Click on a Presenter's name to go directly to that interview, or scroll down to read all interviews.

Glenn Turner
Amber K & Azrael K of Ardantane
RJ Stewart
Thalassa
Ruth Barrett
joi wolfwomyn
Don Frew
Elisheva
Mary K. Greer
Lupa
Tony Mierzwicki
Selena Fox
Ivo Domiguez, Jr.
Hobbyhorse
Brandy Williams
T. Thorn Coyle
Erynn Laurie
Kenny Klein
Sabina Magliocco



Glenn Turner
Glenn Turner is the owner of the Ancient Ways store, and organizer of PantheaCon and the Ancient Ways Festival. She can be found online at www.ancientways.com.

You’ve been a part of the neo-pagan community since before it was one. How did you first become interested and involved in paganism?

Glenn Turner: A friend was taking a class at San Francisco State, and it was either doing a table tipping or a witches’ sabbat, and we decided that since there were four of us wanted to be especially involved, we decided a sabbat was better. We’d been reading The White Goddess and were familiar somewhat with Gerald Gardner and other sources, and the greater key of Solomon, and we figured out the basic structure of ritual and wrote our own with three priestesses, because we had three women and one man - our respective spouses were not interested, but they came. So we did the first sabbat in February of 1968, for the creative arts class. We enjoyed it so much we wanted to do it again - we had such a wonderful toy! We enjoyed dressing up and doing the ritual… we got “woo.” So we did it again at a picnic at Angel Island, outdoors with just us and our friends and a keg of beer. I’d been doing that for several years, so it was a natural place to do another sabbat, and it happened to be about May 1st. Then in August we did it again in my parents’ front yard, which held about 30 people in a circle. And we continued to do it more and more often until we were doing eight sabbats a year, open to our friends and their friends. By 1972 we had 200-300 people at our Yule rituals. We were the only game in town. That was the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn - the name was supposed to be a joke!

We had hunted for other witches like Gerald Gardner or anything, and we couldn‘t find anything or anybody. So we decided, like the Little Red Hen, to do it ourselves. In the early 70s, one friend and I were teaching witchcraft at a free school, and we got students coming in… by the mid-70s we had five different covens in our tradition and were beginning to work on COG. We needed some more traditions than our own, so we started searching them out; part of the rule was, there needed to be 3 traditions for a local council. So that’s the beginning of it.

What made you decide to open the Ancient Ways store, and how did it grow from a store, to holding workshops, and the Ancient Ways festival, and PantheaCon?

Glenn Turner: Actually, the festival was before the store. The festival was a COG grand council. We finally had enough COG people that the grand council went to other parts of the country, came back to CA, and they called the festival Ancient Ways. The following year, they came up with a name for the grand council, which was MerryMeet, so the logo and name Ancient Ways was abandoned. I decided northern California needed a festival, so I continued the Ancient Ways Festival, and we’re now at the 24th year of the festival. My, how time flies!

After five years, I was unemployed, and I opened the Ancient Ways store, keeping the name and logo, and the store is 18 years old now. And then PantheaCon happened; after my husband died of AIDS in 1993 I got very sick with pancreatitis, and during my recuperation period, I got bored, and thought it would be fun to do an indoor conference, like science fiction conventions have, in addition to the festival. I was bored, and the store was doing fine of its own. I just asked people I knew to help out. I asked Starhawk to come, and she did a ritual; I asked Luisah Teish to come… over the years, I’ve met a lot of people and know a lot of people! I’m one of the orignal 500 people, definitely. There are still a lot of us around.

What’s your favorite part of running PantheaCon?

Glenn Turner: Hearing about the connections people have made because of PantheaCon. I can feel a certain pleasurable responsibility for helping people get together and work together. Things like the e-lists that have sprung up in order to organize various traditions and groups for next year’s PantheaCon.

The other things I like about it are dressing up – I bring a whole duffel bag just for costumes, there’s a small bag for clothing. One of my favorite cameo memories is the 3rd year in Oakland, I had dressed up for the masquerade ball with feathers coming out of my septum piercing, and high heels, and unusual garb (a.k.a. corset, etc.) and one of the staff people said, “Where’s Glenn?” I was standing right behind him, and I said, “Here I am!” He wanted to introduce me to the night-shift hotel liaison, who took me on a tour of the hotel… I finally got away and got to the party, but it was great to see her face. Return to top



Amber and Azrael K
Amber and Azrael K are co-authors of several books on magic and teachers at Ardantane, a Pagan learning center and seminary in New Mexico. They can be found online at www.amberk.com.

The value of teaching is obvious for an individual, but what do you see as the value of a school like Ardantane to the larger Pagan community?

Amber & Azrael: Schools like Ardantane, Cherry Hill, RCG's Women's Thealogical Institute, and ATC's seminary give us physical and intellectual centers for the community. They help us gather and share wisdom and knowledge. They remind us what we know--and that it's worth preserving--and what we don't know, and can learn together. Paganism is wonderful in being full of diversity, freedom, imagination, and creative thought... but to preserve the balance, it needs also to include focus, centeredness, grounding, and organization. The schools ideally bring all these qualities of mind and spirit together.   

Ardantane is divided into several “schools”, but so many aspects of Pagan practice overlap.  How do you determine what fits where?

Amber & Azrael: We have schools of Shamanic Studies, Magic and Witchcraft, Healing Arts, Pagan Leadership, Pagan Spirituality, and our new baby, Sacred Living. Bardic Arts is still a few years down the road.

And you're right, it all overlaps. But it's very difficult to offer a class in "The Universe and Everything," so organizing schools and certificate programs allows our students to learn in a more-or-less defined field, in chunks that our brains can begin to wrap around.

But there's nothing rigid about the learning programs. One school's certificate program will usually require classes from other schools, and often faculty from two or three schools will collaborate on a class, and students flow back and forth between the programs. On paper it looks very organized, but the reality is pretty fluid and organic. It has to be: spirituality and magick don't fit in tight boxes.  

What is your ultimate goal, with Ardantane?  Where do you see yourselves in ten or twenty years?

Amber: I see us offering the world's best learning experiences in fields of special interest to Pagans, with people coming from all over to study at our main campus. But I also see us catalyzing and nurturing more learning centers around North America and the world, working in concert with Cherry Hill and the other schools. I think we will have some programs on the Internet, but continue to focus mostly on face-to-face learning. I see us preserving a lot of ancient lore and wisdom, but also encouraging exploration and creativity in the technology of the sacred.  

Azrael: Yes to all that, and I am seeing a gorgeous, eco-friendly campus that is a model for how humans can live in harmony with the Earth and the rest of the biosphere. Teaching is not just transferring information, part of it is modeling how we can live in a sacred way. When people first arrive at Ardantane's campus, I want them to see and feel not only the natural beauty there, but realize that we can be part of that, not separate or competitive with it.  

What would you posit as the main challenge facing the Pagan community today?

Amber & Azrael: Learning to live in this planet in a respectful and symbiotic manner.  

When Western society collapses, which it will do unless we intelligently and quickly transform it, Pagans could be already living in sustainable and mindful communities. We can lead the way to the next phase of human civilization. But we will have to work with many other people and organizations where they share our values, and we will have to do it smart and do it now--otherwise Pagans will just go down with the rest of Western society.  

Of course, there are worse fates than watching Western society collapse; and worse even than seeing homo sapiens commit suicide. We could take out half or more of the species on this planet and then finish killing ourselves off. That would be the worst tragedy I can imagine, and it could happen.  

We have a responsibility to prevent it, because we are the ones who are upsetting the balance. Return to top



R.J. Stewart
R.J. Stewart is the author of a series of books on the Underworld and Faery traditions, and a professional musician. He can be found online at www.dreampower.com.

As someone who works with natural aspects of the spirit world, what differences do you see between working in the British Isles and working in the U.S.?

RJ Stewart: In Britain there are long standing traditions of relationship between faery and spirit beings, humans, and the land, and you can tap into these with relative ease, if you have a good heart.

The power in Britain and Europe is also layered with ancestral consciousness, which can be extremely heavy for new participants...much grief, pain, suffering, anger, before the deep love comes. In the US, especially out west, those old traditions are more attenuated, less powerful than on the east coast. But the spirit beings themselves are extremely potent, and we are all establishing new ways to work with them. There is less ancestral burden out here (west coast), and we also have to find ways to be in harmony with native American spirit, while still upholding our own sacred traditions.

