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Pagan Pioneers:  Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others

Selena Fox

Written and compiled by George Knowles

Selena Fox is a Wiccan High Priestess, a Psychotherapist, Author and a Lecturer on Paganism, Wicca and other comtemporary Religions.  She is the founder and co-director of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan Church and Nature Preserve set in 200 acres of land near Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.  She is also a founding member of the Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) one of the oldest neo-pagan festivals in the United States held annually at Litha (Midsummer).

Selena was born on the 20^th October 1949 in Arlington, Virginia, and raised in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist family.  She claims to be descended from ancestors in England, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Germany and other parts of Europe, some dating back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries.  She is also part Native American, descended from the Cherokee people.

As a child Selena grew up appreciating nature, often playing alone in the woods near her home.  In time she was able to identify many of the plants and creatures she found, and developed a deep respect for all aspects of nature.  By the time she had reached her early teens, she had begun to explore psychic phenomena and parapsychology.  She also learned to read the Tarot cards.

While in ninth grade at high school, she was introduced to the study of ancient Greek and Roman religions, and comparing it to her own Baptist upbringing, saw at once the patriarchal nature of the Christian Church, their bias against female clergy and their prejudice toward other religions.  Soon after, she stopped attending the Baptist Church, preferring instead to concentrate on her own spirituality outdoors where she could be at one with nature.

After leaving high school Selena attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, majoring in Psychology while at the same time maintaining her interest in Classics.  She was also involved in student politics by organising Civil Rights rallies and attending peace vigils.  In 1970 she helped organize celebrations for the first Earth Day parade.  This was held at the Spring Equinox on the 21^st March 1970 and is now an annual International event.

During summer vacations from College, Selena did temporary work in the office of the Army’s Chief of Staff at the Pentagon.  She considered working at the Pentagon her own contribution to serving the country, more so as many of her ancestors and family members had served in government roles before her.  In conflict with her social reform work, Selena claims not to be anti-government, but believes that only by working from within the governments can needed reforms be made.

While majoring in Psychology, Selena continued her interest in Classical studies and was made President of Eta Sigma Phi the college Classics honours Society.  She was also made President of the non-academic Classics Club, which was open to anyone regardless of academic achievement.  In her last year at college she staged a re-enactment of the ancient Greek and Roman Rite of Spring ritual, which was held outdoors in the centre of the college campus.

Selena graduated from William & Mary in 1971 with a BSc. (cum laude) degree in Psychology.  She then moved on to Rutgers University in New Jersey to begin post-graduate training, a part of which included work on an archaeological dig in Hampton, Virginia.  It was here that Selena met a practising hereditary Witch called Marianne, who introduced her to the practice of Witchcraft as a religion, a practice that closely resembled her own nature-based spirituality.

Selena and Jim Alan handfasting

In the following year 1975, Selena and Jim Alan moved onto a rented farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and from there began to expand and develop Circle Wicca.  They started by hosting a weekly radio program sponsored by a local community radio station, and a year later in 1976 recorded their first music cassette of Pagan Ritual music called Circle Magick Music.  This was one of the earliest Neo-Pagan music albums recorded and is still available today.  They also played together at the Gnosticon 6 Festival in St. Paul, Minnesota, a major festival sponsored by Carl Weschcke, owner of Llewellyn Publications.

In 1978 Selena suceeded in having Circle Wicca incorporated as an official non-profit Wiccan Church in the State of Wisconsin, after which Circle Wicca became known as the Church of Circle Wicca.  They also changed the coven’s structure from being a simple “coven” lead by a High Priestess and Priest, to that of a regular Church run as a corporate organisation with a Board of Directors and Ordained Ministers.

They next set-up and published Circle Network News (now called Circle Magazine), which is, and continues to be, their main networking facility providing support and research resources to Pagans all around the world.  Initially this was published as a newspaper, and then for the Spring issue of 1998 it was changed into a magazine format.  It changed again for the Autumn issue of 1999 when it was renamed Circle Magazine.  Today it is a glossy 72-page magazine published quarterly, and one of the leading Neo-Pagan publications in the United States.

That same year in 1978, building on the success of their local radio program, they produced and directed a weekly television show, the Magic Circle Show, which was broadcast on Cable 4 (now called WYOU) in Madison.  Each of its hour-long programs featured a variety of topics, such as:  holistic health, spiritual healing, parapsychology, divination and Wicca/Pagan spirituality, interspersed with interviews and music.

