The one hundred and thirty conference participants came from throughout the United Kingdom and from other countries, including Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Canada, and the United States of America. The conference was organized by the Department of Religious Studies of Lancaster University. It was inspired by two previous English gatherings in Bath (1993) and Newcastle upon Tyne (1994). 

Over the course of four days, forty-five papers were presented at this conference. There were nineteen sessions, each ninety minutes in length and each with two or three speakers, plus a presider. Papers explored a variety of aspects of western Paganism, shamanism, and esotericism. My presentation was "Sacred Land and Sacred Web: Circle Sanctuary" and it was part of the International Forum chaired by Professor Geoffrey Samuel on Thursday afternoon. On Friday afternoon, my husband, Dennis Carpenter, presented his paper, "Spiritual Experiences, Life Changes, and Ecological Viewpoints of Contemporary Pagans," based on his doctoral dissertation by the same name. 

Here is the complete list (alphabetical order) of paper authors and speakers: Brian Bates, Peter Beyer, Marion Bowman, Dennis Carpenter, Vivianne Crowley, Selena Fox, Anne-Marie Gallagher, Susan Greenwood, Wouter Hanegraaff, Charlotte Hardman, Rufus Harrington, Adrian Harris, Graham Harvey, David Hawkin, Paul Heelas, Ronald Hutton, Massimo Introvigne, Prudence Jones, Gordon MacLellan, Roderick Main, Alastair McIntosh, Dan Merkur, Jo Pearson, Nigel Pennick, Elizabeth Puttick, Shelley Rabinovitch, Ken Rees, Jeffrey Richards, Richard Roberts, Vera Roberts, Jone Salomonsen, Geoffrey Samuel, Robert Segal, Philip Shallcrass, Amy Simes, Monica Sjoo, David Smith, Richard Sutcliffe, Steven Sutcliffe, Bronislaw Szerszynski, Karen-Claire Voss, Roxana Currie Wales, Matthew Wood, Linda Woodhead, and Michael York. Conference session presiders were: Eileen Barker, Marion Bowman, Charlotte Hardman, Rufus Harrington, Graham Harvey, Paul Heelas, Dan Merkur, Jo Pearson, Liz Puttick, Richard Roberts, Geoffrey Samuel, Robert Segal, Bronislaw Szerszynski, and Linda Woodhead. 

In addition to being international, this conference was also interdisciplinary, and it brought together scholars from many academic areas, including psychology, religious studies, anthropology, history, sociology, environmental studies, arts and literature, philosophy, women's studies, and archaeology. Some speakers drew from several fields in their presentations. 

Participants not only convened for academic sessions each day, they conversed with each other at meals and breaktimes at the conference center dining hall and lounge. Furthermore, each evening a Pagan scholars pub scene emerged at the conference center's bar area. Most participants stayed in dormitories on campus, and socializing continued late into each night. 

The conference also included several special events. On the evening of the opening day, Tuesday, April 9th, a book launch reception was held. Various authors, who were also conference speakers, took turns introducing their newly released works. This wine and cheese reception served as an excellent get-acquainted mixer. The next evening, environmental educator Gordon MacLellan facilitated a shamanic dance workshop, and on Thursday night, ecofeminist artist Monica Sjoo showed slides of her Goddess art. On Friday evening in the campus pub was a ceilidh with folk dancing and music by the band, Mountain Dew. 

The conference was intensive, inspiring, and transformative. As important as the intellectual discourse which occurred was the building of relationships, rapport, and community among the participants. Both came together in the closing session, when, following the eco-social justice presentation by Alastair McIntosh of Scotland, those assembled in the lecture hall theater responded with a rousing standing ovation, and this was followed by spontaneous chanting and rhythm making. After a short break, conference participants reconvened in the lounge for a networking session that featured sharing of announcements, feedback, and suggestions for next year's conference. The assembly of participants also expressed great appreciation to Jo Pearson, conference coordinator and principal organizer, and to other conference committee members, Geoffrey Samuel, Richard Roberts, Paul Heelas, and Robert Segal. 

The final conference activity was a rural outing to Castlerigg Circle on Saturday morning, April 13. Participants gathered in the conference center lounge after breakfast, car pooled to Keswick, and then walked for more than thirty minutes on footpaths across pastures to the sacred site. Castlerigg is an ancient stone circle on a great field surrounded by the highest mountains in England. After we had all assembled at the circle, we processed around it to start our ritual experience together. Graham invoked the North, Phillip the East, Michael the South, Rufus the West, and I the Center. Then Monica started a chant and we spiraled into the center. There we celebrated our connection with Nature, Mother Earth, and each other. We ended the circle with more chanting and by sharing a horn of mead. Experiencing the timeless magic of this place and community celebration was the perfect way to end the conference. 

Although the conference itself is over, its legacy is not. Those of us who were part of this special gathering continue to process it in our thoughts and dreams and to share ideas and experiences with others. This conference has helped Pagan Studies come into its own as an academic field internationally and across disciplines. 

Enthusiasm is already building for the next conference, which will be held September 1-4, 1997 in Winchester, England. Next year's conference will be hosted by King Alfred's College and is titled, "Re-Enchantment: an International Conference on Contemporary Paganism and the interface between Nature and Religion(s)." 

The conference will include presentations on several Pagan subject areas: (1) The Arts: discussions of imagination, myth, music, story, ritual, and related fields, (2) Allure: media and other depictions of various traditions, (3) Activism: eco-Paganism and other social change work, and (4) Anglo-Saxons: deities, mythology, and relationship with other forms of Paganism. For a brochure with more information, contact: Dr. Graham Harvey, King Alfred's College, Winchester, SO22 4NR, England or email him: harveyg@virgo.wkac.ac.uk.