A position statement clarifying the place of children in the EarthDreaming tradition of pagan worship.  Addresses the tension between desire for deeper trance/magical workings (adult) and the wish to be a family tradition.

1. The EarthDreaming Tradition recognises and values its children as an essential part of the Tradition.

1a) Welcoming ceremony for babies and children

1b) Ritual acknowledgement of children's growth toward maturity

The essence of a tradition is that it is something which is passed on from one generation to the next. The vision which drives the EarthDreaming Tradition is about restoring a continuum of lived spiritual connection between the generations of people and the land from which they live. The Tradition was established so that those who come after us will be able to build upon our dreams and our experiences, rather than having to start from scratch. The work of creating (recreating?) an 'indigenous' spirituality within our culture will take more than one life-time.

2. Individual covens within the Tradition take responsibility for finding ways of including children in coven life which will work for that coven.

Our wish is for the children of the Tradition to grow up with a clear sense of their own spirituality, and a positive relationship to the earth. We believe this will provide them with a strong grounding from which to pursue the spiritual paths of their choice into adulthood.

Adult members of the Tradition acknowledge that many of us carry scars from our own childhoods, and most of us are heirs to a culture which largely exludes children. This presents challenges to us in finding appropriate ways to value and include the children of our tradition.

3. The EarthDreaming Water Cycle is the heart of the tradition's gift to its children

The Water Cycle represents a living spiritual connection to the land, and to community, and to the broad cycles of life. The stories and rituals which celebrate it are part of the gift we give to the children (and to the wider community).
 

4. Basic ritual and magical skills, such as casting the circle, are another gift that the Tradition offers to its children (as they grow ready to recieve them, and only if the children themselves so desire).

Wouldn't it be nice to have grown up among adults who for whom all these skills which we work so hard to recover were normal practice! Hopefully, if the next generation don't have to spend so much time consciously learning the basics, they will be freed to carry the dream onward, and deepen the transformation...
 

5. Rituals of "Drawing Down the Moon" and deeper Transformational Pathworkings are not appropriate for members of the Tradition under the age of puberty. (Naturally, individual cases are subject to the discretion of the adult coven members).