In 1979, an article featured in Time Magazine reported a handfasting ceremony performed by Selena and Jim Alan at the Pan Pagan Festival held in Demotte, Indiana.  This article, published on Monday 06^th Aug 1979, did much to raise the profile of Wicca/Witchraft and Paganism across the USA.  Soon after, Selena began to appear in various other national and international news media, including T.V. shows like:  The Today Show, Donahue, Sightings, Sally Jesse Raphael and Larry King Live, on radio networks such as:  NPR, BBC, ABC, CBC, and in numerous magazines and newspapers such as:  Time and The Wall Street Journal.

In 1980, the Church of Circle Wicca finally received federal recognition as a Church from the US Government, but just as things were coming together, they were evicted from their rented Sun Prairie farm by a prejudiced landlord.  Forced to move, they first rented a home near Ashton, Wisconsin, and then moved again to another rented farm near Black Earth, Wisconsin.  Undaunted by these forced moves, and clearly in need of their own permanent place to expand the Church, they begin promoting fund raising events with the aim of purchasing suitable land of their own.

Selena started by running training programs for various groups and traditions, followed by workshops and spirituality courses, and then providing counselling services and intensive training for ministers.  They also started monthly rituals at the farm and sponsoring festivals and events in nearby Madison.  This led to the first annual Litha (Midsummer) gathering, which in the following year 1981 became known as the Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG).  Today the PSG continues as one of the largest annual Neo-Pagan gatherings in the USA.

By 1983 supported by donations from the Pagan community and various other fund rising events, Selena had enough funds to purchase a 200 hundred-acre piece of land near Mt. Horeb in Wisconsin.  They called the land Circle Sanctuary, to which the Church of Circle Wicca was re-named as its legal trading name.  Circle Sanctuary was the first land purchase project in the United States to be bought solely for use as a Pagan Spiritual Retreat and Nature Preserve.  At Yule that same year on top of what is called Ritual Mound, a permanent Stone Circle was erected complete with an the altar stone and fire ring.

Not everyone was happy with the land purchase however.  Just a year later in 1984, local residents in the area started a smear campaign in efforts to stop them using the land as a Pagan Sanctuary.  Local officials and the county zoning administrator were sent in to investigate their activities, but could find no breaches of the law or any moral or ethical religious reasons to shut them down.  After a four-year legal battle, and with the aid of the American Civil Liberties Union, in 1988 they finally won Church-zoning rights for all 200 acres of the land, thus Circle Sanctuary became the first Church associated with Paganism and Witchcraft to own a Nature preserve in the United States.

Circle Sanctuary however, is not freely open to use by the Pagan community, which was and still is a point of contention for many.  As the funds needed to buy the land was raised mainly through voluntary donations, many believe that it should be open for use by the community without restriction.  Fundraising appeals made through Circle Network News routinely stated or implied that the land, once purchased, would be used as a permanent site for the Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG), however, the PSG has never been held there.  Similarly, those who gave donations and provided labor for the project, have also been turned away.  The land is privately owned and access to it is strictly controlled.  Only Circle Sanctuary staff and their working volunteers may enter the site on a regular basis, while others can only enter by prior appointment or to attend on-site festivals, rituals or classes…and so it remains today.

Ten years after they handfasted in a common-law marriage, Selena and Jim Alan parted company in 1984, after which Jim Alan left Circle Sanctuary to devote himself to a full-time writing career.  Two years later in June 1986 during the Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) held at Eagle Cave Campground near Blue River, Wisconsin, Selena married her present husband Dennis Carpenter, a Wiccan High Priest and former school psychologist.  Margot Adler officiated at their handfasting, which was held in a large cave on the site used for community rituals.  Today they work together as co-directors of Circle Sanctuary, with Selena as Director of Spiritual activities and Dennis as Director of Research and editor of Circle Magazine.

During their fight to secure church-zoning rights for Circle Sanctuary, in 1985 Selena founded the Lady Liberty League (LLL).  This is a support group led by Circle Sanctuary and dedicated to religious freedom worldwide.  The LLL with the aid of Circles networking capabilities, provides information and support to anyone working with religious freedom issues, an example of which is the ongoing battle with the US Military to allow families of soldiers killed in the line of duty to place symbols (pentacles, pentagrams, etc.) of their religious beliefs on their memorial markers.  Together with the American Civil Liberties Union, Circle Sanctuary and the LLL were also active in defeating proposed anti-Witchcraft legislation from passing through the US Senate.  Known as the Helms Amendment, this was a bill designed to take away federal Church status from all Wiccan Churches in the USA.

