a nice conversation about our Mjölnir collections. XD I appreciate every moment spent with other Asatruar...

Before we all parted ways, they announced another upcoming event. We're already planning on attending. <3

Side note: Interestingly enough... Today I was telling my mom about the ritual, and Sam, and how my grandparents wouldn't show... and before I could mention my uncle in any way, she interrupted with, "Your Uncle Kim would have been there. In a heartbeat."