Six Crows, the Morrigan, feeding the homeless and the Pagan son of a Nun. The jam-packed August issue of Living Reciprocity!

I remember being a child and my grandmother would tell me how time went so fast, and I never quite believed her. I hope the summer is lasting as long for you as it did when you were young, but to me it has been a blur of events and gatherings, get-togethers and travels.

Not that I am complaining mind you! This past weekend my family and I attended Six Crows, a retreat and festival put on by Red Spider and named for the land in north western Michigan that hosts it. It was is an great event, with a beautiful location, talented speakers, and some of the friendliest people I have ever met. And it is free to attend, with Red Spider wanting to make it available to all. They have an auction to raise money for the speakers to attend, and everyone brings meals to share with the entire community. It is both beautiful and poetic. Don’t miss it when it comes around next year!

While there I was honored to be part of the “staff” of a Morrigan ritual put on by our new friend Andrieh Vitimus. Powerful is not quite a sufficient word to describe it; it was the ritual equivalent of a rock concert. I have often heard pagans lament the lack of advanced books and training. Andrieh’s book Hand-On Chaos Magic will change your mind on that. It starts out with some familiar subjects, but quickly turns into the advanced and challenging manual you have been looking for. Buy his book! And make sure there is a copy in your local metaphysical shop.

This month in Living Reciprocity we are lucky enough to have two interviews with pagans who really are making an impact. People who are putting themselves out there is a way that, if you are like me, you will find simply incredible.

Everyday Spiritual Warriors

I would like to introduce you all to Kerri also known as AmeRayn, a pagan from Pennsylvania who is drawing on her history, spirituality and connection to Mother Earth to bring fresh and wholesome food to those in need, and not just pagans.

Can you tell me about your projects?
We are going to farmers markets every week to purchase produce which we are delivering to people in need. We have about 15- 30 individuals that are homeless and are receptive to receiving food when we arrive, others not so much. After chatting with a few people we found out that they thought we were coming in to chase them away. Families with low income living situations have not been so keen to talk to us. We do however walk through some neighborhoods with boxes of produce and offer them to anyone. My living situation is the same as theirs and I can understand being wary of a strange person offering free food.

What area are you in? And where, generally speaking, are you distributing food at?
We live in Northampton county Pennsylvania. Our primary area to distribute is through out our county and Lehigh County which includes Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Once or twice a month we travel to see our family that lives in Ocean County, NJ and stop at farms/farmers markets along the way and deliver the produce to areas within Ocean County also. We are looking to expand which areas we cover soon.

You hope to start AmeRayn Acres to help with growing food, what are your goals with it?
AmeRayn Acres plans for the future:
1 Rent temporary land to start farming produce to lessen the need for farmers markets.
2 Find property for Acres.
3 Run a fully- functioning farm that sells to local markets and customers as well as a CSA. Selling produce will help the farm to continue. The produce for those in need will continue as it does now but reaching so many more people.
4 Offer jobs at the farm where anyone no matter what they look like can work. At one time I couldn’t get a job because I couldn’t afford a decent outfit and tried my best to put together something from what I had and was turned down for the job. No clean clothes, no job, no food, no rent. It’s the snowball effect.

What is CSA?
CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. People purchase shares of a farms harvest and receive produce on a weekly basis (usually depends on the farms policy). It’s a great way for the community to come together to support local farms.

Are you an official non-profit, or is that in the future still?
The paperwork is sitting on my desk to become an official non-profit… We need to look into non-profit status more and weigh the pros and cons of becoming an official non-profit.

Are you open about your religion while doing such public work? What has the reaction been like?
My pentagram has been a source of conversation starters. I now bring with me information pertaining to Paganism and give out clay pentagrams (I make them) for those interested in learning more.

Sadly our libraries don’t offer much in the line of books to learn more about Paganism. Every now and again we are able to locate a few well read books and hand them out to those interested.

What do other Pagans tend to think of your efforts?
The response is good. I have had a few that didn’t think people would be pleased to see my pentagram and were concerned about my well-being but in the same breath are happy to know that someone was out there helping others and showing non-Pagans that Pagans are compassionate caring people.

What led you to devote so much of your time and energy to others?
Watching a woman going hungry and losing her home while her child was receiving medical treatments in a children’s hospital in 1993. My daughter was there at the same time. All of her time was dedicated to her child and because of doctors’ meetings and surgeries she couldn’t continue her work schedule and therefore could not pay all of her rent.

Over the years of hospitals and pediatric facilities with my daughter I met many great people who spent all their time and money to care for their children and most would lose everything. Although I didn’t have much to start with, I lost everything when my daughter died. Six years of hospitals and her death threw me into a hole I didn’t want to come out of. I moved away from family and friends and although I had a roof over my head it was a struggle. When I tried to get my life back in motion I hit every wall that could block my way.

