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Myths and misconceptions
Myths and misconceptions: pagan ceremony a celebration of spirit, sharing of information
At first sight, the gathering Saturday at Lincoln Park could have been a typical church picnic, with burgers on the grill and children playing on the grass.
But there were a few differences, such as all the tie-dye clothing and the drums, and the 5 p.m. ritual in observance of Mabon.
“That’s the Autumn Equinox, and perhaps the closest Christian holiday to it would be Thanksgiving,” explained Amber Silvermoon, Arma, coordinator of the Pagan Pride Celebration.
She said that the event was held each year to not only give thanks for the harvest but to educate the public about alternative spiritualities such as Wicca, Asatru and Druidic spiritual paths.
“Christianity has many different denominations, and pagans also have many traditions,” Silvermoon noted.
The event, held on alternating years in Joplin and Pittsburg, also helps area pagans to connect with each other, she added.
“A lot of people here are solitary and may not realize there are other pagans around,” Silvermoon said. “If you’re a Catholic, you can go to the Catholic Church to be with other Catholics, or if you’re a Baptist, there are many Baptist churches you can attend. It’s hard for pagans to connect.”
Misconceptions are also a problem, according to “High Priestess Susie.”
“We want the community to understand that some of the things they believe about us are wrong,” she said.
One of the biggest misconceptions, according to Skip Tarrant, Joplin, is the notion that pagans are devil worshippers and may even make sacrifices to Satan.
“We do not acknowledge a god of evil,” Tarrant said. “We believe that bad things do happen to people, and sometimes it’s hard to understand why. But we also believe in reincarnation, so the meaning may have to do with the growth and development of the individual. The things that happen that are inexplicable to us do have a reason.”
Meditation plays an important role in many pagan traditions, Tarrant said. “We learn to meditate and listen,” he said. “Rather than go to our gods with a list of things we want, we sit and listen to see if anyone has anything to say to us.”
He is the son of a Southern Baptist pastor, and was raised in that church, but has been involved with paganism for the past 30 years.
“In those 30 years, I have not heard of anyone being abused, much less a child,” Tarrant said, pausing a moment to open a bottle of fruit juice for his young grandson. “I’ve also heard rumors that pagans have orgies, but I haven’t seen one of those in 30 years, either.”
Not that there aren’t some customs that might seem unusual to Christians. Tarrant performs some ceremonies, and was approached at the picnic by a young man who wanted to set a date for a wedding. He mentioned that the happy couple plans to consummate their marriage “right then and there.”
“I haven’t seen one like that in a while,” Tarrant commented as he wrote down the young man’s name and e-mail address.
More commonly, he added, the pagan version of a wedding ceremony, called a “hand-fasting,” involves binding the couple’s hands – but not other body parts – together. “It’s a very beautiful ceremony,” he said.
“A lot of our traditions are culturally based, such as Celtic, Germanic and Druidistic traditions, and Native American shamanism,” Silvermoon said. “A lot of us follow our blood lines.”
She has Lakota Sioux in her background, but is drawn to Celtic paths, while Tarrant leans to the Welsh deities and Celtic tradition.
“We try to be accepting of our differences,” Silvermoon said.
She hopes that others will be accepting as well. “One of the saddest things to me are the misunderstandings that people have of us, and that breeds intolerance,” Silvermoon said. “We just want the same rights that other people take for granted. We love our children, we love our communities, we’re just like everybody else.”
As of mid-afternoon, there had been no Christian protesters at the celebration in Lincoln Park, but High Priestess Susie said that there was a protester last year in Joplin.
“He was out protesting in the hot sun and we were worried about him, so we took him some bottled water,” she said.
During the elders panel, Silvermoon discussed how pagans should deal with those who protest or who try to convert them to Christianity.
“If they want to pray for you, let them do it,” she advised her fellow pagans. “We can all use any prayers we can get, in any religion. A prayer is a prayer.”
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