Hey I am in the cover story of the East Bay Express today Here's an excerpt:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-28/news/raising-pagans
Raising Pagans
When Daddy is Catholic and Mommy is a Witch, what's a couple to teach their children?
By Kathleen Richards
Published: March 28, 2007
At first glance, you'd never know that little Elizabeth Nettleton is Pagan. The vivacious four-year-old cuddles in her mother's lap, floppy blond bangs dangling in her eyes as she clutches her green stuffed alligator and a red teddy-bear blanket. Then the girl reaches underneath her pink sweater and pulls out a long silver chain bearing a dime-size pentacle.
"Because mommy wears hers!" Lizzie exclaims.
"Do you remember what the pentacle stands for?" Tina, 37, asks tenderly.
Sean, her brown-haired six-year-old, sits playing with dominoes at a small table nearby. "The earth, the air, the fire, and the water," he rattles off, neglecting "spirit," the star's fifth point.
Last summer, Tina, a Wiccan, bought pentacle pendants for her children. Sean had been pestering her for months, ever since she started wearing hers. But after only a couple of weeks, just before he was due to start kindergarten, he took his off.
According to his mom, Sean doesn't like to stand out, while Elizabeth is the "free thinker" and "wild girl" who proudly declares that her mother is a Witch. But Sean's apprehension to display his Pagan side also has to do with his father.
Chris, 38, is Catholic. Since his wife began practicing Wicca two years ago, he has been largely supportive of his wife's newfound religion, even if there are some things he doesn't agree with. For her initiation _ which she likens to a Catholic confirmation _ he bought her a besom, a ceremonial witch's broom. There are several altars around their San Leandro home, including one in the living room by the front door. Bold bumper stickers adorn their refrigerator, such as "Born Again Pagan" and "Where there's a Witch, there's a way."
But navigating their religious differences has become trickier as the children have grown. Chris is worried the kids will face discrimination. "I had a discussion with him saying, 'Well, some people might not understand,'" he recalls telling Sean. "'And if you don't feel comfortable you don't have to talk about anything. But if you do feel comfortable we'll back you up.'
"I think that kind of backfired," Chris adds. "I think he kind of said, 'Well, people won't like me.'"
At just six, Sean is already highly aware of his dual religious identity _ even more so since he started attending Catholic school. He now calls himself a "Catholic Witch" and says he doesn't agree with all Catholic or all Wicca beliefs. The boy says he believes in one God and one Goddess, and that Jesus was "a great person."
His pentacle chain now also carries a cross _ a gift from his mom _ but Sean still won't wear it. It's hanging on a shelf in his bedroom.
Out of the Broom Closet
By many accounts, Paganism has grown tremendously in the United States over the last several decades, which means a lot more kids are being raised Pagan. The old religion reemerged during the 1960s after England repealed its anti-witchcraft laws, and began taking off in the mid-1980s. Once-secretive Pagan societies here and in Europe emerged from what they called the "broom closet." New books on Paganism were published, and small groups of devotees known as covens or "circles" began to multiply.
By far the biggest Pagan subgroup is Wicca, which itself has numerous subgroups with varying practices and beliefs. Generally speaking, Wiccans worship the sacred as existing in nature, are polytheistic, and can choose Gods or Goddesses from any pantheon, such as Egyptian or Norse _ Tina favors Tara, a popular Buddhist deity, whom she describes as "the all." Many Wiccans trace their roots to medieval pre-Christian European traditions.
"It's grown from being obscure to becoming one of the top four faith groups in the United States," said Reverend Patrick McCollum, a longtime Wiccan chaplain, activist, and instructor for Cherry Hill Seminary, an online Pagan religious school based in Vermont. Wicca has no central authority, and therefore nobody's membership estimates are definitive. McCollum, who lives in Moraga, cites estimates that range between 300,000 and 1.2 million in the United States _ he thinks the latter is most accurate. Some Pagan organizations boast upward of fifty thousand members, and the online WitchSchool.com claims nearly 180,000 registered students.
The biggest factor in Wicca's growth, according to McCollum, is that it encourages its adherents to participate in their own spirituality and connect with the divine in their own way. McCollum had his first divine connection in 1965 following a near-fatal motorcycle crash _ he encountered God, who was female. He details the experience in his book, Courting the Lady: A Wiccan Journey, Book One: The Sacred Path, which was published last year.
The recent Paganism boom has brought about a wave of second-generation Pagan children, which has in turn spawned Web sites such as Witchvox.com and PaganParenting.com. Books, groups, and Web discussion boards have cropped up to address everything from kid-friendly rituals to how to find good Pagan daycare.
