I am Pagan
By Selena Fox

I am Pagan. I am a part of the whole of Nature.
The Rocks, the Animals, the Plants,
the Elements, and Stars are my relatives. Other humans are my sisters and brothers,
whatever their races, colors, genders, sexual
orientations, ages, nationalities, religions, lifestyles. Planet Earth is my home. I
am a part of this large family of Nature, not the master of it.
I have my own special part to play and I seek to discover and
play that part to the best of my ability.
I seek to live in harmony with others in the family of Nature, treating others with respect.

I am Pagan. I celebrate the changing seasons,
the turning of the Wheel of the Year. I celebrate with singing, dancing, feasting, rituals, and in other ways.
I celebrate each turn of the Wheel with personal spiritual practices and by taking part in community festivals.

Samhain, commonly known as Halloween, is a time for gazing into the future and for paying
homage to my Ancestors and other loved ones in the Spirit world.
I work magic for greater religious freedom for Pagan peoples and humankind as a whole.
I celebrate the Wiccan and Celtic spiritual New Year.

Yule, the Winter Solstice, is a festival of peace and a celebration of waxing solar light. I honor the new
Sun child by burning a oaken Yule log in a sacred fire.
I honor the Great Goddess in her many Great Mother aspects, and the Father
God as Santa in his Old Sky God, Father Time, and
Holly King forms. I decorate my home with lights and with holly, ivy,
mistletoe, evergreens and other herbs sacred to this season. I ring in the new Solar year with bells.

At the beginning of February, I celebrate Candlemas, known to ancient Celts as Imbolc
and to contemporary Americans as Groundhog's Day. I focus on spiritual purification and
clearing away blockages to prepare for the coming
of Spring and new growth. During this festival, I light candles to honor
Brigid and I invite her to inspire my artistic works and guide my healing practice. I give offerings of seeds to wild birds.

At the time of the Spring Equinox,
I welcome the renewal of Spring and celebrate the greening of the Earth by dressing
in green myself. I honor the Teutonic
Goddess Ostara and the spirit of the Rabbit, Her consort.
I color eggs with friends and divine choices for new growth.

Beltane at the beginning of May is a
festival of fertility and pleasure. I dress in bright colors
and wear a garland of flowers in my hair. I dance the
Maypole to bless gardens and creative projects. I leap the Beltane bonfire for good luck.
I place flowers at the Bast Sacred Cat Shrine and other sacred sites.

Summer Solstice time, also known as Midsummer and Litha, is a grand gathering time when
I greet old friends and meet new ones. I dance with them around a
sacred bonfire to the magic rhythms of drums. I honor my spiritual community and
tribe. I celebrate Pagan culture. I add stones to the sacred Stone Circle on Circle
Sanctuary land with prayers for planetary harmony and well-being.

As August arrives, I celebrate Lammas, also known
as Lughnassad. At this festival,
I honor the height of Summer and prosperity. I not only give thanks for wild and cultivated
plants and for blessings that are starting to come
to fruition, but I also pray for continued abundance. I
break and eat bread with others in ritual and I give bread and herb offerings to the Goddesses and Gods of agriculture.

Fall Equinox,
which some call Mabon, is the time of thanksgiving for all the harvests I've
reaped during the growing time. I give thanks for food I have received from the
gardens and fields and for other blessings
which have come into my life. I return to the Mother Earth offerings that come from
the best of the fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts, and other food stuffs I've gathered.

And at Samhain, this Wheel of the Year starts again.

I am Pagan. I also honor the seasons of life
within my life's journey -- beginnings, growth,
fruition, harvest, endings, rest, and beginnings again. Life is a Circle
with many cycles. With every Ending comes a new Beginning. Within Death there is the promise of Rebirth.

I am Pagan. I see circles of change and renewal not only within my own life's journey, but in my heritage.
I see my life as a circle that connects with the life circles
of my ancestors. They are part of me and my life. The ancient wisdom
of Nature's Renewal and Recycling is embodied in the
crests of two of my Ancestoral clans. From my German ancestors of
my mother's mother's lineage is the totem of the heron, a family
emblem signifying perseverance and renewal after difficulties. From
my Celtic ancestors of my father's father's lineage is the crest
bearing the symbol of a hewn oak tree sprouting new branches and
leaves from its stump, enclosed in a circle with the motto,
Iterum Viriscit, which means It grows Green again. These symbols and motto remind
me not only of my own renewal and the renewal of
Nature, but also the renewal of Pagan philosophy on this planet that is
part of my life's work as a Pagan priestess.

I am Pagan. Intentional consciousness change,
Magic, is part of my spirituality. For every
problem there is at least one workable solution as well as opportunity for growth.
I create my own reality with my thoughts, feelings,
and actions. Whatever I send out always returns. I seek to abide by the
Wiccan Rede: "And It Harm None, Do What You Will." When I
do magic in rituals, before I raise and direct energy, I seek always to
look at the larger picture of which my needs are just a part.

I endeavor to work for the best for all as well as to help myself. When problems come my way, I seek to understand their cause
and messages as part of my finding a solution. In doing healing work
, I seek to address the underlying spiritual causes of disease,
rather than only focusing on relief of its symptoms.

I am Pagan. I work magic by the Moon
to help and to heal others, myself, and the Planet.
The Triple Goddess of the Moon guides me. I activate beginnings
in the Waxing,
energize manifestations at the Full, and clear away obstructions with the Waning and Dark. I take part in rituals at the New and
Full Moons, and I know that my Circles are part of a
great web of Circles that meet at these times around Planet Earth.

