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Crimson's Favorites
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Past, Present, Future
Author: Lyon
Posted: June 28th. 2004
Times Viewed: 2,365
Where are Pagans heading as a community? Where are we and where have we come
from? These questions are uppermost in my mind these days. So much has changed since I first found my Path. Have I been the
one who has changed or is it the Pagan community around me? I think it's equal portions of both.
I came to my Pagan
path through a-round-about route. In contrast with the almost mainstream position Witchcraft assumes nowadays, twenty years
ago Witches clung to the shadows. There were notable exceptions among them - Starhawk and Raymond Buckland come to mind. But
for the most part you had to know someone who knew someone before you found other Witches.
Now with the Internet moving
from its toddler phase into the state of a transforming teenager, a curious seeker has only to enter the word "Witch" into
a search engine to receive thousands of potential leads to information. In a way this is a very good thing; as Pagans we are
no longer hiding in shadows. Those who are truly serious about following the Craft can find a world of like-minded individuals
from the comfort of their very own living rooms.
On the other hand, have you been to the Metaphysical/New Age section
of any major bookstore lately? There are literally shelves full of spell books! Wicca and other Pagan paths are a growing
counter culture - unfortunately the books on the store shelves rarely include the more serious works about Wicca and Paganism.
The casual observer can easily come to the misguided conclusion that Witchcraft is all about casting spells.
I frequent
several online forums. On a daily basis the moderators are overwhelmed by the curious and uninformed demanding we fix all
their real or imagined woes. It is often frustrating when youngsters demand we e-mail them all our years of accumulated knowledge.
Yet a few will learn that there is more to being Wiccan or Pagan than the casting of a spell to get that cute boy or girl
to fall in love with them.
I had been calling myself a Witch for a little over three years when I was invited to my
first Circle. I don't recall which Moon we were celebrating, although it was late in the year. The evenings were cool but
there was not yet frost on the ground in the morning. There were five of us; we went out into the forest and set up camp.
We planned on calling down the Moon. Only one among us had ever been in a coven or run a Circle, so he acted as High Priest.
He was a very charismatic man. I remember that all around him were drawn to him. In a strange way, he seemed otherworldly
to me.
I recall very little of that night so long ago. I do know we built a fire outside of the lean-to because the
air had such a chill. I remember us calling in the Quarters. The sky was full of clouds and a stiff wind kept whipping the
flames up from the logs, and they crackled angrily in response. We started chanting and dancing round the flames. We raised
the energy to draw down the Moon, feeding it to the High Priest as we circled the flames. Suddenly, as the energy climbed
to a peak, we were bathed in the cold, bright light of the full Moon. A shaft of light had broken through the sky of clouds
and appeared to be bathing the High Priest in its radiance. Steam rose in puffs from our tired bodies as we concluded our
dance. That night was the first night I felt the Goddess within me. We released the Quarters and opened our circle.
We
discovered then we had been dancing sky-clad in our rites. The energy from our ritual was so intense that we had unknowingly
removed many pieces of clothing in an effort to remain comfortable. We quickly replaced our clothing in that chilly night
as the wonder of what we had experienced came upon us. We settled into sleeping bags. I fell asleep watching the hole in the
clouds around the Moon gently close around Her.
I have been to a great number of rituals since then. I have even been
invited to join several covens. Attendance at open rituals now numbers in the hundreds instead of a few dozen people. The
feel of a circle is very different than it used to be. Nowadays, a public ritual usually goes off without interference from
Park Rangers or local police. The curious non-Pagan onlooker will wander away after a few minutes - that is if they bother
to stop and stare at all. We have become more commonplace in the cities throughout the United States and smaller towns, much
like the one I live in, have their own Pagan residents. Some are quiet, preferring their privacy; others are quite vocal about
their presence in a predominantly Christian society. When I moved to Missouri from the east coast four years ago, it wasn't
at all difficult to find and meet my Pagan neighbors. In my small town of 4000 people, I know of a dozen others, who like
me, follow a Pagan path - there may very well be more.
Generally speaking, at this point in time those who are Pagan
were born to parents of another religion. The Pagan religion attracts its practitioners. As the Pagan paths mature, there
will be more children whose parents are also Pagan. With increasing unhappiness I have observed a tendency in our community
to speak poorly about our non-Pagan neighbors. There is a growing habit among Pagans to bash the paths of their parents. While
it is true that there are those of other religions trying to convince us that we will be lost forever in a fiery grave, in
my experience those individuals are in the minority. Rarely am I bothered anymore with people knocking on my door trying to
convert me away from Goddess. After a few attempts when I first moved in, they stopped knocking on my door when they canvassed
the neighborhood. I was always friendly but very uninterested. The young men couldn't leave my very Pagan home fast enough
for their comfort.
