MODERN PAGANISM: EARTH-BASED RELIGIONS DRAWING MEMBERS FROM VARIETY OF MOVEMENTS

May Day, still celebrated with May poles and barbecues, is rooted in the ancient Celtic tradition of Beltane, a festival held to welcome the coming summer season.

In some places today, Christians and Pagans alike will be dancing and singing in celebration.

Dorothy Morrison of Fruitland said she probably will be planting a garden for Beltane.

Tara and Michael Miller of Cape Girardeau hope to take a walk in the woods together.

Morrison is a Wiccan and the Millers are Druids. Both belief systems fall within an increasingly popular movement in the United States called Neo-Paganism.

The Millers said they have some 40 Pagan acquaintances in the area. The Circle of the Blessed Moon club at Southeast Missouri State University has about 15 Pagan members.

A western concept based on the idea that the world is holy and celebrates the seasonal cycles of nature, Neo-Paganism encompasses Witches (members of Wicca), Druids and other followers of earth-based religions.

"It's a phenomenon that appears to be the evolution of 30, 35 years of cultural upheaval in the United States," said John Simmons, a professor of American religion at Western Illinois University. He has tracked the growth of a Springfield, Ill.-based Wiccan coven since the late 1980s.

Morrison, 43, is the author of "Everyday Magic" and "In Praise of the Crone." She became interested in witchcraft more than 20 years ago.

Raised in a small Texas town she attended Catholic school as a child. When she moved to Houston after high school she saw a sign advertising tarot card readings and worked up her courage to knock on the door.

"In Houston, you didn't go into strangers' homes for fear they might be ax murderers or something," Morrison said.

At the door she was greeted by a "normal young woman" much like herself.

Sensing her interest the woman later invited Morrison to a gathering, which turned out to be a coven meeting.

Over the years Morrison rose to the level of high priestess in the Church of Wicca in Bakersfield, Calif. She and her husband moved to Fruitland in 1990.

She now teaches other students who are interested in the craft. "I believe in teaching each to their capacity," she said. For example, if a student shows a gift for healing, they work together to develop that gift.

"If the ancients have given them a talent, why not use it? Not to use them is a travesty," Morrison said.

With a lack of central hierarchy or rigid rules, earth-based religions draw members from a mix of movements, feminists, environmentalists and New Age seekers who worship the gods and goddesses of nature by casting sacred circles and celebrating the changing seasons.

Rituals vary from pre-Christian blessings to spells to a remedy for a faulty fax modem.

Pagans believe in a form of magic that more resembles the power of prayer than the power of a hex.

"I'm concerned about the pagan image," Morrison said. "A lot of people think this is 'Dungeons and Dragons' or something evil."

She said it doesn't help that "frankly there are a lot of flakes who profess to be Witches or Pagans who have no idea what it's about."

Pagans are in an uphill battle trying to alleviate some of the fear and misconceptions people have about them.

One popular witch illusion, created centuries ago by the Inquisition, is an inversion of Christianity, complete with a Black Mass at which Satan was worshipped.

Artists, writers, filmmakers and rock singers have contributed to the myth, romanticizing the stereotypes.

Nothing could be further from the truth, Morrison said.

Pagans don't believe in Satan or any devil for that matter, Morrison said. "I think humankind usually stirs up our own problems," she said.

"The main code of Paganism is harm none, including yourself," Michael Miller said. "It's a lot like the Golden Rule," Tara Miller said.

Pagans are offended by violence and cruelty. And they're equally offended when considered to be members of a cult or odd sect.

Wicca has been legally recognized as a religion in the United States (including by the IRS and U.S. military) since 1985.

Tara Miller, 22, is a university student majoring in mass communications. She was raised in Fisk as a United Methodist, the daughter of a minister.

Her husband, Michael, 21, was raised in Santa Cruz, Calif., a member of Church of Christ.

Both said they've always felt a deep connection to nature, each seeking solace in the woods; she in the Ozarks, he in the Redwood forests of northern California.

Tara Miller was overwhelmed by the sensation that God wasn't just up in heaven but that there was a divine presence everywhere, including within herself.

According to the Millers, Druidism is "fairly monotheistic" with one divine source showing many faces or godheads.

Wiccans honor both Goddess and God.

Pagan rituals once based on pre-Christian principals have shifted somewhat.

Tara Miller said her most recent ritual was a prayer for the peaceful end to the situation in Kosovo.

One reason is "20th century people don't have a lot of time for formal ritual," Morrison said.

At one time Beltane celebrants sought fertility for humans, animals and crops.

Modern science and population explosions have rendered those rituals fairly obsolete.

"Imagination is the magic," Morrison said.

Her writing is for a modern audience, for people who deal with cars, vacuums and computers.

Morrison has several spells to keep her computer from crashing.

"Rituals have always been about everyday living," Morrison said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SPELLS

PROTECTION FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES

Turn computer on and defragment hard drive. While computer sorts files, thorougly clean computer case, monitor, drives and keyboard of all dust. Chant:

Mercury, Zeus, Apollo, Thor

Protect this fine machine.

Keep its files where they belong

And its hardware virus-free.

PLANTING FALL BULBS

Take bulbs to garden and place them in Earth, chanting:

Seasons change 00 the Wheel turns 'round!

Bulbs, I plant you in the ground.

Death-like bulbs, you'll gain new life,

And in the Spring, will sprout and thrive.

As you cover bulbs with soil, chang:

Maiden Goddess, dance and play

Upon this ground throughout the day.

Wisest Crone, so gnarled and old,

Work mysteries in the night-time cold.

Mother Goddess, give them birth

so they will sprout upon the Earth.

And let them blossom beauteously.

The Wheel turn 'round! So more it be!

Water them well, and repeat the previous chang once a day until the first bulb sprouts.

Source: "Everyday Magic" by Dorothy Morrison

MAGICAL USE OF STONES

ANGER MANAGEMENT

Amethyst

Carnelian

Lepidolite

Topaz

BEAUTY

Amber

Cat's eye

Jasper

Opal

Rose quartz

Unakite

BUSINESS SUCCESS

Green agate

Aventurine

Bloodstone

Emerald

Jade

Lapis lazuli

Malachite

Green tourmaline

CREATIVITY

Orange calcite

Citrine

Opal

Topaz

DIETING

Moonstone

Blue topaz

FRIENDSHIP

Chrysoprase

Rose quartz

Pink tourmaine

Turquoise

GAMBLING

Amazonite

Aventurine

Tiger-eye

JOY

Orange calcite

Chrysoprase

Sunstone

Unakite

TRAVEL

Aquamarine

Chalcedony

WISDOM

Amethyst

Chrysocolia

Coral.

Source: "Everyday Magic" by Dporothy Morrison