Continuing with this SMF series of community spotlight articles, we’ve come to meet our fantastic Summer Magick hosts, the Triple Butterflies. But they aren’t just great festival planners, they’re also very dear friends to me and to Selene!
If you’re just tuning into this particular spotlight series, we’re focusing on Summer Magick Fest 2024, the hosts, and the headliners. That includes other awesome people like:
- Ivo Dominguez, Jr.
- Iya Funlayo E. Wood, PhD
- Ellen Evert Hopman
- Yeshe Matthews
- Sandra Tabatha Cicero & Chic Cicero
- Ginger Doss & Lynda Millard
Individually, the butterflies are Trisha, Rayna, and Bobbi Jo. I met them all through different events (both public and private) several years ago and am proud to call them part of my spiritual family.
Let me introduce them to you…
Rev. Trisha Parker
Rev. Trisha Parker, a 3rd degree Gardnerian and 2nd degree WISE-ATC priestess, is an ordained clergy member and professional Tarot reader. She holds a Bachelor of Ministry degree from Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary where she now teaches several classes. Trisha coordinates Phoenix Festivals, is a member of NE Florida Pagan Leadership Coalition, and holds a position on the Advisory Board of the ATC Archpriesthood as High Purse Warden. She and her partner and High Priest, Eric, are founders of Wiccan Church of Florida – ATC.
Rev. Rayna Templebee
Rev. Rayna Templebee is a daughter of the Ocean Mother and High Priestess of Beachfyre Coven in Miami, Florida. She is an Elder in the Georgian Tradition of Witchcraft, and a faery seer in the House of Brigh. Rayna is also a Lucumi aboricha and priestess of the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple. She was a founding member of the Everglades Moon Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess and is a former national board member of CoG, as well as a co-founder of Turning the Tide festival and Equinox in the Oaks festival.
Rev. Bobbi Jo Smith
Rev. Bobbi Jo Smith is a 3rd degree Gardnerian High Priestess who presides over Coven Albion’s Spirit in Orange Park, Florida with her High Priest and husband Dennis. She is a founding member of the Mystic Moon Church of Wicca where she serves on the Board of Directors. Bobbi Jo is a board member/secretary of the Temple of the Earth Gathering which sponsors the Florida Pagan Gathering biannually. The membership officer for Everglades Moon Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess and she is a member of Favor, a religious diversity and inclusion group at Walmart Inc., where she is currently employed as a Store Manager.
“Triple Butterfly Enterprises formed to organize seminars and workshops on topics related to Earth Based Spirituality. We encourage and seek to foster tolerance among the many different faiths of the world. We promote earth religions worship, education, and religious tolerance.”
Now that we’ve all been properly acquainted, let’s get into some questions and answers.
Q&A
What’s the inspiration behind the “Triple Butterfly” name?
Trisha: Three of us wanting to create a new version of a Florida festival .. a transformation so to speak. That is how the name came about. However, the mission was to unite Florida pagans since we each run our own outdoor pagan festival (Trish NE Florida, Bobbi Jo Central Florida and Rayna South Florida).
Rayna: We wanted something that evoked triple moon energy but wasn’t that literal…the butterfly just came to us!
Bobbi: Butterflies symbolize change and growth. We are trying to help our communities transform and grow into a more inclusive group.
How did the three of you meet?
Trisha: I met Bobbi Jo when I was seeking a local Wiccan Coven in 2012 and started training in 2013 (I was training with Belladonna LaVeau of the ATC at the time who moved to WA state and was given permission to circle with Bobbi’s group.) Bobbi was elevated to 2nd degree at my farm in Maxville, FL.. a very funny story!!!! I hived from Bobbi jo’s coven when Eric & I initiated Rayna last year, 2023.
I first noticed Rayna at an FPG event at Camp La Llanada in 2013. She camped behind us (adjacent to Gator Camp). I was attracted to her for some reason – I think now that my Higher Self knew we were destined to be connected in some way. I seriously cannot remember anything significant in between that got us to where we are now. She would come to a few Phoenix events and I went to Tides in 2022 but we never hung out just us….. until Summer Magick was created.
Rayna: We met at Gator Camp at FPG about 6-7 years ago…
Bobbi: I met Trish at her house prior to her being a wonderful hostess for my second degree initiation. I met Rayna at FPG Gator camp.
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Editor’s Note: For those of you who may be unfamiliar, “Gator Camp” is a legendary, giant tent that is aptly named for the large Florida Gators logo that generally hangs on one of its sides. This roving temple of mysteries is a festival landmark, easily recognized as “the place to be.”
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What made you decide to start a festival?
