I’ll go first: I met my wife through EsoZone. She’s a friend of James Curcio’s, who spoke at EsoZone in 2007, and he encouraged her to buy a ticket and go to the PDX0 meetups. I’ve met a lot of other people through EsoZone, but forgive me for putting this relationship above all the others =)

I’ll also add that by giving me a venue for my noise art, EsoZone has driven my continued work towards that. I originally returned to noise art after a decade-plus long vacation as a distraction from EsoZone organization duties, but it was EsoZone itself that has motivated continued work.

So enough about me – what has your experience been?

Free. Sponsorships, voluntary donations, and tips are allowed, but tickets, fees, and mandatory donations are not. Selling merchandise, refreshments, etc. is ok.

Open. We understand some Esozones will have limited space, but attendence should not be limited to a certain group people or be “invite only.” Example: If an Esozone: UT Austin were being planned, it could NOT be limited to only UT students. Pre-Registration limits, first come first served entry, etc. are allowed. This does not mean that people can’t be ejected if they cause disruptions.

Unconference. Some pre-scheduled material may be incorporated, but Esozones will follow unconference principals and allow participants to set the agenda. Anyone can post a session.

Read the full document

The Cyclone of Slack has posted links to some media from the event. If you have more they’d love to know about it.

Cyclone of Slack: we want your pictures (videos, audios, whatever)

Jillian’s EsoZone round-up wherein she shares her own experiences at EsoZone 2009.

She’s shared her outline from her “Radical Therapy for Radical Minds” workshop

Garret Daun has shared a PDF of his “Create Deconstruction” workshop.

Lion42′s pics from EsoZone

Above: a short video from Soup Purse’s workshop on audio processing as invocation and divination.

Pictures from Soup Purse’s workshop.

For the purposes of this working, I have chosen to locate the EZOSONE Astral Temple (EZTRAL) inside of an orb of liquid metal, floating in the molten viscous fluid in the very center of the Earth.

Within this orb, on the horizontal axis, circumscribing the perimiter are four sphinxes, marking the quarters, facing in toward the center of the temple. Above the center of the temple is an octagonal window, thru which the night sky can be seen. In the center of the floor is an octagonal pool of black fluid, upon which we will skry the vision.

Floating above this pool is a seed pod, about the size of a basketball. Its composition is a hybrid of organic and cybernetic materials. This sentient seed could be viewed as a chaosphere, upon/into which we will be focusing our intentions and interpretations of what the ESOZONE phenomenon means, what it will foster, how it will evolve, why it exists.

The first Esozone could be iconographically described as a key, which unlocked the gateway to a more practical and interpersonally direct understanding of our modern version of the esoteric community, which until then largely existed in the virtual realms. The second, a pyramid, which allowed us to climb to meet the sky, bringing us to the understanding that the stars of this EZ phenomenon are none other than ourselves.

This year, the meaning is as much a mystery as the previous two, but the intent has evolved into a free assembly of modern esoterics connected on the virtual and organic levels, a hope for the phenomenon to spread to other locales, an uncertainty of what kind of information will be presented, by whom, and for what purposes. It is up to us, ours for the making and taking, right here and now, free of charge, open to all.

Therefore, charge this cyber-ganic EZTRAL seed with your unique intentions for the future of this far-reaching community of free individuals, and contemplate in the pool below on the manifested information which the group’s effort transmits back to you. At the ritual’s peak, we will lift the seed to the sky, and focus our intent upon it with an intensity which will heighten to the point that it explodes, sending forth genetic copies of itself outward to the far reaches of this planet, in the hopes that these seeds will find fertility, and manifest in future ESOZONE festivals in other places, linking back to our efforts here at “Headquarters,” and blossom into a cornucopia of previously unseen communal fruit.

And have a happy harvest season, while you’re at it.

And feel free to project yourself forward or backwards in time if 3pm on Saturday doesn’t work for you.

Better late than never! EsoZone t-shirts are now available. I just got a sample one, and Bob does it look sharp!

Artwork by the incomparable Ian McEwan.

After EsoZone Portland 2009, we will release the “EsoZone Protocol,” a set of guidelines similar to an open source software license that will enable organizers to host an EsoZone in their own city as long as they are free and follow the “unconference” model.

Download it here

If you want to submit a talk to Ignite EsoZone, you totally blew the deadline, buddy. But we’ll be nice and continue considering proposals until October 4th also, just ’cause.

Guidelines for Ignite EsoZone here.

Poster (TIFF)

Flier (TIFF)

Art and logo by Ian McEwan, design by Daniel Rafatpanah

After EsoZone, enjoy the Cyclone of Slack!

Featuring:

REV. IVAN STANG!
DR. HOWLAND OWL!
PRINCESS WEI R. DOE!
REV. DR. ONAN CANOBITE!
THE DUKE OF UKE!
REV. CRAWFORD!

With the Musical Stylings of:

POWER CIRCUS!
NEQUAQUAM VACUUM!
CULT OF ZIR!

And:

an utter lack of NENSLO!

More Info