As a long respected public speaker on Paganism and other forms of contemporary religion and spirituality, in 1988 together with Margot Adler, Selena was a delegate at the World Council of Churches Women’s International Interfaith Conference in Toronto, Canada, the first time that Paganism and Goddess Spirituality had been represented on an international stage.  Since then Selena has regularly attended other international conferences including the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago (1993), in Cape Town, South Africa (1999) and again in Barcelona, Spain (2004).  She is also a member of the 250 strong Assembly of Religious and Spiritual Leaders associated with that Parliament.

In 1995, Circle Sanctuary dedicated space on its land to be used as a National Pagan cemetery.  Circle Cemetery is one of the first conservation “Green” cemeteries to be established in North America.  The Cemetery is located in an area on top a ridge where cremated remains are scattered and Green funerals conducted.  In 2005, they also began legal proceeding to permit actual body burials, in anticipation of which they have expanded the size of the cemetery to 20 acres.

Also in 1995 Selena finally completed her Master’s degree in Psychology, for which her thesis has been published in a book called:  “When Goddess is God:  Pagans, Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous”.  As a Spiritual Counsellor in private practice, Selena also works as a staff Psychotherapist at the Wellspring mental health outpatient clinic in Madison, Wisconsin, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Counselling Association, the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, and the American Academy of Religion.

When not attending International conventions and conferences, Selena continues to travel throughout the Unites States giving lectures and workshops on Paganism, inter-traditional Spirituality and Psychology.  Between times she and her husband Dennis Carpenter live on their own land adjacent to Circle Sanctuary.

Sources:

http://www.mhtc.net/~selena/

http://www.circlesanctuary.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena_Fox

http://religion.info/english/interviews/article_186.shtml

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948768-1,00.html

http://www.paganleadership.org/teachers/

http://www.circlesanctuary.org/cemetery

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Selena-Fox

First published on the 09th April 2011 © George Knowles

Best wishes and Blessed Be

Site Contents - Links to all Pages

Home Page

A Universal Message:

Let there be peace in the world  -   Where have all the flowers gone?

About me:

My Personal Page /  My Place in England / My Family Tree (Ancestry)

Wicca & Witchcraft

Wicca/Witchcraft /  What is Wicca /  What is Magick

Traditional Writings:

The Wiccan Rede /  Charge of the Goddess /  Charge of the God  /  The Three-Fold Law (includes The Law of Power and The Four Powers of the Magus) /  The Witches Chant /  The Witches Creed /  Descent of the Goddess /  Drawing Down the Moon /  The Great Rite Invocation /  Invocation of the Horned God /  The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief /  The Witches Rede of Chivalry /  A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality

Correspondence Tables:

Incense /  Candles /  Colours /  Magickal Days /  Stones and Gems /  Elements and Elementals

Traditions:

Traditions Part 1  -  Alexandrian Wicca /  Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) /  Ár Ndraíocht Féin (ADF) /  Blue Star Wicca /  British Traditional (Druidic Witchcraft) /  Celtic Wicca /  Ceremonial Magic /  Chaos Magic /  Church and School of Wicca /  Circle Sanctuary /  Covenant of the Goddess (COG) /  Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) /  Cyber Wicca /  Dianic Wicca /  Eclectic Wicca /  Feri Wicca /

Traditions Part 2  -  Gardnerian Wicca /  Georgian Tradition /  Henge of Keltria /  Hereditary Witchcraft /  Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D.) /  Kitchen Witch (Hedge Witch) /  Minoan Brotherhood and Minoan Sisterhood Tradition /  Nordic Paganism /  Pagan Federation /  Pectic-Wita /  Seax-Wica /  Shamanism /  Solitary /  Strega /  Sylvan Tradition /  Vodoun or Voodoo /  Witches League of Public Awareness (WLPA) /

Other things of interest:

Gods and Goddesses (Greek Mythology) /  Esbats & Full Moons /  Links to Personal Friends & Resources /  Wicca/Witchcraft Resources /  What's a spell? /  Circle Casting and Sacred Space /  Pentagram - Pentacle /  Marks of a Witch /  The Witches Power /  The Witches Hat /  An esoteric guide to visiting London /  Satanism /  Pow-wow /  The Unitarian Universalist Association /  Numerology:  Part 1  /  Part 2  /  Part 3 /  A history of the Malleus Maleficarum:  includes:  Pope Innocent VIII  /  The papal Bull  /   The Malleus Maleficarum  /  An extract from the Malleus Maleficarum  /  The letter of approbation  /  Johann Nider’s Formicarius  /  Jacob Sprenger  /  Heinrich Kramer  /  Stefano Infessura  /  Montague Summers  /  The Waldenses  /  The Albigenses  /  The Hussites /  The Native American Sun Dance /  Shielding (Occult and Psychic Protection) /  The History of Thanksgiving /  Auras  - Part 1 and Part 2 /  “Doreen Valiente Witch” (A Book Review) /   

