Hestia, 
fire of my family 
home,
You receive both first and last,
Goddess in physical reality
Sacred fire that makes this place mine
Protectress of my family
warmth of my soul
heat on my skin
greatest of alchemy 
You bring the smoke that takes my prayers
my heart’s moans made something more
Scared fire,
essential force of creation
Blessed Hestia
fire of my being

Evil sometimes is in the eye of the beholder. Storms rage, typhoons swamp the land, earthquakes crush, and tornados sweep away the hard labors of our hands, as well as human life. In many faith traditions these are blamed on the judgment of a God, or thought of as acts of evil by some divine, supernatural adversary. These faith traditions assume an all powerful, omniscient God, that allows evil to happen, or allows humans to be tempted into evil, so as to test their devotion to the good.  

My faith tradition does not have an all-powerful supernatural being, but instead many perfectly natural Deities that are subject to the laws of nature and physics. They can effect some change in bending those laws, but they cannot break them. Tornados, earthquakes, plagues, and other disasters are all by-products of the physical forces at work in our shared world. They are not divine retribution, nor are they evil in of themselves. They can often be tragic in the cost of life, and property, but they are not evil or good. They just are.  

As for other types of evil in the world, I hold that human beings are creative enough to not need a supernatural being to tempt them into nasty and disturbing behaviors. Humans are perfectly capable of both acts of good and evil without any sort of divine help. As I have heard it said, "Heaven and Hell are here on Earth; it is we who decide which it will be."

One of the things that drew me to the Pagan faiths after realizing that Christianity was no longer going to work, was the stronger emphasis on experiences than on what is written down in a book.  While my Protestant faith had placed a great deal of value on experiences of God, in the end those experiences had to be vetted by the Bible. When God seemed to do or say things that didn’t fit the book, they had to be thrown out as invalid.  I think that limited what could have been huge revelations about the Christian God and his place in my life. In the end it felt limiting to a being that was supposed to be unlimited. It was also my experience of other Gods that helped me to realize that, while I do think the Christian God is a God, he is not the only one, as I had been raised to believe.

I understand that a person who believes that deities are separate and complete individuals from themselves would want to be sure that what they experienced was not self-manufactured. Hence, there is a great need to collaborate with an independent source like a book in the Christian faith. I no longer view the divine as separate from myself.  I will be the first to tell you that I am perfectly willing to say that my experiences of the divine Gods could be nothing more than brain chemistry.  I would then add that Love is the by product of brain chemistry and is made no less powerful and moving because of that fact. Experiential faith allows me to plumb deeper into a relationship with those beings, as well as with myself. Experiences are the ghosts in my machine, that animate my faith and spiritual life.

This is why the doing of religious activity instead of right belief has such a strong push in many Pagan faiths.  ADF makes it very clear that we follow orthopraxy and not orthodoxy. It is right actions and deeds, not doctrines, that influence my views and understandings of the Kindreds. My direct experiences of these beings informs my faith, and others are not required or even asked to believe the same way.  I allow that others can and will experience relationship with the divine in a different manner than I do. I experience relationship with my husband in very different ways than other who know him. This is how it should be.  I act different toward a stranger and probably come across as a much different person than I do with close friends. Why should I expect anything different from the Kindreds, who are also individual personalities?

Every group of people, no matter how well intentioned and organized, will eventually come across a dragon.  Dragons are people who, while they don’t necessarily mean to do ill, often cause drama and stress.  In a church of 200-300 people, they can cause a great deal of damage, but rarely do they kill the church.  In a grove or circle of 3-30 people, they can wipe out all remains of what was once a spiritual home.  My new sapling grove is very important to me, and I want it to grow healthy enough to last well after I am gone.  This means that as a leader I need to be prepared for the dragons that are a guarantee at some point in the future.  Thankfully, I have not met with too many dragons so far.  My grove has been very fortunate on this score, but again I feel it is only a matter of time before a scaled beastie shows up.

There are no book sources that I have found that are written from a Pagan perspective.  Pagan groves and circles have a very different dynamic than larger Christian churches, but some of the same techniques for dragon taming can apply. For this reason, I have been investing in several books that describe how best to deal with, and maybe even tame a dragon in a manner that will not burn the congregation (even if a few singes may occur).  The first step is in identifying what type of beastie we are dealing with. 

I am going to list some of the types of scaly creatures there are, but I am still in the process of researching how best to deal with them in a healthy manner.  I am afraid that for this reason I am not really able to give much advice on how to handle them.  Not all people who exhibit the traits of a dragon are a real beastie. Nor are all the dragons exclusively in the congregation. They can be leaders as well. The real dragons burn hot and cause fires that are hard to ignore.  It is often by the amount of damage that is occurring that we can truly identify a beastie. 

The first book that I have read on this subject, and where I get the term dragon from, is a book called, “Well-Intentioned Dragons,” by Marshall Shelley. This book provides an excellent description of the various types of dragons that tend to show up in groups, no matter what the size. 

