Rev Janet Callahan

Priestess and Author

It seems there is no place for us

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We are now 2-time SpiralScouts drop-outs. Kids like mine don’t take well to sitting down to do anything. Working with them in a group would require re-structuring the entire group (it can be done –  I know of Circles who manage multiple kids with multiple special needs, because they structure their entire meeting cadence around managing those conditions). But…that’s a project that I don’t think most groups will take on.

And the other Pagan youth group starting locally doesn’t look like a good fit either. They plan to do a lot of camping, and teaching of wilderness skills. Which sounds great, except that sleeping anywhere other than their beds has been a miserable failure. And….when I commented about special needs, one of the leaders said that they would be open to special needs, because her child is hearing impaired. I like the sentiment, but…they come with different requirements.

Our school is part of a Cub Scouts pack at another school, but I can’t imagine it working any better for my son than SpiralScouts did. I’m still on the fence about Boy Scouts in general, but if it was a good fit otherwise, at this point we might try it out.

So where does that leave us?

Probably on our own. Again. Indefinitely. Because we’re far enough out of the norm to not fit well in most places….

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Maybe We Don’t Need MoonDay School

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I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

Part of the difference than Pagan religions and Abrahamic religions is that the Abrahamic folks (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) base their faith on words in a book. To follow their faith, they have to read it and learn what it says. Reading sounds a lot like school, don’t you think?

Think back: how did you really learn about your faith?  If you say “reading a book”…..ok, you read it, but then what? Did you do a ritual? Create an altar? Go outside and talk to the trees or the moon? You did more than just read a book, I’d hope….

Our faiths are about experiencing the divine. That’s part of the mystery – I can tell you all day about the great ritual I went to, about an experience with a Goddess, but until you experience it for yourself, you won’t actually know what it’s like.

I did some reading – it turns out Christian Sunday schools were largely a reaction to public schools – they were not teaching religion, so families needed another way to do it.

Here’s the thing, though. We have everything within us to know what to teach – we know how ritual works, we know the cycles of the moon, we know our gods and goddesses and their stories. We have incense to smell and fire to watch and crystals to feel and so many parts of our rites are active, not just standing around….so many experiences.

And what if they’re not understanding us and we have to keep trying to explain? Then we’re talking too much – go and DO – show, don’t tell. Light the candles. Burn the incense. Have FUN.

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The Color of Magic

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At some point before I had kids, I went through a phase where I used nail polish constantly.  And then I got a job as an engineer, and mostly stopped, for a combination of practical and perception reasons.

But…one thing that I did after I stopped wearing polish all the time, was that I occasionally used it for magic.  And with it being summer, a time when it’s common to wear sandals and show off our toes, I thought it might be a good time to share this idea, because it’s something you can easily do with your kids too.

First, you’ll need a variety of nail polish colors.  At the time, I went for the tiny cheap bottles that come in a multi-pack, frequently available in typical big-box discount stores. Having lots of different colors to choose from means you can choose your result, and then pick the color you need, without having to plan to go to the store each time you think of something new.

Next, go find a list of color correspondences. Candle magic books frequently have them, or you can use your trusty internet connection and google. Decide what you’re planning to do with your spell work, and pick the appropriate color of nail polish.

Now, using your preferred ritual format, charge the bottle of nail polish for your desire, and then paint your toe nails. You can use different colors if that suits your purposes. Each step you take continues to charge the spell.

Let your nail polish wear off – paint over it with another color if you like, but don’t strip it off until you’ve either achieved your purpose or it has grown out completely (this is why I like toes nails for this – they grow fairly quickly and can always be covered by a pair of socks).

So, enjoy your summer and have fun with all the colors available to you!

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So, How Do I Start?

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It seems like every week or two, a question comes up in one of the various Pagan parenting groups, along the lines of “I’m Pagan, and I have a toddler, how do I teach them about my faith?” or “I’m new to being Pagan and I want to share with my kids, where do I start?” or “How old do my children need to be for me to start teaching them?”

It’s not surprising that we see these questions – it’s not like we have Sunday School (which is what most of us are familiar with). Most of our groups have limited kids’ activities, if they even have kid friendly events – and that assumes you belong to a group in the first place.

For most kids, step one is to involve your children in your practice – let them see you in ritual, let them help you.  Tell stories, read mythology. Go for walks in nature. Talk about what you believe, and when you’re not sure how to answer questions, a good start is always, “Some people think this, and I think that, what do you think?”  Kids learn what they see and what they do – so exposure is always a good starting point.

