Proud pagans party for magical time

This article was originally published on 10/5/2006

Oh, Great Spirit of the Forest, hear this prayer.

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Ayramysque dances for the crowd at Pagan Pride 2006 last weekend in Decatur.

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The annual festival brought together Wiccans, witches and ‘commoners’ to Glenlake Park for music, dancing and workshops.

Among us, the mortals, walk lonesome souls whose devotion to thee must be hidden. Centuries ago, they faced gruesome deaths at the burning stake that came with an audience. Today, their cubicle mates snicker.

Alas, the persecution!

Then the faithful sought out a wooded kingdom called Decatur, a mythical land of tolerance and prosperity. There, they found refuge.

The annual Atlanta Pagan Pride festival draws hundreds of Wiccans, witches and other earthy worshippers to Decatur’s Glenlake Park. Last weekend, the fourth celebration brought together 800 colorful characters.

As in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ” fairies showed up —- the youngsters wearing synthetic wings made of wires and see-through cloth. “Lords” and “Ladies” walked amongst commoners. Children danced the maypole.

Pentagram amulets, ponytails and tattoos —- the quarter-moon on the forehead —- were everywhere. Vendors hawked Doritos, detachable horns and magic potion —- actually bath salt that promises to spike your income for $3.

Nothing was sacrificed. “No spiders, no frogs, no babies, ” said Randall Hornsby, 39, a Marietta engineer by day and Wiccan by night who has five children. “That’s all Hollywood.”

Hornsby grew up Baptist but never felt quite at ease with his former religion.

“We’re normal people. There’s nothing to be afraid of, ” he said. “You’re not going to see us passing out literature.”

His 15-year-old daughter, Desree, doesn’t become a witch when peers ask.

“I just say we just believe in Earth, ” she said. “It’s like ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’ “

A pagan is someone who worships deities recognized before Christianity, according to the Pagan Pride Project, a national group.

They believe in shamanism or magical practices, such as wizardry or witchery.

Among attendees at the recent festival were Atlanta witches; gals from Smyrna’s “Sylvan Forest” Wiccan community, who believe in unicorns; and reps from a seminary in South Carolina “Where Wiccan Families Work Together.” The Druids came, too. (No, not from Druid Hills.)

In comparison to the days of the Salem witch trials, the pagans have it easier now. Take, for example, the popularity of Harry Potter and the TV show “Charmed, ” which features three sisters who have supernatural powers.

Still, many pagans are closeted for fear of reprisals at their jobs, like the 61-year-old accountant who calls herself Lady Willow.

“They know I’m odd, but they don’t know what I am, ” she said of her boss and co-workers. “We don’t shove it down others’ throats. We want to be treated with respect.”

Then, she waved her wand and turned this writer into a toad.

Just kidding.

The writer is not an amphibian.

At least he doesn’t think so.