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Local Guides
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Pagan Harvest Festival
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by
Sarah Cairns
August 25 – 31, 2005 |
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This Saturday marks the third anniversary of Hamilton’s
Pagan Harvest Festival. The upcoming event is linked to
the larger Pagan Pride Day Project, a non–profit
organization that initiated these awareness–generating
celebrations as a way to “increase community goodwill
towards paganism.”
Paganism itself is tricky to define, as it’s an all
encompassing spiritual tradition much different than the
likes of Catholicism, Judaism and other monolithic
mainstream religions.
For the sake of simplicity, however, Samantha Clark, a
member of the festival’s planning committee, suggests
that “a Pagan or NeoPagan is typically someone who’s
self–identified, and whose spiritual, religious practice or
beliefs fits into the following: honouring and revering or
worshipping a deity or deities found in pre–Christian or
Aboriginal or tribal mythology, practicing the spirituality
of Shamanism or magical practices (and) healing
medicine, creating new religions based upon past
Pagan religions, or focusing spiritual attention on to the
divine feminine or in other words goddess worshipping.”
The inspiration for Paganism is taken from the universal
elements of air, fire, water and earth, which represent the
pillars of education, activism, charity and community,
cornerstones of the practice. For Pagans these ideals
are important aspects of their faith. Air blows forth the
ideas of education that provide the public with accurate
and relevant information on their traditions. Fire ignites
activism, providing them with the courage to act on their
convictions and do what needs to be done in their
communities. Water flows through their society at large
in the form of charity, sharing their abundance with
others in the hopes the gods will provide their
abundance in return and the solidity of earth as
community providing healthy networks that support the
Pagan tradition as a valid faith community.
Of the four elements, charity is by far the most
important and a requirement in worldwide Pagan
festivals.
“It’s very important to us to demonstrate charity by
offering compassion to the community where it’s
needed,” explains Clark. “We want to share our
blessings with the community. Being a Pagan is a life–
long commitment to the earth, and part of being
connected to the earth is being connected to the
community around you.
“As far as the Hamilton Pagan Pride Festival goes, this
year we’ve got the Neighbour to Neighbour food drive
and the McMaster Children’s Hospital that we’re
collecting food and raising funds for.”
The festival itself also provides an avenue to promote
diversity of opinions, religious tolerance and the
opportunity to reduce discrimination by correcting
misinformation surrounding the discipline, in a sense
“coming out of the broom closet.”
Common misconceptions about Paganism include
assumptions that it has something to do with human or
animal sacrifice, black magic and licentiousness. But
according to the Pagan Pride website, “members of
modern Pagan and NeoPagan religions tend to value
ecology as an extension of their view of the Earth as
sacred and all life as interconnected. (They) hold a
paradigm that embraces plurality, supports civil rights,
and advocates personal freedom. (They) hold ethical
standards that require personal responsibility; (are)
well–read and interested in learning; focused on self–
help, emotional and psychological growth; and keenly
aware of each person’s right to believe as he chooses,
believing that to impose one’s beliefs on another is
harmful.”
The pride moniker, traditionally associated with the gay
and lesbian movement, has been adopted by the
organization because of its positive connotation and the
sentiment it offers—to take pride in the being that you
are.
The coordinators of Hamilton’s fledgling festival are
thankful the event hasn’t been mired in controversy and
has become an accepted celebration in the city. “In the
past we haven’t had too many problems in dealing with, I
guess you could say, people who are ignorant about
what the religion is itself,” says Clark. “In terms of PPD, I
think what we’re trying to do in overcoming the
stereotypes is just educating the community, trying to
erase the ignorance by saying, ‘okay, this is what it
means to be Pagan for us.’ Just showing that we are part
of the community, that we are involved in charity, just
trying to get it out there, not forcing it on anybody, not
selling it to anybody, just letting people freely express
themselves to us so we can express ourselves to them.
So, it’s been welcomed with a warm response.”
Pagan Pride 2005 will start off with a bang thanks to an
Aboriginal drum circle, and is set to include 30 vendors,
21 workshops and five rituals in the day–long event.
Musical acts include Celtic rockers Riversong, and there
are scheduled keynote addresses by Dr. Shelley
Rabinovitch and Dr. Sian Reid. “They’ll be speaking
about magic and morality,” Clark notes. “They’ve both
contributed to writing Paganistic books and Wiccan
books. Dr. Sian Reed is head of the Canadian Pagan
Survey… and Dr. Shelly Rabinovitch has written a book
called And Ye Harm None and will be taking about how
to define our morality as Pagans.
“The festival is a little taste of everything and that’s
exactly how we want it. We want everyone to be open to
experiencing everything that’s going on.”
Hamilton’s happening is also gaining prominence
outside the region, with attendees participating from as
far away as Chatam and North York. “It’s not just the
local Hamilton community but also the greater
community,” says Clark. “For example, I was in Toronto
one day and this woman mentioned to me about how
great the Hamilton Pagan harvest festival was and how
she can’t wait to go back. Word gets out and we’re really
glad and we welcome everybody, we want everyone to
participate.”
The festival in turn demonstrates what our larger
community can learn from a gentle and mindful religion
like Paganism. For Clark, her embracing of Paganism
has been a rich and rewarding experience. “Based upon
my own personal experience I think that as far as my life
goes in the Pagan tradition, its taught me a lot about
what it is to be generous and to have patience and
understanding, not just within the community at large,
but to have patience with yourself. You discover a lot of
things about yourself that maybe you never knew before,
as far as finding that voice inside of you that gives you
perspective and opens you up to the world and
everyone else.
“That’s what I think a lot of people can learn—that we’re
all interconnected, no matter what titles might be given to
us. I think it teaches you a lot about universal love, and
the universal wholeness that’s out there.”
You’ll find the Pagan Harvest Festival at Gage Park this
Saturday, starting at 10am. For more information on the
festival, Paganism and other community events log onto
www.ppdhamilton.org. V
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