Some Hope.

So today was mabon. I was intent on doing a ritual outdoors. I gathered my supplies and headed for a park high in the mountains. The park was full of people because of a soccer game. I decided it was too noisy to get anything done so I headed further up. I got lucky and there was no one around. As I set up my altar, I kept hearing the rustling of trees from the animals. I have to admit I was a bit intimidated, but I pressed on. After getting everything setup, I began my ritual. I called the quarters, invoked the god and goddess and lit some incense. I sat on the cloth I had laid out and took in the crisp air. I was still in edge from fear of being caught. I tried to relax, but I could sense something was about to happen. Sure enough, about 20 minutes into ritual, some mischievous teens showed up. At this point I has stopped my ritual and was waiting to see how long they were planning on staying. Shortly after their arrival, a police car showed up and drove them out. Upon seeing and hearing all this, I began to panic. Sure enough, the cop called me out with his loudspeaker. I tried to gather everything and leave, but I took longer than I thought. With half my supplies in my hands I ran into the parking area and tried to tell the cop I was leaving. Of course, seeing someone in all black carrying some rather questionable items around brought up some questions. " What were you doing?" he asked. I couldnt exactly think of a lie so I just told him the truth. "I was doing a ritual" I told him. "A what?" he asked again. "Ritual". "I'm a wiccan". I told him. This brought up several more questions as well as some explaining. So I went ahead and explained to him that I was out here enjoying the full moon and celebrating the autumnal equinox with a small ritual. After I told him that he asked me some questions about who or what a Wiccan or witch was. Seeing as how he didn't seem to be afraid or doubtful, I told him a few things and he sort of put it together and connected the dots. "So its like a pagan religion?" "Yes. Exactly." I thought to my self, "whoa thats the first time I heard someone use that term correctly." So after that he apologized for disturbing my ritual and explained that he needed to close the gates so I needed to get going. After finishing up gathering my things, I bid the nice police officer a good night and headed off.

This whole incident really gave me hope. I had always been a bit hesitant to explain myself to people, but so far almost everytime its been successful. I really appriciated the fact that the cop was willing to let me explain and not over react. It felt good knowing that I was able to teach someone something new that he will probably carry for the rest of his life. Just as the apple is a popular fruit for mabon and autumn in general, symbolizing knowledge, I was able to pass along the fruit of knowledge to another person. I think everything that has happened to me has happened because I remember making a promise to myself that I was not going to hide who I was. I wanted to educate people and share a part of history. I'm going to enjoy the rest of mabon tonight knowing that the world is one more person changed. Its kinda funny I was actually thinking of hiring one of those planes that write messages in the sky and get someone to put Pagan Pride for all of glendale to see. That would deffinitely raise some hairs, but still very interesting....