(Continued from Page 5) -
around someone is going to
come up and slap you Peo
pie who power trip too much
get slapped in some way."
Queen said
The ceremonial mood is
well established now The
participants show mixed emo
tions of giddy/ happiness,
reverence. thoughtfulness
and energetic fervor They
are about to invoke the
Goddess
Isis. Astarte Diana Hecate.
Demeter. Kali. Inanna
l ike a bee mv mind is buzzin
round the blue lotus feet
of mv Divine Mother
my Divine Mother
Again and again they chant
ills' verse as they form a foun
tain of multi colored move
merit around the fire A tarn
bourine has joined the wit
ches chants The energy of
the ritual is now electrifying
the crcular area The God
dess is with them and they
pick up a new chant as their
dance becomes frenzied as
they shout back and forth
"The Goddess is alive,
magic is afoot'
The Gorldess is alive
magic is afoot’
The magic of il all Or
m a g i c k. as it is
sometimes spelled by
those pagans who don't wish
to confuse their brand of
magic with the "rabbit out of
a hat” forms Some people
wish to cast spells, but that
isn't the only reason witches
begin study of the Craft, ac
cording to Jencson
"Most of the people I talked
to sort of discovered it on
their own by reading science
fiction books, or feminist
books or through an
thropology (comparative)
study.” Jencson says
Covens, the formal
meeting groups of 13 witches,
are rare in Eugene, according
to Jencson Instead there are
gatherings of "circles' that are
informal and have no set
! number that must attend
Jencson also finds that wit
I ches have varied reactions to
being labeled a witch "There
are many women who have
tried the witchcraft rituals and
don't like the word witch, but
like the rituals There are peo
pie who will use witchcraft all
the time If they are playing
trivial pursuit, they will the
dice to fall a certain way If
their cat runs away they
blame witchcraft but they’ll
still say. Tm not a witch
Jencson herself will not say
whether she is a witch "I
guess you could say I am
since I know how to do all the
stuff
She prefers, however to
| i all herself pagnostic "I'm an
I agnostic who leans toward
I paganism.’ she says
Covens, the formal meeting groups of 13 witches, are
rare in Eugene. Instead there are gatherings of circles
that are informal and have no set number that must
attend.
Queen's experience was
different At age 11 she began
practicing the Craft, but when
she reached adolescence she
stopped practicing to pursue
other avenues
"I came out as a lesbian
and forgot all together that I
was a witch When I became
involved in the women's
movement there were a lot of
references to witchcraft and
that kind of pulled me back to
it Queen said
They are in the process
now of working the magic
Witches come forth with per
sons! petitions written in
crayon otI pieces of paper
Each witch has singled out
one thing he or she wants to
give up and one thing to gain
The papers are tossed into the
fire I'he chants begin
"Solar fire burn away,
remnants of a bygone day
Solar fire bum away,
remnants of a bygone <lav
Some of the witches
celebrate this gain and Itrss
exhuberantly. jumping over
the fire repeatedly and
laughing and crying out It is
almost dark tn the Eugene
backyard, and following the
intense release of energy, the
witches gather in front of a
stick god erected near the
alter In no particular order
they afix flowers, cookies and
dolls to him It is a quiet per
sonal denouement of the
Summer Solstice ceremony
Witches have memories
of ceremonies that
stick in their minds
One of Jencson’s favorites
took place on a hillside in
Eugene with 40 other wit
ches “Everyone passed
around a little globe and said
what they intended to do to
make the world a better
place It was kind of nice, it
was also outdoors." she says
Because of the weather
and lack of remote areas in
the immediate area. Jencson
says most circle gatherings are
in back rooms in houses
The notion of sexually
wanton naked lesbians cavor
ting in the woods is more than
a little off base, according to
Samantha
“The most we do is worship
skyclad (naked) It s not a
sexual thing, its a symbolic
baring of our souls to each
other.” she says
Samantha also invalidates
the myth that witches, "go
around hexing people all the
time
The Summer Solstice ritual
is winding down A s a final
work of action several of the
witches think into pieces of
paper and throw them into
the fire They have willed the
end to world hunger with this
action Each of the witches
who called the spirit directions
sends them away now with a
chant
"The earth, the water, the lire,
the air
Return, return, return, return
The group is rejuvenated
from their exercise and the
final closing chant is quick
and upbeat
"Merry meet and merry part
and merry meet again
To fire, to water, to earth and
to wind
In the circle of life the dance
never ends
Merry meet and merry part and
merry meet again
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