First, we have “the bird dog.”  These are the people who scout out issues that are probably not really issues that need attention.  They like to scout out the gossip and then point the leader to the individuals that they find offensive.  My mom used to call ‘em busy bodies, but bird dog sounds much nicer.  These are people who really do feel that they are doing the right thing and helping out.  They tend to couch what they are doing in spiritual terms.

“These people like to give the impression they have more spiritual perception than anyone else.” (p.38)

The Prussian General von Moltke once divided his officer core into categories: 1) Mentally dull and physically lazy.  2) Mentally bright and physically energetic. 3) Mentally dull and physically energetic, and 4) bright and lazy (Gratzon, p.46).  The first group he viewed as harmless. The third group he dismissed out right, because they tend to be very dangerous people. The second group he sequestered to smaller leadership positions, because these are the types that tend to micro manage.  Bird dogs are most likely to be in this second type. Bird dogs tend to do little real harm to the group, especially if given other tasks to distract them from what others are doing. 

Next, we have “the wet blanket.” These are the people who find so much fault in any idea or project that the group gets bogged down to the point of motionlessness. They sap strength and energy to the point that a small group is often disbanded.  The wet blankets are easier to loose in larger groups and can be kept in check by numbers, but very few Pagan groups are lucky enough to have those types of numbers. This is a dragon I am still trying to figure out how to deal with in an affective manner in a small group setting. Thankfully, I have yet to meet one in our grove.  Any ideas of how you have dealt with them in the past left in comments would be very helpful.

On the opposite side of the wet blanket we have the entrepreneur. This is the person who uses the group as the focus for business adventures.  They will use the phone lists to try to sell their latest product.  These are much less destructive in a small group than the wet blanket.  They can be irritating, but rules put in place that state explicitly what phone lists and ritual get togethers are really for, help to keep this type of person in check.

In General von Moltke’s third category we often find Captain Bluster .  This is the type who knows it all and how it should be done.  They wont hear the other options and often steam roll the opposition.  If you don’t agree whole heartedly with them, then you are an enemy that needs dealing with.  They also seem to enjoy watching the fires that they start. This is one dragon I have felt the heat from first hand, and it was not fun.  The best advice I can give from my experience is do all in your power to be sure that the Captain has no power or authority in the group.  How to deal with one who already has such a position is another issue I am trying to figure out how best to deal with.  Thoughts are always welcome in comments {{{HINTHINT}}}

Also lurking in the dark woods are the sniper and the bookkeeper. The sniper talks smack about everyone else, while the bookkeeper will record every little transgression perceived to use for later ammunition.  These two are often shadowy figures that are often hard to spot in the process of starting a fire.  I am getting the impression from my readings that these two are best dealt with in open check in type meetings.  These type of meeting require everyone to be very open and trusting.  Ground rules for how people are allowed to speak can also help.  For example, the use of “I” language exclusively would have to be a requirement (“I feel hurt that such and such was said about me”, instead of “when you said blah”).


Dragons are unfortunately a part of group life. They can be very hard to tame, but can often be turned into powerful allies and members. How have you dealt with them?

Sources:

Gratzon, F. (2003). The lazy way to success. Fairfield, Iowa: Soma Press
Shelley, M. (1994). Well-intentioned Dragons: Ministering to problem people in the church. Minnesota: Bethany house publishers

Digging in the dirt.  Who could possibly think of a better way to connect with the land and its spirit inhabitants?  When I  planted a garden I found that the wheel of the year began to make more sense. The wheel became relevant to my daily life. The life I was attempting to foster and cultivate in my garden depended on where in the wheel we stood and my ability to make use of that information. At this time of year my heart is dancing in the brighter sunlight, and my head is making grand plans about what to place in my yard.

Normally, it is after Imbolc that I begin to scan my yard to find the wee new shoots of green.  This year I found them well before Imbolc.  The tulips are starting to get their hearts into this whole above the ground thing.  By Ostara I will finish collecting the broccoli and brussle sprouts that are currently growing the strongest.  The raspberry stalks will need pruning, because it wouldn't be Beltaine without fresh raspberries. Can you say apple trees?  I know I feel a need to plant a couple.  What better way to celebrate Mabon than by picking apples?  Sam hain harvest will be made all the more meaningful by the planting of a Three Sisters garden.

The herb/ wild prairie flower labyrinth will need a major over haul this year.  I did not keep the path very well defined last year, so now it is all but un-walkable.  I wouldn’t mind the path going away, except sometimes I want to use the mountain mint and mugwort that grows in the center.  I can see small shoots of the elfwort, and I know this is one plant that will need some huge reworking.  

I can feel the new life stirring in the bird calls around me.  The squirrels have started their high pitched trilled chirps that help mark out who’s territory is whose. The spirits of this land and of this place are beginning to quicken their movements from the slow hush of winter.  This is a time of possibilities, and I love it.  It feeds my soul.

Oh, and provides great photo-ops for my kidlets.