So many people are looked at as drug addicts or unstable because they are homeless or living in poverty but most people are where they are because bad things happened to good people.

My fiancée (Tommy) was homeless when I met him. I was taking a bus to the store when we met. After talking for a while and meeting his friends (also homeless) ranging in age from 21 to 56, I started inviting them over for dinners at my home. I didn’t have much to offer but we managed.

We all became very close friends…

I quickly made a decision to open my home to them. Food, shower, bed, or just a place to relax. It was theirs. That is when the “I ” part of the story became a “We.” Tommy showed me all the areas where assistance was needed and we began putting meals together. As we met others, we would ask what they would like to eat next time we saw them. Fruit and vegetables were the biggest responses we received. Many expressed how they missed a specific produce and how the churches/food banks offered OK meals but when ever they could get fresh produce they felt so much better.

Ever since that day we have dedicated every weekend to farmers market shopping and have never looked back.

Good nutrition should not be determined by your income. It’s a right that everyone deserves…

How did you get started on your Pagan path?
My family never went to church unless someone got married and religion was not a subject we spoke about. I started going to church with my neighbors for Saturday night mass but I didn’t feel right there. Honestly I couldn’t stand getting dressed up and the things they spoke of didn’t speak to me. When I was about fifteen I met someone that stated she was a Pagan. She explained very little but I was intrigued and wanted to know more but in a small town you can bet the library had nothing. She and I took a trip to NYC where I found loads of books. I peeked through a few and knew that was what I needed to learn more about. I have been learning ever since.

How can others help you?
Spread the word… I would love to see other people helping those in need. Drop off a bag of produce to a family up the street or around the block that you might not know but have an idea they need a little help. Donate food to a local food bank or shelter (churches also offer meals and could use food). Please check with the food banks and shelters before dropping off food. Some have policies against certain foods and produce is perishable so some won’t distribute it…it might not seem like much but every bit helps.

Although I go out into the streets and hand out food to homeless I do not encourage others to make that jump. It can be very dangerous. Contact a local agency to express your interest to help. They can offer ideas, SAFE locations to drop off food, or a family that has a case on file that could use some help.

As for helping directly with AmeRayn Acres, we sell domino necklaces, wreaths, refinished/upcycled items and any craft I can get my hands on to support our efforts. Buying a domino necklace or any of the crafts helps purchase a few more pounds of produce and also puts money in savings to purchase the property we require to make AmeRayn Acres go from 2 people buying produce to distribute to becoming a farm full of potential to help give good nutritious produce to many more people in need. Most of what we sell can be found on our Etsy page or on Facebook.

A nice hello and a friend request online is always welcome too. We update as often as possible on Facebook, Paganspace, and MySpace to let others know what we are doing and planning.

Simply amazing. I had to wait a few months for that interview, and I hope you agree with me that it was worth it.

Pagans In Business

But, how on Earth am I ever going to have a Pagans In Business interview that can hold it’s own and not get lost next to AmeRayne? Have no fear, for that I turn to leader, educator, showman, President of the Magical Education Council and, yes, business owner, Michael Wiggins.

You are quite well known among the Midwest pagan community. How did it start for you? What were the early days of the pagan path like for you?
Well if you want the VERY beginning…My mother went from being a Nun, to part of a Gardenarian Coven and I was Wiccan’d into the coven in 1965. Though I was pagan, I spent the first six years of my education in a Catholic School. In high school I was the one that had a “Talent” to make people feel better…Heal headaches, etc. To finish it off, I went to a private Lutheran College for Theology, with a minor in Music and Psychology. So to say the least, I learned it is all a choice, your path, your beliefs, they are all a choice. Learn all you can and do what feels right for you.

The early days were when Convocation was just starting, when there was a “Meet up” group at The Lavender Moon called “Meet your local witch night” located in Ferndale (Michigan). I told my mother about it and she said she wanted to go, but I had to go with her. We would go together and I would sit in a corner, watching everyone coming and going. My Mother on the other hand, would go up to them and ask if they were a “Witch”, and most were just looking for “Like Minded” people, so she would send them over to talk to me. I was fine being a solitary, but it seemed my mother had other ideas.

Any funny memories?
Well, one night at the “Meet your local witch night” I was sitting around talking with some people when this woman walked up and handed me an application to teach at Convocation. I thought to myself, “This woman doesn’t know me from Adam and here she is handing me an app. to teach.” I later found out it was Jane Pierce and she told me, “Just because someone fills out an app. does not mean they are excepted.” Jane was later the one who asked me to join M.E.C. to look after it when she took time off of the board to have a baby.

