From the Director

Paganism inherently demands that each individual seek their own path of knowledge, discover their own truth, become their own spiritual authority. These autonomous seekers are generally free spirits and iconoclasts who question everything and accept nothing until they have discovered it within their own hearts and consciousness. They have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and enlightenment. Pagans are not generally dictated by culture or tradition, but seek out the commonalities which lie at the foundation of all. They believe at the core of these commonalities lies the heart, the essence of oneness.

While not exclusive to Paganism, the emphasis on self-awareness, personal responsibility, and spiritual autonomy requires that each person discover, experience, and seek out the truth for themselves.  This challenge of self-realization empowers the individual to go beyond any limits previously known. The spiritual autonomy which has been a core value of Pagan heritage has also limited Pagans from reaping any of the benefits accorded most other spiritual traditions.

Pagans are a large and widely-varied group spanning the globe. Expansive in their diversity and pluralism. For many centuries, Pagans have for the most part stayed in the shadows and intentionally steered away from codification and legalization, preferring to celebrate the agricultural cycles of the Earth in the safety of a living room or a backyard under a full moon. Hence, it has continued to be not only a very misunderstood religion, but a religion that often evokes fear in people of other religious beliefs.

So who are Pagans and why have they chosen to stay hidden? To understand the fears that have compelled these Earth-based spiritual believers to remain in the shadows; to shy away from being seen through a legal lens that could possibly unite them; or to codify the essence of their beliefs, non-Pagans will need to understand the path of death and destruction that is the Pagan legacy. 

My life's work has been to not only dispel the fear and misinformation surrounding Paganism but to legitimize, to some extent, Earth-based religions by codifying the common tenets of our beliefs as well as acquiring U.S. federal recognition as a Pagan church. These common Pagan tenets include a reverence for the Earth and nature. The philosophy of Immanence–the belief that the world, the cosmos, and everything in it is alive and connected–is a commonly held Pagan belief. We also honor each person as their own spiritual authority. These are just a few of the common threads that create the multi-hued, magnificent tapestry which is Paganism. The term Paganism can be seen as an over-arching umbrella much like the term Christianity. The analogy can be made that under the panoptic banner of Christianity can be found many branches of faith such as Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, Baptist, to name a few. Just as under the uniting appellation of Paganism, many multi-hued expressions of Earth-honoring spiritual traditions can be found such as Goddess, Druid, Wicca, even the beliefs of many indigenous peoples around the world.

The process of becoming one of only a handful of nonprofit Pagan temples in the U.S. was not an easy path. Nor was the challenge of attempting codification of some basic Pagan principles. Both feats required tenacity, hard work, and great humility. Legalizing and codifying what many, both Pagans and non-Pagans, believe should never be done, means shining a light on ourselves, being seen and recognized publicly. This evokes a wide range of emotions and action from both sides of the fence. Many, maybe even most, Pagans truly believe that to “set beliefs in stone” translates to dictating law and loss of spiritual autonomy.

On the other side of the spectrum, being recognized publicly evokes visceral opposition from believers in traditional religions.  Many of these religious followers adhere to the limiting belief that there is only one way, one thought, one belief, with each of these mainstream religions believing they have a unique claim on the truth. This path has led to the slaughter of millions of people in the name of god and religion. Even in these modern times, Pagans experience the whiplash of fear and hate from  people and groups whose beliefs inherently dictate this notion that there is only one way of experiencing the divine.

The guiding principles of Temple of the Goddess are just that: guiding principles. Not commandments. The intention of creating these principles, asking What Is Religion?, What Is Paganism?, distilling some of the history of divine feminine, is not meant to distance or alienate but to bring to the world an understanding of the living, thriving, evolving, dynamic, and ancient spiritual tradition known as Paganism.

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