Celtic Wiccan Author - Miles Batty Voices on the Path

Voices on the Path-

A Collection of Interviews

Celtic Wiccan Author

Miles Batty

Email:battymiles@yahoo.com.

http://www.facebook.com/miles.batty

First can you briefly tell us about yourself? What is your profession? Any special hobbies?

My name is Miles Batty. I’m 49, British, left-handed, and an occasional stutterer. I live in North Carolina, but after many years of living in the US I still have my British passport and citizenship. It’s a personal choice. If I were an American citizen, you could easily label me a Democrat.

In my professional life, I work for a neon sign company. Specifically, I program and operate a machine that cuts shapes out of metal, plastic, etc,  that are used in the manufacture of neon signs. I’ve also worked as a hotel banquet chef, asphalt-paving assistant, bookstore clerk, live model for college art classes, renaissance festival ‘hawker’, and author.

Hobbies… I enjoy online fantasy games. I regularly attend, and work for, our local renaissance festival. I make costumes for myself, usually of fantasy figures and pagan deities. I collect dragons. And I memorize Monty Python skits. J

When did you begin your path? What inspired you to walk this journey?

I think a more accurate question would be, “When did I NOT walk this path?”, to which the answer would be, “never”.  While I was baptized by the Church of England, I like to say that the baptism didn’t “take”, and that I have never thought of myself as a Christian. I’ve always been attracted to nature, mysticism and the like, and when the family went to church on Sunday mornings I always wanted to stay outside and play in the cemetery.

My “real” introduction to witchcraft, however, was in 1974. My older brother had gotten a job at a local metaphysical shop, and when I saw some of the things he was bringing home , like candles and pentagrams, something inside me went “Hey! This is important. Pay attention to this!” So I did.

From 1974 to 1985, I collected Witchcraft-related trinkets, the odd book or chalice, without any serious understanding of what it meant, other than the notion that I should have it. In 1985 I met my first real witches, introduced by a friend in Maryland. That year I went to a pagan festival, and it felt like coming home and finding myself, all at the same time. From 1985 onwards I’ve always been active in the pagan community.

Can you tell us a little about your path? How would you describe yourself?

All my ‘active’ pagan life, I’ve called myself Wiccan. I’ve studied druidry, heathenry and the like, but I’ve never felt the need to be anything but a garden-variety Wiccan. My principal deities are Cernunnos and Pan; and Gaia and Aphrodite.

My Wiccan ‘flavor’, if you will, is Celtic; I feel a closer connection to the Celtic pantheon than any other. Probably due to being British. Having said that, though, I don’t feel as much of a kinship with the Morrigan, as a Dark Goddess aspect, as I do with Kali. Another diversion, hm.

I’ve never help to the notion that a ‘path’ is one route, unchanging. That’s monotheism talking. Many witches, myself included, are constantly rediscovering our paths as we go, and it changes with each step. So the path I was on thirty years ago is not the same path as today; my path now is more focused and intimate; I regard Cernunnos as a friend who ‘walks with me’, to borrow Christian terminology, than some vague omnipotent figure in the sky.

How would I describe myself? I presume you mean magickally.

I am a neo-Celtic eclectic Wiccan (That’s too many ‘ec’ sounds!) who practices 21-st century North American Wicca. I am ordained clergy, published pagan author, ritual and event facilitator, and counselor.

I am necro-empathic (I can talk to ghosts). I read Tarot cards in a non-traditional style. I commune with the spirit inherent in animals and stones, and I recognize that I am one small part of a cohesive magickal ecosystem.

Does the path you've chosen affect your profession? If so, how?
Um, not exactly.  In my professional life, I work for a neon sign company. My boss’s wife is pagan, and it is through her that I found out about the job at all. Ironically, though, the company is owned by a Christian family, and we have many Christian clients who use our work because of the owner’s “faith-based professional preferences.” (I use quotation marks to emphasize a business practice as opposed to favoritism.) But the owners and all the employees know I am a witch, and they don’t care. I *have* lost jobs in the past because of my faith, and I’m grateful for the understanding of my current employers.

Is community important to you, or do you prefer to express your beliefs as a solitary?

Community, and my involvement in it, are vitally important  to me as a witch. I am retired coven Priest, ordained clergy, past-director of our local Pagan Pride Day, and director of an open pagan community called Carolina Grove. We held open-to-the-public Sabbats, workshops, dinners and such.

I care deeply about the health of the local pagan community; I don’t think I could be a solitary if I tried.

Would you say your path has been an easy or difficult journey? Any advice for someone new to this path?
I think that all-in-all, it’s been very easy for me. I never had to deal with the doubt and stress of converting from a different religion, because I’ve never called myself anything but pagan. The most stressful experiences involved dealing with my father, who is a retired college professor and the local church choir director. For a long time he refused to acknowledge my faith, and we have had heated discussions on the matter. It wasn’t until the publication of my textbook on witchcraft that he finally accepted my faith as legitimate, and now we discuss it openly.

I invite you here to share any information you find important that we may have missed in our questions.

One thing that sadly gets looked over, I think, is the influence and legitimacy of UPG’s. (Unverified (or) Unverifiable (or) Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis.) That is, knowing in your heart and soul that something is real, but you cannot prove it, or convince others of its existence. Two excellent examples are knowing that the piece of amethyst in your hand is making your hand tingle, but you cannot get others to believe you; or being convinced that the scorch marks in your tortilla resemble the face of a prominent deity and you are convinced he is talking to you, whereas all anyone else sees is a bunch of scorch marks in a tortilla.

The recognition and acceptance of UPG’s is what drive a lot of people to paganism. When the real world cannot explain their UPG’s, but they know they will go mad if they try to deny the existence of them, they find themselves drawn to a path that accepts, understands and re-affirms. It’s sort of a similar journey when one tries to deny and overcome, or accept and embrace, their sexual orientation.  

Finally, what three books would you say most influenced your path.

I have to confess that the one book that influenced me the most is my own, “Teaching WitchCraft: A Guide for Students and Teachers of the Old Religion”. I say that not because I want to pat myself on the back or indulge in self-promotion, but because I learned so much more in the course of writing it, and developed a greater understanding of and appreciation for, my faith, than before I began.

Two other books that had great influence on me are “When, Why….If?”, a book on pagan ethics by Robin Wood, and “Magickal Rites from the Crystal Well,” by Ed Fitch. Robin’s book addresses a lot of questions that everyone else ignores, and Ed’s book was one of the first ones that spoke to me on a spiritual level.

Books! I can do books. I’ve published two so far.

“Teaching WitchCraft: A Guide for Students and Teachers of the Old Religion”  is a sourcebook for anyone who wants to teach a Wicca 101 class. It offers a comprehensive lesson-by-lesson class syllabus for students of Wicca, complete with study questions, interactive classroom modules, hand-outs, a mid-term and a final exam.

The other one is “The Green Prince’s Father”, a very short book written for children. It explores the significance of the Sabbats and the wheel of the year, and the birth, growth and sacrifice of the Green Man.

Anyone wishing to contact me further can find me on Facebook (one advantage of having a rare name, I’m easy to find on there), or email me at battymiles@yahoo.com.

Thank you!