Pilgrimage is a part of many religious traditions. A spiritual pilgrimage is a physical journey toward a place of spiritual significance, which may correspond to an inward spiritual journey. For many Pagans, travel to festivals and conventions functions as a kind of pilgrimage, especially for those for whom travel is financially or physically difficult.
Every summer, numerous Pagan festivals are held around the country. These include Pagan Spirit Gathering in Illinois, Starwood Festival in Ohio, Heartland Pagan Gathering in Kansas, Pagan Unity Festival in Tennessee, Rites of Spring in Massachusetts, Free Spirit Gathering in Maryland, Sacred Harvest Festival in Minnesota, and Summerland Spirit Festival in Wisconsin.
There are also large indoor Pagan conferences, like Pantheacon in San Jose, California and Paganicon in Minneapolis. These are attended by Neo-Pagans, Wiccans, polytheists, and others. The largest outdoor festivals can draw hundreds of people, while the largest convention, Pantheacon, draws over a thousand. These festivals and conventions feature workshops, lectures, and panel discussions, as well as rituals, concerts, and drumming, not to mention opportunities for networking and meeting new and old Pagan friends.
Festivals give participants a sense of liminality—a time and space apart from the mundane society. They create what anarchist, Hakim Bay, calls a “temporary autonomous zone,” where participants can explore alternative social identities and reflect critically upon the mainstream culture. Contemporary Pagans may also travel to sites that were sacred to ancient pagans like Stonehenge, Kildare, or the ruins of ancient Crete.
