2B —Thursday, October 26, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COURTESY OF MOONFIRE

It’s lovely to meet you, it’s really such a thill.

COURTESY OF MOONFIRE

We’d love to take you home with us, we’d love to take you home.

The modern paganism of AA: Defining a new normal

Daily Arts Writer Sam Lu profiles local paganism and its practitioners, providing an intimate look at the oft-enigmatic faith

There’s no doubt that the 

world has a lot of conflicting 
opinions 
about 
Paganism. 

Some believe that the term is 
synonymous with witchcraft, 
while others simply equate it 
with full on Satanism. Recently, 
Kathleen 
Hartnett 
White, 

President 
Donald 
Trump’s 

nominee for senior White House 
adviser 
for 
environmental 

policy, likened global warming 
to a form of Paganism for 
secular elites. People — and 
the Bible — will even use 
“Pagan” to describe ideologies 
contrary to the historically 
dominant 
Christian 
tenants 

that have shaped American 
history. Misunderstandings are 
usually the major obstacles that 
prevent 
mainstream 
society 

from accepting Paganism as a 
religion.

Modern 
Paganism 
covers 

a 
broad 
swathe 
of 
beliefs, 

practices 
and 
ideologies; 

the 
International 
Pagan 

Federation’s 
website 
defines 

Paganism as “the ancestral 
religion 
of 
the 
whole 
of 

humanity.” According to the 
site, 
most 
Pagan 
religions 

emphasize 
the 
same 
three 

basic concepts: veneration of 
nature, polytheism and the 
“feminine face of divinity.” 
There 
are 
many 
different 

subsets 
of 
Pagan 
religions, 

including but not limited to 
Heathenry, 
Shamanism 
and 

Hellenism. 
Heathenry, 
is 
a 

polytheistic belief system that 
is centered upon the Norse 
gods, 
among 
other 
beings. 

Heathen values include wyrd, 
a 
multidimensional 
force 

that 
connects 
everything 

in 
the 
universe, 
fridh, 
or 

the 
importance 
of 
keeping 

intergroup 
relationships 

peaceful 
and 
honesty. 

Shamanism 
originated 
from 

the 
religious 
practices 
of 

Native American cultures while 
Hellenism honors ancient Greek 
gods.

Although Paganism is far 

from being as pervasive as 
Christianity is, the population 
of religious Pagan practitioners 
has blossomed in recent years, 
especially with the rise of social 
media; organizations exist as 
far away as Iran and as close as 
Ann Arbor.

***
For the Rev. Rob Henderson, 

senior druid of Shining Lakes 
Grove in Ann Arbor, Paganism is 
all about what links people to one 
another and to the world around 
them: “Ultimately, I would say 
that it’s acknowledging your 
connection to various entities 
and forces around the universe 
and using them to the benefit of 
everyone,” Henderson said in a 
phone interview.

Out of all the modern Pagan 

— or Neopagan — organizations 
that exist, Henderson’s church, 
Ár nDraíocht Féin, or “A Druid 
Fellowship” 
is 
one 
of 
the 

largest and most public. The 
organization can be thought of 
as more of an umbrella group 
for congregation rather than a 
typical church, and currently 
has about 60 groups spread all 
over the world. ADF, which 
means “Our own Druidism” 
in Irish, was founded by Isaac 
Bonewits in 1983 with the 
intention 
of 
“creat(ing) 
an 

authentically Druidic Neopagan 
religion our ancestors would 
be 
proud 
of.” 
Today, 
that 

takes shape through a focus 
on 
acceptance, 
respect 
and 

positivity. ADF’s beliefs touch 
on everything from the ethics 
and neutrality of science and 
technology to the presence of an 

afterlife.

“Polytheism 
is 
a 
really 

tolerant and open thing. If 
you’re 
acknowledging 
that 

other people also have gods, our 
way is more ‘My way is right 
and your way is probably also 
right,’” Henderson said.

Henderson first joined the 

Pagan 
community 
in 
1990, 

when he was a student at 
the University of Michigan. 
Growing up, he was raised 
Catholic, but his family left the 
church before Henderson took 
communion and he spent much 
of his teenage years as a radical 
atheist. However, he’d always 
had a spiritual connection to 
Paganism, even before he’d 
“officially” 
discovered 
the 

practice.

“Back when I was a child, 

I remembered hearing voices 
in my head that claimed to be 
the goddess Athena — I wasn’t 
particularly keen on sharing 
those with people around me 
for a while. In college I had a 
few friends who were involved 
with Paganism, and I figured, 
with my connection to Athena, 
why not?” Henderson said.

