Spirited

About the Author

My name is Gede Parma. My craft name is Eilan (an Anglicised Scots-Gaelic word meaning “island”), and I am an initiated priest, Witch, and co-founder of the Mother Coven of the WildWood Tradition of Witchcraft in Brisbane, Australia: www.members.optusnet.com.au/wildwoodcoven. I have been consciously practicing Witchcraft for eight years but was raised in a highly spiritual and psychic home coloured by my father's Balinese Hindu tradition and my mother's deep understanding of life. I am of Balinese/Irish descent. I am a vegan. I am a member and seeker of the Church of All Worlds Australia, and I have presented workshops and lectures and facilitated rituals along with my coven at several Australian Pagan gatherings (Pagan Summer Gatherings and Ritual Experience Weekends). I am also a cartomancer and a palmist, and I read privately and at functions. I have been consulted several times for interviews regarding Pagan spirituality and Witchcraft (books, newspapers, and magazines, such as
Feelin' Witchy
by Mitchell Coombes and Dennis Ganchingco;
Confessions of a Teenage Witch
by Gwinevere Rain;
Toowoomba Mail
; and
Bizoo
), and I am keenly active in the southeast Queensland Pagan community. I am a feature writer for the Australian Pagan magazine
Spellcraft
(www.spellcraft.com.au) and am currently working on a guide about deepening one's Pagan spirituality through the ancient Celtic trinity of land, sky, and sea.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Spirited: Taking Paganism Beyond the Circle
© 2009 by Gede Parma.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author's copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition © 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738722511

Book design by Donna Burch

Cover art © Paul Nichols/Digital Vision/PunchStock

Cover design by Ellen Dahl

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher's website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

To Persephone~

you who are the light of the world's youth
and the depth of shadow that underlies our conviction.
This is for you, goddess of my heart and soul.

Editor's Note

Readers may note that this book contains word spellings and phrasing unique to British English. These have been retained in order to honor the author's individual voice and spirit.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

Part One

The Fountain of Youth

1:
The Inner Witch

2:
Life at 4 Privet Drive

3:
Schooling Pagans

4:
The Pagan Socialite

5:
Pagan Community

Part Two

Beyond the Circle

6:
Ethical Questions

7:
The Spell of Witchcraft

8:
Ritualising

9:
Divinity

10:
Covencraft

11:
A Craft of Solitude

12:
Evaluating Tradition

13:
Into the Future

Appendix:
Recommended Resources

Selected Bibliography

Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank the small but active Pagan community of Toowoomba, whose open arms and caring smiles helped me become the person I am today.

To Debbie for being a great friend. Our paths are truly blessed by one another.

To Aedan for inspiring the spellcraft chapter. Your late-night questions helped develop the foundation of what I believe is a very helpful chapter of this book.

To Jess for supporting me, taking time to chat, offering advice, and sharing experiences.

To all the
Bizoo
folk for giving me a place to sort out my thoughts and express my spirituality. And to
Spellcraft
magazine, who welcomed me with open arms.

To Kim, whose light burns brightly! And to James for your incisive grammatical endeavours and friendship.

To Mitchell for being a strong and kind, down-to-earth guy! And Dennis, who guided me in the right direction.

To Tala for listening and responding to my incessant questions. And De for your gentle courage.

To Brent and Jarrah, wonderful editors and great friends.

To Mum—you gave me space when I needed it most and trusted in my greater judgement with gracious patience. Thank you for being you!

To the Old Ones for your eternal love, understanding, wisdom, and inspiration—you helped me by showing me how to help myself.

To the Witches of Earthwyrm Coven, your example has inspired me to become more a part of the whole.

To my tribe of the Church of All Worlds Australia (one of my beloved families) for seeing the shine in youth and revelling in it.

To the gods and Coven of the WildWood, my heart and home. Blessings to Talaria, Anaseidr, Sabrem, Luna, Damionos, Awen, Moverin, Namanga, Arione, Amy, Ratna Devi, Nina Pixie, Millie, Joel, Harley, and to the countless other Witches who have graced our circles. May the WildWood flourish in our hearts and minds forever.

To Elysia, who urged me to succeed, and to Becky—you are an
editorial
g
oddess!

Last but not least, to all the young Pagans out there who live their spirituality and celebrate life. This book is for you.

[contents]

I will begin by highlighting that many sections of this book refer exclusively to the practice of Witchcraft, and thus the word
Witch
is used to address the subject matter. The majority of this book, however, refers to the “Generic Pagan,” including all Pagans regardless of their tradition or beliefs. I have capitalised various words throughout this book (e.g., Magick and Nature) to indicate their importance in Pagan practice. I have also used the word
spirituality
wherever possible instead of
religion
, as I do not feel comfortable with the institutional and dogmatic connotations of the latter. The bonds (from the Latin
religare
) of the orthodox faiths constrict the free spirit that is the essence of the Pagan revolution. Spirituality serves the interests of those who seek to evolve and progress along their journey without adhering to erroneous precepts.

This book is a product of my experiences within the Pagan community,
1
my understanding and personal contemplation of the world around me (and the world within), and my interaction and relationships with others, both Pagan and non-Pagan, and how they have affected me along my journey. It also arises from my service to the gods and what I call the Great Mystery of Life.

I began creating the basic structure of this book several years ago, and the finished product that is before you now has undertaken numerous evolutions and transformations, which is a testimony to the power of Paganism in itself. We, as Pagans, are free to become anew, to transmute our energies and to actualise potential. We embody the law of change, which is universal. We are infused with the very spirit of the WildWood, the green, wild heart within all things and the namesake of and inspiration for my coven; may it flourish.

I began the journey with this book after having visited one of my favourite occult bookstores and leaving empty-handed because each book I looked at was the same repetitive drivel repackaged. This was further fired by the injustices I felt as a young Pagan within the wider community.

There is a tendency among the Pagan community when defining “fluffy bunny” to refer specifically to young people who develop an interest in Witchcraft and Paganism after having watched
The Craft
or
Charmed.
I know countless Pagans, young and old, who grew into Paganism after having seen such films and perhaps even experiencing a period of immature delusion; in fact, I was one of them. Am I a fluffy bunny because of it? Not that I know of. It is often these encounters with media representations that simply cause us to remember old patterns and rhythms we buried long ago. Regardless of the medium, it is an awakening to truth.

Throughout the whole of this book, it has been my aim to provide a philosophical work for you to relate to and question, for it is when we question that we confront the triviality of habit and ultimately gain the courage to dispel it. It is assumed that you, the reader, are well versed in the intricacies of Pagan living and desire a mature presentation of the realities of Paganism in the modern world. For this reason, this book is divided into two parts.

Part One,
The Fountain of Youth,
deals with the intimacies of Pagan youth and the rainbow of experiences that they will encounter along the path. Part Two,
Beyond the Circle,
is about digging deeper into the realms of philosophy, gnosis, and elements of Pagan practice. It is about weaving a spiritual path of beauty that resonates true for you.

I sincerely hope that after you have read this book, you will have formed an opinion based on honesty, objectivity, and conviction, not only concerning the contents of this book but about your sense of the sacred itself. It has been my goal throughout the entirety of the writing process to connect with you and to provide food for thought. In no way is this book the “be all and end all.” The book before you now is a compilation of notes, a reflection on experience and spiritual celebration. With that in mind, read on—and know that my words are simply the manifest form of a singular entity in a universal web of creative diversity. I am proud to be spirited.

—
Khaire
2
,
sláinte
& blessed be,

Eilan/Gede

[contents]