Do you see an impact in terms of human changes to the environment on the spiritual realm?

RJ Stewart: Yes, definitely. The inner contacts/spirits started teaching that the planet was under threat at least two generations ago...the early revival witchcraft people in Britain picked up on this, as did Dion Fortune's group. In my own work, it was made clear about 30 years ago that we had to "Bring the Two Worlds together in harmony" the primal or faery/spirit world, and the outer world of nature that has been abused by humans. Most of my writing and teaching involves this theme, and practical ways of achieving the new union.

Has your religious/spiritual practice influenced your politics?

RJ Stewart: That's surprisingly difficult to answer! And also easy to answer! I have always been radical in my political views, and as a musician and singer/songwriter I come from a long radical tradition in Britain. In my spiritual work I increasingly find that spiritual magic IS the Revolution...politicians can ignore our voices, suppress our wishes, deny a fair vote to the people. But they cannot touch spiritual magic...it moves unseen like the wind in grass...the same wind that topples towers and blows pollution clean.

How does your music intersect with your spiritual practice?

RJ Stewart: In two ways. I have very precise and specific Elemental Chants and instrumental music that bring changes of consciousness...I use the chanting often in my own practices. I also write and sing magical songs and environmentally and politically conscious songs, along with ancient Scottish pagan magical ballads.

So, is it, fairy, faery, or faerie? And why?

RJ Stewart: Yes. And Because.

What one piece of advice would you give someone interested in working within the faery and underworld traditions of the British Isles?

RJ Stewart: The traditions are immensely powerful tools, but not ends in themselves. You can use these tools to help you relate to your own land...indeed, we all must do this. Never escape into a fantasy Celtic/Britayne that does not exist. Be Here and Now. Return to top



Thalassa
Thalassa is the head of the PantheaCon vendors room, producer of the Bay Area Tarot Symposium, founder of the Daughters of Divination, and publisher of the Tarot ‘zine The Belfry.  She has been reading, teaching and working with the Tarot for 37 years, and can be found online at www.daughtersofdivination.com.

You run the vendor room at PantheaCon, what’s the most challenging part of ruling over Thalassa-land?

Thalassa: I truly enjoy running the Vendor Room – I love seeing all the colour and creativity on display. I always strive to mix as wide of variety of mercantile grooviness as possible and to maintain a mix of the shiny new vendors with the established folk (although they are equally shiny). This is a challenge, sometimes heartbreakingly so. My Mercury is in Libra, so being faced with choices between similar splendid things is excruciating. I strive to design a room that is a wonderful experience which invites people to wander, explore and schmooze, not just a marketplace. For those new to the community, or even the curious outsider, it is a wonderful gateway: one sees so much of the diversity and beauty of the community in a relaxed, fun environment.

You also teach about the Tarot through the Ancient Ways store and BATS (Bay Area Tarot Symposium). Can you talk about your experiences teaching Tarot?

Thalassa: My Life/Soul card is the Hierophant – I adore teaching (of course, it could be said that I just plain love talking to an audience, but I digress). One of my approaches to teaching Tarot is as an exercise in subversion of the dominant paradigm. I want people to bond to the Tarot without having to negotiate the obfuscating layers of the years, and to form their own deeply personal relationship with it as a tool and a companion. I want to strip away the pretentious garbage that keeps people appreciating the role Tarot has played as a spiritual and divinatory guide in the West since its inception during the Renaissance. In fact, I started the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (SF BATS) as a way to bring Tarot authors and teachers together with Tarot enthusiasts of all experience and interest levels to create a constantly fermenting cauldron of change and growth. It has succeeded beyond my dreams and inspired many similar types of events around the country, which makes me proud.

What originally drew you to the Tarot, and what keeps you fascinated by it?

Thalassa: My life in the Mysteries was started by a soap opera and something the unwashed call coincidence. When I was very young I fell in love with the Gothic-ish soap opera Dark Shadows. I ate it up like candy (swooning heroines, spooky houses, dishy vampires – what’s not to like?) but when they came to the Tarot, I was enthralled; a little bell in my soul went, “bing.” About this time I found Eden Grey’s “Tarot Revealed” in a remainder bin of a department store among the obscure cookbooks and passé bodice-rippers and it is no exaggeration to say that my path opened before my feet. I saved up my birthday and babysitting money and bought a deck as soon as I could. There weren’t a lot of books available back in the misty times when I was starting out (and many of them were gruesome monuments to pretentiousness and pomposity). There weren’t many teachers either (which was sort of moot since I was a trifle young to be traipsing around the Bay Area in search of the Ageless Wisdom). So I just worked with the little darlings. I did read what I could and incorporate it into the internal databank I was building. By the time I was in college I was teaching, as presumptuous as that sounds. However, I have always learned enormously from teaching. In fact, one of the reasons why I still do classes at Ancient Ways is that it helps me to formulate and write my book.

Who are the Daughters of Divination?

Thalassa: The Daughters of Divination came about as a group of my friends and me sitting around playing with divination toys (red wine and pizza were also involved). We were all pretty wacky, albeit well-informed, loose cannon types and we started to think that it would be fun to form an organisation that would enable people to explore the Universe and its mysteries, work with divination tools, and help me produce SF BATS. It has grown into a wide-ranging, but still loose confederation, and I like to think we have a lot of fun whoever or wherever we are. To me it always comes down to “Is it fun?” Fun is one of the most seditious forces in the Universe. Return to top



Ruth Barrett
Ruth Barrett is a Dianic high priestess, ritualist, educator, author, and award winning recording artist of original Goddess songs.

Some people have seen the Dianic tradition as being anti-male or sexist. How do you respond to that?

Most often this attitude of “anti-male or sexist” comes from misunderstanding what the Dianic tradition actually is, and who the tradition is intended to serve. It is a sad fact that in the sexist culture wherein we live and practice our religion, that to be “for” women, is too often assumed to be “against” men. Simply put, our tradition is not about men or the male experience, whether it be male physical life cycle events or the male experience of living in the dominant culture and its influence on who they are. Those are men’s mysteries. Therefore, Dianics simply do not focus on the God and what is specifically male in nature. He is understood to be a sacred variation of Her and included in the Goddess, as our beloved daughters and sons are contained within the wombs of women.

The Dianic tradition centers aroung what we call “women’s mysteries”, and is a goddess- and female-centered, woman-identified, earth-based, feminist denomination of the Wiccan religion. These mysteries include the five blood mysteries of our birth, menarche, giving birth/lactation, menopause, and death. Our rites also include other essential physical, emotional, and psychic passages that only women can experience by being born female, and empowering ourselves by becoming conscious about how growing up in a patriarchal culture affects our daily lives and female identity. With our spiritual focus and ritual practices being with, for, and about women’s experience of living and the many ways that our female bodies inform our life experiences, our tradition explores and celebrates female embodiment as a sacred source of creativity, oracular inspiration and power that is sourced literally from our very cells.

Dianic rituals celebrate the mythic cycle of the Goddess in the earth’s seasonal cycles of birth, death, and regeneration. Our seasonal holy days focus on the mythic cycles of the Goddess alone as she eternally transforms and shapeshifts throughout the year. Her seasonal dance of transformation becomes a metaphor for the cycle of women’s lives as they correspond and overlap with women’s own life-cycle transitions. Dianic seasonal themes are not based on an exclusively heterosexual fertility cycle, as most other Wiccan traditions are, and therefore are inclusive of all women.

What do you see as the benefits of women-only spiritual practice, and women-centered spirituality, for individuals, the pagan community, and society as a whole?

From the beginning of its contemporary practice in the early 1970’s, the Dianic Wiccan tradition has inspired rituals that are intended to help women heal from, and counter the effects of, misogynistic, patriarchal social institutions and religions. I believe that this is ultimately empowering since Dianic practice has, in my experience, inspired many women to exercise the power of choice with greater clarity and to take greater responsibility for their lives and their extended communities.

