Imagine a Witch.

            Was it a wrinkled, cackling old Halloween hag at her cauldron? Mystical priestess under the moonlight in a flowing velvet gown, draped in silver jewelry, mystery glimmering in her eyes? Gentle Earthy mama communing with nature and the wild things?

            How about an average guy next door who cheers for his favorite football team and plays Led Zeppelin and really, really loves his wife? Well, if so, you may have imagined Pagan author, blogger, teacher and festival magnet Jason Mankey.

            Many know Jason via his popular workshops at festivals nationwide. Besides gleaning fresh information on a variety of Pagan topics, from the history of American Paganism to the art of drawing down the moon, attendees are assured of a good time. No one’s falling asleep in the back row or watching for a perfect opportunity to duck out early. Jason is as colorful as a tree full of parakeets and about twice as energetic. And, he knows a thing or two about Witchcraft. However, that wasn’t always so. Jason wasn’t a lifelong Pagan, coming from a long line of Witches. He had a typical Christian upbringing, in the very typical American South and Midwest, and discovered Paganism in college.

            “I was 21 when I started looking through the Pagan door. That’s when I embraced things. It made sense to me in a way that Christianity never did.”

            He didn’t have a bad experience with Christianity, it just  “didn’t resonate.”

            “I wasn’t traumatized by it… it just didn’t work for me. “

            He began questioning Christianity and leaning Liberal after witnessing how the church viewed his brother.

            “I have a brother who is gay. When he came out of closet, I was in Christian groups in college at Southeast Missouri State University. Those people kept telling me how terrible he was, how wrong he was, and I thought he improved greatly as a human being (when he came out) — honest with himself and honest with everyone else.”

            That started Jason down his Pagan path, where he joined a student group called the Green Spiral while later attending Michigan State, and he was drawn in. Among his discoveries, he says, “I liked that (Pagan) holidays were natural events, not birth and death dates, and I really liked that Deity wasn’t exclusively male.”

            That being the late ’90s, there wasn’t a huge supply of Pagan books readily available, but he did find a book called “Celtic Magic” by D.J. Conway, which he now says “is a terrible book, full of bad history.”

            “The Celts did not practice Wicca,” he notes, but concedes that “as a Wicca 101 primer, it’s a decent book and kind of launched me on this path.”

            Jason eventually evolved from group member to leader because the young lady in charge of the group was graduating.

            “I asked her who would take over, and she said, ‘I just thought it was going to be you’ and that was the start right there.”

            Jason stepped up to the task, which was doubly providential because that group was where he met the love of his life and future wife, Ari, who evolved into a Witch and Wiccan priestess in her own right, walking hand in hand on this new path with him. Jason says Ari is “part of my Craft in basically every way. Just how much I love her can’t be put into words. We share our lives and our Magick. I may write the books, but many of the ideas in them come from her, even when she doesn’t realize it.”

            Besides Ari, he adds, “Led Zeppelin was a huge influence.”

            For real.

            “I was completely infatuated with Led Zeppelin, particularly Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Robert led me to ‘Celtic Magic’ and Jimmy led me to Aleister Crowley.”

            Jason and Ari remained in Michigan after college, continuing to lead and learn, and their Pagan journey eventually led them to Gardnerian Witchraft, into which they were both initiated in 2010. Why Gardnerian? Well, for one thing, Jason says, that was the only game in town.

            “I think it was my wife’s idea. We were looking for structure and to be more serious about what we were doing. I could have ended up in another tradition; the Gardnerians were close by. I’m extremely happy to have ended up there.

            “I liked the learning environment of being Garderian. I’d never had a teacher. We started studying with a coven and finally had a teacher. Even now, I think of the woman who taught those classes as my teacher. Ari and I still call her when we have questions.”

            The following year, Ari and Jason relocated to Sunnyvale, California. Jason says the move west was a good one.

            “Michigan was important in finding my path and building up the person I would become,” he says, but California is “where we were supposed to be.”

            Having become comfortably Californian, Jason is also comfortably Gardnerian. He says Gardnerian Witchcraft is “the original thing.”

            “The first modern public self-identifying Witch was Gerald Gardner: ‘I am a Witch and I practice Witchcraft.’ That was a pretty revolutionary thing to say in 1951. All Wiccan traditions stem from what he was doing in the early ’40s and ’50s.”

            That said, he is quick to point out that he accepts all religious paths.

            “Being a Pagan or Witch doesn’t exclude other faith or belief systems for being correct. I’m a Universalist. A Pagan Universalist.”

            Even so, he still likes tradition.

            “Tradition is great. Part of tradition is respect for tradition. Witchcraft, to be done properly, has to make sense and resonate with you personally.”

Taking the stage

            Another thing Jason is comfortable with is leading workshops, which have been key attractions at Pantheacon, Convocation and Paganicon, to name a few. And, he has good reason to feel at home in front of an audience — he’s already survived pretty much the worst thing that anyone could imagine, and while leading his very first workshop. It all went down (literally) at the Starwood festival in western New York.