The increasing presence of children is transforming a community that has historically practiced behind closed doors. "Twenty-five years ago when the first Pagan children were coming out, there was no place for them in the Pagan community," says McCollum, who has raised three children. "Now every major event you have for Pagans, they have playgrounds and directors that oversee children's programs."
That's a dramatic departure from Pagan parenting of the past. "It was dangerous to participate in Pagan events, and if you take your children, you might have someone come up and firebomb you," McCollum says of the 1960s and '70s. Parents who did involve their children faced the possibility of having them taken away, he notes. Many Pagan events still require parents to sign a waiver.
Vibra Willow remembers having to warn her two kids _ the eldest is now 27 _ against disclosing their identity as part of the East Bay's Reclaiming community. Reclaiming is a form of feminist, modern Witchcraft that includes kids in its rituals. "I know that was traumatic and unhealthy for them, having feelings about growing up different and weird," she says.
Now, perhaps for the first time, Willow's children can be open about their religion. "Paganism now is no longer a shocking or scary thing to mainstream culture, and as a consequence, children can identify themselves as Pagan or Wiccan," she notes. "The words 'Pagan' and 'Witch' _ you have to imagine a time when those were frightening, pejorative words. And it's been a long, slow struggle to change that."
Alt-Scouting
Despite the newfound openness, many Pagans are still cautious, even here in the East Bay. On a rainy Saturday afternoon in February, about two dozen kids and their parents make a circle inside the back porch of a San Leandro home. Tranquil New Age music emanates from a boombox. Strings of shiny foil shamrocks dangle in the window. In the middle of the carpeted room, crayons and Pagan-themed coloring books cover a round table. One of the group's two leaders is 25-year-old JoHanna Coash, who requests that the location not be disclosed. For safety reasons, she explains.
It's the first meeting for the Bay Area chapter of the SpiralScouts, a Pagan alternative to Boy and Girl Scouts. SpiralScouts was launched in 1999 by the Michigan-based Aquarian Tabernacle Church, which calls itself "the first Wiccan church with full legal status and recognition by the governments of three nations," including the United States. The alt-scouting organization now has more than 130 "circles" _ or "hearths" for smaller ones _ in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The fledgling chapter, designated #171 Earth Heart Circle, is the only one in the Bay Area.
It was Coash, a Pagan Alliance member majoring in art and education at New College of California, who launched the local scout circle. The very first day she posted ads on Craigslist, Tribe.net, and Pagan message boards, she received e-mails on behalf of sixteen interested children. "There's a huge demand for it," she says. In all, 27 kids from nineteen families are participating. They range in age from three to fifteen and come from as far away as San Jose, Benicia, and Clayton.
Although developed on Pagan beliefs, SpiralScouts is open to children of all faiths. Each coed group is led by one man and one woman. Like mainstream scouts, they learn camping and wilderness skills, but also traditional woodland lore, ancient mythologies, life strategies, and skills for teens. The kids earn badges based on the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), which they plan to affix to sashes they will sew.
In true Pagan fashion, though, SpiralScouts has no rigid structure. Coash wants a consensus-based group, hence today's "Intention Circle," where each parent and child can express what they'd like to get out of their scouting experience.
Lizzie Nettleton has crafts in mind. "We could make stars and moons," she pipes. "We could make leaves. We can make some Goddesses."
The group listens to the ideas as Coash jots down notes. She's good at encouraging the shy kids, no doubt because of her own childlike demeanor
SpiralScouts is a Cover Story in East Bay Express today
Current mood: accomplished
Many of the new SpiralScouts parents took part in traditional scouting as children, and hope their kids will have a similar experience, only in a more Pagan-friendly environment. Nicky, a single mom, says she grew up as a solitary Witch and wants a magical community for her son. One boy says he and his younger brother got hurt a lot in the Boy Scouts because the kids were too wild. Another boy says he wants to make friends and go fishing.
Sue McCollough based her decision to bring nine-year-old Alec (fourteen-year-old Kenton was sick) on the fact that the Boy Scouts discriminate against gays, and this group doesn't discriminate against anyone. "One of the nice things is we can be open about our Paganism," she says. "In traditional Boy Scouts, we might have run into parents who are not open to Paganism." She would like the group to go camping and hiking, do crafts, garden, and learn to sew. Alec wants to take camping and field trips, and help grow a Faerie Garden.
"These are all Pagans in training," notes James Bianchi, a Druid and legal adviser for the Pagan Alliance, which sponsors the local scouts circle and organizes Berkeley's annual Pagan Festival and Parade each May. This year's parade focuses on children and young adults, and the SpiralScouts will lead the community ritual that accompanies it.