Sabbats and Festivals:

The Sabbats in History and Mythology /  Samhain (October 31st)  /  Yule (December 21st)  /  Imbolc (February 2nd)  /  Ostara (March 21st)  /  Beltane (April 30th)  /  Litha (June 21st)  /  Lammas/Lughnasadh (August 1st)  /  Mabon (September 21st)

Rituals contributed by Crone:

Samhain / Yule /  Imbolc /  Ostara /  Beltane /  Litha /  Lammas /  Mabon

Tools:

Tools of a Witch  /  The Besom (Broom) /  Poppets and Dolls /  Pendulums / Cauldron Magick /  Mirror Gazing

Animals:

Animals in Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar and Totem Animals) /  Antelope /  Bats /  Crow /  Fox /  Frog and Toads /  Goat / Honeybee /  Kangaroo /  Lion /  Owl /  Phoenix /  Rabbits and Hares /  Raven /  Robin Redbreast /  Sheep /  Spider /  Squirrel /  Swans /  Unicorn /  Wild Boar /  Wolf /  Serpent /  Pig /  Stag /  Horse /  Mouse /  Cat /  Rats /  Unicorn

Trees:

In Worship of Trees - Myths, Lore and the Celtic Tree Calendar.  For descriptions and correspondences of the thirteen sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft see the following:  Birch /  Rowan / Ash /  Alder /  Willow /  Hawthorn /  Oak /  Holly /  Hazel /  Vine /  Ivy /  Reed /  Elder

Sacred Sites:

Mystical Sacred Sites  -  Stonehenge /  Glastonbury Tor /  Malta - The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni /  Avebury /  Cerne Abbas - The Chalk Giant /  Ireland - Newgrange /

Rocks and Stones:

Stones - History, Myths and Lore

Articles contributed by Patricia Jean Martin:

Apophyllite  / Amber /  Amethyst /  Aquamarine /  Aragonite /  Aventurine /  Black Tourmaline /  Bloodstone /  Calcite /  Carnelian /  Celestite /  Citrine /  Chrysanthemum Stone / Diamond  /  Emerald / Fluorite /  Garnet /  Hematite /  Herkimer Diamond /  Labradorite /  Lapis Lazuli /  Malachite /  Moonstone /  Obsidian /  Opal /  Pyrite /  Quartz (Rock Crystal) /  Rose Quartz /  Ruby /  Selenite /  Seraphinite  /  Silver and Gold /  Smoky Quartz /  Sodalite /  Sunstone /  Thunderegg /  Tree Agate /  Zebra Marble

Wisdom and Inspiration:

Knowledge vs Wisdom by Ardriana Cahill /  I Talk to the Trees /  Awakening /  The Witch in You /  A Tale of the Woods /  I have a Dream by Martin Luther King /

Articles and Stories about Witchcraft:

Murdered by Witchcraft /  The Fairy Witch of Clonmel /  A Battleship, U-boat, and a Witch /  The Troll-Tear (A story for Children) /  Goody Hawkins - The Wise Goodwife /  The Story of Jack-O-Lantern /  The Murder of the Hammersmith Ghost /  Josephine Gray (The Infamous Black Widow) /  The Two Brothers - Light and Dark

Old Masters of Academia:

Pliny the Elder /  Hesiod /  Pythagoras

Biographies

A "Who's Who" of Witches, Pagans and other associated People

(Ancient, Past and Present)

Remembered at Samhain

(Departed Pagan Pioneers, Founders, Elders and Others)

