Pagan Ethics Notes

In the past weeks I have been finishing the three 'courses' required of an ADF Senior Priest to keep our priestly status. While I find the rote work annoying there has been actual learning involved, as well as some writing. never one to waste the effort, I've edited together an article on my Ethics ideas, including my own self-invented ethical standard, as required for the course. Hope it is of some value to you.

1:Defining “Morals and Values”

Morals, and morality, are the societal and personal systems of behavior-control and self-management in an individual’s mind. While it is possible for individuals to develop personal moralities the term most often refers to social norms, which are taught to children as moral facts, and often become effective guides to and restrictions on behavior. Moral tenets become the basis for personal judgments, both of one’s own deeds and of the deeds of others. The young woman refraining from pre-marital sex, the teenager refraining from shoplifting, the antiwar protestor and the young soldier returning an enemy’s fire are all responding to ‘moral’ judgments.

In order to make personal choices in life we must have a sense of the cost and worth of things. As with morality, we learn many of our “values” from society. In our age the concept is often bound up directly with wealth and worth – we learn the value of a dollar, the value of a hard day’s work. The greater culture extolls the value (i.e. the worth and worthiness) of the soldier, the businessman and the entrepreneur, wildly rewards those with exceptional athletic or artistic talent (or luck), and preaches the moral value (worthiness) of daily trudging labor to those who are less-than-well rewarded.

            Perhaps values are more responsive to personality and personal history than are ‘morals’. Both inherent inclinations and life’s events may lead one to value art over money, to seek security over adventure. In large part these are not matters of morality, but still strongly influence our choices and directions.

How is Morality Related to Bias or Prejudice?

The combination of moral and values enforcement often produces a personal sense of certainty and righteousness that is sometimes allowed to substitute for clear-eyed judgment. My own inclination is to refer to this process as ‘programming’ – the human cybernetic system organically develops its own software through a lifetime of experience and societal reinforcement. Once an individual is fully adapted to a set of programs it can be difficult for them to act or decide in other than programmed ways.

While we often think of bias in terms of legal or human-rights issues, it applies equally in scholarship and the construction of ideas. One makes over-arching prejudgments on issues such as ancient matriarchy or Indo-European society and those judgments (pre-judgments; prejudices; biases) influence what books we read and what opinions we develop on what we choose to read.

I think that when we start using simple, broad terms like ‘right and wrong’ we enter fully into the social-consensus, programmed realm. These terms have a literal and objective meaning. There is a ‘right’ (correct) way to assemble an appliance, or to mix volatile chemicals. There is a far less clear ‘right’ way to have a marriage, or to wage a war, or to conduct competition in business. There is a ‘wrong’ way to wire a television set, but much less clearly a wrong way to raise a child.  In those cases the morals and values of the society become treated like the rules and methods of physics or engineering. Historically they have sometimes been turned into ‘instruction manuals’ for living which, perhaps too often, replace independent thinking and personal judgement. It is a short step from there to accepting the moral authority of social leaders as equivalent to their authority as skilled carpenters or plumbers. However ‘right and wrong’, in the moral sense, are simply not subject to even as firm a set of ‘laws’ as are found in the sciences.

2: My Personal Values

My personal values center on individual liberty, kindness and growth. I have spent a lifetime carefully setting aside commitment to the common values of our society, consciously retaining those bits that I find acceptable or advisable. I reject the values of authority and obedience, choosing instead to do as I please. This liberty I seek to temper with the corresponding values of kindness and growth. My goal in any interaction is to have all parties emerge emotionally peaceful (if not gratified) and a little better than when they went in. Kindness requires me to minimize pain or harm to others, as circumstances allow. In keeping with modern values I extend the concept of ‘harm’ to include violations of autonomy or privacy – personal liberty demands the right to manage one’s personal space, and what I take for myself I surely grant to others. The goals of personal and mutual growth demand the nurture and tending of both the self and of those with whom one comes into relationship.

As a colleague this makes me a cooperative team-member, but perhaps hard to ‘manage’. As a working priest I hope it has made me approachable, helpful and, well, kind. While I can be direct in my efforts to police bad data I do my best to refrain from ad hominem, and to leave folks (members) feeling like their understanding has been advanced.