Bianchi trained as a tracker and wants to be able to pass along his survival skills. He sees Paganism as a way to combat environmental problems such as global warming and overconsumption. "One person at a time, we want to teach people how to live with the natural order," he says in a later interview. "Over time, they influence other children who influence other children, and then it becomes critical mass."
As the circle drags on, the kids get impatient. They start to trickle outside, even though it's cold and drizzling, to play tag in the backyard. Coash joins them later, striking up a conversation with one of the moms, as they watch the children with delight. "This is just tag, but these kids are coming from the same background," Coash says. "They're already pairing off. Isn't that great?"
The scout leader stand a petite five-foot-one, with multicolored dreadlocks and a warm presence. She calls herself an eclectic Pagan and the epitome of a Faerie. Coash is a devotee of Eris Dischordia, the Greek goddess of Chaos. She also "works with" Dionysus, and Egyptian God Horus and Goddess Ma'at. Her long-term goal is to open a private K-12 school that combines Pagan spirituality with rigorous academics. "I really want to be able to give positive influence in order to provide a safe space for Pagan kids to be themselves," she says. "Because most of them don't have one."
Coash was one such kid. Raised in Vacaville by a Lakota father and a white Protestant mother, she took an early interest in world religions, and by age eleven began self-identifying as a Witch. Her beliefs made her an easy target. "This is all about Faeries and Faerie meditation and shamanism and using animal totems," she says. "I had no idea that would lead to people saying that I worship Satan and that I killed animals."
At one point a rumor surfaced among the kids that she had murdered her parents and that they were buried in her backyard. "People were really scared of me," she recalls. "I used to come home crying so much."
Such experiences are not uncommon. It's one reason the Pagan Alliance aims to educate the public.
Obviously these are from different parts of the article, but yeah, I am sooo thrilled.! Go me!
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-28/news/raising-pagans
Raising Pagans
When Daddy is Catholic and Mommy is a Witch, what's a couple to teach their children?
By Kathleen Richards
Published: March 28, 2007
At first glance, you'd never know that little Elizabeth Nettleton is Pagan. The vivacious four-year-old cuddles in her mother's lap, floppy blond bangs dangling in her eyes as she clutches her green stuffed alligator and a red teddy-bear blanket. Then the girl reaches underneath her pink sweater and pulls out a long silver chain bearing a dime-size pentacle.
"Because mommy wears hers!" Lizzie exclaims.
"Do you remember what the pentacle stands for?" Tina, 37, asks tenderly.
Sean, her brown-haired six-year-old, sits playing with dominoes at a small table nearby. "The earth, the air, the fire, and the water," he rattles off, neglecting "spirit," the star's fifth point.
Last summer, Tina, a Wiccan, bought pentacle pendants for her children. Sean had been pestering her for months, ever since she started wearing hers. But after only a couple of weeks, just before he was due to start kindergarten, he took his off.
According to his mom, Sean doesn't like to stand out, while Elizabeth is the "free thinker" and "wild girl" who proudly declares that her mother is a Witch. But Sean's apprehension to display his Pagan side also has to do with his father.
Chris, 38, is Catholic. Since his wife began practicing Wicca two years ago, he has been largely supportive of his wife's newfound religion, even if there are some things he doesn't agree with. For her initiation _ which she likens to a Catholic confirmation _ he bought her a besom, a ceremonial witch's broom. There are several altars around their San Leandro home, including one in the living room by the front door. Bold bumper stickers adorn their refrigerator, such as "Born Again Pagan" and "Where there's a Witch, there's a way."
But navigating their religious differences has become trickier as the children have grown. Chris is worried the kids will face discrimination. "I had a discussion with him saying, 'Well, some people might not understand,'" he recalls telling Sean. "'And if you don't feel comfortable you don't have to talk about anything. But if you do feel comfortable we'll back you up.'
"I think that kind of backfired," Chris adds. "I think he kind of said, 'Well, people won't like me.'"
At just six, Sean is already highly aware of his dual religious identity _ even more so since he started attending Catholic school. He now calls himself a "Catholic Witch" and says he doesn't agree with all Catholic or all Wicca beliefs. The boy says he believes in one God and one Goddess, and that Jesus was "a great person."
His pentacle chain now also carries a cross _ a gift from his mom _ but Sean still won't wear it. It's hanging on a shelf in his bedroom.
