The Order of the Azure Rose

     In most cases, the Renaissance and historical re-creationist and reenactor subculture get on well with one another, building friendships and even seeing each other at multiple events throughout their season travels.Some of these relationships fade quietly away, some continue in spite of distance and some remain closely connected through continuous regular interactions. And some part ways under less than pleasant circumstances.

     The Order recently experienced the latter in the form of a severed alliance that has become quite ugly of late. In a desire to assist another organization with the establishment of a local Renaissance event, our guild became entrenched in an organization whose director has as his goal to create dissention and division through manipulation, threats and rumors. His goal was, and is, to absorb other guilds and individuals to comform to his personal agenda, and if they refuse or later stand up to disagree with him, he attempts to derail their progress or destroy them.

     It very nearly happened to the Azure Rose. We were befriended by a man and his family several years ago when they were merely merchants at an event we happened to both be participating in. Our encampment looked great, a lot of hard work, and he liked what he saw, and wanted it for himself. He first befreinded, then acted in a "rescuer" role, then, much later, became a bully and a dictator. He attempted to absorb our guild, attempting to dismantle it when we resisted in giving up our individuality and personal vision. Little did we know just how vitriolic and childish his and his group members' behaviors would become. That seemingly harmless friendship almost cost us our guild, our other friendships, and even damaged the bond of trust between a husband and a wife, all through the use of passive-agressive bullying and use of unsubstantiated rumors. Now that our organization is free of his clutches, we are punished for it by a continued barrage of rumors and interference with our professional relationship with an event we participated in until this year. He threatened the director of that event with pulling out in the middle of the day, during open hours, if he found out we were participating as a guild. When some of our group went in as paying customers, he and his people made a big scene, shutting down their booths, forcing the director to ask us to leave, surrounding us and trying to herd us out the gate. We had already had a private conversation with the director and had agreed to accept refunds and leave quietly, but not before some merchants nearby saw what transpired and became upset with the event for responding to the man's threat the way they did. Not only did it make the event look as though it treated patrons poorly, they lost money we would have spent at their booths. The director stated that she cannot handle this type of thing anymore, and is not sure she ever wants to have the event in the future. One upset merchant said she may not come back to vend that event in the future.

   This man and his group bullies events he participates in by threatening to pack up his entire encampment in the middle of an event that is open to the public if he sees anyone from our group at them. When he tried to pull this with the owner of the land who allowed his group to host faires there, the owner stated that no one tells him who he can or cannot have on his land. So the angry guild master pulled his events off the land owner's property. The land owner didn't cave to his demands; instead, he stood up for what he knew to be the right thing, even though it meant no Ren faires on the land from that org. It cost him nothing to refuse the ultimatum, since there are other events held there throughout the year. This man also repeatedly created problems for another Ren faire in another state, steamrolling over the directors during morning meetings, threatening violence to another performer when one of his own members was caught red-handed stealing from the other performer during his act, and waking up the entire faire after bedtime because he was annoyed at a car alarm. He stormed through the campground, screaming, "God damn it, if I can't sleep, then by God, neither is anyone else!" He then went through the event trying to find the car owner, and he did-but not before creating an unnecessary disturbance.

     The point of all this is that we, as guilds, event directors, performers and merchants, should always take the high road when it comes to people like this man. Do not cave in to threats and demands; say, "Pack up your second-hand circus, you're fired; you can be replaced." It is very difficult not to react when someone posts rumors and untruths about us in a public forum such as Facebook or at an event, with the intent to elicit a negative reaction. These kind of people forget the Threefold Law, the Law of Intent. If you commmit to an act with the clear intent to cause harm, it will eventually come back on you three times worse. He should remember this. Since he began his smear campaign, members of his group have drifted away or resigned outright, not wishing to be a part of the harm he is committing himself to doing out of envy, pride and wrath. His group was not invited to participate in future events in the other state, and he gave up an event venue out of spite and wrath. Word of his reputation for intolerance, bullying, threatening and issuing ultimatums to event directors is traveling ahead of him on the circuit, and I forsee a dim future for him and anyone who participates with him in his vendetta. Jealousy is a dragon; it will consume whatever it can, but usually ends up getting burned by its own fire.

