PaganSquare.com - WitchesAndPagans.com

In the dream, I am standing with a Chinese family before their household shrine.

Beautifully carved in wood, the shrine is elaborate, immense: it takes up an entire wall of the house.

The gates of the central niche are opened. Behind them stands a finely-rendered wooden statue of Kwan Yin.

Kwan Yin is removed. Behind her stand yet another pair of gates. They open, revealing several painted panels depicting colorful female figures that I cannot identify.

“Pagan goddesses!” cries a woman's voice, as if horrified that such figures should stand behind the boddhisattva.

Now the painted goddesses, too, are removed. Behind them stand yet another pair of gates. These, in turn, open.

An outdoor light shines through. The niche has become a doorway.

Through the open doorway, a long landscape spreads out before our eyes: mountains, valleys, rivers, in unending vista, stretching out to a blue and misty horizon.

Behind Kwan Yin, the goddesses. Behind the goddesses, the Land.

If you’re reading this, you’ve seen notifications of a Pagan Community Statement on the Environment.  Inspired by the environmental statement released by CoG in 2014 and statements from other religious organizations, blogger John Halstead invited 66 assorted Pagans, about 48 of whom collaborated on the piece that became the final product.

The final statement was a months-long, complex collaboration of diverse Pagans.  That fact in itself is, to me, remarkable, given that Pagans can be a fractious lot.  For me personally, the fact that this exists demonstrates a certain sense of solidarity.  We Pagans are a fringe demographic, and each Pagan path, sect, and individual is an even smaller fringe demographic.  We tend to work hard at distinguishing ourselves one from the other.  And that tends to fragment us as a demographic.  So when this many Pagans from many Pagan perspectives can come together and manage to agree on something of paramount importance to all of us, and to publicly proclaim our stance — well, that speaks to a stronger presence in society, and perhaps a louder, clearer voice not usually heard in the clamor of other Abrahamic dominion-inclined, religio-spiritual voices.  I think Pagans bring an important perspective to society.  And I think if this small effort can grow big enough, we might actually make a difference beyond ourselves.  Needless to say, this statement is meant to be noticed.