I am Pagan. I embrace Pantheism, acknowledging
that the Divine is everywhere and in everything. I
honor the Divine that is within the oak trees in the forest, in the herbs
in the garden, in the wild birds singing in the trees, in the rock
outcroppings on the hillside, in myself, and yes, even in "things"
such as my car, cameras, and computers. I understand that
everything with a physical body has a spiritual body, too. The
physical and spiritual are deeply intertwined, not separate,
in this world of form. I honor the interconnectedness of Creator and Creation.

I am Pagan. I know that Divinity has many
facets and I experience this through a variety of
Goddesses, Gods, and other spiritual forms. I also honor Divine Onen
ess, the Unity of All. My personal encounters with Pagan Goddesses, Gods,
and other Divine forms have transformed and enriched my life. Hecate
appeared at a Death to teach me of release and rebirth.
As a young child, Artemis flowed through me and helped me
ward off a would-be rapist. Selena of the Full Moon brings
me visions and my name. Sacred Sun energizes me.

Yemaya of the Ocean cleanses and renews me.
I have heard Pan play his pipes in the woods. Dionysius awaken
s within me the joys of spontaneity and ecstatic bliss and teaches
me the mysteries of androgyny. I have experienced the
union of Goddess and God while making love with my mate in the garden.
Bast has helped me deepen my connections with my Cat friends.
Cernunnos has appeared to me in the forest as a Stag. Isis
has spoken to me in bursts of radiance in the deep of
the Night and in flows of energy through my hands in doing
healings. Saturn
has given me lessons about discipline
, time, and organic agriculture. Lady Liberty protects me as I work for religious freedom for
Wiccans and other Pagans. Mother Earth guides my work on behalf of this Planet. I also
experience the Divine as totem
animals, plant allies, and as other forms in my dreams, in guided inner journeys, and while
questing for vision alone in the wilderness.

I am Pagan. My spiritual
practices include self-acceptance and understanding, instead of
self-rejection. I share my views with others when I sense it is right,
but I do not proselytize, claiming my way is the only true right way for
everyone. There are many paths up the mountain of
spiritual understanding, not just one path.

I am Pagan. My worship
takes the form of Divine communion with Nature. As part of my worship,
I founded and caretake a sacred Nature preserve, Circle Sanctuary.
I do rituals at special places there, such as in the Stone Circle
atop a sacred mound; on Spirit Rock high above the valleys; in the
Magic Circle garden; by outdoor shrines; in the indoor Temple
room; and in the ancient sandstone rock shelters that housed the ancient
ones that lived on this land thousands of years ago. I also
do rituals elsewhere on the land and at other places, outdoors and indoors.
My worship and rituals can be anywhere
since my sacred circle is portable. Wherever I am, I can set up a
circle around a sacred sphere wit
h seven invocations: to the four compass point directions, to the Cosmos above, to the
Planet below, and to Spiritual Integration in the center.

I am Pagan. I journey to the Otherworld in
my dreams, meditations, and rituals.
I use sacred tools to aid me in my journeys and my magic making.
These include cauldrons, crystals, candles, censors of incense, chalices of water, pentacles of salt, dishes of soil, feathers, bells, brooms,
rattles, drums, wands, staffs, blades, mirrors, and a variety of
divination tools, including Tarot cards, I Ching yarrow stalks, and Rune stones.
I fly with my consciousness through time and space.
I explore other dimensions and then I return with insights, knowledge,
and power. I go between the worlds for healing, growth and transformation.
Intuitive, psychic perception is a natural, not supernatural, part of my daily life.

I am Pagan. I attune myself to the four elements of Nature -- Earth, Air, Fire, Water --
and to the fifth element, Spirit, which is the spiritual force that connects all.
I see these Elements in Nature -- the Earth in the soil and rocks; the
Air in the winds and atmosphere; the Fire as the lightning, fires,
and electricity; the Water in the springs, rivers, oceans, rain, and othe
Elements as aspects of Self -- my physical
body and physiology is my Earth; my intellect and thoughts my Air; my will and
actions my Fire; my emotions and feelings my Water; and my I
nner Self, my Soul, is my Spirit. I endeavor to keep
myself healthy and in balance in all these parts of Self.
I work toward a restoring of balance of the Elements in the environment.

I am Pagan. I hear the cries of Mother Earth who is upset with the harm being done to
the environment by humankind. I am dismayed by the pollution of the air, the
soil, and the waters, and by the domination games being played by nations with the fire of nuclear missles and other
weapons of mass destruction. I also am concerned about spiritual
pollution on the Planet -- selfishness, hatred, greed for
money and power, addiction, violence, despair. Yet as I perceive these problems,
I also perceive cleansing and healing happening on
Planet Earth at this time. I know that I can help in at least a small way
to bring the Planet into greater balance by seeking balance in my own life,
by being a catalyst for restoring balance in the live
s of others, and by working for a better environment. I know that my attitudes
and my way of living can make a difference. I endeavor to be a channel for
healing and balance. I make the practice
of environmental responsibility a personal part of my daily life.
I endeavor to live in harmony with the other members of the family of Nature.

I am Pagan
. Nature Spirituality is my religion and my life's foundation. Nature
is my spiritual teacher and holy book. I am part of Nature and Nature is
part of me. My understanding of Nature's inner mysteries
grows as I journey on this spiritual path.

© 1994, Selena Fox