In the soft glow of the lights framing the four Gates, the Gods breathe gently. Wave upon slow rolling wave of presence drips from the icons, the altars, overflows the offering bowls. We sit drinking presence. Time happens elsewhere in the rush and jostle of the event. Here there is only glow, presence, stillness, power, communion, memory.
This is the Coru Temple at PantheaCon. Each year, the dedicated priests of the Coru Cathubodua Priesthood pour our hearts and souls into creating the Temple of the Morrígan and Hospitality Suite to serve our community.
We begin building the Temple with purifications in a nearly-empty room before building the shrines. Over the course of about a day before the convention opens, the priests gather, swirling about the space, raising the shrines, laying out the regalia, preparing the offerings. On opening night with a room full of worshipers, we consecrate the Temple of the Morrígan and the Tuatha. We invoke the Gods, heroes, ancestors. Open the Gates to the cities of the Otherworld. Pour out offerings, chant, and pray.
Our Temple honors the Morrígan centrally, in all Her forms. We also maintain shrines to Medb, Macha, Cathubodua, Ériu, Manannán, Nuada, Lugh, the Dagda, Bóann, Brigid, and Goibniu, as well as the heroes Finn mac Cumhaill, Cú Chulainn, and Scáthach, and the Ancestors. The shrines contain gateways to the Four Cities of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and hold the Treasures linked to them.
The Temple of the Morrigan was created to provide a sacred space, an area warded and set apart from the rest of the convention where people can spend time in communion with the Gods. The Temple is created and maintained as a nexus between the community of spirits and Gods and the community of the living. It’s a place for us to offer the Gods our hospitality and in return are treated to the hospitality of the Gods, a quiet place, where one can sit in the presence of the unseen and the divine. It has also become a place for anyone who is experiencing spiritual trauma to find safety and a trained priest to help them navigate their experiences. The nature of the consecrated Temple and its dedicated staff creates a safe space for people having intense experiences to find shelter and aid there. Individuals experiencing events such as spirit possession, possession by Gods, psychic assault, emotional breakdowns, and other needs, have a safe space with us. Wandering and lost spirits also may cross the threshold of the Temple and find aid in the peace and sanctity of the Temple.
The consecrated space, the lovingly built and maintained shrines, the spiritual care and priestly services, the numinous rituals of consecration and devotion – we are honored to be of service in bringing the Temple to you.
2019 Donors to the Temple
Our deepest gratitude to our Temple donors, including those named here as well as several anonymous donors. Warmest thanks for your generous support; we could not do this work without you. It is our honor to serve you and the Gods.
Pauline Alperin
Alisa Andrews
Vyviane Armstrong
Rodrigo Bahamondes
Charli Bailey
Jason Barrett
Margaree Beem
Christine Berger
Jennifer Ann Brown
Jack Campbell
Emily Carter
Marjorie Coffey
C Patrick Collins
Samantha Cook
Robin Corak
Barbara Cormack
Saoirse Cowley
Aoifa Crow
Rebecca Dafydd
Maur DeLaney
Tosca DeVito
River Devora
Holly S Diaz
Shannon Duerden-Thompson
Vali Fae
Christina Gargiullo
Jennifer Gibson
Kimberly Gier
Earl Hallett Sr.
J Harper
Kimberly Hedrick
Victoria Hendrix
Leah Hlavaty
Gene Houston
Nikki Jobin
Nicholas Johnson
Carrere Julie
Allen Ari Kinahan
Anna Kulcsar
Jennifer Lawrence
Kat Lessard
Mike Mahaffey
Kaoime Malloy
Samantha McEwan
Ryan McGrath
Robyn Mellish
Christy Melton
Wolf Mercury
Cahira Mirrored
Jeremy Mitchell
K Mummery
Grace Murphy
Cathy Nic Catháin
Chris Nielsen
Monique Noel
P Norman
Suzanne Obando
Thomas Parshall
Lisa Aileen Paul
Ivy Prue
Anne Doepker Randall
James Read
Andrew Reichart
Bernard Rizzo
Sally Robinson
Branwen Rogers
Joel Schonbrunn
D R Shorey
S E Sinnaeve
Annaliese Sora
Janaki Sullivan
J T
Drew Thomson
Jack Troy
Brandon W Tucker
Carla M Underwood
Jared Van Fossen
Erica Vonasek
C Wallace
Jillian Wampler
SSG Charmaine K Whitney
Helen Willey
Megan Aileen Williams
7 Seas Rover
Thanks also to our donors who prefer not to be named.
Community Testimonials
Three Hours in the Temple – John Beckett
“The Coru temple at PantheaCon has been a space that even within the magic of con brings an extra level of something special. It’s a space that is by turns quiet, intense, meditative and most of all driven by community. It’s a space that the people of Coru share with the rest of us and I look forward to their fellowship every year.” – Jaime Morgan
“As a person who has not managed to make it to a lot of active polytheist temples – except for my experiences at Pantheacon, the experience I had at Coru Temple was deeply personal and powerful. I had just finished a year of agreed on service (private) and experienced a great deal of trauma, fire, and change. I came to the temple during one of the open sessions to just, offer up the year of service to Herself and listen to what the future held.What I found is that I could barely speak the prayers and that the intensity of the interpersonal experience was, well, the way of this path and.. what I can say for the place and space is this: while it was clear I was doing *work* – the temple guardians let me do that without having to pat me on the back or ask if I was okay (which was exactly what I needed – it was between me and the Lady). I could tell they were in prayer and supportive in those kinds of ways but they did not demand or create an environment where it became about anything but me, this little act of devotion, and the One I came to see.It was deeply sacred, deeply powerful and I have nothing but gratitude for all the work that goes into the creation of a space and place that allows real devotional work to take place.” – Jacki Chuculate
“When I had a chance to return to PantheaCon in 2015, I was going through some major life changes. I had also had the Morrigan show up in my life and sink Her claws into me. I came for the workshops but ended up finding sanctuary at the Coru Cathubodua Temple. When I walked in I was welcomed with open arms and allowed to just be me. The Temple and the hospitality of the Coru Cathubodua at that time shall never be forgotten. They were strangers, but they treated me as family. When I returned in 2016, the Temple provided me a place to unwind from the craziness that is PantheaCon. I was able to connect with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile while also having the opportunity make new friends. I appreciate what the Coru Priesthood provides in ways that can not be described. – Adrianne Street
“I went to PCon last year. Frankly I was shocked and pretty horrified by the blantant racism that I witnessed there. I went to the Coru temple after a pretty gnarly interaction with someone because I knew folks from Coru from BLM protests. It was a much needed refuge for this white girl who was trying to interrupt racism and wasn’t sure where to go to get support. I do not plan to return to PCon ever again but I hope that Coru will continue to have a temple available as refuge for folks doing the important work of trying to decolonize paganism. – Anonymous