A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans (29 page)

Appendix C

Resources

Below are lists of resources that can be useful to teachers, coven leaders, Pagan clergy, and anyone else in a leadership role in the Pagan community.

Websites

In addition to listing many of the sites that I use or that have been recommended to me by friends, I've listed some sites that I personally have no experience with but that seemed important to include because of their potential value to teachers. As you check out these sites, use your best discretion to determine if the information is completely accurate and/or useful to you. Also, if I've left something out, it doesn't mean it's not great! If I listed every Pagan resource I could find, it would fill another whole book.

Adult Learning and Class Preparation

American Association for Adult and Continuing Education:
www.aaace.org (click on “adult learning”)
Publishes
Adult Learning Quarterly
.

American Society for Training and Development:
www.astd.org Meant mostly for corporate trainers but provides books, classes, and other resources that might be useful to Pagan teachers.

Adult and Child Learners:
http://online.rit.edu/faculty/teaching_strategies/adult_learners.cfm
An article with succinct descriptions of the differences between adult and child learners.

How Adults Learn:
agelesslearner.com/intros/adultlearning.html
Article with links by Marcia L. Conner.

Principles of Adult Learning:
www.teachermentors.com/adultLrng.php
A concise rundown of the basics.

What Is Adult Learning?
adulted.about.com/od/intro/p/introprofile.htm
About.com article with lots of useful links.

Content

Creative Commons:
www.creativecommons.org

Flickr:
www.flickr.com

Dealing with People

Isaac Bonewits's Cult Danger Evaluation Frame:
www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html
This is a frame with a list of criteria to determine if an organization is a cult. Don't do any of this stuff in your class!

Project Pagan Enough:
www.incitingariot.com/p/project-pagan-enough.html

Trollspotting:
bichaunt.org/Trolls/index.html
Very long but excellent article on dealing with trolls within a spiritual class, group, or coven.

Humor

Why Would You Want to Be a Teacher:
www.widdershins.org/vol10iss3/11.htm
Humor by Sylvana Silverwitch.

Pagan Organizations and Churches

Aquarian Tabernacle Church:
www.aquariantabernaclechurch.org
Pagan church founded by Pete “Pathfinder” Davis in Washington State. Has chapters elsewhere and is the organization behind the Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary.

Circle Sanctuary:
www.circlesanctuary.org

Lady Liberty League:
www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty
Advocates for Pagan legal rights.

Mother Earth Ministries:
www.motherearthministries.org
Arizona organization that works with incarcerated Pagans.

Our Lady of the Earth and Sky:
www.oloteas.org
Interviewee Stephanie Raymond's organization in Washington State.

Online Learning

eLearn Magazine:
http://elearnmag.acm.org/index.cfm

White paper on best practices for teaching online:
http://www.umuc.edu/ctl/upload/bestpractices.pdf

Pagan Podcasts, Blogs, and Other Journalism Outlets

ATC Pagan Information Network:
www.atcpin.com

CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) Podcast:
http://cuups.libsyn.com

Elemental Castings:
www.thorncoyle.com/videos-podcasts/podcasts T. Thorn Coyle's podcast series.

The Juggler:
http://culture.pagannewswirecollective.com
The arts from a Pagan perspective.

Pagan-Centered Podcast:
http://imbleedingprofusely.com

Pagan + Politics:
http://politics.pagannewswirecollective.com

Pagan Radio Network:
www.paganradio.net

Patheos Pagan Portal:
www.patheos.com/Religion-Portals/Pagan.html
Pagan section of multi-religion website Patheos.

Proud Pagan Podcasts:
http://paganpodcasting.org
Get Started with Podcasting direct URL: http://paganpodcasting
.org/resources/get-started-with-podcasting

Theologies of Immanence:
http://pagantheologies.pbworks.com/w/page/13621982/Blogs-A-to-F
Huge list of Pagan blogs.

T. Thorn Coyle Musings:
www.thorncoyle.com/musings

Warriors and Kin:
http://military.pagannewswirecollective.com
Blog for and about Pagans in the military.

The Wild Hunt:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt
Pagan news blog by Jason Pitzl-Waters. Recently made a subsection of the Patheos Pagan portal. Highly recommended.