I think it is important that we walk our talk. Part of being Pagan is accepting that there are many
ways to honor the Divine. Whatever names we call to our Gods, we are all searching for the same thing in the end. I admit
that the requirement of certain religions for their members to go out and 'witness' leaves me completely baffled. I am certain
that there are parts of my Path that leave those who do not follow my ways jut as baffled. We must remember that the paths
that we followed with our parents made us the people we are today. I know that there are many ideals that I learned from the
holy men in my parents' temple that I have brought with me into my Pagan beliefs.
We cannot separate our past from
our present. It has made us the people who we are. Our actions today will form the ways in which we will grow into our futures.
Many of our customs are borrowed from other religions and cultures - if we dig deep enough we will find that we are all interconnected
with each other in some way. I wish that we would all act better toward each other. As the famous quote says, "Let it start
with me."
The growth of the Pagan community has been tremendous. According to the American Religious Identification
Study (presented by the City University of New York) that reports on religious identification in 1990 and 2001, Pagans account
for .2% of the population in the United States 1.
If you add Wicca, Druid, and Pagan together, plus 19%
of the Unitarian Universalist figures (based on 1998 National Conference findings stating that 19% of the Unitarian Universalist
population considered themselves primarily "earth-religionists"), the total comes to over 425,000 Pagans in the US. That means
that 1 in every 500 people you meet is Pagan. Pretty good numbers when you consider that there still are a lot of people who
won't self-identify as Pagan for fear of discrimination! The only Pagan category they had in their last survey in 1990 was
Wicca, and there were only 8,000 identified as Wiccan, whereas 134,000 people identified as Wiccan in 2001. That means that
in 10 years the Wiccan population has increased 1675%, which I think is probably pretty accurate for the religion as a whole.
Projecting that at 1500%, at this current rate of growth, in 2010 there will be 6,375,000 Pagans in the US! That might be
a little high - but realize that it would only take a 600 - 700% growth rate for there to be as many Pagans as Jews in the
US, which I think is more than possible.
I look forward to a day when the Pagan equivalent of Sunday school for our
children is a reality. I look forward to the day when the books now shelved under Metaphysical/ New age at the bookstores
have been moved into the religion section next to the Holy Bible and the holy books of other world religions. I look forward
to the day when being a Witch is just as unremarkable as being a Jew or a Buddhist. I look forward to the day when a friend
or relative, on finding out that you have become Pagan, no longer asks if you worship the Devil. I look forward to bouncing
my grandbabies on my knee and retelling the story of Persephone and Demeter with the coming of each spring. It could happen.
You never can tell.
1 The raw data is at http://www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/key_findings.htmLyon
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A Haudenosaunee "Thanksgiving" Prayer
Except for the words "Greetings to the Natural World," the words in bold are not meant
to be said.
Thanksgiving Address
GREETINGS TO THE NATURAL WORLD!
The People
Today
we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with
each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other
as People.
Now our minds are one.
The Earth Mother
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth,
for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues
to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are
one.
The Waters
We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing
us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms - waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans.
With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of water.
Now our minds are one.
The Fish
We
turn our minds to all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves
to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.
Now
our minds are one.
The Plants
Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can
see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks
and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.
Now our minds are one.
The Food Plants
With
one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains,
vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather
all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
The Medicine
Herbs
Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning, they were instructed to take away
sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember
how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the
Medicines.
Now our minds are one.
The Animals
We gather our minds together to send greetings and
thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We see them near our homes and in
the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.
Now our minds are one.
The
Trees
We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions
and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many peoples of the world
use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.
Now our minds are one.
The
Birds
We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator
gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader.
To all the Birds - from the smallest to the largest - we send our joyful greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
The
Four Winds
We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air
as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they
come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.
Now
our minds are one.
The Thunderers
Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers, the Thunder Beings,
live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as
one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.
Now our minds are one.
The Sun
We
now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west,
bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to
our Brother, the Sun.
Now our minds are one.
Grandmother Moon
We put our minds together and give
thanks to our oldest grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky. She is the leader of women all over the world,
and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over
the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.
Now
our minds are one.
The Stars
We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry.
We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When
we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars.
Now
our minds are one.
The Enlightened Teachers
We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers
who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed
to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers.
Now our minds are one.
The
Creator
Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for the gifts of
Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we
gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.
Now our minds
are one.
Closing Words
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we
have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to
send such greetings and thanks in their own way.
Now our minds are one.
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