3: How do we ‘learn right from wrong’ and ‘choose to do the right thing’?

A: Instruction during upbringing. The infant/toddler learns what is acceptable to its family and immediate adult surroundings. The infant’s perception of the authority of the parent as absolute is reinforced by the basic warnings of life – “That’s hot” turns out to be true, so “Don’t touch yourself there” must be equally true. This is the primary “right-v-wrong” programming that each of us carries through life. It is entirely subject to the wisdom and programming of our parents and culture.

B: Personal Inclination and experience. It is my opinion that we are born with (or programmed with at a very early age) specific ‘settings’ in terms of such things as reaction to pleasure and pain, cooperation-vs-competition, and risk-aversion. These personal inclinations combine with the experiences of our lives and our reactions to them to provide incentive for individuals to examine their upbringing and make conscious choices about their beliefs.

            In my opinion it is in the tension between these two programming factors that a great deal of individual indecision, moral tension and cognitive dissonance are found.

Choosing…

A: To satisfy the demands of a social authority that has the power to reward or punish. This is the outer, cops-n-robbers level of morality.

B: Right action produces good results, and good results mean more health, wealth and wisdom for everyone. This is ‘enlightened self-interest’. What is good for me can be good for all, if I avoid errors of greed or cruelty.

C: When the heart is full of simple kindness it is difficult to do wrong intentionally. From there only Wisdom can prevent foolish error. We might offer this as the ‘spiritual’ approach, and some might consider it more ‘pure’, or a ‘higher’ motivation than the previous. While I seek to cultivate kindness, I value results above motivations. Let those who do good deeds for simple reasons be praised.

4: Discuss ethics in the clergy-lay relationship.

            Philosophically I am a situationalist. I believe that the application of wisdom and values to specific individual cases produces better outcomes than the establishment of and obedience to codes of behavior. The tailoring of individual cases to a pre-existing set of standards is unlikely to produce results equal to wisdom and virtue applied individually. That said, I understand the value to an organization of the ability to predict behavior and generate accountability in a diverse group of practitioners. It is especially useful to a client to be able to refer to a set of guidelines against which to measure the work of their local priests.

            Obviously we all have ethical and moral obligations to one another. It is a common understanding that any special circumstance in human relationships produces special moral imperatives. Teachers, lovers, team-mates all are surrounded by ethical customs and, often, rules. The special relationships generated between a working priest and the folk being served can require no less.

            In our religious system the priesthood is granted little to no specific ‘spiritual authority’. The folk are not subject to or lesser than the priesthood in any hierarchy; they do not need the priesthood in order to operate the religion. Local priests are not in charge of the training, evaluation or advancement of students in our study programs. At no point are we ‘spiritual parents’ or ‘gurus’ to our students.

            As a result our interactions may be less fraught with emotional hazards than some other models of clergy. We are unlikely to be forced to deal with “power-over” issues, and abuse of authority can only happen if the priest assumes an unauthorized and presumptuous position with their folk. This happens especially when a leader plays on the unspoken social assumptions about the meaning and authority of ‘priests’ or ‘ministers’. Perhaps that deserves to be in an ethical statement…

            It might be that the primary ethical responsibility of a priest of our order is to keep our skills sharp and ready. Isaac used to say that an ADF priest should be able to “demonstrate claimed skills on demand”. We hold our offices by virtue of the study and practice we have done – using those skills actively in service to the folk, the land and the gods seems top of the list. A priest should be ready to step in and step up, should be a walking bibliography, a go-to voice when the question is “What’s the real story”. In turn the priest must have the personal understanding and clarity to be able to parse their answers from “I think so” through “This is how it is” while keeping their own biases in check.

Confidential privilege is a legal term that describes the placing of certain communications between a citizen and a professional under legal protections. The professional cannot be forced to divulge such communications in matters of law. The pertinent section of the Ohio legal code is 1317.02c. To summarize, it grants legal privilege to communications shared under a “sacred trust”, unless the cleric is specifically released by the communicant. If we cared to split hairs we might discuss whether the idea of communication under a “sacred trust” exists in Our Druidry. Without specific doctrinal positions on the matter our legal coverage is weak.