For younger kids, Rupert’s Tales, the Pooka Pages, and Little Pagan Acorns are good resources. For somewhat older kids, books like “Growing up Pagan” and “Paganism for Kiddos” might be a good start.

But…Pagan faiths are faiths of action, not just of reading, and doing things with your children is the best way to teach them.

 

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Imbolc With Small Children

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Originally posted on ThePaganHousehold.com on January 8, 2012

2011 was a pretty chaotic year for us. I don’t think we really did a great job of celebrating any Sabbat, much less big mainstream holidays or even birthdays.

There was a time where that really wouldn’t have bothered me, but my son, Acorn, is now 3½, and he’s at an age where he’s starting to understand holidays, and I wish we’d done a little better at it for him.

And that’s where the idea for this series of posts came from. For each Sabbat, I’ll post a planning post with links to various resources I find and with my thoughts on what we’ll do, and then I’ll post again after the Sabbat to talk about what worked and what didn’t. We don’t have years of history celebrating these holidays – all of our extended family is at least nominally Christian. My plan has been to keep notes so that we’ll have guidance, year to year, of what things we did that really resonated and what things were a flop so we don’t do them again.

Our household includes two children under the age of 4 (a 7 month old and a 3 ½ year old), so my main focus will be on including them in our celebrations. Both of my children have some special needs, so I’ll be including that in the plans. As of this writing, our baby is in a hospital, but doing well and preparing to come home in a few weeks, but it’s doubtful she’ll be home by Imbolc; if she is, we’ll see what new experiences we can give her.

Does your family do something different? We’d love to have you post about your religious holidays too!

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For me, Imbolc has always been a challenge. Here in Michigan, winter is just getting rolling come the first of February. It’s hard to envision it being a celebration of spring. The Dianic coven I trained in used Imbolc as the time of initiations – of starting new things, beginning new journeys, and preparing for the year ahead.

I started looking around online for ideas of what we would do this year. While I was researching, I read a site [1] that mentions that spring is coming, but it’s hidden under the snow – it’s “in the belly” so to speak, unseen but still there. So I’m hoping that thought helps me visualize this holiday better. Imbolc is also tied to Brigid (and thus to wheat and fire) and was historically celebrated with custards and other milk dishes, since milk was plentiful and new, even as stores of other foods were running low.

Hands-on things work well for my very spirited little boy. Things that involve moving are always good — the more energetic the better.

While searching, I found a page titled “13 ways to celebrate Imbolc” [2]. Among the suggestions here that I like are things like going through toys to give some to charity, making/decorating candles, planting seeds, and eating spicy food and dairy dishes.

Planting seeds could work here too. We used to have potted herbs in the house; there are none now for a variety of reasons, but having fresh again might be fun. We simply don’t have time to manage much of a garden, and frankly, the planting season runs so late here (our last frost date is May 15), we’d have to start things inside anyway.

Acorn probably wouldn’t grasp the concept behind giving away toys, but it’s a good precedent to set, and we have so many toys that the grandparents have given that we seem to be drowning in them.

Making candles with snow (or ice) is also suggested quite a few places [3]. We have a lot of restrictions on burning candles here due to the oxygen, but might be interesting to make some anyway.

The ADF [4] talks about making bird feeders, which is probably highly appropriate here in Michigan, given our usual snow pack at Imbolc.

So, I think we will start our day by making butter — the shaking of the cream will be a good energy burning activity. We’ll make fresh bread to go with it as part of our celebration. We’ll plant some herbs. We’ll have a very short ritual where we read a story – I’m thinking there must be something in Circle Round or Celebrating the Great Mother – and have bread with butter. After that, we’ll see what’s left. Maybe make some candles, maybe box up some toys, or make bird feeders – I’m thinking peanut butter on pinecones, rolled in seeds.

Now you just have to wait for next month, for me to let you know how it goes!

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Other Imbolc resources you might find useful:

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/imbolcfebruary2/a/AllAbout_Imbolc.htm

http://www.muddlepuddle.co.uk/mpblog/themes-2/festivals/imbolc/

http://www.kidsnkin.dragondreaming.com/?q=node/45

http://www.druidry.org/obod/intro/festivals.html

http://clatsopduck.awardspace.co.uk/imbolc.html

Notes:
[1] http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/02/expectancy-and-creativity-feast-of-brigid/
[2] http://www.widdershins.org/vol4iss7/05.htm
[3] http://www.essortment.com/pagan-parenting-imbolc-crafts-activities-children-55365.html
[4] http://www.adf.org/articles/kids/ol5/

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