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I am a 33 year old gay male living in the New River Valley. I was raised
in a small town in rural Georgia. From the time I was 2 weeks old, I attended
a Southern Baptist church. At the age of 13, I was practically dragged to
the altar by my mother to be "saved". From that point on, I did what I felt
was the "christian" thing...sang in the church choir, was president of the
youth group, worked with missionaries in a West Virginia trailer park, held
bible study for the neighborhood kids. Every time the church doors were
open...I was there.
Once I reached High School, I was starting to search for my path in life.
The "new age" movement was in full swing and I started reading books on
crystals, channeling, and past lives. This was a very awkward time in my
life. Not only was I on a spiritual quest, but I was also struggling with
my sexuality. Being raised in a christian environment in the deep south,
it was not acceptable to be gay. I knew I would spend an eternity in hell if
I were gay so I prayed to god not to be gay. Being true to my southern
upbringing, I didn't talk about it...therefore it didn't exist. I stopped
reading all the "satanic" books and started looking for a wife, trying to
be a nice christian boy, settle down and start a family. After all, isn't
that what I was supposed to do? In November of 1989 I got married and "settled
down". The marriage lasted 2 1/2 years. For the next four years, I
wandered through existence, not really thinking about life, not really
thinking about spirituality...just existing.
In January of 1995, I met my soul mate, my life partner, my companion! Six
months later I had quite my job of 9 years, left my family, my friends and
the town I grew up in, packed my bags and moved to Richmond to be with him.
In 1999, we moved into a 110 year old farm house in the New River Valley.
In 2000, on one of our frequent trips to a local book store, I found myself
in the "occult" section thumbing through Wicca books. It was like coming
home! Here it all fell into place. God was not some bearded old man
sitting on a cloud waiting to banish me to hell at the first sign of sinful
activity...God surrounded me in everything and was within me. And the
Goddess! Why had I not been told about this beautiful Lady in Sunday
School? And I realized it is possible to be gay and spiritual at the same
time! From that point on, I have read every book I can get my hands on.
In April of 2001, I found the Coven of the Burning Waters. Working with
the coven has been a great experience for me. I can see my life evolving. I
can feel the God and Goddess within me. I am getting to know my true power
and my true spirit. I do not follow any one particular Wiccan path...I
just following my soul to see where I go. I am very interested in herbal magic,
food magic and magical brews.
The Coven and it's members have become an important aspect of my life, both
on a spiritual and a mundane level. The Coven is my family-my brothers and
sisters who I love dearly. I feel it is a great honor to be able to walk
the path with such a special group of people.
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