Within Dianic rites, the focus is on each woman’s own experience, opinions, ideas, and feelings. Women have the opportunity to discover their true selves, apart from the constraints of the dominant culture. I have often experienced women go through an adjustment period, having never before considered prioritizing or focusing on their own thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Since our tradition is not based on a duality concept within ourselves or in our cosmology, but rather on becoming “whole unto ourselves” like the goddess Diana, a woman is encouraged to seek a sacred wholeness. This does not mean that she is isolated. Instead, the goal of living is to feel complete within herself, not looking for completion through another person, but the possibility of connection through wholeness.

Often Dianic rites center on ritualizing cycles of the female body When the spiritual experience is embodied in the women who are participating in a ritual, a fundamental intention of Dianic tradition can be realized: to re-sanctify the female body as a manifestation of the Goddess, the source from which all things emerge and return. Lesbians and bisexual women, who may need to heal from internalized homophobia as well as the other aspects of misogyny, can experience positive transformation within a spiritual tradition that says the body of a woman who loves women is holy. Through the embodied spiritual experience of the Goddess, heterosexual women can heal from internalized misogyny and homophobia, reaching greater depths of self-love, love and appreciation for all women, compassion, and personal power. All of these areas are of great benefit to an individual person, and the extended communities in which we live.

I hope to live in a time where the mysteries embedded in our similarities and differences can be respected and appreciated for how they support an individuals journey to health, joy, and wholeness. Return to top



Joi Wolfwomyn
joi wolfwomyn is the head of PantheaCon Registration, a radical faery, a Gardnerian Elder, teacher, ritualist and queer activist.

As the head of Registration, you’re always busy at PantheaCon. Do you manage to find time to enjoy the con as well… and how?

Joi: Yes. Primarily because I really enjoy working Registration, and I find time to do rituals and go to other people’s rituals, which is always fun. I’m actually not doing any workshops this year… and I’m not chasing as many Faeries around this year. There’s fewer Faeries, but we’re focused. I’m getting better at the whole “self-care/time for self” thing and balancing that with my “strong community service ethic.” (laughs)

You’re a Gardnerian elder, and a Radical Faerie, and a Discordian. How do you meld those?

Joi: The blending that can be named is not the blending… (laughs) I really wish I had a clear answer to that, and I don’t. If I could say, “This is how it happens,” then I’d do it. I think it’s very important to have structure, but I think it’s important to allow for spontaneity and allow for the gods to come in, because if we’re so attached to the structure that we don’t leave space for anything, that’s just as much a tripping point as having no structure at all.

Tell us a little bit about your own spiritual practice.

Joi: (laughs) For me, all magic boils down to the essential quality of being fully present in every given moment. A lot of my practice is informed by Tibetan Buddhism and Taoism, and of course everything resides on the complete and utter foundation of Discordianism. And achieving the delicate balance of Discordian Gardnerian practice is something that I still gleefully approach almost every day. There’s so much more to say about that, but for the sake of brevity and space we’ll just leave that off…

You fall outside the American mainstream in a lot of ways: in look, spirituality, gender, sexuality, and other ways. Do you feel that gives you more freedom, or restricts you?

Joi: Yes. The restrictions that my physical appearance cause tend to work in my favor anyway. It’s kind of like this automatic filter system: the people who work through that to talk to me tend to be the people worth talking to. One of the reasons why I like doing Reg and being the Gatekeeper has a lot to do with people’s reactions to me and how I’ve created myself, and when people who are coming for the first time are coming into the con, they’re going, “What if I’m too weird?” and having been closet pagans, and then the first thing they see are the big freaks handling registration and handling the money and it seems to allow them to give themselves permission to be whoever they are. Because if the weirdos are the ones handling all the paperwork and all, it really must be okay to be whoever I am here.

What do you feel the Radical Faerie and genderqueer communities have to offer the larger pagan community?

Joi: I feel that we offer a visceral reality outside the dualism that many Pagan traditions still find themselves caught up in. I feel that the Faeries embody the Pagan aspect that is being “two-spirit” and we illustrate that gender is not even a polarized spectrum but just a complete spherical free-for-all. And we add a touch of fabulousness to any ritual we’re in. There’s more ofa n element of spontaneous and improvisational magic in the Faeries, which also means that there are Faeries who have an issue with any sort of structure, whereas many Pagans are attached to their structure, occasionally to a difficulty with spontaneity and improv. Return to top



Don Frew
Don Frew is a Gardnerian Elder and researcher into the history of neopaganism, one of two National Interfaith Representatives for the Covenant of the Goddess and a representative to the Parliament of World Religions.

What do you feel the importance of the international interfaith work that you have done is to the pagan community?

Don Frew: Wow.  That's a big question. 

Focusing on the work done by Covenant of the Goddess, since that's been my role for over 20 years now, I would divide it into four broad phases. 

The early work was just getting our foot in the door.  Glenn did this with the Berkeley Area Interfaith Council by showing up and doing fundraising for them. 

Later on, when I first got involved, the work was largely a form of public relations, with the religious community being just another community like the media, government, law enforcement, etc. where we needed to do education about who we were (decent, spiritual people) and who we weren't (Devil-worshippers). 

Over time, this changed, largely because of the way that the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1993 and the subsequent founding of the United Religions Initiative changed the global face of interfaith.  Pagan involvement moved beyond winning acceptance, to being accepted and working with other religions for the common good in a way that we just couldn't on our own.  All over the world, people benefiting from literacy programs, microcredit banks for women, reforestation projects, AIDS education, etc. know that, in part, they have the Witches to thank for the betterment of their lives. 

More recently, the global interfaith network has made it possible for us not only to build bridges of friendship between Witches in the US and other indigenous practitioners around the world -- Shinto in Japan, Taoists in China, Hindus in India, tribal practitioners in Africa, South America, and the Pacific -- but to be of genuine service to "Pagan" brothers and sisters in need.  If you see me at Pantheacon, ask me to tell you the story of the Tabebe, the practitioners of an indigenous magical tradition in Ethiopia.  You'll never look at Pagan interfaith work in the same way again.

You’ve done a lot of work on uncovering the historical significance of the city of Harran, in tracing the history of ancient paganism.  Can you briefly explain the importance of that site?  How can Neopagans help to preserve this site for future research?

Don Frew: The city of Harran, in what is now southern Turkey, has always been a crossroads.  As a center of translation from Greek and Latin into Arabic, it was the crossroad between antiquity and the modern age.  It has been home to a remarkable variety of religious communities, including the indigenous cult of the Moon God, late antique Pagans, Sabians, Zoroastrians, Manichaeans, Mandaeans, Christians, and Muslims.  Harran figures prominently in the scriptures of many of these faiths and they appear to have lived together at Harran in relative peace.

Harran occupies a special place in the intellectual history of the Western world.  When Plato's Academy in Athens was closed, its last teachers, all of whom were Neoplatonists, and many of whom were initiates of Mithras, Isis, and of other cults, resettled at Harran and founded a new academy there that flourished up into the 11th century CE.  When the Caliph Umar II founded the first Muslim university in the 8th century, he brought the last remaining scholars from Alexandria and installed them in this new center of learning at Harran.  The scholars of the schools of Harran, known as the "Sabians," were instrumental in the translation, preservation, and transmission of Greek and Roman knowledge (especially Neoplatonism and Hermeticism) into the Islamic world and thence into the European Renaissance.

Given its significance for so many religious groups and fields of study, it is remarkable that Harran remains virtually untouched by both treasure-hunters and archaeologists.  All scholars involved agree that the final excavation of Harran will reveal a treasure-trove of documents from late Antiquity, as well as a city that might rival Pompeii.  However, the site is threatened by a dam project and any documents waiting to be uncovered will be destroyed by the rising water table in about 15 years.  Time's a wastin'...

The main thing that Neopagans can do to help is to support efforts at excavation, either through groups like the Lost & Endangered Religions Project or through direct donation to the local museums and universities in Turkey.

What do Wiccan traditions like Gardnerianism have to offer the larger pagan community?

Don Frew: History.  Like it or not, almost all of modern Craft either descends directly from Gardnerian Craft or has been profoundly influenced by Gardnerian Craft.  This influence then extends to most, if not all, of the existing Neopagan traditions.  This is not a question of merit or value or importance, just of history.  Research into Gardnerian origins, and the continuity I believe it has with the religions of late Antiquity, is research into our shared past.  "Older" does NOT mean "better", but understanding the roots and development of a text or ritual often sheds new light on current practices and offers new depth of meaning.

