Guide Patti: I’ve heard a lot of people say that the return to the earth-based faiths of our ancestors is a way of reconnecting with the planet and trying to get back to nature. We’ve kind of taken it upon ourselves to be stewards of the earth. Twenty years from now, do you think as Pagans we’ll be able to look back and say we’ve changed things for the better? Are we doing a decent job in educating our kids — and non-Pagans — about the things we need to do to help our planet?
Sirona Knight: Wicca is a living tradition. It’s not based on someone who’s been dead for a very long time. It’s based on living nature, living today, and making our planet Earth a marvelous place to be living in the upcoming thousands of years. For this reason, many Wiccans are vegetarians, have pro-environmental concerns, and are outspoken in their communities. I encourage each Pagan to write your senators, write your representatives, and be proactive in your community, and let people know what you value and your opinion on things like the war, global warming, crime, health care, fair trade, and foreign policies.
In my book, A Witch Like Me, I write about what may happen in the next 20 years. I can’t help but wonder what we will have created. I can only hope and pray that it will be positive and will actually contribute to the evolution of humankind.
Guide Patti: In addition to the environment, there are a number of other issues that are important to Pagans and Wiccans these days, particularly that of religious rights. In today’s conservative climate, what are some things that Wiccans can do to stay aware and involved in policies and events that affect them?
Sirona Knight: I think that every Pagan woman, man, and child needs to demand their civil and constitutional rights be upheld. It’s time to stand up and speak out, not to shy away from who we are. In my opinion, the Patriot Act needs to be crossed off the books — it’s everything America doesn’t stand for. It’s a travesty to civil rights and oppressive. And it’s important for Pagans to act in intelligent, thoughtful, responsible, and concise ways that convey our basic philosophy and values. We need to work toward what we want, not complain about what we don’t want.
Fortunately, there are a lot of changes in the political climate right now, and it looks like there will be many more in the next year. Hopefully those changes will include an ending to the war and the present political regime. A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine called me in tears to tell me his 20 year old nephew had just been blown up in Iraq. He was an only son, so his death completely destroyed his parents and his immediate family. It felt so much like Vietnam when I used to visit friends and relatives with my Italian Nana, and each house would have an 8 X 10 photo of a son who had been killed in the Vietnam war. I wonder “How many deaths will it take ‘till we know that too many people have died.” We need to pray for peace each and every day and night, work magic and rituals for peace, and meditate on peace. We need to turn our minds toward peace. We need flip folks the peace sign not flip them the finger. We need to think locally and globally. We are truly ONE WORLD now, and everything that happens here, there, and everywhere, influences each one of us on a very personal level.
Guide Patti: Finally, on your website, SironaKnight.com, you have a fantastic interview with author Phyllis Curott. I’m going to sort of paraphrase a question you asked her, because I’m curious about your own answer to it. You said to her that Wiccan writers often have a powerful desire to make the world better, especially in terms of spiritual freedom, and this desire keeps them moving forward despite all kinds of obstacles and dangers. How would you describe the role of Sirona Knight in the Wiccan movement?
Sirona Knight: Phyllis is an incredibly gifted woman. She is very intelligent and a lot of fun to be with. I had the opportunity to spend the day at Seacliff in San Francisco with Phyllis and Z. Budapest. It was outrageously silly, radical, and fascinating — all at the same time. For several years I attended many public events and talked to thousands of people about Paganism. Over the past 13 years I’ve made an effort to create positive, hands-on resources for people so they can initiate themselves and practice their own form of spirituality. When I was learning Druidism, information was handed to me one page at a time. I wanted to put all the information together and have it available to everyone, not just a few select people.
Also working as a Contributing Editor for Magical Blend for over ten years gave me a public voice. I focused on interviewing and writing about authors and musicians who are movers and shakers about their creative process and faith, for example, Brandon Boyd from Incubus, Donovan, Perry Farrell, Julian Cope, Steve Vai, James Redfield, and Neale Donald Walsh. The interviews are posted on SironaKnight.com, . It’s amazing how much in common we all have—the thread of love and creativity weaves us all together into ONE.
