Strength in spirituality

In a floor-length tunic with full sleeves, hood resting on her back and belted by a rope, Annette De’Brotherton started Pagan Pride Day with a ritual in recognition of the cardinal directions and elements. A candle was lit—fire represents oneself. Salt represents earth; a chalice represents water, vitality and life; and for air, there was incense. De’Brotherton, 47, has been a practicing pagan since she was 19. She lives in Oroville and is a senior at Chico State, studying anthropology. On a recent Friday, De’Brotherton held Pagan Pride Day at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

What is paganism? What does it mean to be pagan?

What you’re looking at are people who tend toward tribal identity. They tend to see everything as sacred; the Earth itself is sacred. If you separate yourself—you say there’s good and evil and define people within those extremities—this is dualism. Most pagans are not dualists. There’s light and dark, good and bad within all things. Dualism is linear; paganism is cyclic. Abrahamic religions see the world in terms that the negative has to be overcome, that good shall conquer evil. Pagans see a cycle that negative will become positive.

Explain what Pagan Pride Day is and why it exists.

Pagan Pride Day exists to help educate the general public about what real paganism is as opposed to the identity in pop culture. This is our second annual [event] in Chico. Pagans are notorious for not organizing. Since the last century there has been a movement to try and organize. This gives us a common voice for issues that we share—environmental, religious freedoms, social progress, civil rights—these are usually our most central interests. Pagan Pride Day is an international event that occurs during the Fall Equinox or fall harvest.

What is the difference between a pagan household and, say, a Christian household?

Paganism is a belief system that exists within the family culture, just like any other culture. They are remarkably similar; there’s no major difference on the surface. Pagans are people just as anyone else—you probably have pagan neighbors and don’t even know it. They’re probably the quiet ones, too, with nice yards.

There are many symbols identified with paganism. Can you explain some of them?

Well, there are so many. Each geographic region in the world has its own symbol it associates with. Pagan beliefs can also vary, so symbols are different. Let’s see, there’s the Celtic cross, which is an equal-armed cross inside a circle. This represents balance, the cardinal directions and the elements. The pentacle, a pentagonal star inside a circle, can be two symbols; it can be right-side up or upside down. Upright equals goddess magic, which is the natural world. Upside down means god magic, which is intellect and personal power.