Witches' Voice Blogs:
www.witchvox.com/lx/lx_blogs.html
A list of Pagan blogs.

Witches' Voice Podcast Page:
www.witchvox.com/lx/lx_podcasts.html
A list of Pagan podcasts.

Witchtalk:
www.witchtalkshow.com
Witchy radio show.

Pagan or Wiccan Teachers

T. Thorn Coyle:
www.thorncoyle.com

Ellen Evert Hopman:
http://www.elleneverthopman.com

Patrick McCollum:
http://www.patrickmccollum.org

Christopher Penczak:
http://christopherpenczak.com/site2009/contact.html

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart:
www.oberonzell.com

Online Training in Paganism and/or Wicca

Grey School of Wizardry:
www.greyschool.com

Witch School:
www.witchschool.com

Presentation Tips

Icebreakers:
http://adulted.about.com/od/icebreakers/Ice_Breakers.htm
About.com article on icebreakers with links.

Toastmasters:
www.toastmasters.org

Seminaries, Clergy and Counseling Training, Ministerial Credentials

Cherry Hill Seminary:
http://cherryhillseminary.org

Covenant of the Goddess:
www.cog.org

How to Protect Your Legal Rights:
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/yourlegalrights/ht/Rights_Intro.htm
About.com article on legalities around religious discrimination.

Ordain Me Please/Celebration Community Church:
www.ordainmeplease.com/Home_Page.php
Ministerial credentials for people of all faiths.

Universal Life Church:
www.themonastery.org
Ministerial credentials for people of all faiths.

Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary:
http://wiccanseminary.edu

Software

Adobe Acrobat Reader:
http://get.adobe.com/reader

Litmus (LMS):
http://www.litmos.com

Moodle (LMS):
http://moodle.org

PowerPoint, including free PowerPoint Reader:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint

Books

Some of these titles might be out of print, but they can often be found online or in used bookstores. As with the website list, I have included a few books here that I haven't read, so I can't vouch for them personally. However, they were recommended to me by trusted others, and they seemed worth including. Use your best judgment, of course.

Burnout and Self-Care

I Should Be Burnt Out By Now … So How Come I'm Not: How You Can Survive and Thrive in Today's Uncertain World
by Peg Neuhauser. This book was designed to keep people from burning out in the workplace, but it contains information that can be very useful to teachers.

The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for Counselors, Therapists, Teachers, and Health Professionals
by Thomas Skovholt and Michelle Trotter-Mathison. Information specifically directed to “high-interaction” professionals, such as teachers, counselors, and healthcare professionals. Very useful.

Ethics

Ethics and the Craft: The History, Evolution, and Practice of Wiccan Ethics
by John J. Coughlin.

When, Why…If
by Robin Wood. About ethics in Paganism. A simple, straightforward book for teachers discussing ethics with students in a Pagan context.

Group Dynamics/Interpersonal Relationships

Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with Destructive Conflict
by Kenneth C. Haugk. This book was written for Christians who are dealing with antagonistic personalities in their spiritual groups. Very Christian focus but powerful and helpful information for dealing with interpersonal problems in a spiritual group. Inspiration for the trollspotting article cited in the preceding website section.

Coven Craft: Witchcraft for Three or More
by Amber K. Forming and running a coven. Recommended.

Gathering the Magic: Creating 21st Century Esoteric Groups
by Nick Farrell. Discusses forming and running esoteric groups.

Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, and Mystery
by Starhawk. Discusses power and group dynamics.

Wicca Covens: How to Start and Organize Your Own
by Judy Harrow.

Ministry/Clergy

Enchantment Encumbered: The Study and Practice of Wicca in Restricted Environments
by Ashleen O'Gaea and Carol Garr. Working with incarcerated Pagans.

Joining Hands and Hearts: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations—A Practical Guide for Couples
by Susanna Stefanachi Macomb.

The Pagan Book of Living and Dying: Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditations on Crossing Over
by Starhawk and M. Macha NightMare. Useful for Pagan clergy or teachers who might be working with people dealing with death or presiding over funerals.

Pagans and Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience
by Gus DiZerega. A discussion of Paganism and Christianity together. Good background for Pagan clergy doing interfaith work.

Pagans and the Law
by Dana D. Eilers. Discusses Pagan legal rights.