            “It was the first place I ever did anything on a national stage and I remember how terrifying that was. It was on the Horned God, and I think I crushed it.”

            While leading this workshop on the Lusty Lord, Jason was wearing a sarong that day (and nothing underneath) and at one point, it just fell off.

            “I got a standing ovation for my penis.”

            And also, several sarong clips from some good-humored attendees.

            Jason still gives Horned God workshops to this day, and says they’re better now and far more accurate. But he doesn’t lead them in a sarong anymore.

            As for his workshops now, the bigger the better he says, because smaller workshops are actually harder for him to lead. He describes his workshop style “animated,” and likes to feed off his audience, which typically pack the house, particularly at Pantheacon, where he began presenting in 2005.

            “I had full rooms long before I wrote books, which is humbly gratifying.”

            On that humble note, he agree that being scheduled in concurrent time slots with some of the key presenters, like Orion Foxwood and Christopher Penczak, is the festival equivalent of “getting there,” but tones down that celebrity status.

            “I’m a solid B when you can’t get in one of theirs. It’s not like you’ve completely lost.”

            As a presenter, Jason says he does a “decent job of weaving how-to information into good history as well. You get both things, and I hope it’s not boring.”

            That said, lots of presenters have interesting, educational, historical things to say too, but no mojo. What does Jason think is the source of his undeniable mojo? A playful smile sneaks across his face as he replies, “I think there’s a certain amount of charisma because of the long blond hair.”

            If getting to one of Jason’s workshops in person is too problematic, he’s easily found online. His “Raise the Horns” blog debuted 2012, and is also featured on Patheos Pagan, of which he became channel manager in 2015. Jason is the link between the website and Patheos bloggers, but doesn’t edit their work or coach them unless they request it.

            “I don’t control the gates. Once somebody has a blog at Patheos, they can do what they want, other than write ‘Patheos sucks.'”

            Besides his blog, Jason has published five books with Llewellyn Worldwide: The Witch’s Athame,  The Witch’s Book of Shadows, The Witch’s altar (co-written with Laura Tempest Zakroff, The Witch’s Altar, Transformative Witchcraft — the Greater Mysteries (out in January) and “The Witch’s Wheel of the Year (out next fall). His current book proposal is “Horned God of the Witches” (sarong not included).

            Like his workshops, his blog and books are informative and conversational.

            “My writing style is directly influenced by how I present workshops and how I blog. When I first started writing, that warm first-person tone was not acceptable. That’s more accepted now, which is good for me.

Evolving simultaneously

            Pagan writing and Paganism itself have evolved in America over the past couple decades, and Jason has simultaneously evolved right along with them, all three emerging into the mainstream. Whereas Witchcraft previously exist quietly off the radar of mainstream American life, nowadays, people can say they’re Pagan out loud without fear of bodily harm. However, with conversations now taking place right out loud, disagreements within the Pagan community have also emerged.

            “I’m a big believer in that there are no absolutes and we should not speak in absolutes, ‘the gods are this way.’ But, how do you know that? Your personal truth is great but I don’t think you can apply your personal truth to every other person’s situation. There’s only what’s right for you.”

            As Paganism continues to expand, Jason has observed some fracturing within the community.

            “The varieties of Paganism have changed. The intensity with which people identify with their own variety of Paganism has changed. When I started out, there were Witches, Druids, Ceremonial Magicians, Heathens, but it always felt like we could all hang out together on the sabbats, all doing pretty much the same thing. Now it doesn’t feel that way. The differences are far more stark and everyone likes to talk more about the differences than the similarities.

            “There are still things you can write about that appeal to a wider audience, but I also think that books now are becoming more and more specific toward traditions. It used to be that you could read a Pagan book and it had something for anyone that identified as Pagan. Now, they’re only for Druids or Pagans or this type of Witch.”

            Even the Witch community itself has diversified, particularly over the last five or six years, he notes, and he’s noticed at least three distinct branches: Wiccan, Traditional and Aesthetic.

            “For all the shit that Wicca gets, it’s still the biggest tradition in the Pagan world — the most written about, the most popular. Its ritual structure seems to really resonate with a lot of folks.”

            “Traditional Witchcraft stems from a few different places, notably Englishman Robert Cochran, different from Gardner a decade before. In the last 10 years, it has really taken off. Those who practice look toward cunning craft and other old magical practices for inspiration.

            “It seems like Traditional Witchcraft is defined by many as what it is not: It is not Wicca. There’s an adversarial relationship between the two schools of thought. I think there’s brilliance to be found on both sides, and what we do as Wiccans and Traditional Witches are very similar.”

            More recently, Aesthetic Witches have emerged.

            “It’s Witchcraft about magick, devoid of spiritual influences — no goddess no god. It looks like what I do or a lot of other people do, but lacking other stuff.”

            Although the spirituality has been carved out of Aesthetic Witchcraft, Jason says there’s still value in this practice, such as finding personal empowerment — just like those who practice other Magickal traditions.

