Deborah Lipp

Continuing my thinking about Brazilian Wicca.

The Pagans I met in Sao Paulo were notably young. I’d say ninety percent of them were under the age of 35, and most were in their early-to-mid-twenties.. Many were college students.

I am reminded that in the 1970s and 80s, American Paganism was very much a Baby Boomer phenomenon. I recall one year (’89? ’90?) I looked around a festival and thought, ‘If this movement just ages with us, it will die.’ The next year, not only did I see a massive influx of younger Pagans, but older ones as well, so that now, American Pagan events almost always show a full life-cycle range.

Brazil isn’t there yet, but I see no reason it won’t get there.

Another thing I noticed was, in the small group of people I spoke with (the ones who spoke English), fully three people had their moms with them, including the organizer. None of the moms, I think, were Pagan. This is a remarkable level of acceptance, not something I’ve seen in the U.S. I wonder if the prevalence of Candomblé influences tese Brazilians to be more open to a variety of religious paths.

The Wiccan community in Brazil is about 9–10 years old. Interestingly, it seems about exactly like the Wiccan community was in the U.S. when it was ten. Okay, not identical. It’s 2006. They have more Internet and less hippies. But more or less.

Traveling the country as I used to do a lot, and still do some, you see that the cliches are true; California is five years ahead of New York, which is ten years ahead of the rest of the U.S.. And it turns out that the rest of the U.S. is ten years ahead of Canada. And now I see that in Brazil, which is another twenty years behind, the pattern holds true.

“Behind” sounds insulting, and I don’t mean it to be. Trends are trends, neither good nor bad. The Brazilian Wiccans have remarkable unity. Everyone knows everyone else. They have a small repetoire of chants and songs, and they all seem to know them and really sing out. They have more Wiccans and fewer Pagans of other paths, as well as fewer solitary eclectics. They’re in the midst of some ugly Witch Wars, and are figuring out how to respond to and recover from those.

All of this is extremely reminiscent of the U.S. coasts (East and West) in the early 1970s. (Maybe throw Minneapolis, a.k.a. Paganistan, in there.) As their community grows, I anticipate Brazil will be more diverse and less divisive. They’ll also be less connected to one another.

Days like today I wish I was an anthropologist. I don’t think this is about any one specific community. It’s about the ways communities in general grow and change. Some parts of Paganism “growing up” haven’t felt very “up” to me. Being in Brazil I realize how much I miss the optimism and intensity of our own community when it was younger.

We came up with the coolest ritual. Okay I did. Entirely my invention. So cool.

New moon is a traditional and opportune time for ritual divination, so we decided to experiment with Tarot in the circle. So we’re passing cards around, la la. Anyway, then I said “Let’s play Liar’s Tarot.”

I shuffled the deck and everyone drew a card without looking, and then we all held up the card, facing out, on our foreheads, so that everyone else could see. One at a time, each person read everyone else (so everyone got multiple readings). When everyone had taken a turn reading each other person, we all looked at our cards.

Did I mention cool?

Really, try it.

Since I go to a lot of Pagan festivals, this is a question that I get asked. Especially by Pagans thinking about going to their first one. Or by non-Pagans wondering why I camp when there’s dirt and bugs and air mattresses and aren’t hotels nicer?

Anyway, via Jason, here’s a fabulous account of Lothlorien Elf Fest. I’ve never attended this particular festival, and each has its own personality, but in terms of what it feels like to be there, this is a perfectly typical, indeed quintessential, description.

Part of my time is spent cruisin’ the strip.
There’s a gravel road that makes a circle through the campground area. I walk this strip, round and round. The merchants are set up on either side of it so I get to see who’s selling what. I get to say hello to the merchants who come back year after year, and see what new things they have and what kind of barter they’re willing to participate in. It’s a lovely walk, too. This also gives me a feel for what the mood of the festival is like. I can kill HOURS doing this, because I nearly always wind up in some deep discussions along the way.

Read the whole thing.

I am divided for love’s sake, for the chance of union.
This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all.
—Aleister Crowley, The Book of the Law

Different religions talk about creation in different ways. I believe that creation is an act of love.
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