All was well on my new path until my daughter went off to school. The wheel of time turned again and our little world expanded beyond the confines of home and hearth, family, and friends as a result of my daughter’s new community.
Finding Magic Everywhere
“Magic is the movement of natural energies to create needed change,” writes Scott Cunningham in Spell Crafts (Llewellyn, 1993). And when I let go of my narrow scope of what a magical community ought to look like, I started to see magic everywhere.
On the first day of school, I walked my daughter up to the school, sent her into the play yard, and stood outside the gate with the parents of the other kids in her class. I heard many spells of protection cast, blessings, and repeated reminders of the Wiccan Rede.
Parents were telling their children “Listen to your teacher, and they will help you” (Bide the Wiccan Law ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust), “Have fun, and no one gets hurt” (An ye harm none, do as ye will), “Be good and good things will happen” (What ye send out, comes back to thee), and “I will be waiting right here for you after school. I love you” (Merry meet and merry part, and merry meet again).
So I widened my concept of Pagan practice. Instead of limiting it to the stereotypes I held, I allowed for the possibility that the same concepts were at the root of almost every spiritual and religious practice. Essentially, everyone was striving to live their lives by the same principles I was.
I allowed for the possibility that the same concepts were at the root of almost every spiritual and religious practice. Essentially, everyone was striving to live their lives by the same principles I was.
Starhawk says that “each individual is a living embodiment of the sacred. The divine experience is equally available to all, and each person’s experience of the divine is valid and important.”* When I watched parents with their children, I was able to see first the child, and later the parent, as a living embodiment of the sacred. And it helped me to see that love was at the root of that sacred practice.
A New Circle
The other moms (and a few dads) who dropped off and picked up children in front of the school were easy acquaintances with whom I shared these daily magical rituals. They were a cluster of people who usually stood in a small circle, exchanging news, gossip, and advice. Soon, I learned that they also knew a lot about “magic.”
From them I learned the magical formulas for getting rid of head lice, the manifestation spell and incantation to use with teachers to manifest extra support in class, and tried-and-true spells for stopping bullies. Even though these were not Pagan moms, I had to concede that in their circle, they were working big magic.
I was also invited to participate in “rituals.” The Samhain ritual of sugar feasting held school-wide, the annual Yule celebration concert, and the Ostara weekend festival of magical crafts, feasting, and egg hunts.
With school counsel, I did big group prosperity “magic.” Starting with a dilapidated playground, we manifested money, supplies, and workers, and created a magical playground. An enchantment spell was cast on the principal who intoned the power of the project. We conjured a binding spell on the school board, and they used “found” magic to manifest a hidden source of money to build the new playground.
And here I thought I was the only one who believed in magic!
Within the school, I got involved with classroom tutoring and found a place to work my own brand of magic. I taught kids affirmations that enabled them to believe in their powers. I facilitated rituals and rites that led to the memorization of alphabets, numbers, and rhymes. I taught the magical art of decoding letters and words, and I led recreational clubs that incorporated meditation, reflection, and focused intention.
When I really opened my eyes, I saw magic being practiced all around me.
Living In Translation
Learning how to express my faith to my new acquaintances has required some spellwork of my own. I have had to use incantation carefully. Living in a small rural community, I have had to find ways to communicate my faith to people that don’t alienate me or my family or frighten the parents of my daughter’s playmates.
I found that all I need to do is tell the truth, but to do so in terms that other people might more readily understand and accept. Instead of saying “I’m a Pagan and worship the Goddess at her Sabbats and full moons,” I can easily state my beliefs in language more familiar and acceptable to mainstream people. I rely on the metaphors of gardening, agriculture, and nature to express my magical thoughts and beliefs, and often refer to the moon as a point of reference, one that is readily understood by the farmers and herds’ people in the community.
I have also relied heavily on old adages that are common to our region and community, adages that clearly express some of the tenets of my Pagan faith. Using these adages, I have found a commonality of belief and faith: “What goes around comes around” I say, or “That is going to come back on him, three fold,” and “Cheaters never prosper.”
I have learned over time that speaking in adages, metaphors, and parables is a powerful magical tool, enabling me to connect with many people of varied and different faiths. Because I have translated my purely Pagan patter into something more universal and symbolic in nature, I have found points of commonality and agreement. And by using adages, metaphors, and symbols, I can talk in detail about my Pagan faith and still be understood conceptually by Christians and others in my community.
Finding Community
Since my daughter started school, I have moved from a solitary practitioner