How would you describe your path?
Shamanism would be the best way to describe it. I am the last legal limit for recognition of Cree Indian from Canada and have always felt closer to the Shamanic path. It wasn’t until I was already following the path when I found out that Shamans walk between the worlds, usually due to a near death experience. It seems I have followed in that tradition. When I was 16, for a 2 week period, I fought off Chicken Pox, then from that Serum Hepatitis, finishing with Reye Syndrome. I ran a temperature near the end of about 104° for longer than a days period, so my mother took me to the hospital. I ended up being fine, just a little delusional. At the time, we were unsure of what I had, but later with a blood test I was diagnosed with each of the above illnesses. When asked how long I had been in the hospital, I told them I had just arrived and they were shocked; 90% of kids that get Reye Syndrome die, due to liver failure and brain damage after hospitalization. Well, overall I seem to be fine…but that depends on who you ask.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?
Have you attended Convocation? No really, have you? Well, having Opening and Closing Ritual draw upwards of almost 500 people, I would say that that is an accomplishment to have pride in. Have you ever had the opportunity to run a Ritual that large? There is nothing like leading that many people in a chant, raising that much energy, and then getting them all into one mindset, everyone headed towards one single image or goal. There is nothing more powerful and I get to do it every year. We use to have only about 100 to 200 people at opening and then about half of that at closing, but not anymore! I hope to keep building that number every year by always making it something no one has ever experienced. That is the accomplishment I am proud of for the pagan community. My personal accomplishment is my 10 year old son, Ian. He has attended every Convocation, even while he was still in the womb. Helping him to discover life day by day, helping him to believe he can do anything he can imagine, and be as great as he wants to be in this life has been my proud accomplishment as a father.

You are currently involved with M.E.C.; can you tell me about your responsibilities with them?
I have been involved with Convocation since 1997 and have been on the M.E.C. board since 2000. I am currently the President of M.E.C., (The Magical Education Council) and have been so for five years. As President, I am in charge of all other events that we put on (Pagan Picnic, Beyond the Veil, etc.). It is also my job to do all public appearances as well as interviews with the newspapers, T.V. and publications. Which, I think is kind of funny because I am so not politically correct.

Any upcoming events you would like to promote?
Well Pagan Pride was fun…we had about 180 Wet Pagans. You can see us at the upcoming “Michigan Witches Ball” on the 17th of October, as well as at OUR event “Beyond the Veil”, on October 24th, 2009. Of course, then there is Convocation, February 18- 21, 2010, which is the largest indoor pagan event in the Midwest. You can also always go to www.mec-mi.org and www.convocation.org for more information…Trust me, you won’t find anything else like this.

On to business matters, what is the name of your business?
My business names are Modern Knight Construction and Modern Knight Productions.

Your business deals with contracting, what sort of work do you do?
I mostly re-model kitchens and baths, but have also done every room in a house. I do plaster and drywall repair…and pretty much any work involving re-modeling/repairing a house.

Employees?
That depends on the jobs, but I personally know how hard this economy is, so I hire fellow pagans as much as I can.

How long have you been a business owner?
This one? I have been doing construction for about 10 years. Before that, I owned a restaurant/bar called Mr. Eds’ in Detroit for a couple of years in the late 80’s.

What geographical area does your business tend to work in?
In the Metro Detroit area mostly, but I have been hired to do jobs in Port Huron, Harsens Island and even in Ohio.

The economy has been rough on contractors the last few years, but I think there are reasons to be positive as well. What aspects are you most optimistic about?
Those who had money, still have money and are willing to spend it to get done whatever they wanted at a more reasonable price now due to the economy.

Have you dealt at all with any of the “green building” trends we have been hearing about?
Well I have installed radiant heat in rooms by installing water conduit under tile flooring. I am doing some work with people who are installing rain barrels, solar panels and even working with a commercial building to try to take it off the grid altogether…that should turn out to be fun. The most interesting job was building an Octagon house in Detroit, just south of the old train station. All of it was aluminum and compressed foam in triangle sections.

It seems out of the box in some ways, but I have found most pagans make a spiritual connection to almost any job they do. Is that the case for you?
Yes

How so?
I work with some people who help with “Fung Shui” and building special in-wall coves for statues and altars.

Any words of advice for other Pagan business owners?
Know your market and if you can make the customer happy, you will never run out of leads for new possibilities.

You can contact Michael at Wiggins.Michaelj@gmail.com for business or Mecpresident@gmail.com for anything pertaining to M.E.C. or Convocation, and please check out their web sites at www.Convocation.org and www.Mec-Mi.org.

Notes

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that witchmoot.com had some problems last month. We had a hacker attack the site, and add some code which attempted to load spyware to peoples’ computers. The moment we were aware the site was taken down until the problem could be resolved. If you have any further issues please feel free to contact the administrator.

Blatant and Shameless

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I Can’t Do It Without You!

Living Reciprocity won’t work without your help! Send me people to talk about. Send me businesses information to promote. This is a community building exercise and you are needed!

Please contact me using the comment link above, visit my MySpace page, PaganSpace or you can email me at twosnakes@witchmoot.com.