From an ethical perspective we must begin with the general merit of a closed mouth and a rejection of gossip. As Druids we must know the value of speech, and the power of an ill word to produce ill outcomes. Wisdom and kindness therefore teach that when we learn a friend’s secrets or private matters we should keep them confidential. From the perspective of organizational professional boundaries, it makes sense to me first to enjoin our clergy not to involve themselves in gossip. No tale or rumor or accusation should be spread or shared, unless the priest has been specifically employed as a mediator or advocate for a member or members.

5: Utilizing the ADF nine virtues, develop a Code of Ethics for your use as ADF Clergy. Describe how you derived this code from the Nine Virtues and how you would apply this Code.

Five Principles of a Druidic Priestly Ethics:

1: Seek always the good. See that by your work the world is made better – more beautiful, wiser, more learned, more loving, stronger.

2: Be true. Say only what you mean (barring jest) and mean and do as you say. This means keeping promises and contracts, as well as fair judgment and the eschewing of gossip.

3: Be strong. Keep your body, mind and skills strong and sharp. Tend to your talents and practice your skills, so that when need arises it is met.

4: Be kind. A warm heart brings a happy life. Compassion, empathy and gentleness are the most reliable ways to bring good to relationships with others.

5: Keep the Rule

            A: Do not harm the work by entangling your personal life with your duties as a priest

            B: Practice transparency and impeccability with all monies connected to the work

            C: Keep confidences between the priest and any member or client, and eschew gossip.

            D: Maintain study and practice, keeping knowledge and skills sharp for the work.

E: In all things consider that the reputation of the work, the org and the priest depend on good work and good name.

It is not hard to analyse these according to our virtues. Of course from the first we say that virtues are those qualities that produce good outcomes and good lives. The first Principle simply states that as the goal of the work.

Often I parse each virtue into a triad. For wisdom, I sometimes think of Reason, Discernment and Compassion as central sub-ideas. These apply certainly to the fourth Principle, and to many of the Elements of the Rule. It is Reason and Discernment that allow us to determine when and if our social entanglements interfere with the work, for instance. Discernment also applies to speech, to knowing the difference between cleverness and counsel, judgment and support. Vision supports the third Principle as well as the second, in that we can only be sure that we speak true when we can see clearly. Piety is the point of the exercise, of course; it is piety itself to remember such a code and to live by it. 

            Some might think of courage as the Warrior’s work rather than the Druid’s but it takes courage to speak truth, or to respond with commitment to past words when conditions change. Integrity is, again, the center of the work. Let our deeds be integrated with our ideas, our minds, hearts and bodies serving one

goal. Perseverance is equally important, especially to the third Principle. It is easy to begin, easy to plan, perhaps less easy to stay with the work consistently.

Hospitality applies to the second and fourth Principles. In many ways a good hospitality is the outcome of living by the Principles, the provision of good counsel and good support to the community.

I’m not much of a fan of ‘moderation’ as a ‘virtue’ – it seems more like advice than like an innate quality, which is what I see virtues as being. Still it surely applies to several points. Moderation in speech and promises is wise, moderation in food and drink is good for the third principle, and everything in the Rule is supported by it. The virtue sometimes called ‘fertility’ I refer to as ‘sensuality’ or ‘grandeur’. It refers to the value of using wealth for pleasure, deriving abundance from the use of good things, etc. In my opinion this supports truth, strength and kindness alike.

Are We God(s)?

Reviewing my files, I found this item - unpublished, I think. If I'm wrong and you find it on here somewhere, tell me and you get a no-prize.

Here in our modern esotericism we are seldom very far from the whole issue of whether and how humans have the divine power to create our own world and shape our own fate. This is a topic that has been present in Neopagan discussion for as long as I remember. I see it as one of the recurring intrusions from ‘New Age’ thinking into traditional western magical and polytheistic religious ways. In general I view it as pernicious.