Pagan Pioneers:  Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others

Abramelin the Mage /  Agrippa /  Aidan A Kelly /  Albertus Magnus - “Albert the Great” /  Aleister Crowley - “The Great Beast” /  Alex Sanders - “King of the Witches” /  Alison Harlow /   Allan Bennett - the Ven. Ananda Metteyya /  Allan Kardec (Spiritism) /  Alphonsus de Spina /  Amber K /  Ann Moura /  Anna Franklin /  Anodea Judith /  Anton Szandor LaVey /  Arnold Crowther /  Arthur Edward Waite /  Austin Osman Spare /  Balthasar Bekker /  Biddy Early /  Barbara Vickers /  Bridget Cleary - The Fairy Witch of Clonmel /  Carl " Llewellyn" Weschcke /  Cecil Hugh Williamson /  Charles Godfrey Leland /   Charles Walton /  Christopher Penczak /  Christina Oakley Harrington /  Cornelius Loos /  Damh the Bard - "Dave Smith" /  Dion Fortune /  Dolores Aschroft-Nowicki /  Donald Michael Kraig /  Doreen Valiente /  Dorothy Morrison /  Dr. John Dee & Edward Kelly /  Dr. Leo Louis Martello /  Edain McCoy /  Edward Fitch /  Eleanor Ray Bone - “Matriarch of British Witchcraft” /  Eliphas Levi /  Ernest Thompson Seton /  Ernest Westlake /  Fiona Horne /   Frederick McLaren Adams - Feraferia /  Friedrich von Spee /  Francis Barrett /  Gavin and Yvonne Frost and the School and Church of Wicca /  Gerald B. Gardner - The father of contemporary Witchcraft /  Gwydion Pendderwen /  Hans Holzer /  Helen Duncan /   Herman Slater - Horrible Herman /  Heinrich Kramer /  Isaac Bonewits /  Israel Regardie /  Ivo Domínguez Jr. /  Jack Whiteside Parsons - Rocket Science and Magick /  James "Cunning" Murrell - The Master of Witches /  Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone /  Jean Bodin /  Jessie Wicker Bell - “Lady Sheba” / Johann Weyer  / Johannes Junius - "The Burgomaster of Bamberg" /   Johann Georg Fuchs von Dornheim  -  the “Hexenbrenner” (witch burner) /  John Belham-Payne /  John George Hohman - "Pow-wow" /  John Gerard /  John Gordon Hargrave and the Kibbo Kith Kindred /  John Michael Greer /  John Score /  Joseph “Bearwalker” Wilson /  Joseph John Campbell /  Karl von Eckartshausen /  Lady Gwen Thompson - and "The Rede of the Wiccae" /   Laurie Cabot  - "the Official Witch of Salem" /  Lewis Spence /  Lodovico Maria Sinistrari /  Ludwig Lavater /  Madeline Montalban and the Order of the Morning Star /  Margaret Alice Murray /  Margot Adler /  Michael Howard and the UK "Cauldron Magazine" /  Margaret St. Clair - the “Sign of the Labrys” /  Marie Laveau - " the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans" /  Marion Weinstein /  Martin Antoine Del Rio /  Matthew Hopkins - “The Witch-Finder General” /   Max Ehrmann and the "Desiderata" /  Michael A. Aquino - and The Temple of Set /  Monique Wilson /  Montague Summers /  Nicholas Culpeper /  Nicholas Remy /  M. R. Sellars /  Mrs. Maud Grieve - "A Modern Herbal" /  Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory /  Old Dorothy Clutterbuck /  Old George Pickingill /  Olivia Durdin-Robertson - co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis /  Paddy Slade /  Pamela Colman-Smith /  Paracelsus /  Patricia Crowther /  Patricia Monaghan /  Patricia “Trish” Telesco /  Paul Foster Case and the “Builders of the Adytum” mystery school /  Peter Binsfeld /  Philip Heselton /  Raven Grimassi /  Raymond Buckland /  Reginald Scot /  Richard Baxter /  Robert Cochrane /  Robert ‘von Ranke’ Graves and the "The White Goddess" /  Rosaleen Norton - “The Witch of Kings Cross” /  Rossell Hope Robbins /   Ross Nichols and the " Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids" (OBOD) /  Rudolf Steiner /  Sabrina Underwood - "The Ink Witch" /  Scott Cunningham /  Selena Fox - founder of "Circle Sanctuary" /  Silver Ravenwolf /  Sir Francis Dashwood /  Sir James George Frazer and the " The Golden Bough" /  S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” /  Starhawk /  Stewart Farrar /  Sybil Leek /  Ted Andrews /  The Mather Family - (includes:  Richard Mather, Increase Mather and Cotton Mather ) /   Thomas Ady /  T. Thorn Coyle /  Vera Chapman /  Victor & Cora Anderson and the " Feri Tradition" /  Vivianne Crowley /  Walter Brown Gibson /  Walter Ernest Butler /  William Butler Yeats /  Zsuzsanna Budapest /  

Many of the above biographies are briefs and far from complete.  If you know about any of these individuals and can help with additional information, please contact me privately at my email address below.  Many thanks for reading  :-)

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