What do you feel is the greatest challenge facing British Traditional Wicca today?

Don Frew: Secrecy.  I am absolutely committed to the traditional secrecy of the Wiccan traditions, and am often bound not only by that but also by further restrictions placed on me by folks who have shared old texts with me.  This gets even more complicated when different branches of the same tradition will question each other's "legitimacy" and so restrict the sharing of information within a single tradition.  Until we sort this out and find a way to balance honoring traditional secrecy with being more open and sharing, we will have great difficulty integrating into a modern society -- even a modern Neopagan society -- that seems to value transparency and distrust secrecy. Return to top



Elisheva
Elisheva Nesher is from the Galilee. She served in her country’s security forces, retired, ran an international business, retired, and is now a psychotherapist and organizational consultant.

How do you reconcile earth-based pagan spirituality with the monotheistic and patriarchal traditions that most people associate with Judaism?

We don't. (smile) Because we don't have to. We AMHA do not speak from within the rabbinical Judaism you describe, which is relatively recent. Judaism has it roots in the urban, literate intellectual elite of the "Yahwe alone" school. That is not the Path we follow. We AMHA have our own roots, in the kibbutz. There is a powerful, deeply embedded love of nature in the Israeli culture; we sowed planted, lived off the Land, got drafted. Growing up, we felt connected to the Hebrew Tribes who—long before the rabbinical scholars—were shepherds, warriors and farmers like us. Of course, like us, they loved the Land, they lived on it, depended on it. I—and all the original AMHA—learned to love the Land from elders in our kibbutz. Aretz Imenu, the Land of our Mothers, is sacred. For two thousand years tree cutting and overgrazing have made a once fertile Land a desert; we have planted millions of trees and we have succeeded in making the desert bloom. Love of the Land has always been with our people, taking different forms over time. It is alive and well. Even the rabbinical calendar is largely agriculture and nature-based. This is nothing new. Besides, our earlier ancestors were not monotheists like modern Christians, Moslems or Jews; they were polytheists. The Hebrew Bible still shows plenty of polytheistic material, plenty for us to reconnect to.

As to patriarchy, well, we are reconstructionist, right? The Hebrew Bible also shows women in the role of clan Mothers, battle chiefs, Seeresses, negotiators in war, tavern owners, prophetesses, even political assassins; and all in all, possessing higher status, than women in many countries to this day. So the first modern AMHA, being children of modern Israel and egalitarians, took the concept behind these Hebrew Bible stories that tell of strong and spiritual women and ran with it. It helps that we draft women, I suppose...

What do you see as the importance of reclaiming earth-based traditions within Judaism?

I think that European Judaism (more than Mid-Eastern Judaism) has lost its connection to earth, which the ancients had. It deprives people of roots and grounding. More broadly speaking, reclaiming earth based traditions—and polytheist traditions—from any tradition is good. It is implicit in polytheism that no religion is 'better' than another. As to nature, Earth, well, for me, for any AMHA, nature spirituality is our life and breath. We cannot exist on this planet if we do not love Earth and act accordingly.

Have you found acceptance in the Jewish community for the work that you have been doing spiritually?

To be honest, I cannot say. In AMHA, we adopt individuals; deal with individuals, not communities. We have not specifically sought acceptance. AMHA is the Tradition we were raised with; “finding acceptance” is not particularly a priority, we know where we belong. Of course, getting along is nice, we like to get along with all those who want to get along with us. Even with those who don't. We are open to people of all origins because when our ancestors fled Egypt, people of all origins who had become their friends, husbands and wives, fled slavery with them, risking their lives.

What sets lot casting apart as a method of divination?

Firstly, its ancient origin. Second, for advanced divination with lots you have to be fluent in Hebrew. Third, because of the Hebrew language structure, when you cast, you typically get complete sentences, which is really helpful to and specific. The belief is that the lots fall as Gods dictate. Sometimes, specific Godforms will come and speak by means of the lots. Any head of family can cast lots for their family and friends, but we also have a chieftain and Seer to see for the Tribes, and for second opinions. In casting, the Seer is not simply a vessel, but has a major role: s/he, for example, does not cast circles, as in the Western Traditions, but is expected to know how to keep the space protected and the people within it. Also, when casting lots you are mandated to speak the truth exactly as you read it from the lots, and are not allowed to change it in any way. Return to top



Mary K. Greer
Mary K. Greer is the author of five books on Tarot and a biography of four 19th century women magicians. She can be found online at http://home.pacbell.net/mkgreer.

What do you think of the current state of Tarot scholarship? Are there any new discoveries or rising stars we should know about?

Mary K. Greer: I love K. Frank Jensen's new book The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot that was recently published by the Association for Tarot Studies in Melbourne Australia. It's essential for collectors of Waite-Smith decks. There is a new website where information is being gathered at www.taropedia.com (uses the wikipedia engine).

You wrote Women of the Golden Dawn about four women who were influential in building one of the foundations of modern magical practice. Do you see them having any counterparts in the modern neo-pagan community?

Mary K. Greer: Not specifically and I don't think I'd presume to do so. I've found that, of the four, more magical women identify with Florence Farr than with the others. I was most intrigued by Moina Mathers but little is known about her, plus I was disappointed that she seemed to give up her individuality to her husband S. L. MacGregor Mathers with whom she had a celibate marriage. Hey, where's the sex magic in that? Only on the astral?

Some people talk about witchcraft as "female-oriented magic" and ceremonial magic as "male-oriented magic". Do you see a gendered distinction in different types of magical practice?

Mary K. Greer: It exists only insofar as some people believe that it does. I have to admit that while ceremonial magic intrigues me and appeals to my intellect, my heart is really with what I call "California eclectic Goddess-spirituality."

What one piece of advice would you give to a beginning student of the Tarot?

Mary K. Greer: Get Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn 2006). I say it all there. Eventually you'll want to combine elements from what you see in the cards, book meanings, historical background, an understanding of esoteric and psychological symbolism and much much more, but begin with whatever turns you on. I believe my book will help you find what that is.

What is your take on the many non-Tarot divinatory card decks that have popped up over the past few years?

Mary K. Greer: Some of them are wonderful, and some are so personal and idiosyncratic as to be useless for the majority of people. Some are just pretty pictures or fancy flash cards. Most will fade away quickly into obscurity. Still, it gives everyone a chance to find something that speaks to them. The majority don’t have the integrated depth found in the symbolism of the tarot, but can be great for giving a clear and often powerfully significant sign or as a focus for inner reflection. Also, you can probably find a divinatory deck that uses symbols specific to your own practice, like the Goddess, Angel and Native American-based decks. With these you have the advantages of a richer and deeper “vocabulary” with which you can communicate with the Divine (a core definition of divination). Also, most of these decks, because there’s no long history of meanings, can be excellent for more psychic or intuitive readings.

What is your favorite non-Tarot divinatory method, and why?

Mary K. Greer: I’ve had memorable experiences with the I-Ching, Sacred Path Cards, Astro-Dice, Black Angels, Dophin Divination Cards, Hawaiian Aumakua Cards, Witches Stones (my own version), and just plain rocks, among quite a few others. Probably my two favorite things are rocks and “trash divination.” Although it can be said that the Divine communicates with us all the time, we are more likely to listen and take seriously, and the communications are generally clearer and more to the point, when we set aside a time, create sacred space, and use tools reserved for the work. I do trash readings when taking a walk. I often pick up trash as I go, and at some point one of the pieces will just seem right. I start by describing it in as much detail as I can and then I “own” those qualities as my own by turning the description into first-person “I” statements. I then explore the feelings and attitudes it projects, and finally I let it speak through and to me. I work with rocks in a similar way. Basically, this personifying process uses the first several steps found in my book 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, plus tactile sensations and Step 15, dialoging. It’s really not so much the tool as the focus and commitment you bring to the work. Return to top



Lupa
Lupa is a pansexual artist and therianthrope, and the author of two books on animal magic and otherkin. She can be found online at www.thegreenwolf.com.

The Otherkin community is often misunderstood. How have you worked to change that?