In the early 80s it was common to hear newer Pagan teachers suggest that we all choose and shape our own incarnations, and that some ‘higher self’ chooses our life-path for us, usually with the excuse of ‘teaching us lessons’. ‘Rebirthing’ was one New Age system that spread the notion widely, along with the Course In Miracles. The discussion and dissent around it happened largely inside the feminist community, where the issue of rape, victimhood and the responsibility of the parties involved pulled New Age thought up short against perceived reality.

Shall our spiritual path teach us that we choose suffering, and must only forgive our tormentors, because they only serve our greater good?

Sit down, Dr. Pangloss…

Years ago I rejected the idea that some divine source within human beings creates our own universe and controls our own destiny. I always try to reject doctrinal teachings in favor of direct description of reality, and I simply don’t see any way to reconcile my observation of either my own life or those of my fellows with the idea that we’re all making the life we… need… deserve… whatever. The paragraphs of special pleading required to imagine a mechanism by which the events of various tragedies can be reconciled with the New Age model just can’t stand up to “Shit happens, and nobody is in charge.”

My philosophical path in this is made easier by my polytheism. I hold to the theorem that there is no supreme person of divinity, no single will that guides the cosmos. I don’t think that absolute omnipotence or omniscience exist in any personal being, or *can* exist in any personal being; neither in macrocosmos, nor in microcosmos. Thus I have no reason to expect the divine portion of myself to be able to perfectly guide my evolution through the shaping of events.

I do think there is a portion of myself (and everyone’s) that participates in the same power and awareness as a god. I think that the quest of mysticism is to bring the conscious personal self into proper relationship, even identity, with that personal divine self. I don’t think the result of that work will be complete control of apparent reality, or the freedom to act without consequences. I don’t think the gods have those things now.

So we’re all just stepping on through the Great Dance, hoping not to trip or stumble. It’s good to be a god, if that is one’s fate, but it doesn’t guarantee an end of trouble or strife. I think that’s why the Buddhist impulse arose – can’t we just go somewhere quiet?

None of that for me… I like the nightlife, baby.

So, I’m all for abandoning the teaching that individuals choose our births and our fates. Nature just doesn’t seem to be that way, and imagining that it is seems puzzling, and more likely to allow various smugness and guilt; that just doesn’t seem wise. We all dance along. Those with a plan try to work their plan. Some of those may be Gods, and some big plans may be happening; if the mortal actors play along. Things bump into each other, conflict brings strife and pain. Strife and pain aren’t *for* anything, they’re symptoms *of* something. They teach the wise.

Inside all that we are tiny beings with a spark of the power of a god in us. Discovering that power certainly produces euphoria, and so it should. However there’s always training to do, to stay as wise as we are strong, etc. There’s no harm in reveling in one’s divinitude, as long as it isn’t taken too seriously… it’s only god… It won’t plow the field unless you can get the oxen to work.

The Antlered God

A little something for the season. This is my attempt to write a Cernunnos invocation that makes no assumptions and uses only direct references...

A New God

Formatting is bugging me... posting anyway...

One of the biggest dangers of error in designing one's own religion is that one will simply make symbols of the parts of oneself one likes best, and then worship them. Without the guidance of an experienced ancient Celtic polytheist it is difficult to judge which of the great gods should be given attention. Pagans attempt to deal with the problem through 'Patronage', often modeled vaguely on West African models. What is usually missing is that in those models there is no sense that one chooses what god will become one's patron. Patronage is determined by divination, and the results can be surprising.

In modern Paganism it is more common for folks to focus on gods and spirits that resonate with the obvious and positive parts of our personalities and preferences. That can be fine, but it tends to create blind-spots in one's mythography. It seems that I'm not more immune to that than anyone else.

