Living spirits

Interview

Fran Hingston, 21, is from London. She describes how she became a pagan and what the old religion means to her.

When did you first become aware of paganism?

From a rather young age, things like dancing round the maypole and celebrating a solstice or equinox were just things we did. In my mid-teens I bought a book specifically for teenage pagans and Wiccans/Wicca, in particular, has had a bad press, so I was interested to read the facts. It was from then on that I took it seriously as a faith.

Were you born under a different religion?

I was a Unitarian, but there has always been a link between the Unitarian church and paganism.

What aspects of the beliefs appealed to you?

I liked the fact that it wasn't a template of ideas and morals fabricated to inflict on those who have different beliefs from you. It was peaceful, non-judgemental and was basically what I was all about. I had previously thought of myself as quite an atheist because I hated the fact that God was so often used as a weapon against others and an excuse to be bigoted and judgemental and to hate, rather than bringing people together.

Paganism is an ancient, nature-based faith. Nature is all around us and the one thing we can all agree on is that it's important to conserve and respect it so it can sustain us.

Spells and healing are usually done for others rather than for personal gain. It just seemed so positive – changing energies around you to help people and make good things happen.

What does being a pagan mean to you personally?

It means being in charge of my own destiny and goals in life, as well as using my energy to help anyone else who may need it. Most importantly, though, it's about conserving the environment I live in, and understanding it, rather than trashing it.

How do you practise your beliefs?

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of elaborate rituals, and I'm not into the very traditional methods of worship. I’m a solitary practitioner. I meet up with other friends of mine who are pagans to discuss what's going on in our lives and what we hope to achieve, without the fear of being misunderstood. We suggest little spells we think might help someone with a particular problem. I'm more into visualisation, chants and things like that, doing any major spells such as healing spells within the correct lunar phases. I keep it pretty simple; we all practise in different ways.

How do you find the attitude of others towards paganism?

A lot of the time, I don’t think paganism is seen as a genuine religion. People watch Buffy and Charmed and think it's just another New Age fad, snapped up by Hollywood, which is a shame. I think a lot of people hear words like `spells` and `ritual` and think our religion is amoral and uses manipulation – which couldn't be further from the truth. I've put up with my fair share of ridicule, but what I'd say to any other young pagans is that you just can’t take it personally; they aren't ridiculing you - they're ridiculing what they think you are.

In the modern world of technology and urban living, are we losing elements of our understanding of nature and the world around us?

Yes and no. I think with any sort of evolution, we tend to forget what came before. It is a lot easier to be distracted from our duties to nature and our surroundings because there are so many other exciting things to keep our minds off it! We just need to look beyond our own backyards and be aware of the world as a whole. That's where the development of technology, communication and travel could be put to a more positive use, rather than as a distraction from the world's problems.

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