Interview with Brian Ewing
President of the Pagan Pride Project Worldwide
By Gregory Michael Brewer (AutTumn)

MERRY MEET BRIAN – THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING TIME TO DO THIS INTERVIEW. COULD YOU PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS MORE ABOUT YOURSELF SUCH AS WHAT LED YOU TO THE PAGAN PATH AND HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN PRACTICING?


I am an attorney living in Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley with a wife and three cats.
My wife and I started the Los Angeles Pagan Pride Day together, although we were not married at the time.

I have been a Pagan for about 12 years. That is my wife’s fault too (although, she was not my wife at that time either.)
I was not a part of any religion for a very long time, but I wanted religion in my life.
I researched various religions, even the Quakers. None of it fit.
The best way I could describe my ideal religion was “the force”, but not the one from Star Wars.

Then I met a Pagan, who told me about Wicca and loaned me one of Scott Cunningham’s books.
She also took me to a Samhain ritual, and during that ritual I felt the connection. It is really that simple.
I knew it was for me because I felt the way people are supposed to feel about their religion.
“The force” I was looking for, and knew in my heart existed, was the energy of nature and the universe that Pagans worship and with which we connect.
Somewhere in between I started dating the girl. It was totally unrelated, really.


YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLDWIDE PAGAN PRIDE PROJECT! PLEASE TELL US WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS INCREDIBLE RESPONSIBILITY AND SHARE WITH US A BIT ABOUT THE PAGAN PRIDE PROJECT.

I was suckered into it.
About the Project, a basic Pagan Pride Day event is just a food drive and a public ritual, open to the public, and the press must be invited (i.e. sending press releases, calling to follow up if appropriate.) That's all there is to it.
However, to add some "glitz" to attract more people, many events now include vendors, entertainment, and multiple rituals. More importantly, to add to the educational mission of Pagan Pride Day, most events have organizational booths and workshops or guest lecturers.

All the famous Pagan authors, and even many not-so-famous ones, appear at Pagan Pride Days near them.
Cecylyna and Dagonet Dewr started the Pagan Pride Project in 1998, with 18 events in the U.S. and Canada, including the founders' event in Indianapolis.
The Goal was to depart from the traditional Pagan festival by running an event that was meant to increase community goodwill towards, and public relations for, Paganism.
The Fall Equinox was chosen as a central date for the event because of the harvest theme: the events would hold food drives as a way of celebrating the harvest and showing that Pagans give back to the community. By 2000, almost 10,000 people attended 55 Pagan Pride Days, and Pagan Pride Days started in Europe in 2001.
When we first started, we kept all the events in September, to coincide with the harvest. But various weather issues and the growing number of events forced us to expand so that events are now scheduled anywhere between August and November.
In 2000, the Project was able to start expanding greatly, and has continued to expand ever since. Along the way, Pagan Pride events, as part of their charitable work, have raised food, goods and money to benefit local food banks and shelters everywhere, and also such worthy goals as 9/11 charities and Katrina and tsunami relief. Pagan Pride Days also get significant media coverage, and are featured in the media in dozens of newspaper articles, Internet postings, and video news stories every year.
That fulfills our goal of educating the public.
The use of email lists, and now social networking, has been crucial to the Project: new events are recruited that way, and current Local Coordinators communicate and help each other through electronic means, so that the solution to an event's question is just an internet connection away.
There were over 100 events last year in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Central and South America. Some of the newest events occurred in Bangor, Maine; Orlando, FL; Anderson, SC; Wichita, KS; Mt. Pleasant, MI; Bloomington, IL; Imperial County, CA; Kingston, Ont.; Plymouth, U.K.; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; and Mexico City.
And joking aside, what brought me to it?
Originally, Congressman Bob Barr. He made a stink in Congress when he found out that Pagan members of the military were celebrating circles at Ft. Hood. At that time, I thought that Pagans needed a movement like the Gay Pride Movement. Leave it to my girlfriend (now wife) to discovery that it already existed.
We joined that movement and started the Los Angeles event. A few years later the Project needed a Western Regional Coordinator, which became me.
A few years after that it needed a new Vice President, which became me again. In time, the President stepped aside and I moved into that role.
Now Former Congressman Bob Barr actually became a staunch libertarian and advocate for privacy rights. He probably would not agree with 1999 Congressman Bob Barr concerning religious rights, and might be much more amenable to our position.


IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE BENEFIT 0F PARTICIPATING IN A PAGAN PRIDE DAY EVENT?


Pagans benefit greatly from Pagan Pride Day.
Many Pagans who practice alone can use this day to meet other Pagans and other groups, and maybe even find a coven to join. Most events also have a wide range of workshops that Pagans can attend to widen their knowledge. Pagan merchants benefit from networking at the events by expanding their business.
But Pagan Pride Day is not a festival.
The most important reason for Pagan Pride Day is to educate non-Pagans. All events are open to the public and the press. Events have been very successful in educating the public and especially with gaining press coverage in almost all cities where events take place in order to get the word out that Paganism is OK.


LABELS AND TITLES CAN BE A DETRIMENT, BUT ALSO A BLESSING. THEY CAN BE LIMITING BY PUTTING US INTO A "BOX" SO TO SPEAK, BUT CAN ALSO HELP TO IDENTIFY WITH OTHERS LIKE US. FOR EXAMPLE, I AM PROUD TO CALL MYSELF A WICCAN, A WITCH, A PAGAN, AND A MAGICIAN, BUT SOMETIMES OTHERS PEOPLE SEE ME AS THIS AND THIS ONLY. HOW DO YOU LABEL YOURSELF AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS?


I personally don’t go by labels. If I did everyone would call me a shark.
I am not sure labels are typically a detriment though. Labels help us identify our own interests and personality. They help us meet people of like minds whose company we enjoy. The key is to use labels properly and not let us be defined solely by them.


DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PROJECTS BESIDES PAGAN PRIDE?


Since I have served as President I am rather short on time. I am on the Board of Directors of the Grey School of Wizardry.
I also try to find time to assist other Pagan charities with organizational requirements (mostly tax exemption-related questions.) I studied tax-exempt organizations in law school and I want to assist people with that specialized knowledge if I can.


RECENTLY YOU ATTENDED THE PANTHEACON FESTIVAL, AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE MET MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE, AS WELL AS AUTHORS AND OTHER PROMINENT VOICES IN THE PAGAN COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION TO AND INCLUDING PANTHEACON 2011, DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM THESE GATHERING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?


I often attend PantheaCon to try to expand my own knowledge of Paganism, and to assist me with my Pagan Pride work. I like to attend rituals put on by groups from non-Wiccan paths. I was able to attend more such rituals this year, and I had a lot of fun.


HAVE YOU EVER BEEN RIDICULED OR JUDGED BY THOSE OF OTHER RELIGIONS, AND IF SO, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THIS?


I have not, but probably because I do not “broadcast” my religion as much as others do. I wear suits during the day and plain jeans and t-shirts on the weekend. People would not know I am a Pagan.
But that is the point of our movement “coming out” as a whole: Pagans are not who the public think we are.
We are part of the public. We are everywhere!
Besides, I live in Los Angeles and Witches do not exactly stick out amongst the strangeness.
However, I would recommend handling it either by attempting to educate the person, asking them to respect our religion, or just walking away. Sadly, the people who find it necessary to ridicule Pagans are often not the ones we are going to be able to educate.


I ONCE ASKED RAYMOND BUCKLAND THE FOLLOWING QUESTION AND HE COULD NOT ANSWER IT DUE TO A VOW OF SECRECY, AND I HAVE A GUESS AS TO THE ANSWER, BUT I WILL LEAVE THAT ONE ALONE LOL. OUT OF CURIOSITY, DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TECHNIQUES FOR CASTING A CIRCLE, RAISING ENERGY, AND RELEASING IT OUT OF THE CIRCLE SUCH AS THE CONE OF POWER?


