Tradition Share Air n-Aithesc Table (March 2017)

The east Tennessee pagan community has a yearly event called the Trad Share (aka, Tradition Share) that lets local residents meet members of Pagan groups and traditions. I used to live in East Tennessee and was active in the local Pagan community for many years. In fact, I had been involved in some of the early Trad Shares, back when they were sponsored by a local pagan student group and a pagan networking organization.

Last year's Trad Share provided the opportunity to return and share Air n-Aithesc magazine with the community that had shared so much with me in the past. Last year, the table featured magazine copies, sample articles, and lots of examples of good reference materials.

To my delight, I was able to return this year for the Trad Share in March 2017. The Air n-Aithesc table again had sample issues of AnA, copies of articles, and two sections of example references: what to use and what not to use. In between the two stacks was an example of a well researched book, Epona: The Hidden Goddess by P.D. MacKenzie Cook, and a matching review I wrote for the Spring 2017 AnA issue. The book and its accompanying review provided an example of how to evaluate a source.

The "what to use" section had three scholarly books: Celtic From the West (Cunliffe and Koch), Celtic Art (Megaw and Megaw), and Elements de Cosmogonie Celtique (Sterckx). Each book is thoroughly researched with extensive bibliographies and indices. I included a French publication because many references are not available in English. Reading other languages expands the information available to you.

The "what not to use" stack had two books from pagan presses: Lore of the Sacred Horse (Davies) and the Magical History of the Horse (Farrar and Russell). Both of these books are horse-related because that is my area of specialty. Unfortunately, neither of these books has a bibliography. How can someone wanting additional information find it if presented "facts" are not properly and consistently cited?

The two stacks sparked good conversations with Trad Share visitors, who frequently asked me to explain what the two signs meant. I was pleasantly surprised that almost every person who stopped by the table immediately understood the value of good references.

These conversations provided a segue to AnA's mission to provide a peer-reviewed, scholarly magazine for Celtic Reconstructions (and other interested pagans).

Overall, it was a fun trip. I got to spend time with friends I hadn't seen in a year and was able to share something I'm passionate about.