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Breathe in, then unfurl outwards. Stretching upwards towards the sun, feeling the warmth on your face, Ostara has come again!! With the greatest of pleasure, we welcome you back to our spiritual home of Featherstone Castle for the Spring Equinox.
We invite all queer spirits, wild witches, flower children, sacred boundary crossers, drag spectaculars, new-age enbies, wild womxn, trans priestexxes and rainbow warriors to gather to explore your creativity and desires for the year, share your skills, and celebrate the individual beauty of each other’s company.
A time of rebirth, transformation and growth. Join us to celebrate the theme of “Awakening” - raising fresh energy and enthusiasm, cultivating and nourishing our community bonds, and coming out of winter hibernation 🌸 blossoming 🌸 with new intentions.
Featherstone lies in the magical Northumberland countryside, close to Hadrian’s Wall, the Scottish border and Haltwhistle, the geographical centre of Albion. Information on how to get to the castle can be found **here.**
The original building dates from the 12th century and has evolved in a haphazard fashion into the beautiful castle we have come to call home. The castle is vast and atmospheric, with stone towers, open fires, ballrooms, feasting halls and a wealth of mysterious nooks and crannies. Although this is a core part of its charm, the castle is far from modern accessibility standards and this can make it challenging for people with mobility needs to navigate, and inaccessible to wheelchairsFull accessibility information can be found here and we welcome any access questions or enquiries at the email address below.
All meals will be vegetarian and will also cater to vegan, gluten-free and other individual dietary requirements.
Accommodation is generally in shared rooms (with a very limited number of single rooms for those who cannot sleep in shared spaces). Camper vans or camping are also welcome.
Co-creation is the heart of any gathering, with individual Faeries offering a wide variety of events from drum circles, talent shows, auctions and drag balls, to workshops, walks and heart circles. You can find out more about Faerie Events **here.** If you have an idea for an event you’d like to run, you can request any equipment or support in the booking form, or bring what you need with you.
Key teams of Fae give service at the castle to provide us with things like meals, decoration, wood-chopping and welfare. Volunteering together is a great way to build friendships at the castle and to show your love and appreciation for the Faerie community. You can read more about volunteering teams here, and step up for these roles on the booking form.
Cocreation doesn’t always look like planning in advance. Maybe you’ll contribute in the moment. You might suddenly feel the kitchen calling your name in the middle of the gathering, you might feel a spontaneous urge to sing or clean a toilet, you might whip up a workshop on how to do a death drop. Whatever you contribute is welcome and wanted!
We strive as a radical community to be as inclusive as possible, to make adjustments, and to manifest the core principles of care for fellow fae, alongside care for ourselves. Gatherings are magical but they can also be a little hectic sometimes. On the busiest days the castle can host up to 90 faeries (generally Friday and Saturday) which can be potentially overwhelming for those with sensory needs. We invite you to enter this castle space with compassion for the beautifully diverse needs of others, awareness of consent, and the preparation and tools to look after your own self-care if needed. You can find out more about what to expect at the gathering here.
We also invite you to remember that the Radical Faeries is a non-hierarchical community where we all bear equal responsibility and share the workload between us. Please offer your love and support to those that give service to weave the magic of the gathering, and step up for roles where you are able.