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| Patricia A. Allgeier (answers to Amber). Greenleaf Coven, Box 924, Springfield, Mo. 65801. I have been studying Wicca, Paganism, and other assorted spiritual paths since 1959 when my mother gave me a book written by Sybil Leek (The Complete Art of Witchcraft). I graduated high school in 1961, went the University of Missouri for a couple of years and then dropped out to hitchhike around the U.S. and Mexico. I met some Pagans, Taoists, nudists, philosophers, and a murderer. (But that's another story.) There was a brief, ill-fated marriage and divorce somewhere in there. I had a great dog, Tamarack, who accompanied me in my travels. I learned a thing or two. |
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| Then I returned home and married my high school sweetheart and we had two kids. We were both bright and adventuresome. We went through many jobs and moved to many places (just a gypsy at heart). We spent some of our better years in Dallas where we were active members of the hippie subculture. I met Wiccans and Taoists; we lived in a drug free, everybody working type of commune. Our host, the man who owned the house, was going to college to become a pediatrician even though his wife and six children had run off with the Jefferson Airplane. (Again, another story.) We were productive members of a food coop that fed hundreds of people. Here is where I met Anna Louisa, whose love for a former Peace Corp worker had brought her to the U. S. and Mary, a Wiccan, both of whom taught me many things about myself and the world. The kids were healthy, happy, and having a pretty good time. |
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Another good time for us was when we were managing the 997 acre cattle ranch. Here was where we formed the original Ring Coven. Ring has since stopped holding formal meetings and the members are scattered but we stay in touch and I am proud to still be a member. |
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Also of interest (to me, at least) are the years that my husband and I worked with Gavin and Yvonne Frost at the Church and School of Wicca. I have always believed that experience is a powerful form of study and that Gavin, Yvonne, Skip and I all learned from the experience. Not only did I learn more about people and life but I also picked up some dandy office skills. I will always love and revere G & Y and am pleased that we are still friends. During this time I buried Tamarack, who had lived to a healthy and stinky old age. |
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Then it was time for me to go insane. I, the Fool, stepped lightly over the precipice and into the abyss with enthusiasm and immense stupidity. I ran off with the wrong person, drank too much, got involved with methamphetamines . . . I suffered, the children suffered. It took years for me to find the center again, to calm down and sober up. There was another brief marriage in there somewhere and, boy, did I learn some stuff that time. Finally, one day it was over. I had been asking the Ancient Gods for some divine intervention for quite a while but they probably had karmic reasons for letting me wallow in my misery. Maybe the divine intervention happened or maybe I just got up and said, "That's enough." Or maybe it's the same thing. That's one of the things I like about being Wiccan. I can ask that kind of question and not be afraid of hellfire. |
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I got up, went to work, went back to college, bought a house, and started Greenleaf Coven. Got another great dog, Jim. Of course, all of this didn't happen overnight. It took years of work and discipline. Life for the kids began to improve. Miraculously, they didn't hate me. We all were learning how life experiences are part of the study. To know happiness, you must know suffering. (Of course, all my dogs have been great dogs.) |
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Greenleaf Coven is full of people who have studied and who have lived. Certainly none of us are perfect. You are always welcome at Greenleaf. Come and see us. You know, as I think back, I remember being initiated into a German Shamanic tradition but it is a secret so I can't tell you about it. (Yet another . . . ) |
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E-mail Pat |
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