Pagan Book Club/HedgeWitch - Ninian Voices on the Path

Voices on the Path-

A Collection of Interviews

Pagan Book Club/HedgeWitch

 Niniann 

Facebook address: www.paganbookclub@facebook.com
website: http://www.facebook.com/l/gAQHwowT4AQH5A3VMyEAmy0DugHKRL6_rJ9HGm8VvlI9Ziw/www.lacassep.byregion.net

I am retired after working the last 27 years in an intensive care unit in a major medical center in NH. I was a patient care tech , a kind of critical care nursing assistant. I loved taking care of patients ,and it paid the bills. But my passion has always been herbs,flowers, and wild plants .

My grandmother started teaching me when I was five. I love studying ,growing and using herbs for health and culinary reasons. I make my own herbal medicines :tinctures, teas , skin balms, vinegars, etc. I give them to friends and family, and clients. I teach herbal health classes .

I own Evenmore Gardens where I give educational tours of my herb gardens and native plant sanctuary in Canaan, NH. I book tours, classes and visits to the Gardens through my website ( http://www.facebook.com/l/mAQHo718SAQHbnxsIQXHDeQ_qvR-1FO84PhUQhcztgKdPMw/www.lacassep.by region.net or you can just google Evenmore Gardens, Canaan, NH ,and find me that way).

I also teach metaphysical classes about working with plant and nature spirits for spiritual and healing purposes. I give workshops at various Pagan events around NH and Vermont. I like to joke that now that I am retired I am a "full time" hedgewitch. 

I have been a practicing Pagan for thirty years. The plants led me to my spiritual path way before that. I always felt a strong connection to nature, and I have been aware of the spirits of plants , the plant devas, since I was a child. Then I came across an old book about plants and magic. I can't even remember what the name of the book was .This was years before Scott Cunningham's book on herbal magic came out. That book helped me to figure out I wasn't crazy for being aware of the magic in plants. I just am a witch.

This was before the days of the internet, and I had never even met a witch before , never been to any kind of a witch shop or occult bookstore.

As time went on I finally did meet other people who were studying witchcraft . I read every book on the Craft I could , and became a solitary practitioner. As more books became available I used the books that had bibliographies to find older books about myth and magic.

I had always been interested in ancient history and started going to SCA events and Ren Fairs . I became interested in Irish mythology and history because my mother was an O'Donnell. I fell in love with the stories of the Tuatha de Danaan and the old gods of Ireland. This lead me to reading about the Druids of old, and I wanted to be a Druid before I even knew there were modern day Druids. Then I came across Isaac Bonewits' books. I was excited to find out about ADF (Ar nDraoicht Fein), an American Druid Order, but thought I would never have the chance to meet any Druids in NH.

In 2005 I had a heart attack, and my daughter decided I was going to recover and get to take the trip to Ireland I had always talked about. A year later we took the granddaughters with us to Ireland, and I got to visit many of the ancient sacred pagan sites .

When I got home from our trip I decided I should join a Druid Order. I did some research and found out ADF had a grove in NH . Unfortunately, due to some health problems I can't drive two hours to the nearest ADF Grove. But I did join ADF on-line. I studied the ritual format ADF uses, and found I had already read many of the books they recommended. I joined the special guild for those who honor the goddess Brighid ,and signed up to be a Flamekeeper. Every 20 days I do a shift , and keep Brighid's flame lit for 24 hours. During that time I say prayers to Brighid for healing for anyone who asks me.

In 2009 ADF sent two Druid Clergy members out to make a visit to the wilds of NH. I got to spend the whole weekend with them, and we had an ADF Autumn Equinox Ritual. I was trying to start an ADF study group. I haven't yet met any other people in my area that want to seriously study ADF Druidry. I am still hoping to someday. In the meantime I remain a solitary witch in the wise woman tradition, and I practice Druidry as my religion. 

I originally joined the Pagan Bookclub with two other women , and one of them moved out west a few months later.. So I ended up being a facilitator with the other founder of the club. Teresa and I have been at this for 7 years now. There are no occult bookstores or metaphysical shops in our area. There is not a big Pagan population but we are growing.

There were no resources in the Upper Valley for Pagans when we started. I was very interested in encouraging education for neo-pagans of all traditions because there was just nowhere to go and find out information. We have as our goal: to help people get the education they need to follow whatever pagan spiritual path they wish to follow.

The Book Club has always been a diverse group. Over the years we have had people of all ages and education levels join. We all work different kinds of jobs and careers. People come and go, and then come back again. We also act as a resource for area Pagans, and let people know where there will be rituals for the pagan holidays, and when festivals, events, fundraisers and workshops are going on in the Pagan community. We have had Pagan authors and leaders come to meetings, and we have held workshops and social gatherings like pot-luck dinners. We are fortunate that Encore Books allows us to meet in the store after hours . Teresa, who works there does her best to order the books we want to read and discuss.

We never know who will show up to meetings. It can be five or fifteen people. Our youngest member is four months old and comes with her Mom and Dad.

We meet the first Thursday of every month except July at 7pm in Encore Books In West Lebanon, NH in the Staples Plaza just before Wendy's Restuarant. 

I am also on the council of elders of A Sacred Place in Canaan, NH. ASP is a 40 acre Pagan non-profit spiritual retreat and celebration center . There are various Pagan events such as a large Beltaine festival held there every year, a site for outdoor rituals, weddings, and workshops and a camping area.

You can google A Sacred Place, Canaan, NH to find the website. I am also a member of the White Mountain Pagan Alliance in Plymouth, NH. We write, organize, and host public rituals held at the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall in Plymouth , NH and at various other locations around the area. The White Mountain Pagan Alliance has a facebook page you can check for announcements of their events. 

Since I retired I have been busier then ever. I run out of days each week to get to all the weeding, classes, rituals, meetings, and visits I want to do. I love meeting new people so if you ever come to a Pagan Book Club meeting , A Sacred Place or White Mountain Pagan Alliance Event ask for me, Niniann, and I will be glad to introduce you around to people.

My advice to new people is to read as much as possible. Try to find good books written by knowledgable authors that site their sources of information. Check the bibliographies in the back of the book for other books you may find useful or interesting. Check with your library to see if they can get books you are interested in that might not be in your local library through the state's library loaning program. Read reviews on books you may be interested in on Amazon and other on-line sites. You can also ask questions about books on Pagan subjects of interest on the Pagan Bookclub facebook page.

Peace,
Niniann
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To be honest I had doubts about giving this interview. I hope those who read it realize that most of the credit for the original foundng of the Pagan BookClub should go to Teresa Anderson, for founding A Sacred Place - Sue Weiss, and for forming the WHite Mountain Pagan Alliance to Stormi Clement and all the other folks in WMPA. I have just had the great good fortune to get to know them as friends and work with them in the great work they are all doing to serve the Pagan community in NH.