I'm creating another deck of cards. I've authored a full divination system, and fooled with an effort to pack ritual resources into a nice, pocket-sized box - you can see those here. Now I'm trying to expand the 'Temple Deck' in the Traveling Magic kit. I've added new cards for the deities, bringing the full deity-eidolon set to nine gods of Gaelic and/or Tuatha De Danann provenance. In an effort to amuse myself the set will also contain a 'grimoire deck' with ritual text artfully arranged on cards for, I hope, convenient transport and ritual use. There are invocations for each of those nine gods. More about all that down the road. Here's the point:

I reached a point of trying to decide who the ninth god would be, and asked myself (and some friends) what I was missing. Referencing the obvious Book of Invasions list of Gaelic gods it became clear that I needed a Nuada image and invocation to have the set be even vaguely complete. I'm familiar with the famous tale of Nuada of the Silver Arm, of course, who is King of the Tuatha Dé when they arrive, and is eventually dethroned and restored, before passing away and giving his throne to the next generation of gods. I also knew of his association (linguistic, at least) with the North British god Nodens, who was a healer of war-wounds, associated with the ford of a river, where warriors traditionally met. From those bits I felt confident devising this image:

As I turned to the next step, the writing of an invocation, I realized that I had simply never written an invocation to this important Irish god in all my years! Perhaps it is because he rather vanishes in the stories, and is supplanted by kings whose folkloric persistence has been greater. In any case he had simply never been a part of my work. I did what any good modern Druid does, and turned to my library of books.

I'll spare you the details in favor of summarizing my results. Nuada seems to me to be the Indo-European Law/Warrior king to balance the Dagda's Magic/Poetry king. Nuada is the god of the Well of Wisdom, balancing Dagda's presence as the Sacred Fire. He is the husband of the White Cow Queen - Boann - who is tricked by the Dagda into birthing the Wonder Child. He is the ancestor or father of Fionn, and shares with that figure the traits of hunter, leader of the war-band and keeper of inspiration - his name probably means "he who catches". He holds both the Sword of Victory and the Stone of Sovereignty and is, himself, the Once and Future King, as his arm is stricken from him and restored. In my reading I discovered several titles that seemed to lend themselves to invocation.

I'm satisfied with the effort, though I need to look into what might be proper offerings for such a god. I suppose I'll have to actually invoke him, soon enough.

So again, I suppose the lesson here is to be aware of one's blind spots, to note what one has not noted, to know what one doesn't know. May we all grow in wisdom.

ADF Clergy Retreat 2014

    This past weekend Tredara hosted the ninth annual retreat for ADF’s clergy. I’ve written some about these before (here, and here) and these weekends remain some of my favorite moments of our busy year. The growing cadre of ordained ADF Druids (whatever) is the most skilled and focused group of ritualists I get to work with any given year, and we’ve been involved in a long-term project that is coming to a fuller completion.

         

Many readers will know that our Druidic system addresses the spirits in three large categories (Kindreds, we say) – the Gods, the Dead and the Sidhe. This last category becomes de-ethnicized to the ‘nature spirits’, though that presents problems. In fact this Third Kindred remains a confused catch-all for a variety of animist and folkloric categories of spirit. Thereby hangs the tale of the work this past weekend.

Our Order of Ritual always involves calls to two specific deities – the Earth Mother, or All-Mother, and the Gatekeeper, or Lord of Wisdom. These two have become the patrons of our Clergy Council in the category of the gods. While we may address them at home in specific local and cultural names, when we work together we satisfy ourselves with broader category-titles. Nevertheless the offerings are made, and the work gets done.

Some years ago we began working with a category of the Dead that we call the Ancient Wise. In this we hope to make contact with those from old times who can teach us more directly than we can learn from books. Using a vision-locale that we have developed over many years, we regularly commune with allies that we have made among the Wise.

So we found ourselves looking for an angle on formal alliances with, and within, the Third Kindred. Of course each of us, working on our own, has personal alliances. There is no requirement that our priests have formal spirit-alliances, but the training offers lots of opportunities, and I think most do. Collectively we are multi-ethnic, though united in our work at the Fire of Sacrifice and our service, as we say, to the Gods, the Land and the Folk. The diversity of personal mythic model among us makes the matter more complicated.

Having made alliance with two categories, we have been discussing and experimenting with the third. The problem, in my mind at least, has been that I wanted to be able to narrow the focus of a working from the countless kinds of the wights. My studies into the spirit-tech of the grimoires led me to want to evoke and pact with a specific list of ‘herald’ spirits that could act as intermediaries between mortals and the Many Kins.