Out of the Broom Closet
By many accounts, Paganism has grown tremendously in the United States over the last several decades, which means a lot more kids are being raised Pagan. The old religion reemerged during the 1960s after England repealed its anti-witchcraft laws, and began taking off in the mid-1980s. Once-secretive Pagan societies here and in Europe emerged from what they called the "broom closet." New books on Paganism were published, and small groups of devotees known as covens or "circles" began to multiply.
By far the biggest Pagan subgroup is Wicca, which itself has numerous subgroups with varying practices and beliefs. Generally speaking, Wiccans worship the sacred as existing in nature, are polytheistic, and can choose Gods or Goddesses from any pantheon, such as Egyptian or Norse _ Tina favors Tara, a popular Buddhist deity, whom she describes as "the all." Many Wiccans trace their roots to medieval pre-Christian European traditions.
"It's grown from being obscure to becoming one of the top four faith groups in the United States," said Reverend Patrick McCollum, a longtime Wiccan chaplain, activist, and instructor for Cherry Hill Seminary, an online Pagan religious school based in Vermont. Wicca has no central authority, and therefore nobody's membership estimates are definitive. McCollum, who lives in Moraga, cites estimates that range between 300,000 and 1.2 million in the United States _ he thinks the latter is most accurate. Some Pagan organizations boast upward of fifty thousand members, and the online WitchSchool.com claims nearly 180,000 registered students.
The biggest factor in Wicca's growth, according to McCollum, is that it encourages its adherents to participate in their own spirituality and connect with the divine in their own way. McCollum had his first divine connection in 1965 following a near-fatal motorcycle crash _ he encountered God, who was female. He details the experience in his book, Courting the Lady: A Wiccan Journey, Book One: The Sacred Path, which was published last year.
The recent Paganism boom has brought about a wave of second-generation Pagan children, which has in turn spawned Web sites such as Witchvox.com and PaganParenting.com. Books, groups, and Web discussion boards have cropped up to address everything from kid-friendly rituals to how to find good Pagan daycare.
The increasing presence of children is transforming a community that has historically practiced behind closed doors. "Twenty-five years ago when the first Pagan children were coming out, there was no place for them in the Pagan community," says McCollum, who has raised three children. "Now every major event you have for Pagans, they have playgrounds and directors that oversee children's programs."
That's a dramatic departure from Pagan parenting of the past. "It was dangerous to participate in Pagan events, and if you take your children, you might have someone come up and firebomb you," McCollum says of the 1960s and '70s. Parents who did involve their children faced the possibility of having them taken away, he notes. Many Pagan events still require parents to sign a waiver.
Vibra Willow remembers having to warn her two kids _ the eldest is now 27 _ against disclosing their identity as part of the East Bay's Reclaiming community. Reclaiming is a form of feminist, modern Witchcraft that includes kids in its rituals. "I know that was traumatic and unhealthy for them, having feelings about growing up different and weird," she says.
Now, perhaps for the first time, Willow's children can be open about their religion. "Paganism now is no longer a shocking or scary thing to mainstream culture, and as a consequence, children can identify themselves as Pagan or Wiccan," she notes. "The words 'Pagan' and 'Witch' _ you have to imagine a time when those were frightening, pejorative words. And it's been a long, slow struggle to change that."
Alt-Scouting
Despite the newfound openness, many Pagans are still cautious, even here in the East Bay. On a rainy Saturday afternoon in February, about two dozen kids and their parents make a circle inside the back porch of a San Leandro home. Tranquil New Age music emanates from a boombox. Strings of shiny foil shamrocks dangle in the window. In the middle of the carpeted room, crayons and Pagan-themed coloring books cover a round table. One of the group's two leaders is 25-year-old JoHanna Coash, who requests that the location not be disclosed. For safety reasons, she explains.
It's the first meeting for the Bay Area chapter of the SpiralScouts, a Pagan alternative to Boy and Girl Scouts. SpiralScouts was launched in 1999 by the Michigan-based Aquarian Tabernacle Church, which calls itself "the first Wiccan church with full legal status and recognition by the governments of three nations," including the United States. The alt-scouting organization now has more than 130 "circles" _ or "hearths" for smaller ones _ in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The fledgling chapter, designated #171 Earth Heart Circle, is the only one in the Bay Area.
It was Coash, a Pagan Alliance member majoring in art and education at New College of California, who launched the local scout circle. The very first day she posted ads on Craigslist, Tribe.net, and Pagan message boards, she received e-mails on behalf of sixteen interested children. "There's a huge demand for it," she says. In all, 27 kids from nineteen families are participating. They range in age from three to fifteen and come from as far away as San Jose, Benicia, and Clayton.