Lupa: People often judge a subculture by their initial interactions with individual members. So while I don’t consider myself to be some sort of “official representative of the Otherkin community”, I recognize that what any individual does reflects on the entire subculture, so I try to set a good example and make information available. I’ve written a few articles for pagan venues, including Witchvox. And I wrote “A Field Guide to Otherkin” for both ‘kin and non-‘kin alike. I’m hoping it’ll clear up some of the misconceptions, and that readers will use the annotated bibliography to research additional perspectives on the subject.

Where do you see the intersection of the Otherkin community and pagan practice?

Lupa: Some people assume that “Otherkin” is just a subset of “neopaganism”, which isn’t true at all. There’s a large portion of the Otherkin community that is neopagan, but other religions, Christianity included, are also represented. While "Otherkin" doesn't describe a specific religion or spirituality, there are spiritual aspects to the phenomenon that may be quite familiar to many pagans. Granted, some Otherkin may have very unorthodox approaches to subjects like reincarnation and mythology, but you get that in paganism, too.

You’re a published author, and have taught a class on breaking into the pagan book market. What one piece of advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a pagan author?

Lupa: I’ve seen a number of authors lambasted for not citing sources on questionable information, especially history. Most pagan books don’t have in-text or footnote citations, and many have either partial or no bibliographies. We’ve talked to a lot of pagans who wished more authors would show their work, and Immanion requires authors to cite both quotes and paraphrases—anything that isn’t their own original thought.

Has your religious/spiritual practice influenced your politics?

Lupa: No more than being a therianthrope or a bibliophile or a kinky person affects anything else. All aspects of my life weave together to become me, and they mesh well together because they’re all parts of me, not because paganism causes a progressive outlook on society. Return to top



Tony Mierzwicki
Tony Mierzwicki has had a decade of experience in the practice of ceremonial magick. He runs regular workshops and rituals recreating ancient magickal practices on the east coast of Australia and in the United States.

Are there any PantheaCon events that you’re excited about as an attendee rather than as a presenter?

PantheaCon is the biggest event that my wife and I attend. The diversity of events on offer is absolutely fantastic and stands as eloquent testimony to the diversity and talent within the pagan community, as well as the diligence of Glenn Turner in bringing it all together year after year. I’d be hard pressed to know where to start with recommendations of specific events, as there are so many options – some of the best known names in the community, lesser known names with nevertheless well researched talks, and a huge range of traditions. The most common complaint I hear at PantheaCon is that of the need to make difficult choices at every timeslot!

How do you connect your work with ancient Graeco-Egyptian magical systems with life and magical practice in the modern world?

There are so many traditions and paths to choose from in this day and age, and it is important to find one which resonates with you. I believe that a sincere seeker could potentially find value in any tradition with which they resonate.

I personally have always been drawn to ancient traditions with their wondrous tales of sorcerers, witches and mythical beasts. I see the authentic recreation of ancient magickal practices as a doorway to realms now consigned to legend.

Of the traditions I have looked into, the one which resonates with me is Graeco-Egyptian Magick (GEM). GEM is a syncretic practice combining various traditions with continuous histories spanning at the very least hundreds of years. After all, why rediscover the wheel when a perfectly functional one already exists?

The practice of GEM has transformed my life in many ways. It has brought me across the world from Sydney, Australia (where I thought I was quite happy) to California, where I met my wife at LAX airport on my very first arrival in 2003!, We actually married just last year the day before PantheaCon started. The Australian pagan scene is very small compared to that of the US. I feel very blessed in being able share the authentic practice of GEM with so many diverse groups throughout the US.

As well as Graeco-Egyptian practices, you also have studied Gnosticism and Hermeticism. How do you weave these together in your own practice?

The various Gnostic schools which flourished in the first few centuries of the common era, were characterized by their pursuit of experiential knowledge as a means of salvation. This knowledge entailed an awareness of a sense of alienation and a yearning to return to the divine realm beyond the cosmos.

Hermeticism emerged at roughly the same time as Gnosticism, and refers to numerous writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (“Thrice Great Hermes”), a deity resulting from the fusion of the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth. The Hermetic writings have been incredibly important in the development of Western thought, both at their inception and after their rediscovery in the fifteenth century.

My interest in Gnosticism and Hermeticism lies in their outlining of an ascension process through the planetary Spheres to the divine realm. While similar ascension processes occur in other traditions, those in Gnosticism and Hermeticism are the most relevant to GEM. The underlying principle in my “Magick of Alexandria” workshops is essentially one of ascension using authentic techniques reputed in ancient times to confer immortality and an experience of the absolute.

Roughly a thousand years after its exposition in Gnosticism and Hermeticism, the ascension process was absorbed into the Qabala where it became expressed through the Tree of Life, rather than a system of concentric Spheres. Ascension up the Tree of Life continues to be the central goal within many traditions of ceremonial magick.

You have degrees in engineering and science; how do you find that your scientific background interacts with your exploration of magic and spirituality?

Spirituality is a very personal thing. Seekers have various abilities and talents which they can employ as part of their practices. Some are more right-brained and have an artistic bent, enabling an expression of spirituality through modalities such as painting, sculpting, music and poetry. Others are more left-brained and are more prone to logic and analysis, enabling an appreciation for research or the construction of lengthy complicated rituals.

My background in engineering and science has definitely skewed me towards left-brain activities. As a reconstructionist, I enjoy combing through dusty tomes finding nuggets of practical information that can be incorporated into a logically consistent framework. I also enjoy observing the practical effects of recreating rituals performed more than 1500 years ago. Return to top



Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary
Selena Fox is a psychotherapist, teacher, writer, photographer, ritual performance artist, and priestess. She is founder and co-executive director of Circle Sanctuary, an international Nature Spirituality resource center headquartered on a 200 acre Nature preserve in southwestern Wisconsin, USA.

Are there any PantheaCon events that you're excited about as an attendee rather than as a presenter?

I am especially excited about the wide range of rituals that are part of PantheaCon this year, and plan to take part in many of them, including the Opening and Closing rites. I also am looking forward to visiting the vending area as well as socializing in various hospitality rooms in addition to our own.

As a psychotherapist, how do you see Pagan rituals and spiritual practices as affecting the practitioner?

Pagan rites and other forms of spiritual practice can nurture, educate, heal, and transform us. They can shift our personal identification out of ego-concerned self-talk to inner wisdom, expand our consciousness from a human-centric orientation to experiencing multi-species community as part of the Circle of Nature, and can strengthen our working relationships with Goddesses, Gods, and/or other Divine forms. And, whether we are doing a personal private rite or being part of a small or large group ritual, our ritual participation can socially and spiritually strengthen our connections with the larger Pagan world community.

Having Pagan land, such as Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, is a very powerful thing for many NeoPagans. What kinds of challenges have you faced in establishing Circle Sanctuary land?

Our challenges came both from within Paganism as well as from the larger society. When we started our land project thirty years ago, my vision of creating and sustaining a land-based center supported by and serving Pagans of many traditions was new. We got widespread support from Pagans across the USA and other countries, but we also encountered opposition from some Pagans who were against getting Paganism organized in any way. Our biggest opposition, however, came from bigots who tried to use anti-Pagan propaganda and zoning technicalities to shut us down. Fortunately, with the help of Pagans and those of other paths, we won our four year legal, social, and political battle, and in January 1988, all two hundred acres of our land in southwestern Wisconsin got church zoning. We are glad that there are now Pagan land projects developing in many places, and we have provided advice and other help to many of them.

What do you see as the major challenges facing the Pagan community today?

One of the greatest challenges for the Pagan community continues to be the quest for equal rights and religious freedom. There have been important victories such as the emergence of Pagan Studies as an academic discipline and the victory in the battle to have Pentacles included on government-issued veteran gravestones, but there continue to be instances of defamation and discrimination. I and others who are part of the Lady Liberty League are actively working to address these problems. Another challenge involves finding effective ways for Pagan groups, individuals, and traditions to communicate and collaborate for the common good.

How do you think the Pagan community is changing as we start having second- and third-generation Pagans?

Having multi-generations of Pagans is important not only for Paganism's growth, but its long-term survival. Some wonderful developments include the creation of many types of kids' activities at festivals and other events, the emergence of multi-generational community rituals, and the increase in networking and educational interactions among Pagans of many ages.

