on pagan time
TRANSCRIPT
7/29/2019 On Pagan Time
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On a typical Tuesday night, Cara
McCalley can be found at the
Tate Theater for a meeting of
Crossroads, the “campus crusade for
Christ,”worshipping the one and only
God she has always known. She, along
with the other students at Crossroads,
live by the verse John 14:6— “I am the
way, the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.”In a
di erent part of Tate, another meeting
is underway. Although their meeting
starts about 15 minutes late, nobody is
upset—they laugh, saying they’re on
“Pagan time.”As students le in for a meeting of
the Pagan Student Association, pizza is
distributed and the Beatles are playing in
the background. The topic of discussion
tonight: yoga. Next week’s meeting topic
is calming meditation. These are typical
Pagan Student Association gatherings,
and they welcome everyone, regardless
of their beliefs, with open arms.
According to witchvox.com, the word
“Pagan”comes from the Latin word
“paganus,”meaning “one who is not
from the city, but from the country”and
refers to the religion’s close ties with
nature. Many religious customs have
been branded “Pagan”over the centuries.
Today, Paganism is used as an umbrella
term to describe all religions that donot fall under the traditional Abrahamic
religions. Paganism is not one religion,
but rather a collection of religions,
including agnosticism, atheism, panthe-
ism and polytheism. PSA has been a
social organization for over a decade at
the university. It is a non-denominational
space for both members and visitors to
discuss and explore the idea of spiritual-
ity in general. It also provides a safe place
for Pagan students to learn from one
another.
“The PSA is a small socializing and ad-
vocacy organization,”says Martin Hogan,
PSA’s president of internal a airs. “Its
primary function is to be a space where
people who subscribe to any Pagan
belief or people who have any interest
in Pagan beliefs or cultures can gather to
discuss, learn and socialize.”
The three pillars of the group are
education, advocacy and community.
All are welcome, regardless of their
beliefs. PSA participates in numerous
events throughout the year. The social
calendar tends to follow nature’s calen-
dar — events include celebrations for
the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and
the summer and winter solstices, as well
as certain points in the solar and lunar
cycles.
For Halloween, the club celebrates
Samhain, a traditional Celtic harvest fes-
tival similar to All Hallows’Eve, the day of
remembrance of passed ancestors that
eventually became modern-day Hallow-
een. Festivities often include food, fall
games, costumes and spiritual rituals.
Another annual event is May Day,
which is always on the 1st of May and is
traditionally a fertility festival deemed
the “Pagan’s Valentine’s Day.”There are
also annual dances, pre-exam medita-
tions and Bardic Circles, where everyone
gets together for bonres, cookies, sing-
ing and ghost stories.
There are certain times during the year
when PSA members are especially active
on campus. At the annual anti-abortion
protest in Tate, PSA members are t here
to hand out pictures of kittens as a coun-
ter protest. PSA tries to quell the mad-
ness of such protests at Tate by passing
out material that is non-controversial in
comparison. Other counter-protests in-
clude holding up resistance signs when
religious leaders preach condemnation
to the students standing in Tate Plaza.
In reference to one of the preachers, a
member recently stood nearby and held
up a sign that read, “Don’t feed the troll.”
At a typical PSA meeting, one mem-
ber of the club will lead by sharing with
the group a certain aspect of Pagan-
ism that they nd fascinating, ranging
anywhere from fairy folklore to the role
of science and capitalism in Paganism.
Cailyn Nagle, PSA’s president of external
a airs, says hearing from the members is
her favorite part of the meetings. “I love
everyone’s chance to share what they’re
passionate about,”she says. “You really
learn from each other.”
Members of PSA have been leaving a
quiet mark on campus since the group’s
founding in 1995. On 9/11, the group
conducted a candlelight vigil at the
arch and formed a discussion circle on
the steps. People passing by started to
gather, and when the group eventually
departed they left their candles with
other participants. The vigil carried on
for over a week and grew to cover the
steps. A pen and notebook were left
on the stairs, where people wrote their
thoughts about the catastrophe. The
university library documented the scene
and parts of the sketchbook went on dis-
play in the library this year for t he tenth
anniversary.
There have been times when members
have been discriminated against for
what they do — or don’t — believe. For
instance, the group set up a boot h last
year to raise money for tsunami relief in
Japan with free tarot readings and free
cookies. One student approached the
table, took a cookie, realized the name of
the club, put the cookie back down and
walked away. The group is often stereo-
typed by a belief in violence and sadistic
activities. “Pagans don’t drink goat blood
or summon demons. They’re tolerant,
interesting and intelligent people,”says
Isaiah Broomeld. Nagle agrees, saying
“misinformation breeds hatred.”
Although members have to deal with
their share of mistreatment, acceptance
of the club, and Paganism in general, is
to convert anybody,”
says Robert Warren.
The group welcomes
students of all reli-
gious beliefs — even
non-Pagans with an
interest in the club,
whom the group
refers to as the “Pagan
friendly.”“I do not con-
sider myself a Pagan,”
says Broomeld. “I was
instead drawn to the
organization because
of its tolerance and
diversity. It is a perfect
place to explore one-
self and one’s relation
to other people from
other faiths, creeds,
etc.”
Junior Dina Abdul-
hadi is atheist, but
attends PSA meetings
regularly because
she appreciates the
philosophy of pagan-
ism and its spiritual
connection with nature. “I n
nature,”Abdulhadi says.
According to Justin Willcox
ty advisor, past members hav
ed a wide variety of religions
ranging from clergy to athei
attended meetings. “I would
urge you to attend a meetin
ing too hard to characterize
Willcox says. The Pagan Stud
tion welcomes all to join the
spiritual journey.
On Pagan time
InterestedPSA meetin Tate 14at 7:00 p.mevery oth Tuesday
generally on the rise.
The TV station The CW
has a new show de-
voted to Pagan ideolo-
gies, called “The Secret
Circle,”and Pagans have
also been featured on
HBO’s “True Blood.”The
belief system is also
becoming more com-
mon — 93 registered
Pagan organizations
now exist in the state of
Georgia alone, accord-
ing to witchvox.com. LizKaufman, a history and
anthropology major
from Lawrenceville, says
not many people show
a strong reaction to her
pagan beliefs. Every-
one’s pretty cool about
it,”she says.
The group emphasiz-
es nding and following
an individual path while
respecting others’rights
to follow their own
paths as well. “We’re not
outBY ELLEN BARNES / PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDSAY BOYLE
The Pagan Student Association
has been an established social
group at the university for over
a decade.