Although developed on Pagan beliefs, SpiralScouts is open to children of all faiths. Each coed group is led by one man and one woman. Like mainstream scouts, they learn camping and wilderness skills, but also traditional woodland lore, ancient mythologies, life strategies, and skills for teens. The kids earn badges based on the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), which they plan to affix to sashes they will sew.
In true Pagan fashion, though, SpiralScouts has no rigid structure. Coash wants a consensus-based group, hence today's "Intention Circle," where each parent and child can express what they'd like to get out of their scouting experience.
Lizzie Nettleton has crafts in mind. "We could make stars and moons," she pipes. "We could make leaves. We can make some Goddesses."
The group listens to the ideas as Coash jots down notes. She's good at encouraging the shy kids, no doubt because of her own childlike demeanor
SpiralScouts is a Cover Story in East Bay Express today
Current mood: accomplished
Many of the new SpiralScouts parents took part in traditional scouting as children, and hope their kids will have a similar experience, only in a more Pagan-friendly environment. Nicky, a single mom, says she grew up as a solitary Witch and wants a magical community for her son. One boy says he and his younger brother got hurt a lot in the Boy Scouts because the kids were too wild. Another boy says he wants to make friends and go fishing.
Sue McCollough based her decision to bring nine-year-old Alec (fourteen-year-old Kenton was sick) on the fact that the Boy Scouts discriminate against gays, and this group doesn't discriminate against anyone. "One of the nice things is we can be open about our Paganism," she says. "In traditional Boy Scouts, we might have run into parents who are not open to Paganism." She would like the group to go camping and hiking, do crafts, garden, and learn to sew. Alec wants to take camping and field trips, and help grow a Faerie Garden.
"These are all Pagans in training," notes James Bianchi, a Druid and legal adviser for the Pagan Alliance, which sponsors the local scouts circle and organizes Berkeley's annual Pagan Festival and Parade each May. This year's parade focuses on children and young adults, and the SpiralScouts will lead the community ritual that accompanies it.
Bianchi trained as a tracker and wants to be able to pass along his survival skills. He sees Paganism as a way to combat environmental problems such as global warming and overconsumption. "One person at a time, we want to teach people how to live with the natural order," he says in a later interview. "Over time, they influence other children who influence other children, and then it becomes critical mass."
As the circle drags on, the kids get impatient. They start to trickle outside, even though it's cold and drizzling, to play tag in the backyard. Coash joins them later, striking up a conversation with one of the moms, as they watch the children with delight. "This is just tag, but these kids are coming from the same background," Coash says. "They're already pairing off. Isn't that great?"
The scout leader stand a petite five-foot-one, with multicolored dreadlocks and a warm presence. She calls herself an eclectic Pagan and the epitome of a Faerie. Coash is a devotee of Eris Dischordia, the Greek goddess of Chaos. She also "works with" Dionysus, and Egyptian God Horus and Goddess Ma'at. Her long-term goal is to open a private K-12 school that combines Pagan spirituality with rigorous academics. "I really want to be able to give positive influence in order to provide a safe space for Pagan kids to be themselves," she says. "Because most of them don't have one."
Coash was one such kid. Raised in Vacaville by a Lakota father and a white Protestant mother, she took an early interest in world religions, and by age eleven began self-identifying as a Witch. Her beliefs made her an easy target. "This is all about Faeries and Faerie meditation and shamanism and using animal totems," she says. "I had no idea that would lead to people saying that I worship Satan and that I killed animals."
At one point a rumor surfaced among the kids that she had murdered her parents and that they were buried in her backyard. "People were really scared of me," she recalls. "I used to come home crying so much."
Such experiences are not uncommon. It's one reason the Pagan Alliance aims to educate the public.
Obviously these are from different parts of the article, but yeah, I am sooo thrilled.! Go me!
VIEW 13 of 13 COMMENTS
starfior:
Ah. I've figured out how to see the picture larger (I like not this new layout) I figured the top tattoo for wings for Isis, but in the small picture that I saw I thought the bottom looked like a norse symbol called "The Helm of Awe" in English. An eight pointed symbol to strike fear in the hearts of enemies. I asked because I'm Asatru, and not the folk brand that tends to be a little (read: a lot) racist, and thought that a symbol of Isis next to a symbol of the Aesir was.. well... odd to be honest. Anyway... Once again congrats on the articles.
ceilidh_chaos:
i guess tho the chaos star and the helm of awe do have some thing in common, if you were smart, both would strike fear, hehehe. Actually the wings are a homage to Ma'at. Gotta have chaos. Gotta have balance