     The best way to slay a dragon? First, don't feed it. Second, stand up to it; do the right thing, even if it is difficult. Third, go about life as if you are not affected by it, and eventually, it will shrink away. This type of dragon feeds on intimidation and fear, and spews forth threats and lies. Someday, it will burn itself out, or burn itself to death.

     Another day in a long line of days...moving with the push-pull of the demands of the mundane world. Taking small steps toward a leap of faith, in pursuit of The Dream.

     Everyone who makes their living working for another entity or wants to change their situations considers what it would be like to live The Dream; the details of The Dream may be different for each person, but the end goal is essentially the same-personal freedom. Everyone wants to be free. Very few people are truly free. Why?

   Fear. Fear impedes the path to personal freedom, and it begins in our own minds. We may have heard our parents say things like, "Life is hard, and then you die," "I'd rather be an Indian than the Chief," or, "No rest for the weary."  We filter our own thoughts through these early "truths" instead of deleting them from our mental junk mail where they belong. We "what-if" ourselves out of taking the risks necessary to quest for our Dream, instead working for those who employ us in the pursuit of their own Dreams.

     Those who are not yet free use the usual excuses-"I don't have the time/money/education/strength to do what it takes to get myself free from my job/debt/bad situation/pain. And they will defend them vehemently, even argue about whose fault it is that they don't live their Dreams. What does it take to become free, free from these self-imposed limitations? It's simple. Simple as changing your Mind. Not your mind, but your Mind! We must discontinue thinking from a place of "I want/I wish" to a place of "I have/I am."  We are exactly what we think we are, which is why thoughts are the most powerful things in the Universe. We alone create our reality.

     My Dream of personal freedom began with this Guild, the Order of the Azure Rose. Its past successes proved to me that it works. I am using the same tecnique to build my own small business in order to continue questing for my Dream. My goal is to blend the two worlds into one, taking my Dream on the road. My Dream is to travel the world of Rennaissance and Medieval Faires, a few Rendezvous, selling my wares and doing historical re-creation. It may not be everyone else's idea of the Dream, but it's mine, and I am saying farewell to anything that tries to take it from me., whether it be a person, a thought or an excuse. Huzzah!

    When I look back to the beginning days of the Order of the Azure Rose I cannot help but think of all the people to whom I am grateful. Without our hard-working members and friends, this Guild would still just be my husband and I in our litle pavilion, doing only a couple of events per year,  on our own dime. When Scott and I shared our dreams and goals for the Guild, we had so much support and manpower to begin reaching them; it was truly a team effort. The Order came a long way in a very short time, and we all can take pride in that.

     Now that we have accomplished some of our short-term goals, such as getting paid to demonstate skills and perform at Faires, it appears that the "hard work" is done; members once enthusiastic have drifted out of contact or moved on for varying reasons, leaving a very few to do the continuing work of actually setting up and tearing down at events, attending meetings or workshops and so on. It is understandable that most folks do the Faire thing just for fun, and are a little surprised by the amount of work it takes to actually set up a period encampment, keep a Guild running, deal with event or weather emergencies, attract new members and deal with the vagaries of mundane obligations. Not to mention helping a bigger organization put on an entire event, of which our Guild is only one small part.

    We cannot fear critism, sideways stares, or let what others think about our hobby intimidate us into hesitation when given a chance to promote it to the mundane community. It doesen't help that we live in a commitment-phobic society that frowns on non-conforming pastimes. 

     I will continue on, as the Order has a continuing commitment to participate actively in at least six historically-themed events this year, as well as working to help build up a new nonprofit organization dedicated to sponsoring three of these events. I will continue on, because I told event coordinators that the Order would be there, and I want to keep my word. I don't find the time to do this, I make the time. I will continue on, because our Guild is attracting interest from potential members. I will continue on, even if I am the only one there.

     It's not a cheap or erstwhile hobby; it's a crazy life, and I will live it on my terms. Huzzah!