I returned from Pagan Spirit Gathering this summer with an interesting mix of joy and fear. Joy because I had a damned good time, with a few interesting discoveries along the way. (Emerald Rose is a lot of fun to hang out with and, yes, drink a beer or two with. Margot Adler has a serious weakness for Nutella. Spiral Rhythm is just getting better, and that's scary. I dress up pretty well as a pseudo-Baron Samedi - pictures to be auctioned off later. Those sorts of things.)

Fear - ah, yes. The fear is another piece entirely.

See, I returned from Pagan Paradise to find the world still a pretty scary place, and just getting scarier. So what am I getting at? Well, this is kind of a two-fold challenge to all our readers.

The first one is to embrace the magic of Pagan culture. There are witch wars, and sometimes people are annoying, but if you have not allowed yourself the magic of a Pagan festival - and yes, I cheerily admit that I have a huge bias towards Pagan Spirit Gathering, as I've had more fun there than anywhere else I can think of - you should. There's something about being in a place with that many like-minded people that does real magic, real transformation, and in my judgment everyone should do it. Regularly, if possible. Drums in the morning, drums at night, rituals, bonfires, workshops, community - I have met real friends there, and it's magical.

The second one is to get off yer duff and get involved politically. Make the time, start to care, because it's your rights that are being undermined daily. Find a cause, and stick with it - and make it a cause that might actually make some changes. Get elected to your local school board; run for township office; let's get heard from the ground up and from the top down.

We are living in interesting times, in the "old Chinese proverb" sense of the word, and we have a culture and belief worth defending. It's scary, yes, but fear can power you to heights you might have never reached otherwise. Embrace your fear and move through it into joy, power, and action.

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