From the Board: Travis

1) Why is Pagan Pride important to you? 

 a) Pagan Pride brings together community, it reminds many of us who have practiced solo for many years that there is a wider community that is here for support and companionship.  It means a time and place for those of us who feel connected to different Pagan paths to come together and remember the power we have collectively; to learn from that collective and to stand united in our religious freedom. 

2) Thoughts on the event’s theme 

a) The theme perfectly encapsulates the meaning of any Pride event, a coming together of people to do what people do: Share stories, myths, legends and magick.  It is through our shared experience that we orientate ourselves on the compass, and how we know where we fit into the rubric of community. 

3) What path do I follow?

a) Throughout my life I have cared deeply for the environment and its myriad of life and wonder.  Thus, in my spiritual workings Druidry is where I found my home.  I am a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, as well as an Awenydd o Urdd Derwyddion Môn, (an enlightened of the Anglesey Druid Order).  To be a Druid is to be Oakwise, a wisdom that is gleaned from the very earth herself, from the rocks, and trees, and singing birds in the sky.  It is for this wisdom that I seek teachings from the world around me. Magick is found in the engagement of the natural world. 

4) What is Special About Reno’s Pagan Community? 

a) The Northern Nevada Pagan Community is robust.  There are many like minded individuals that seem to flock to this area, perhaps it’s the lakes, the trees, or the mountains, but there is a spirit of this area which has been known for centuries, and it appears we as magical people know this in our hearts. 

5) What is something you’d like to create for the pagan community? 

a) I volunteer for the board because this event brings us together.  It is something of a fulcrum of peoples who see just behind the apparent. Engaging the community creates community and it is these events that bring inspiration or Awen to my soul and those who find togetherness in the time together. 

6) What does paganism mean to you? 

a) Paganism has rebellion in its heart.  It defies the conventional and asks the question: Why are you here? It teaches a path that is unique to the practitioner and guides one through life with the teachings of its varied paths.  It is the ubiquitous umbrella that brings so many of us to her bosom. It’s the village, and my path, my home.