My problem was that I couldn’t generate any enthusiasm in the members for the idea. We attempted a version of it three years ago, in the Silver Court work described at the link above. I was fairly pleased with the results, but several in the group weren’t, even those who had strong visions. The results didn’t ‘stick’ very well or get taken into cult in the priesthood, as the Ancient Wise had done so smoothly. After a lively discussion both on-line and on our Friday discussions at the Retreat, we ditched the ‘specific heralds’ idea.

I can surely understand resistance to the concept of selecting any single being or small group of beings to represent the innumerable kinds of spirits in their nearly infinite places. Part of my goal was to choose from a category of ‘nature spirit’ that was easily available in whatever ecosystem one might work. The members of the Council brought a variety of familiars and allies to the work. Trying to decide on a single one – or even a single class, just wasn’t going to happen. The inclination was to do a general ‘convocation’ call, and see who showed up.

The Council has developed/discovered a specific Inner vision locale in which we meet the Ancient Wise. We have toyed for some while with the idea of using another section of that landscape for Landwights work. We began our Saturday working by journeying to that locale in our usual way, together at a lightly-consecrated fire. By speaking with our existing allies we got confirmation on our basic notion, and various other omens that shaped the later work. We also drew a runic omen (because we had runes with us…) that we felt gave us the OK to proceed.

We decided to work in the late afternoon, then retire to dinner and music. Weather conditions were chancy so we resorted to the fire-room in our barn, a mostly-closed room where we can still have open fire. Not the most romantic or evocative setting, but it’s good to have choices. We were comfortable for trance, which is a fair trade.

Framing the work in a full liturgy of sacrifice, we offered to the Mother and the Gatekeeper, the Ancient Wise, and then I made a call to the Many Clans, supported by others as their voices were inspired. Unlike the earlier rounds of work, which included fully-guided trances, I simply led the crew to the edge and sent them on, telling them to ‘arrive in our place by the ways you know’. This is the blessing of work with an experienced group.

We worked in silence for some while, then returned. We had also set ourselves to do a simple sending of healing to several members and kin who were in need, so we did that work and then retired. The evening that followed was a delight (for me) of making music and beery fellowship.

The next morning we discussed our visions. I’m going to keep the majority of the content of that private at this time. In the 18+ of us who reported significant vision (we had one person ill with an allergy attack who missed the rite) there were two or three obvious repeating motifs and commonalities. These reflect several mythic patterns associated with Druids, such as wind and winged messengers. While the whole business wasn’t the specific spirit-mining I had envisioned the company had strong visions, and seeds are planted that are likely to grow.

Nine years after beginning these Retreats the ADF priestly training program is in full operation. In that time the Clergy Council (as we clumsily call it) has also slowly developed an esoteric pattern that we share with new members as they arrive. In this we don’t intend to be secret as much as discrete, to keep the keys and operative symbols limited to those of us who share an oath.

The oath of our priesthood is neither secret nor complex. We say:

I swear to Honor the Gods, to love the Land and to serve the Folk, and to this honor, love and service I dedicate my hands, my heart and my head.

Even as we build the national Pagan religious organization that helps make those goals real in the common world, so we build the relationships with the Shining Ones, the Middle-World co-dwellers, and the Mighty Dead. May what we work on the Inner become true in the mortal world, and the old ways be renewed!

Harvest Blessing

This is a day late, but it has been rather a busy weekend. I'll have a post about that later. In the meantime it is not at all too late to make your peace with the spirits in the Grain, and perhaps this charm can help.

Jeff Rosenbaum, 1955 - 2014

Some may not know, but my old friend Jeff Rosenbaum has suffered a rapid onset brain-cancer which ended his life yesterday afternoon. Listen to this while you read, if you like:

It is proper, now, to speak of my old friend Jeff Rosenbaum, a man who was like a like a brother to me, over many decades. Sometimes closer, sometimes less so, but always loved as family. He has passed far too soon, his work still in progress, but he has left a legacy that continues to bring joy, wisdom and art to the world.