Do you have any new books out that people should know about? Any new projects that you're working on?

I am revising and expanding my most popular work, Celebrating the Seasons, which is presently in the form of an on-line resource (www.circlesanctuary.org/learn) In connection with this, I am developing a five session Pagan leadership intensive which I will present during this year's Pagan Spirit Gathering on creating and guiding small and large group Sabbat rituals. In addition, I am working with others on expanding Circle Network's on-line resources and on updating my first book, the Circle Guide to Pagan Resources, to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary of publication. And, I am doing more work on expanding Circle Cemetery, a national Pagan cemetery and one of the first green cemeteries in the nation. More info about my projects, writings, speaking engagements, and other work can be found on my website: www.selenafox.com as well as at my pages on Facebook and MySpace and at the Circle Sanctuary website. I look forward to meeting and networking with others at this year's PantheaCon! Return to top



Ivo Dominguez, Jr.
Ivo Domínguez, Jr. is a practitioner of a variety of esoteric disciplines. He has been active in Wicca and the Pagan community since 1978, has been teaching since 1982. Ivo was a founding member, and a past High Priest, of Keepers of the Holly Chalice, the first coven of The Assembly of the Sacred Wheel a Wiccan Tradition. He currently serves as one of the Elders of the Assembly of The Sacred Wheel, and is one of the owners and stewards of Seelie Court which is 102 acres of wooded land in Southern Delaware.

Talk to us a little about the New Alexandrian Library Project.  What is its goal, and why is it important?

Once, the Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt served as the focal point for esoteric knowledge. This project is working to create a library worthy of its namesake. The New Alexandrian Library will be a modern, state of the art facility, comparable to the quality of a university library that will focus on all esoteric and magickal paths. By no later than 2010 the New Alexandrian Library will break ground. 

Books, periodicals, special collections, music, media, digital data, etc., will all be carefully cataloged and cross-referenced to ease the work of research. The Library will work to restore and to preserve rare and damaged documents. The history of our magickal communities will also be collected for the future. In addition to its physical presence, the New Alexandrian Library will have an internet component to maximize its utility. Over time, as much material as is possible, within the limits of logistics and legalities, will be available online.

The New Alexandrian Library will be primarily a research and reference library; there will be a small lending collection. It will provide onsite workstations and other facilities. We are also examining housing options for people engaging in long term research. The New Alexandrian Library's resources will act as a magnet that will draw together teachers, authors, and scholars from many paths. There is no other project working to create such a cultural focus and magnet. Like the original Great Library of Alexandria, the schools of Qabala in medieval Spain, and the flourishing of magick that occurred in renaissance Italy, the diverse confluence of minds and resources would result in great leaps forward in theory and practice.  The New Alexandrian Library will be one of the cornerstones of a new magickal renaissance. The benefits for future generations are incalculable. 

Like many academic libraries, the New Alexandrian Library will make space available for community activities. The New Alexandrian Library will host exhibits, offer meeting space for religious groups, and have a garden that will be available for rituals and events such as weddings and handfastings. The NAL owns 30 acres of land in Delaware, where the library will be built, has raised over $150,000, and has thousands of books in storage awaiting its opening. For more information: www.sacredwheel.org/nal.html

What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of a syncretic tradition like Assembly of the Sacred Wheel vs. a more singularly focussed tradition?

Firstly, I would say that our focus is on the synthesis of truths and techniques from many sources. The Assembly has many goals including the re-enchantment of the Earth and the evolution of new forms of magick to fit our times and the times to come. Our goals inform us in the how and the why of which things we combine. More often than not when the words syncretic or eclectic are used by groups to describe themselves, it generally means that their material is a quilt of whims. These quilts may be beautiful, but what we aspire to do is to weave new cloth from old. The greatest weakness in a truly syncretic system is that it requires more effort than faithful adherence to one known system to achieve good results. The Assembly offers training in religion, spirituality, and magick, which we view as separate pursuits. It is easier to teach religion and devotional practice in a single pantheon system. However a syncretic tradition can teach spirituality and magick with greater ease and depth.

Astrology remains very misunderstood.  How do you use astrology, and what one thing do you wish more people knew about it?

Astrology is much more than a tool for divination or prediction. Astrology is a symbolic language and a sacred science that offers insights into the patterns of energy and essence that under gird all that we experience. Like the Tree of Life, Astrology is a road map to magick and enlightenment.

Do you have any new books out that people should know about?  New projects that you're working on?

I hope you pick up a copy of my book Spirit Speak: Knowing and Understanding Spirit Guides, Ancestors, Ghosts, Angels, and the Divine. Also I am part of a new chant CD called "Awakening The Dream". Also look for a forthcoming book on the Fae and one on ritual design. The best way to keep up with me is to visit my website: www.ivodominguezjr.com Return to top



Hobbyhorse
Hobbyhorse is the musical duo of Annie and Phil. Their music is inspired by world mythology, alchemy, nature and mystical experience.

Tell us a little about what you'll be performing at PantheaCon this year.

Hobbyhorse: We will be performing songs about the lives and loves of gods and goddesses, mortal encounters with divinity, of creation and the end of time. Some of our favorites are “Angus Og” about the Celtic god of love, “Everywhere” which is about Isis and Osiris, and “Melasina” which is about a mermaid. We also include some songs inspired by science. One song is about Galileo and how he had to hold onto his beliefs which were unpopular with the Church at the time. And one song is about the spiritual experience of the astronaut Edgar Mitchell. We will be performing with acoustic instruments with a four piece band.

How do your music and your spiritual practice intertwine?

Hobbyhorse: Our music is our spiritual practice. We call it the Bardic path. All of our songs and every aspect of the performance is an expression of our spiritual beliefs and practice. It is possible to see hidden aspects of life through the lens of music – to understand patterns and insights. Music is a topic that was pondered by the ancient philosophers. Our workshop, Mystical Secrets of Music, touches on some of the spiritual and philosophical aspects of music. Performing music offers the trials and tribulations that any spiritual path holds. There are fears and disappointments - moments of euphoria and then let downs - hard hard work and then moments of effortlessness.

What excites you about neopagan music right now?

Hobbyhorse: We are so excited about neoPagan music. There are so many wonderful musicians and bands that perform from a Pagan perspective. We feel that music is vital to the Pagan community both as performance and as a shared group activity – like drum circles. Music can help us to feel and understand our spirituality. We personally listen to and enjoy everything from traditional Celtic to Scandinavian black metal.

What do you see as the unique challenges that neopagan musicians face?

Hobbyhorse: It is a struggle for any kind of musician, but especially for bands that perform intelligent, poetic music for intelligent, sensitive audiences - in a world that is not always sensitive, poetic or intelligent. One challenge that we face as neoPagan musicians is confusion from people who expect us to be singing about the usual topics such as romance. We do sing some love songs, but many of our song topics are inspired by myths, alchemy, science, nature and spirituality. We find that these topics are of natural interest to Pagans. Many non-Pagans find them interesting too, and they enjoy our music. But sometimes they are puzzled. Once before a show, a man asked us what our music was like. When we told him he said – “No thanks – I don't want to think that much” - and he walked away before we started. Well, you actually don't have to think much during our concerts, but it helps to have an open mind.

Do you have any new music out that people should know about? New projects that you’re working on?

Hobbyhorse: Yes. We have new projects and continuing projects. Phil just released a solo CD of instrumental music for guitar and organ. This music is good for ambient background, but also has a lot of depth for close listening. The response has been very positive so far.

Our first CD, "Break in the Clouds" has been newly re-issued with redesigned cover graphics by Annie. It continues to get interest from around the world, and is played on Pagan podcasts and Pagan radio. We are also working on a new CD that will be all acoustic and feature the mythological songs. It will sound a lot like our live shows. We are also working on a Hobbyhorse video. We continue to post a lot of music and art online. We have a secret entrance to our website and newsletter just for our Pagan and Magical fans at www.enchantedentrance.net

You can find Hobbyhorse music online at www.hobbyhorsemusic.com, at Hobbyhorse's imaginary music and art venue or find Hobbyhorse on Myspace Return to top



Brandy Williams
Brandy Williams is a pagan writer and scholar, and has been an active teacher and organizer in the magical communities for 20 years.