Trisha: Having been the Phoenix Festivals’ Treasurer since 2010, I saw a serious decline in attendance leading up to the pandemic 2018- 2019 and began saying that I wanted to start an indoor hotel festival. During the ‘We Have to Get Out’ event in 2020, my initiating HP Dennis got the ball rolling by corralling the three of us together in his camper and said DO IT! So, we did.
Rayna: We each had experience organizing outdoor festivals and had been thinking about organizing an indoor festival…we had a convo on a camping trip during the pandemic where we discovered we were all thinking the same thing!
Bobbi: We were at Phoenix Fire and we all started talking about an indoor festival. My husband Dennis suggested we do this together.
The Butterflies!
What’s the hardest part of planning big events within the pagan community?
Trisha: The uncertainty of attendance- which equates to being able to pay the bills. During the hey-day of pagan festivals, coordinators could afford to import the trendiest headliners and the coolest entertainment, but now with tik-tok, zoom classes, etsy, and the hundreds of new books published each year, festivals are no longer THE PLACE to go for pagan information and experiences. It is great that paganism is more accepted .. and commercialized (snark), but the pressure on event coordinators is real. (( Phoenix Phyre 2024 had to cancel its event due to attendance issues ))
Rayna: Getting Pagans to register before the last possible minute! Also finding the right venue–we interviewed three large hotels in the Orlando area and definitely got the best vibe from the Doubletree, they have been great to work with.
Bobbi: Getting people to register and deciding who to invite as headliners and entertainment.
What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had so far at Summer Magick?
Trisha: Dancing to ATribe – the pirate band!
Rayna: Wow, thats hard, so many great times…I think our first main ritual was a high point for me–the darked room, drumbeat, and leading all those people in a spiral dance!
Bobbi: For me it was our first ritual. It solidified all we are trying to accomplish.
The Triple Butterflies before opening ritual…
What impact do you hope the festival has on the community?
Trisha: to encourage tolerance between the many different earth-based faiths and foster planetary stewardship.
Rayna: We have a very clear magickal intention to bring together people from different earth-centered traditions–not all of whom call themselves Pagan, but who all center the earth in their faith. We hope by bringing all of us together we can form stronger bonds and build a more diverse sense of community. Plus we can celebrate our diversity together!
Bobbi: I hope that we are able to influence the community to be more inclusive and environmentally conscious.
Look at those smiling faces!
Outside of Summer Magick, do the three of you have plans for any other cool stuff?
Trisha: Together?? I don’t Know. WE are all very busy with our home town things. I teach at wiccan seminary, I run a coven, and I am full time Wiccan Clergy serving NE Florida. And, we have property in GA that Eric and I are currently working on to make into a Goddess Retreat Center dedicated to Demeter. The vision is coming together more and more.
Rayna: You mean besides all the cool things we already do? I am going to keep helping to organize Turning the Tide festival in south Florida, and holding retreats on my sanctuary land outside Arcadia…plus teaching and leading rituals here there and everywhere.
Bobbi: We are already so busy running our Covens, teaching, running other festivals and enjoying our families.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention?
Trisha: I am super excited about you, Aerik, interviewing our headliners.
Rayna: Hey lovely Pagans–break the mold and register for Summer Magick Fest 2024 NOW! Grins.
Bobbi: Please come to Summer Magick Fest. Good people, good times and you will make amazing friends. I am truly blessed to be on a team with these amazing women.
More about Summer Magick Fest 2024
Summer Magick Festival is an earth-based spirituality convention with workshops, celebration, and community in a comfortable hotel setting. Headliners, rituals, and musical entertainment have been chosen to encourage tolerance between the many different earth-based faiths and foster planetary stewardship. It’s a family-friendly event with programming for young ones as well as close proximity to all the wonders of the Orlando theme parks. Join us for a new kind of Florida festival!
What is it actually like to attend? If you want to find out, you can read all about last year’s festival in my Summer Magick Fest 2023 Recap.
I sincerely hope you’ll join us. It’s going to be a lot of fun!
Have I mentioned that tickets are on sale now? You can register or find out more information on the hotel and accommodations at their website. What are you waiting for?
Hey, you know what? I frequently include fine print at the end of articles for legal reasons, such as disclosing the fact that I’ve used affiliate links. You won’t find any of those here, however — I’m just writing fine print because it’s fun. Maybe, if you’re like me, you’re a person who enjoys reading fine print. You’re wondering “hmmm… what is this guy hiding? What sort of disclaimer did he need to make almost invisible and at the bottom of the page where most people won’t see it?” And accordingly, you’ve set out on a noble quest to read every last word. There’s nothing to disclose here, honestly. I just hope you register and attend this event. First of all, congratulations for reading to the very end. It’s something that few people do. Second, and most importantly, go buy your tickets so we can all grab a meal and hang out together at the hotel restaurant.
Aerik Arkadian 
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