I met Jeff in the mid-1970s, through the Society for Creative Anachronism. He was, at the time, living as an Orthodox Jew, and was the baker of bread for the wonderful medieval feasts that the Barony of the Cleftlands (SCA in Cleveland Oh) put on. Jeff’s golden challah loaves won him the honor of royal baker to the king of the Midrealm.

But Jeff enjoyed baking more than bread, we soon found ourselves part of a circle of friends interested in experimental consciousness exploration, using methods ranging from those of Aleister Crowley to those of Timothy Leary. Many an evening was spent in contemplation of such things as the football-shape that the universe must assume when you look at it as a cross-time object, or discussing whether the Abyss was really as close as that tree’s shadow.

Jeff remained a student and advocate of traditional Judaism and Jewish culture all of his life, but his personal devotion didn’t survive his consciousness studies. Jeff participated in our late-70s experiments in eclectic Paganism, but in general he was more of a scientist than a religionist. While he surrounded himself with students and teachers of a variety of esoteric spiritualities he never personally identified as anything in particular except, perhaps, as a fellow traveler on the great voyage.

In the spring of 1977 it was Jeff who convened the meeting that founded the Chameleon Club and, later, the Association for Consciousness Exploration. The Chameleon Club was brought together by a mutual interest in mind arts and sciences and a quiet revolutionary optimism that we could make a corner of the world a cooler, freer, sweeter place. With an agenda drawn largely from “Cosmic Trigger” we set about hosting events as simple as showing movies at a Case Western Reserve University venue and as major as bringing Dr. Leary to Cleveland for the first time as he returned to public speaking in the late 70s. By 1980 we had bought into a house in Cleveland Hts. and were keeping an office as well, all managed by Jeff’s hard work, supported by the Club.

Tim Leary, Robert Shea, Pat Monaghan, Jeff, Gillie Smythe

In 1980 the Club made a road-trip to the Pan-Pagan Festival. Pan-Pagan ’80 remains a historical moment, when 500+ Pagans and Witches gathered to share community. From that festival were born the majority of the round of “national festivals” still in business today. The Chameleon Club came home and immediately began working on what became the Starwood festival. Thirty-five years later that festival is still rockin’ on.

Starwood became Jeff’s love-child, his farm and his factory. It is a festival that drew on the Pagan community, yet included new science, environmental and political activism and performance art along with anything else cool we could drag into the woods. With Jeff’s guidance over the years the festival grew to provide inspiration, pleasure and learning to thousands of people. Generations of children have grown up with Starwood as their ‘church camp’, bands have been born, religious systems invented, all brewed in the bright, faceted jewel cauldron of the Starwood Festival.

It is entirely likely that none of that would have occurred without Jeff’s vision and direction, but he wouldn’t want me to give the impression that he did it alone. The Chameleon Club, and our later allies and heart-kin, were the family that made Jeff’s plans materialize. Yes, when our lives became busy and balls were dropped it was usually Jeff getting them back into the air. If no one else did it, Jeff did. His personal time, talent and treasure were devoted to making the Starwood community, and promoting Starwood’s ideals of beauty, freedom and growth. However he did it for and with others. Jeff never promoted himself overly. He never wanted “the credit” for the wonderful thing he helped to build, freely sharing that with the many staff and volunteers.

Jeff could be counted on for his enduring care and loyalty. Those of us from the old Chameleon Club are Chosen Kin, mostly as inescapable to one another now as any big ethnic clan. Jeff was one of the Old Uncles, as alternately beloved and annoying as any. He could be counted on for a good joke, a weird movie, a cool new band, a bad joke (did I say that?). He could be counted on by his friends when times were hard, his quiet charity a boon to several over the years.

Jeff’s life can serve as a lesson that a devotion to ideas, to manifesting dreams, to serving a community can be fulfilling, and leave a lasting legacy. The Starwood Festival will continue, rolling on the solid chassis of Jeff’s old bus. The enchantment he helped to weave is only made the wilder by Jeff’s transition from at-the-desk manager to his new life in story and memory. May his atoms make new beauty, may his work grow new wonder, may his spirit find joy in its fate.