What do you see as the value of pagan scholarship, and how does pagan scholarship differ from the majority of writings on paganism?

This question is near to my heart since I run Seattle Pagan Scholars, a group now in its twelfth year. The most important contribution Pagan scholarship makes to Pagan religion is the gift of self-definition. Scholastic definitions of magic, religion and science in the modern era tended to cast Pagan religion as superstition or a precursor to monotheistic religion. Post-modern Paganism rejected intellectualism and centralization and valued scholarship less highly than personal experience, so writing in this era focused on the personal practice of Pagan religion.

Post-post-modern Pagan scholarship forms collectives to self-define the terms in which we present ourselves to the world. I have seen this happening in a number of ways in the last decade, with Cherry Hill Seminary, books articulating Pagan theology, and online and local communities of scholars such as SPS and Taylor Ellwood’s “ImagineYourReality”.

Many people think of the Theosophical Society as something from another era, the time of Madame Blavatsky, rather than as a modern institution. What do you see as the value of the Theosophical Society for spiritual seekers today?

It’s interesting you should ask that. I joined the Theosophical Society a couple of years ago after meeting current National President Betty Bland at a lecture in Tacoma Washington. She’s a warm and inspiring woman. Betty’s talk meant to reasure people that we can understand something about the mysteries of existence simply, by getting in touch with our inner experiences. That is a comforting message that many people find immediately relevant today.

We tend to forget that the society was founded by women and has an overtly feminist mission. The Theosophical Society has been around for more than a hundred years and is very quietly effective. They have a national headquarters with a lending library. In Seattle they have a nice meeting center and with a good metaphysical bookstore. Many groups I know would love to have a dedicated place to meet. So we can learn a lot from the society’s organizing expertise too.

Your book, Practical Magic for Beginners, has been translated into Spanish and Russian. Are there unique difficulties in translating books on magical and spiritual practices into other languages?

The Spanish title of the book, Practicando Magia Blanco, translates more like “Practical White Magic”, which lets me know that this language frames magic differently than the language I wrote the book in. For the Russian copy it’s hard to even recognize my name! So I don’t have any idea how the work came across in that language.

The first publisher of my book Ecstatic Ritual: Practical Sex Magic was English. They translated the book from American into English, which was my first encounter with the real differences between the languages. The editor recast the work in a much more formal and less personal tone than the one I wrote it in. I was very happy Immanion reprinted the book this year in its original language!

You've done a lecture series on Feminist Thelema. How do you work with the dichotomy of Aleister Crowley's theoretical feminism as contrasted with evidence of his personal misogyny?

I didn’t actually know the man :-). Seriously, my practice of Thelemic religious philosophy centers on my relationships with my living sisters and brothers in Thelema and in particular the O.T.O. While some take issue with my observations or differ in opinion, the community has supported my personal growth and my ability to do this work.

As a feminist I analyze and sometimes contest the gender assumptions of Thelema. However, these gender assumptions are common to all the magical communities, as they derive from Western metaphysics. Thelema recognizes that our embodied experiences differ and that this difference is the engine that powers life. In the Thelemic church E.G.C there’s a huge sense of respect of women’s own descriptions of our experience. Also, I don’t think many people are aware that O.T.O. has a vibrant and living women’s community.

For PantheaCon I have made the completed text of “Feminist Thelema” available online.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone interested in ceremonial magic?

It’s so easy to lose ourselves in the intellectual world, it’s important to stay grounded. The ceremonial magicians I see staying most centered are those who have something else in their lives to balance out the ceremonial emphasis on knowledge - either participation in another religion, like Wicca or Shinto, or deep pursuit of another discipline, like medicine or volunteer work. Return to top



T. Thorn Coyle
T. Thorn Coyle is a Magic Worker, Mystic, and Pagan, and an internationally respected teacher and author. A student of the Craft for more than 25 years, she is an initiate of the Feri Tradition, Reclaiming, and the Mevlevi Order of America. She can be found online at www.thorncoyle.com

Tell us a little bit about Solar Cross.

Solar Cross is a new non-profit religious organization dedicated to pan-magical practice, worship, education, research and outreach. I’m founding it with my partners and as we are magically mixed ourselves, we want to welcome Heathens, Witches, Ceremonial Magickians, Mystics and other serious esoteric seekers.

We’re starting our capital campaign to add to our seed money this month and plan to purchase a community center and temple space in the SF Bay Area in the next year, which will include a research library, classroom and ritual space, a bookstore, offices, regular lecture and concert series plus a broad schedule of worship and study. We are hoping that people will want to plug their various projects into this larger body for mutual energetic support. Some projects and alliances that are in the works already are working on Pagan elder care, prison ministry, and the Epicene project.

We also are gearing up to have an advisory panel that can offer ordination for long-term magical practitioners that have the support of their local tradition and community. So as you see, while its locus will be in the San Francisco Bay Area, the vision and work stretches far beyond that.

You've traveled the world teaching people about magical practice and the Feri tradition, what have been the best and worst parts of that experience?

The best parts are the changes I see in people’s lives and practice over time. I feel humbled a lot by the depth of people’s commitment. This is the reason I keep doing this work. I learn so much from people’s stories and experiences, and it helps my own practice to strengthen and grow. The downside is always the travel. Believe it or not, I did not set out to do this, and never really wanted to leave San Francisco at all! Travel can really tire me out, but luckily, teaching and speaking tends to feed my spirit. But teaching while severely jet lagged can be an interesting experience when my brain all of a sudden cuts out mid-sentence! And despite not really likeing travel, one blessing is that I’ve been able to visit places that I, with my working class background, never thought I would ever see. Travel has also exposed me to a lot of different traditions and expanded my peer base with some people who are now deeply important to me.

What are the challenges that you see facing the neopagan community?

We are at an interesting cusp right now. There is a lot of energy available to those who are trained to use it and I think we can really step up to the work that each of us is called to do, both as individuals and in community. The challenge is to not assume that we should go on as we have before. I think we need to assess our skills, our tools, and our actual needs and use all of our training to figure out where the energy will best serve us and best be served. I would love to see us all come to a place where we encourage ourselves and others to step toward Mastery rather than clinging to a false equivalency that doesn’t really respect any of our skills, powers or talents. It would also behoove us to look more closely at our theology and not take things for granted. There is more deep thinking going on these days, and I would like to see that filter into the magical community at large.

Can you talk about the intersection of art (music, dance, writing, etc.) and spirituality in your own practice?

That’s a pretty big question, but I‘ll try to unpack it a bit. For me, magic and art are mutually inspiring, and are both ways that I communicate with the Gods and Fey beings. Also, all of my training in music, dance and theater informs my priestly work. As someone who is pretty intellectually based, movement and music bring my magic into the body and emotions and help me to access energy much more than doing static path workings or trances. It was only after I began to use more of these techniques in my magic that my abilities to sense and move energy opened and expanded. Intellectual engagement is still important to me, but so is tapping into the beauty of melody and movement and I look to the various arts, whether it be music, visual art or dance, to inspire my soul. Seeing a good movie or going out clubbing is just as important to me as being around trees or ocean. My home is filled with art, books and altars!

Do you have any new projects that you’re working on?

Solar Cross is the big one for now and under its auspices, I’ve been doing a lot more spiritual direction, which is very satisfying work. Sharon and I will be issuing another CD in the Spring, this one called “Songs for the Strengthening Sun.” It should be out in time for Berkeley Pagan Pride and Ancient Ways. I also have a new DVD planned as a companion to “Kissing the Limitless” that I will be filming with El Mundo Bueno Studios this Summer. Return to top



Erynn Laurie
Erynn Laurie is an independent Pagan scholar and one of the founders of the Celtic Reconstruction movement. She writes and teaches on many aspects of Celtic Paganism, Druidism and Filidecht.

Are there any PantheaCon events that you’re excited about as an attendee rather than as a presenter?

Erynn Laurie: For me much of the fun of PantheaCon is seeing old friends and meeting folks I've known online but haven't yet met face to face. It's a wonderful opportunity to say thank you to folks who have been influences on me in years past. Seeing everyone is one of my favorite parts of the con!

What challenges does the Celtic reconstruction movement face in bringing ancient practices into modern life?