Along with all the belief 

differences 
that 
separate 

Paganism and more ubiquitous 
monotheist 
religions, 
Pagan 

practitioners also use different 

terms for members of different 
standings. The term druid has 
Celtic origins: Originally, the 
term came from the Welsh word 
for oak, and loosely translated 
means “person of the oak.” Back 
then, it referred to the priestly 
class of Celtic people, but 
nowadays it’s used in a much 
more general way.

“The problem is that people 

will point out, why are you using 
a Celtic word? Simply because 
it’s the best word. Even though 
we aren’t specifically a Celtic 
organization, ADF has a lot of 
European members. There was 
some talk of calling us Teuts, 
which means ‘people of the 
people,’ but I was not going to 
call myself a Teut,” Henderson 
said. “Another problem is that 
druid only technically refers to 
priests, and only 10 percent of 
organization is really priests, so 
the more accurate term might 
be ADF practitioner.”

In the almost 30 years of 

his journey with Paganism, 
Henderson 
has 
seen 
the 

movement change irrevocably, 
mainly as a result of the 
proliferation 
of 
technology 

and widespread usage of the 
internet. Most obviously, it’s a lot 
easier to share ideas with others 
— some who practice Paganism 
even participate in Facebook 
rituals, which Henderson isn’t 
a proponent of, as it lacks the 
energy and interconnectedness 
that physically being in a group 
can provide.

“Back when I first got started 

with it, it involved going to 
Borders and getting magazines. 
If you could afford to travel, 
you went to festivals around 
the country. Otherwise, you’d 
share books and ideas at group 
meetings, then go home to do 
things on your own,” Henderson 
said.

Like 
most 
who 
practice 

Paganism and alternative forms 
of religion, Henderson has had 
his fair share of dealing with 
nonbelievers, including those 
that write Paganism off as 
Satanic worship.

“I’ve given up arguing with 

those people. If that’s what 
you believe, then there’s really 
no point in me trying to argue 
against it,” Henderson said. 
“There’s sometimes this idea 
that we’re going against what 
other people are like just to be 
counterculture or different, but 
it’s not like that at all. We’re 
doing this for ourselves, to make 
a better world, not to annoy 
other people.”

Despite his devout beliefs, 

Henderson 
acknowledges 

Paganism 
may 
not 
be 
the 

path for every or even most 
individuals.

“There are other ways to feel 

connected to the universe and to 
other people, and I know plenty 
of atheists and monotheists who 
do that. This is one potential 

toolset of many, it’s the one that 
works for me, and for some of 
us it’s the best one,” Henderson 
said.

***
Out of all the Pagan religions 

that exist today, witchcraft may 
be one of the most feared and 
least understood by the public. 
However, modern witchcraft 
usually bears no resemblance 
to the green-skinned, warty, 
cackling hags whom movies 
publicize.

Although 
witchcraft 
falls 

under 
the 
umbrella 
term 

Paganism, Pat Barbary, high 
priestess of MoonFire coven, 
emphasizes the clear distinction 
between the two.

“Witchcraft is very specific 

because it’s the practice of using 
your will to blend reality or to 
venerate the different gods and 
goddesses in a devotional way, 
and I think that Paganism is a 
broad term that just basically 
involves everyone who isn’t 
Christian,” Barbary said in an 
interview with The Daily. “To 
some extent, some hardcore 
Christians 
even 
feel 
that 

Catholics are Pagan.”

Like Henderson, Barbary’s 

first experiences with the Pagan 
world also started when she was 
young, in the form of a feeling of 
unfulfillment that she couldn’t 
quite identify.

“I was raised Catholic — I 

was very spiritual and very 
devout — but I was always 
looking for more in the church. 
Once I figured out what was 
missing, I realized I didn’t have 
the aspects of what you’re really 
doing when you’re practicing a 
ritual, because a Catholic ritual 
is very, very boring as opposed 
to a Wiccan ritual, which is 
really happy and exciting, and 
you can feel the energy and flow 
— I felt like I was coming home,” 
Barbary said.

Her 
fascination 
with 

witchcraft 
specifically 
came 

into being when she was a 
seventh grader researching the 
Salem witch trials for a report.

“I remember I was just really 

intrigued that the hysteria had 
been caused by a servant girl’s 
beliefs in spirits, and from that 
I started researching astrology 
and tarot and a number of other 
things. Eleven years old, that’s 
when I started getting into it,” 
Barbary said.

