To those of you who know me, I'm going to say something that should come as no surprise: I hate camping. Not just that I find it inconvenient. Not just that I don't like the loss of privacy. Not just that I really don't like bugs crawling on me twenty-four hours a day. There is a combination of factors that make going into the Wilderness a very unpleasant experience for me. For many Pagans, admitting that you don't like camping or, at the very least, that you don't like spending the majority of your time in the great outdoors, is akin to heresy.
"But," they usually say, "How could you not like camping? This is how our ancestors practiced witchcraft! They danced in the forest under the light of the Moon! They gathered around sacred stones at dawn! How can you possibly be a Pagan and not want to feel the connection with the elements and the Creatures of Nature???"
I bought into this line of thinking for awhile. I made myself go into the Out There. Spent most of a week camping in a tent during massive thunderstorms and five-hundred yards away from anything resembling an outhouse. We were back in down an old logging road in the middle of a national forest. I ended up with a panic attack after getting turned around in the middle of the night and not being able to find the trail; a sunburn from the time it wasn't raining; bitten to death by that evil demon known in Michigan as the deerfly; and nicked-up from attempting to take an outdoor shower in the cold, cold rain. Oh, and a lovely irritation from having the outhouse so far away. (I am one of those women who lack the ability to not hit my feet *going* outside.)
Needless to say, that experience made me pause and think. Why is there so much insistence on one particular activity? One thing I have discovered is that a lot of the most strident "Big Woods" people are from larger towns and cities. They have never had the wonderful experiences I had when I lived in the country. Never having had to make-do when a storm knocked-out the electricity for days on end, they still see going without power as a fun novelty. Having to pump water makes them feel connected because they never had to actually do it to stay alive before. The big epiphany for me is that most people find being in the Wilderness to be necessary because they have a choice in the matter! They can return to the comfort of air conditioned houses with cable tv. They can stop by WalMart on the way home or order in Chinese food. Camping was fun because they never lived in the country!
There are of course Pagans like my husband, Shadowdragon, who really do feel more connected the Earth when away from everyone and everything. They are the Pagans who I truly believe are the Forest People. Then there are people who call themselves Urban Pagans. Just as happy in a park setting or a highrise building, they are connecting through a myriad of practices and ritual unique to a place with a large concentration of diverse people.
I consider myself a "Temple Pagan." Not all Pagans or workers of magic were historically in the country. The temples of Egypt, Greece, Italy, and South America were all built by Pagans. I am drawn more to the model of the Greek temples. Although not all of them were in the city, many of them were. Most of them were there own little bit of The World. Experiencing my connection in a place where I am free to concentrate just on going deeper into that thread of Being is essential to me. From a practical standpoint, I am closer to the Priestess of the Temple than I am to the old woman alone in the middle of the forest. Although I have strong hereditary connections to Native American "wisewomen" and to the local village healers, my heart will never be free to fly if I a fighting off a panic attack, as tends to happen to me alone in the forest.
I create a sacred space and do with it what makes it comfortable and practical. Growing-up in an area where it was common to get snowed in for a week has made it to where I do not feel the same rush as a lot of people when "in the country." We recently found a little campground that is a nice compromise for my husband and me. It is rustic enough to have wooded paths and nice big bonfires. For me: it has a pretty pond perfect for playing in and an outdoor shower with hot and cold running water. I can deal with no electricity and the outhouses. For his part, my Love ensures that we have as biting-insect-free an environment as possible, prescreens wooded areas for poison ivy and creates as much of a sacred center as possible. It helps that he also spoils me with attention the whole time.
After all, what fun is it being a Temple Priestess if you don't have a willing dedicant?
In Peace,
Sapphire
About Me
- Sapphire
- I've been practicing formally for over twenty years, starting in British Traditional Wicca. My path has a lot of little stops, twists, turns, and the occassional tangent that begs walking. And that one time there was that parabola... Anyhow. I'm the High Priestess of The Order of Avalon, an eclectic coven, and the Co-chair of HLC Witches and the Great Lakes Regional Open Circle. Some people define me as witch; some as Priestess; and some use names such as Sorceress, Oracle, or Wisewoman. Personally, I believe that what I am defies definition. Arrogant? Probably. But so be it. What I can define for you with certainty is that this is a long, strange ride. On a personal level, I am handfasted to Shadowdragon, my beloved husband and magickal working partner. We have seven children of whom five are teenagers. We have one cat, one bird, and one surly dog that was foisted on us. In mundane life, I work in the clean room of the QA department for a polymer chemical plant (think silicones). I love flowers and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. And those little pomegranate lemonades. Yum.
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