Pagan Pride Day aims to shake misconceptions

By Michael Charlebois

 The celebration of a unique but often misunderstood religion took place recently at the Bronson Centre.

 Pagan Pride Day on Sept. 30 helped unite Pagans from across the Ottawa area and shake off misconceptions that members of the religion say remain a constant struggle.

 “It’s a stereotype,” said event organizer Chantelle Russell. “I know with my own parents I had to convince them I wasn’t joining a cult.”

 Sure enough, Merriam-Webster’s secondary definition for the term pagan reads: “One who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods.”

 Yet 2017’s pride day showed that Paganism isn’t something its historical connotations would have you believe. Similar to other religious gatherings, the group on hand tried to achieve a level of spiritual connectedness.

“Having a group structure means there’s an environment for training and teaching,” said Pagans of Carleton host Heather Logan. “It’s mystical — any time you have a mystical tradition, it’s useful to pass skills and techniques.”

Paganism is an umbrella term under which many different sects fall. Throughout the day, people identifying as Wiccans, Druids, Warriors and others came together at the event to share ideas on their interpretation of the Pagan faith.

Whether dressed in a garb, wearing a witches’ hat or carrying a staff, a group of roughly 100 organizers, vendors and visitors took part in the celebration.

Vendors offered jewelry, candles, books and even poppets — a pagan doll used to channel negative spirits away from the body.

“It’s the get-together of different minds,” said Wiccan healer Nanci Gordon.

 The event formally began with a prayer circle led by Wiccan high priestess Michelle Hrynyk. In contrast to more hierarchical religions, the priestess used the opportunity to ask for group input, then proceeded to lead an energy-raising chant.

 “They decided what our purpose was and we flew in that direction,” Hrynyk said. “We sent the energy out into the world, and let it accept itself back to create positive change in our world.” 

There’s no sacred text, no set of beliefs, no specific Gods; the Pagan faith is highly open to personal interpretation.

“One of the doctrines is that, there’s no exact right path,” said Russell. “It is expected that every individual might have a different understanding of it.”

Added Russell: “For everyone to believe in the same thing — it’s kind of sacrilegious in Paganism.”

So what unites Pagans? In this case, the worship of water and nature was a central theme.

 “I look at nature as a scripture instead of books written by people,” said Hrynyk, who described her practice as “living in harmony with nature.”

“It’s more of an egalitarian system where everybody’s voice matters — we’re all part of the whole,” said Hrynyk. “My job is to facilitate learning, but that doesn’t mean I’m top dog. It means when I facilitate well, I’m worth listening to.”

Although the Pagan faith is made up of numerous belief systems, inclusivity remains a key value. Building a sense of community amongst Pagans is part of what drove Russell to help organize the event, she said.

“When I first came to Ottawa I didn’t have a community, I didn’t know anyone who was in it,” said Russell, who moved to the city at 22. “Even though (the Pagan community) is very alive in Ottawa, it’s kind of harder to find.”

She added: “Within the Pagan culture, it’s a lot about individual safety and freedom, so … if they’re transgender, if they’re gay, if they’re more than one gender… all of that is expected to be accepted within Paganism.”

Hrynyk said she’s seen the Pagan community develop since she first started performing rituals in 1988. 

“Our rituals (at that time) were usually anywhere from 20-40 people… Now for our festivals we’ve drawn 800 people,” Hrynyk said. “It’s a lot of different paths, a lot of different opinions — but it’s all different definitions of the same thing.”

This year’s event was no exception.

“Look around at all these wonderful women and men,” Gordon said as she surveyed the room. “They’re just here to celebrate life.”