Promises to Keep: Crafting Your Wedding Ceremony
by Ann Keeler Evans. How to write a wedding ceremony. Not Pagan, but useful.

Online Education

Conquering the Content: A Step-by-Step Guide to Online Course Design
by Robin M. Smith. Content-focused instructional design.

e-Learning by Design
by William Horton.

Teaching

101 Ways to Make Training Active
by Mel Silberman.

The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species
by Malcolm S. Knowles.

Teaching Witchcraft: A Guide for Teachers and Students of the Old Religion
by Miles Batty. A full curriculum for teaching Witchcraft.

Telling Ain't Training
by Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps. Designed primarily for corporate trainers but contains lots of useful stuff for teachers.

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Appendix D

About the Interviewees

T. Thorn Coyle

T. Thorn Coyle is an internationally respected mentor and teacher of the magical and esoteric arts. The author of
Kissing the Limitless
and
Evolutionary Witchcraft
, she hosts the
Elemental Castings
podcast and
Fiat LVX!
video series, writes a popular weblog,
Know Thyself
, and has produced several CDs of sacred music. Thorn's spiritual direction, soul reading, and body/spirit coaching practices help people worldwide. Pagan, mystic, and activist, she is founder and head of Solar Cross Temple and Morningstar Mystery School and lives by the San Francisco Bay. For further information, please visit thorncoyle.com.

Sarah Davies

Sarah Davies has been a coven leader in the Gardnerian Tradition of British Traditional Wicca for one year. Sarah has experience in ritual design, writing, and music. She is a web developer for a nonprofit in Seattle and holds a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Washington, where she is currently a graduate student.

Pete “Pathfinder” Davis

Archpriest Pete “Pathfinder” Davis is the originator of the Aquarian Tabernacle Tradition of English Traditional-based Wicca and the Primate of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church, which he founded in November of 1979 in Washington State. Pete has served two terms as president of the Interfaith Council of Washington State and is a longtime member of the Washington State Department of Corrections Religious Services Advisory Committee, which advises the department on religious programs in Washington's institutions. He is also active in other interfaith organizations and efforts on behalf of the Wiccan communities in the Pacific Northwest, and he has taught Wicca in several area post-secondary educational facilities. He is a regent of the Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, a college-level institution that prepares Wiccan students for service as fully competent Wiccan clergy.

Holli Emore

Holli Emore, CFRE, is executive director of Cherry Hill Seminary and president of Emore Development Resources, a consulting firm for nonprofits. A native of North Carolina, Holli is twice a past president of the Central Carolina Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Columbia, South Carolina, where she has lived since 1986. An ambassador for the Parliament of the World's Religions and an advisor to the Interfaith Partnership of South Carolina, Holli is committed to building interfaith relationships, both locally and globally. She often teaches public groups about the rapidly growing Neopagan religions and has served as a regional resource for law enforcement, victim services, criminal justice classes, and others since 2004, and is a resource person for the Lady Liberty League. She is the founder of Osireion, as well as the Pagan Round Table, both in South Carolina.

Anne Marie Forrester

Anne Marie Forrester is a third-degree Gardnerian high priestess, a legal minister, an elder in the Gardnerian Church of the Ancient Communion, and a member of one of the longest-running eclectic covens in the Upper Midwest. She is author and illustrator of
Beyond the Veil: 36 Pages of Enchantment Waiting for You to Add Color and Life
and
Gods and Goddesses of the Zodiac
, and co-author (with Estelle Daniels) of
Color-A-Magick-Spell: 13 Mandalas for Personal Empowerment
(available through www.magusbooks.com). Some of her artwork can be viewed online at www.web.me.com/annemarieforrester.