I am not a member of any tradition, so this answer is not secret. But since I am not a member of any specific tradition, my practices are often the commonly known (and rather basic) ways of Pagan practice.
Anything you read in Scott Cunningham’s books or Starhawk’s books is probably what I do. I do have an interesting story though.
At the first Los Angeles Pagan Pride Day we had the kids in attendance make streamers and then they ran around the circle. That was fun; it worked out well.


DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC AREA OF MAGICKAL OR SPIRITUAL STUDY/INTEREST/PRACTICE?


All aspects of Wiccan practice.


OKAY, ON A LIGHTER NOTE, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PAGAN MUSIC AND DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE MUSICIANS? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BENEFIT FOR A PAGAN TO LISTEN TO AND SUPPORT PAGAN MUSIC?


People should listen to whatever music appeals to them. If a person is drawn to Pagan music, well then that is all the better.
The music business is hard enough for non-Pagan musicians, and surely harder for Pagan ones, not because of discrimination, but just because it is another obstacle to breaking into the mainstream market.
Pagan support of Pagan musicians will give them the start they need.


LASTLY DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF ADVICE/ENCOURAGEMENT FOR BOTH THE BEGINNER AND THE LONG-TIME PRACTITIONER?


Listen to the Goddess and God.

Blessed Be Gregory Michael Brewer )0(



BELTANE TRADITIONS By Lea Williams


"O do not tell the priest our plight, For he would call it sin, For we’ve been in the woods all night, A’conjuring summer in." ~Kipling

.... Pagans of various sorts celebrate Beltane on April 30 and/or May 1.
It has roots in fertility rites and also marks the beginning of the second half of the year.
Though the spring equinox marks the arrival of spring, it is Beltane which really ushers in the warmth and energy of the coming season.
Since it falls between the spring equinox and Midsummer, it is known as a cross quarter festival.
It is also thought to be a day where the veil between this world and the spiritual becomes thin, similar to Samhain (Halloween).
There are many traditions and practices associated with this day.
One that is quite familiar is the dancing of the maypole. Since traditionally this is a fertility festival, it should come as no surprise that the maypole is symbolic of sexual union.
The maypole symbolizes the male, while the earth symbolizes the female, as well as the union of God and Goddess, and the land being fertile.
Beltane is not just a fertility festival; it is also a fire festival.
There are many traditions associated with fire on this night, such as leaping over fire or throwing wood or herbs into fire, for example.
Fire symbolizes the warmth to come and is thought to encourage the land to produce abundantly.
In the past it was not uncommon for couples to spend the night in the forest.
Children conceived on this night were sometimes referred to as "merry-begots", and were thought to be special to the gods.
Another tradition on Beltane was for women to braid flowers through their hair or to wear a garland of flowers on their head. This is still a common practice by those who celebrate Beltane, as are many of the practices mentioned previously. Beltane should ideally be celebrated outdoors among greenery where it can be fully enjoyed. A forest-like setting is the perfect backdrop, if available.
This is a day to be happy, to eat, to laugh, and to revel in the beauty of nature!


UPCOMING EVENT -
Dear Proud Pagans -
I'm teaching a new adult / continuing education course at Loyola University Chicago called "Norse Mythology: Behind the Myths."
The 6-week multimedia course is open to the public & suitable for all ages. It runs May 18 - June 22, on Wednesdays 7:30pm - 9:00pm.
This in-depth multimedia course will view the myths of Thor, Odin, Freya, Siegfried & other figures through the lens of history, cultural studies, comparative religion, anthropology, linguistics & related disciplines.
No previous study is required.
The Loyola University Chicago website has more information & registration instructions -
https://perseus.luc.edu/continuum/getCourse?classnbr=2509&term=1114
Sincerely, Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried norsemyth.org