UPDATE 10/29/21: This page has been updated to reflect the 12 panels which will be presented at this year’s conference.

The Changing Times Changing Worlds Panel Selection Committee is pleased to present the possible panels for 2021!

If the workshops are the muscles of the conference, the panels are the bones. One of the goals of CTCW is to get people to discuss the many different approaches to the supernatural and paranormal that we’ve learned, to compare, and learn from each other. We pick panels that are meant to put forward topics that can be looked at in different ways: shamanism, symbolism, healing, ghosts, divination, magick, psychic abilities. We pick panelists who will probably approach the topic from different points of view, and different experiences.

We invite everyone to look at the list below and sign up to be on the panels that interest you. You don’t need to be an expert on a topic to be on a panel; your experience makes you an expert on what you’ve seen. Perhaps you don’t know enough to do a workshop, but each panelist will probably only get about 10 minutes of speaking time, so this might be a great way for you to “get your toes wet” as it were, and share what you know “a little” about. It still may be something other people didn’t know about and will help them understand the overall subject. If four people are interested, you’ll get to hear at least four points of view (maybe more).

The committee reviewed submitted panel ideas for general suitability to the theme and ideals of the conference.
We’ll review the sign-ups as the conference program solidifies, and will run the panels which have gathered most participant interest. No matter how wonderful we think the topic is, we can’t hold a panel if no one wants to be a panelist.

Below is the list of panels we are considering for this year. Please do scroll through the whole list, which is alphabetical order by title.

« View all Sign-up Sheets

2024 Panel Sign-Ups

Event Chair: Programming-Kathy Smith

Arguing without Fighting

We are a small community with a lot of different opinions. From differences in religious practices, to ethical fine points, to differing mundane views, we have many topics that we disagree on. How do we have healthy discussions without leaving hurt feelings? How do we resolve things so we can work together? What techniques help us share our differences in a way that brings us together rather than pull us apart?
Our panelists will share techniques that they have found effective.

Available Spots
Automatic Art

Most of us have heard of the psychic art of automatic writing but applying that same concept to intuitively created artwork is less well known. At last year’s conference we discussed art as a spiritual practice. Let’s take that further down the rabbit hole into a discussion of psychic messages in the images we create. Symbology, accurate images, remote viewing, visions, and dreams... Panelists will speak of their experiences with channeled art.

Available Spots
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Creating Accessible Space

If you are organizing a space for magick, ritual, or healing, are you considering the accessibility of the space you want to use? For many of those who are “able-bodied” or “neurotypical”, there are many details that can be missed. Simple things like making sure a venue is wheelchair accessible, offering scent-free spaces, incorporating large print, and more should be considered as standard practice. There are other ways that we can make our spaces more accessible, too. Offering “cakes & ale”? Make sure that ingredient lists are available for everything. Can we offer online rituals? Distance healing? Can we incorporate more trauma-informed practices in our spaces? Do we have alternatives for dimly-lit rituals? How can we handle a situation when a leader may have a competing disability with an attendee? If you have ideas or practices to share, please sign up for this panel and let's make our spaces better!

Available Spots
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Ensouled Toys

What happens when children’s pretending creates thoughtforms that are imbued into their toys? Rarely is this a conscious and intentional act of the child involved, but creating pretend personalities for toys seems to be nearly universal to humans. The topic of haunted dolls comes up often in the paranormal, and this is typically attributed to the child being so attached to the toy that their soul becomes anchored to the doll after they die. What if the majority of haunted dolls are accidentally ensouled with thought forms created by the children who played pretend with them?

Available Spots
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Gods, Spirits, and Consent

How much consent do you get when dealing with Gods? Informed consent or simple consent? What happens when they do things to you that you don't want? How do you cope? Why do some people have the right to refuse and others don't? Let’s talk about what we know from personal experience with this difficult and tangled situation.

Available Spots
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Identity Rites of Passage

How do we create rituals for more than just birth, marriage, and funerals? How about gender transition and gender affirmation? Divorce? Coming out as queer? Beating a serious illness? Rebirth after midlife crisis? Ideally, these rituals publicly proclaim the change between the status of the individual and their community - but how do we make sure this happens, and that they are effectively celebrated and acknowledged? Come with suggestions and experiences.

Available Spots
Sustainable Magick

In this day and age we have access to a lot; a lot of materials, a lot of marketplaces, and a lot of pressure to have the newest thing. Modern materials and markets make it easy to produce and procure things cheaply, so cheaply that many things become disposable. Does this diminish the magickal or ritualistic value of the item? While it is true that a disposable straw from Mcdonalds can be used as a wand, is it worse than one made with a store bought dowl and hot glue. Do either of those have as much significance as one made by hand from a stick consciously harvested from the forest for the purpose? Are we good stewards of the world if we use mass produced objects when we could make them ourselves with less impact? Where is the line drawn? Should we not use chalk if there isn't any locally? Is glitter anathema to living in harmony with nature? How do you decide?

Available Spots
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