Melanie Henry

Melanie Henry has been a student of Witchcraft for more than thirty years, a Witch in the Sylvan Tradition for sixteen years, and the high priestess of a Sylvan Tradition coven for eight years. She has also read tarot professionally and edited
Widdershins
, the Pagan newspaper that served the Seattle area from 1995 to 2007. She lives outside Seattle, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

Ellen Evert Hopman

Ellen Evert Hopman is a master herbalist, a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild, and lay homeopath with an M.Ed. in mental health counseling. Hopman is a founding member of the Order of the White Oak (Ord Na Darach Gile) and its former co-chief, and was vice president of the Henge of Keltria, an international Druid fellowship, for nine years. She was a professor in the Grey School of Wizardry for four years. Hopman has been a teacher of herbalism since 1983 and of Druidism since 1990 and has presented on Druidism, herbal lore, tree lore, and Paganism at conferences, festivals, and events in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and across the United States. She is the author of a trilogy of Celtic novels that take place in Iron Age Ireland:
Priestess of the Forest: A Druid's Story
,
The Druid Isle
, and
Priestess of the Fire Temple: A Druid's Tale
. She has authored a number of nonfiction books on Druidism, Celtic herb lore, and magic, which can be found at www.elleneverthopman.com.

Sylva Markson

Sylva Markson grew up in northern Minnesota, where she developed a deep and abiding love for its lakes and forests. She has a degree in both history and religion, and has always been interested in the roots of spiritual paths and in combining intellectual exploration with mystical or shamanic experiences. She has been practicing the Craft for twenty years and has led a coven (with her husband and magical partner) for about fifteen years, with an emphasis on altered states of consciousness and shamanic techniques. Other interests include nature, animals, equal rights, cultures, and travel. Hobbies include antiquing, camping, and herbalism. She currently lives in northern Minnesota with her husband, three dogs, and three birds.

Patrick McCollum

Reverend Patrick McCollum is an ordained Circle Sanctuary minister, serves as a coordinator for the Lady Liberty League, is a Wiccan chaplain in the California Department of Corrections, and is also development director for Children of the Earth (United Nations, NGO) as well as serving on many other committees. In 2010, Reverend McCollum was honored at the Capitol in Washington, DC, as the 2010 recipient of the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Pluralism. McCollum was also selected as a delegate in 2010 to address leaders of seventy-five counties at Parliament in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the World Forum on Spiritual Culture. In 2011, Reverend McCollum was invited to Thailand by Dhammakaya Buddhists as a World Inner Peace Ambassador. Patrick is dedicated to being a warrior for human rights, social justice, and pluralism. He has recently started the Patrick McCollum Foundation (patrick
mccollum.org) to help him with this plight. Through religion and spirituality he is bringing a new message of planetary consciousness on a global level that will alert the world to the sacredness of our connection with divinity and with each other.

Christopher Penczak

Christopher Penczak is a modern Witch, teacher, and healing practitioner. He is an award-winning author who has published over twenty books and recordings on Witchcraft, magick, and spirituality and is the co-founder of the Temple of Witchcraft, a nonprofit religious organization dedicated to community, education, and service. His work draws on the traditions of wisdom from across the world, particularly the ancient Pagan mysteries, synthesized into a harmonious whole for modern practitioners.

Stephanie Raymond

Stephanie Raymond is a third-degree initiate priestess of the Georgian Wiccan Tradition and has been a practicing Pagan for nineteen years. She founded the University of Washington Pagan Culture and Spirit Web student group in 1991, and she cofounded Our Lady of the Earth and Sky, a nondenominational Pagan church, in 1995, serving there as pastor from 1995–1999 and 2011 to the present. She lives with her family in Seattle.

Brian Rowe

Brian Rowe is a British Traditional Wiccan who has just started teaching pre-initiates. Brian believes life must be experienced, not just understood or contemplated, and that the Craft is enhanced by a small group of individuals sharing rites. Brian believes that the Craft is compatible with modern technology and ethics based on human rights. He holds a J.D. and teaches information privacy, ethics, and copyright. When not voraciously reading mythology, Brian enjoys Rodin's sculpture, coffee, ancient Egypt, chess, not watching TV, civil disobedience, and Chado.

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is a renowned Pagan elder. In 1962, he founded the Church of All Worlds. First to apply the term “Pagan” to the new Nature Religions of the '60s, and through his publication of
Green Egg
magazine, Oberon was instrumental in fostering the modern Pagan movement. He designs altar statuary and jewelry for the Mythic Images Collection and wrote
Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
. He is also founder and headmaster of the online Grey School of Wizardry. Oberon and his lifemate Morning Glory live in NorCalifia, where he serves on the Board of the Sonoma County Pagan Network. His website is www.OberonZell.com.

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