Erynn Laurie: Modern society is nothing like any Pagan Celtic society, so finding ways to bring those ideals and some of those practices into our time in relevant ways is a distinct challenge. Because the sources are so spotty on actual rituals, we must acknowledge that most things we do are based on ancient ideas but the words and many of the actions are going to be modern. To do this with respect for the ancient cultures and the deities is the biggest challenge of any reconstructionist path. Doing it without falling into hardline fundamentalism is problematic for many reconstructionist paths.

How do you incorporate Filidecht, or poetry, into your spiritual practice?

Erynn Laurie: Filidecht itself is broader than just poetry but I regularly use writing and research as a devotional practice. I incorporate meditative and magical techniques that I've developed from early sources on the filidh into my daily work as well. I'll be covering some of this in my filidecht workshop this year.

It seems to me that a lot of the neopagans practicing Celtic paths congregate in certain areas of the U.S., for example, in the Northwest. Do you think that there is a connection between physical location and spiritual practice?

Erynn Laurie: I think there's always a connection between one's physical location and one's spiritual practice. The land we live on will always shape our perceptions of the divine. That said, I know Celtic Pagans in the desert southwest who seem to be doing very well there, so I don't think it's simply a matter of the Northwest environment being similar to Ireland and Scotland that influences us as Celtic Pagans or CRs. What this says to me is that we carry the deities in our hearts and adapt ourselves to the lands upon which we live and the spirits we find there.

You also work with Siberian Shamanic practices. Do you incorporate those with your Celtic practice or do you keep them separate?

Erynn Laurie: I originally studied Siberian shamanism to determine for myself whether or not what I knew of Celtic spirituality actually was "shamanism." I really don't think it is. My Otherworld work isn't based on Siberian technique and, for the most part, I keep the two separate. The only real exception is when I'm doing healing work. For that, I think it's important to use what works for the situation regardless of its origins and so I may use ogam techiques and also call on Siberian spirits, but I make no claims that my healing work is anything but personal and syncretic.

What one piece of advice would you give someone interested in Celtic reconstructionism?

Erynn Laurie: It's important to remember that CR, while rooted in history, is also modern. We need archaeology, but we also need aisling -- vision -- and a certain amount of argumentation. By that I don't mean shouting matches, but critical examination of evidence and of individual claims about practices and sources. No culture arose in a vacuum; CR cannot exist in a vacuum either. Beyond that, find practices and deities that appeal to you and work with them to make them an integral part of your life.

Erynn Laurie can be found online at http://www.seanet.com/~inisglas Return to top



Kenny Klein
Kenny Klein is a Celtic, Folk and Country musician, a published author, playwright, actor and poet, and an elder and a High Priest in the Blue Star tradition of Wicca.

Tell us a little about what you'll be performing at PantheaCon this year.

Kenny Klein: The same old songs my audiences know and love, and a few new ones that I'm certain they will learn to tolerate. Songs of Mythology, Fairy Lore, Gypsies, and the evils of dating Goth Girls.

Are there any PantheaCon events that you’re excited about as an attendee rather than as a performer?

Kenny Klein: Jason Mankey's lectures and rituals are always a favorite. I also really enjoy hearing Ruth Barrett; her dulcimer playing has always inspired me.

How do your music and your spiritual practice intertwine?

Kenny Klein: How do they not? Most of my song lyrics are about myth and the Gods, or simply about my life. Being Pagan, my life tends to be about myth and the Gods. I know my songs about the evils of dating Goth Girls are not as easily seen as Pagan as, say, my songs about Diana or Herne, but the Craft is in there. You just have to look deeply. My Gypsy material I feel also reflects my love of spirituality and the archaic.

What excites you about neopagan music right now?

Kenny Klein: I've been involved in Pagan music for a very long time. In the '80s, my band Kenny and Tzipora was the first band to ever do a tour of the Pagan festival circuit. It's great to see bands now that tour the circuit, and reach out to Pagan audiences as I always have.

What do you see as the unique challenges that neopagan musicians face?

Kenny Klein: As always, the number one challenge is advertising and distribution. Since the '80s, Pagan musicians have had to struggle to let people know who we are, and make our recordings available to Pagan audiences. I often run into Pagans who know of mainstream musicians who seem "pagan-ish." like Stevie Nicks for instance, but who are simply not aware of Todd Allen, The Moors, Incus or myself. The Internet, Pagan festivals (like this one), and Pagan publications are excellent venues for us to try to get the word out. Because these venues are growing, it's becoming a little easier to get the publicity our music needs.

For news of my latest projects, please visit www.kennyklein.net. Return to top



Sabina Magliocco
Sabina Magliocco is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at California State University, Northridge and has has published on religion, folklore, foodways, festival, witchcraft and Neo-Paganism in Europe and the United States.

Talk a little bit about your feral cat work. Do you see this as having a spiritual component, and if so, how?

Sabina Magliocco: Feral cats are unowned, untamed animals living in the wild. They may have been born feral, or become feral when they were left behind by their owners, or escaped from them. Often they remain afraid of humans and cannot be tamed. They are common in urban areas where food is plentiful, such as parks and college campuses. When my partner and I bought a house in southern California in 2001, a little feral cat (or "fairy cat," as she prefers to be called) showed up in our yard. I knew about feral cats through my previous animal welfare work, so we decided to trap and spay little Olive and return her to the yard, feeding her regularly so she would not depend on killing songbirds. If you feed a feral cat, you must also spay or neuter it so it won't breed indiscriminately and contribute to the problem of unwanted animals. Through her, I became aware of the feral cat problem on the campus of California State University - Northridge, where I teach. I discovered there were already people on campus who fed, trapped and neutered these cats, and we began to come together as a group, learn about each other, and educate the administration and student population about trap-neuter-return (TNR), a method of controlling feral cat populations which has proven highly successful.

There is absolutely a spiritual component in this work. First, TNR is a more humane and successful way of controlling feral cat populations than the older method, which involved simply killing feral cats. While euthanizing cats creates opportunities for new cats to move into the area and breed, TNR establishes stable colonies where feral cats live out their existence in peace. More broadly, TNR is about sustainability and creating a more humane culture that emphasizes our kinship with and responsibility for animals.

How do you balance belief & scholarship? Do you find that research makes your spiritual practice easier or harder?

Sabina Magliocco: For me, Paganism is not about belief; it is about experience, or gnosis. I am a Gardnerian Witch, and also practice with an eclectic coven in Los Angeles. Neither of my practices demand that I hold any particular set of beliefs, so I don't feel any contradiction between my scholarship and my Pagan praxis. My Pagan experiences inform my scholarship, in that I am very aware of the kinds of experiences with the spiritual and sacred realms that human beings can have, both in the present and the past. Spiritual practice and scholarship involve two very different kinds of approaches, but ideally, they complement one another. The biggest challenge for me is simply finding time to reconnect with the sacred, because my academic life is so busy.

What do you see as the benefits of pagan scholarship?

Sabina Magliocco: Pagan scholarship is important because it helps us learn more about the people whose practices we are reclaiming, and it teaches us to reflect on our own movement. In our religions, we value creativity and innovation, but it's also important to distinguish our own inventions from our heritage.

Have you faced any challenges in promoting pagan research and scholarship? is there resistance in the neopagan community to this kind of work?

Sabina Magliocco: In the academy, research on modern Paganisms is sometimes considered a marginal topic. The challenge is to show, through our scholarly work, how the reclamation of historical spiritual practice touches on every key theme in the modern social sciences and humanities. On the other hand, some Pagans resist scholarship, perhaps because they feel it objectifies what they do, or they are uncomfortable with discrepancies between the facts scholars discover and the sacred narratives of our movement. My task is to try to bridge these two worlds: to show Pagans the importance of scholarship, and the academic world the importance of modern Paganisms.

Do you have any new books out that people should know about? New projects that you’re working on?

Sabina Magliocco: These days, chairing my academic department doesn't leave me much time for scholarship. But I am slowly working on two major projects: one involves tracing Italian spiritual healing practices from the small Italian towns immigrants left, to the Little Italies of North America, to their reclamation by modern Pagans. The second looks at the political dimensions of Paganisms in Europe. Once my term as chair ends, I hope to be able to complete a book on Italian healing, and a special issue of a journal on the politics of European Paganisms. Return to top