My Home, My Harvest, My Community

Spiral dance led by Spirit of the Evergreens Coven

The Pagan Experience - Wk 3- September 21: Deity and the Divine – This will be the third week’s topic every month and an opportunity for you to share with everyone those who guide, inspire and inform you. Tell us about your favorite Deity of Hearth and Home.

I don't have a particular deity of hearth or home, but big Mother Goddess and big Father God watches over all. The bounty created by their love is shared by all, and this year, the harvest was rich indeed.

Last weekend, I revelled in my home community, my beloved Pagan confederation of luminous, wild and wacky souls at the Central North Carolina Pagan Pride Day festival (PPD). This event is always fun, educational and relaxing, as it is a chance to be who we truly are out in public...something we Pagans living in the southeast USA rarely get a chance to do.

Spiral dance led by Spirit of the Evergreens Coven

But this year, for me, the festival represented more than fun. More than learning a new skill. More than seeing old friends and colleagues. More than sharing knowledge with the community. This year, my harvest was so bountiful that I can scarcely speak of it for the fullness of my heart.

This year, I hosted a booth for my coven, the Clan of the Wildlings. I've never hosted a booth at the festival before, though I make ritual tools and other artistic creations that Pagans like. Though the Clan is doing well on this, our almost one-year anniversary, I felt ready to take the plunge. My intention was to get the word out to more people, and to draw more wildlings to us. And so it was. We got an incredibly positive response. 

Me at our booth

Sunday morning, I facilitated the second meeting of the NC Pagan Elders' Council. We had a great discussion, in which the group asked for face to face meetings during the year outside of PPD. Kay Soto of Truely Unique kindly volunteered to help with that effort. Supporters of healthy intergenerational community, leaders of traditions and older folks with wisdom to share stay tuned! If you would like to join our council, email me for an invitation. Currently the group stays in touch with a secret group on Facebook.

We were asked to lead a ritual for the festival on Sunday. I was happy to oblige, though I was a tiny bit nervous - this would be the biggest circle I had ever led. I planned a ritual of thanksgiving for the harvest in which we thanked all of the powers of the Earth. It went off swimmingly! I think my favorite part was the howling at the end of the ritual, which is a tradition of my Clan.

It took me a long time to write this post. Upon long reflection, I know why - the real harvest of this festival, and of this year, for me...is my place within the community. After PPD, I made a big decision - to go public with my faith.

As I've been stepping into a leadership role these past two years, I created a separate Pagan identity on social media. I used my spiritual name on everything Pagan-related, including this blog. I had and have a lot of good reasons for this decision. I live in the southeastern US, which is a predominantly evangelical Christian area, and quite conservative. I'm a small business owner, and not only that, the type of business I'm in is already a bit fringe-y for this area. Massage therapy still is sometimes mistaken for prostitution here. Yoga is still sometimes mistaken for some sort of Devil worship/Hindu indoctrination here. It is unwise for business owners to be "too colorful" in this area.

Having two identities is a constant struggle: which name to use, which business card to hand out, which website to talk about, which account to post from and on and on. After PPD, I'd had enough. As a first step, I reintegrated my Facebook accounts and came out of the broom closet. I am a medical massage therapist, Yoga therapist & instructor...and I'm also a faith leader in a tradition of shamanistic witchcraft. Let the chips fall where they may - I'm done hiding.

Meanwhile, at home, the leaves are beginning to turn. The tomatoes have flowered again. Pears from our trees have turned into pear butter. Figs from our fig tree have been gobbled up by us, friends, neighbors and bees. The kitties are frolicking. The air conditioner is taking a well-deserved rest. Life is good, and the harvest is rich. I am grateful. Blessed be!