After 
college, 
Barbary 

moved to Massachusetts and 
soon became involved with 
the EarthSpirit community, a 
Neopagan group that focuses 
on venerating the earth. In 1987, 
Barbary decided to start her 
own coven, which eventually 
became 
MoonFire. 
In 
the 

most basic sense, MoonFire 
follows 
British 
traditional 

Alexandrian Wicca, which was 
founded by Alex Sanders in the 
mid- to late-1900s. Similar to 
Paganism itself, Wicca contains 

several subsets of more specific 
ideologies 
and 
practices; 

Alexandrian Wicca is distinct 
from other types of Wicca, 
such as Dianic Wicca, which is 
female-oriented and goddess-
centered, 
while 
Alexandrian 

Wicca 
worships 
both 
gods 

and goddesses, and strives to 
further knowledge.

“We believe that Alexandrian 

Wicca is an evolving spiritual 
path because you can’t ignore 
all the influences around you,” 
Barbary said. “Religion is based 
on the spiritual, and there’s a lot 
of things out there that haven’t 
been explored. My belief is that 
whatever you pray for or believe 
in, those intentions all go to 
the same source and it doesn’t 
matter what religious system 
you follow.”

Outside 
of 
MoonFire, 

Barbary 
and 
her 
husband 

Paul own Artes and Craft, a 
Pagan and witchcraft store in 
Hartford, Mich. Artes and Craft 
specializes in selling handmade, 
locally crafted and sourced 
products, ranging from soaps 
and candles to spell kits and 
ritual tools, and also caters to 
a wide range of Pagan religions 
and practices.

“My favorite part of owning 

a store is probably planning the 
events — I really enjoy having 
people do that discovery thing 
where they walk in and they 
go, ‘Ooh!’ — I like being able to 
show people that there are other 
people like them around, and it’s 
growing,” Barbary said. “I think 
the Michigan area is coming of 
age, whereas I think the East 
and West Coast came of age in 
the ’80s. There’s a mainstream 
group of people that are getting 
into occult who want to learn 
and are dabbling.”

But with the bloom of new 

blood comes certain boundaries. 
Newcomers to witchcraft tend 
to underestimate the dangers 
that come with the practice, 
and after years of experience, 
Barbary has two important 
cautionary points.

“People that are involved 

with the practice really need 
to be honest with themselves; 
they need to know who they are, 
because once you’re working 
to bend reality, if you’re in 
denial about something, that 
will mess with what you’re 
doing,” Barbary said. “People 
also have to be careful with the 
term ‘harming none,’ because 
if you bend, change, alter or 
manipulate, you are not capable 
of harming none. Any time 
you’re doing a spell or even 
wishing innocently, you are 
basically 
altering 
somebody 

else’s reality to some extent.”

On top of being knowledgeable 

enough to give advice, Barbary’s 
role in the Wiccan community 
has also changed throughout 
her journey with witchcraft.

“Paul and I are a team, and 

we have found ourselves in a 
position where we are elders. 
We’re the ones bringing young 
people into the fold and saying, 
‘Yes, it’s OK to do this,’ and I feel 
like all those things I thought I 
knew when I was 20 or 30 have 
become things that I really do 
know now — it’s a nice place 
because it allows us to talk to 
people 
with 
confidence 
and 

experience,” Barbary said.

For now, change is still slow 

and 
steady. 
Witchcraft 
and 

Paganism still face significant 
sociological 
and 
cultural 

hurdles before they can be 
readily accepted by an American 
majority. Barbary, however, has 
high hopes for what is to come.

“I really do believe it’s the 

movement of the future, and I feel 
like the movement of Paganism 
is getting so widespread that it’s 
starting to feel like it’s going to 
be the next biggest ‘religious’ 
movement, and I say that in 
quotation marks because I feel 
like it’s more of a spiritual thing,” 
Barbary said.

***
Rob Henderson is equally 

optimistic 
about 
Paganism’s 

quiet 
growth, 
even 
though 

he doesn’t have full access to 
the Pagan community due to 
a disability that leaves him 
wheelchair-bound.

“There aren’t a whole lot of 

public groups in Ann Arbor these 
days — a lot of quiet groups are 
out there meeting in their own 
living rooms,” Henderson said.

When it all comes down to 

it, 
though, 
Henderson’s 
and 

Barbary’s experiences reflect an 
impression of Paganism that’s 
altogether different from the 
malevolent evil that non-Pagans 
might fear; Henderson points 
to the tolerance that Paganism 
offers, just as Barbary champions 
the positive energy that her 
rituals offer her.

“We’re 
all 
in 
the 
same 

universe, and we can at least 
help each other stay out of each 
other’s ways long enough to 
get to where we need to go,” 
Henderson said.

SAMANTHA LU
Daily Arts Writer

Far from being 
as pervasive as 
Christianity is, 
the population of 
religious Pagan 
practitioners has 

blossomed

But with the bloom 

of new blood 
comes certain 
boundaries. 

Newcomers to 

witchcraft tend to 
underestimate the 

dangers

B-SIDE LEAD