            “Witchcraft used to mean any sort of tradition that uses Magick. In the last 40-50 years, people have used Witchcraft as a term that represents a spiritual tradition. Now, it’s even used by people who practice Conjure or Hoodoo or “granny magick. I don’t think anyone who uses the word Witch can claim ownership over it, since it’s been used so many ways over the centuries. If you self-identify as a Witch, then you’re a Witch.”

            And, that includes males. Acknowledging that some in the community declare that only women can be Witches, he notes that “they don’t own the word, and can’t dictate how other people think.”

            “I have a lot of respect for women who use Witchcraft as a form and exploration of female empowerment, even when they say men can’t be Witches. We all define Witchcraft differently, and if that’s their definition, it’s probably not worth arguing about. Certainly I disagree with the sentiment, and there’s a long history of men and Witchcraft, but I’m not sure it’s worth the argument.”

            Behind much of this philosophical back-and-forth, of course, is social media, of which Jason has been a major player since Paganism went online.

            “It’s done some good and it’s done some bad. In many respects, we are further along socially than other groups. Look at the issue of trans rights and trans acceptance. We’re forty or fifty years ahead of other religious traditions. We have written about it and we have those voices in our community, and we don’t silence them.”

            However, Jason has also observed that social media fosters insular bubbles, in which Pagans tend to stay within their own comfort zones and traditions, ironically becoming less exposed to other traditions at a time when most all of them are finally accessible to everyone online. Finding a group online “helps people feel less alone and more connected to a bigger, broader general community but at the same time because people are so much easier to find, it’s easier to find your clique and stick with it… Druids only hang with druids, Traditional Witches only hang with Traditional.”

            “In the ’90s, anybody who was a Pagan, whether OTO or Wicca or Druid or Heathen, whatever they were, we all hung out together because there were just so few of us. Now it’s easier to go to your camp and just stay there. The Pagan world is richer when we’re all looking at other people’s traditions and practices.”

            Another social media reality is that Pagans can be just as vicious as everyone else, particularly online. Jason himself has experienced personal attacks, which often take on a life of their own. While certainly unpleasant, he says it’s mostly just wasted energy.

            “It doesn’t help the community, it doesn’t fix anything. That’s the bad part of social media: the negativity we direct at each other for no real reason.”

            Additionally, he says, an active social media life can detract from the things that are more meaningful and fulfilling.

            “People get too involved in being on Facebook, and not doing rituals or communing with deities they hold dear, or the Magick they practiced.”

            Will Paganism survive social media? Jason thinks so.

            “I think it’s healthy, it’s continuing to grow. It doesn’t necessarily grow in the way everyone wants it to grow.”

            And, he notes, not everyone wants to be that social, online or off.

            “The majority of people who practice Pagan or Magickal traditions are probably solitary or work with small groups. They don’t want to be involved with large organizations, they aren’t going to comment on every blog, they aren’t going to enmesh themselves in that Pagan social media world.

            “I read a lot of people who talk about the gloom and doom of the Pagan world… membership down, festival attendance down. It doesn’t mean Paganism isn’t thriving or growing, it just means that those things aren’t appealing to some people.”

            In contrast, he says, interest in Paganism itself isn’t fading — readership numbers are up at Patheos Pagan, for example, and for good reason: People find what they need.

            “I think most Pagan traditions are empowering. They allow you to take control of your life, or allow you to believe you can take control of your life. It’s empowering in a way that other traditions are not: ‘Here’s magic, here’s this tool that you can change your circumstances.’ That’s an appealing prospect.

            “When people talk about the collapse of the human world in forty years because of climate change, here’s a spiritual practice that takes that seriously, and people who practice Pagan traditions see themselves as a part of the natural world, not a group of people who are supposed to have dominion over it and feel free to ruin.”

            In addition to getting closer to deity and devoting himself to his own practice, that gathering of like minds and spirits is key for Jason. He calls his Magickal community his “chosen family” and says his own personal circle revives him.

            “I’m in two great covens. I love them so very much. Being able to practice magic with them is so fulfilling. I’m almost a full-time professional Pagan. I spend hours writing about Paganism, scheduling social media, but not doingPaganism. When the coven is coming over, it’s so exciting. It’s like I’m 21 again and I just discovered it.

            “Wiccan witchcraft was designed to be done in a group. When that tradition started, it was initiation only. Gardner wrote about covens, doing with covens, learning with covens. When practicing with people who are all of a like mind, you can really feel that energy in a circle… you feel the temperature go up 30-40 degrees and like a thick fog has enveloped you… those are special moments. Those things feel so real. I’ve also had great experiences on my own. It’s not impossible to have similar experiences, but they’re a lot harder to have.”

            But, beyond the circle, beyond the festivals and computer screens, Jason says he’s still just a regular guy next door, and he makes no apologies.

            “I’m just a guy who likes to talk about history and Magick. One of the things that makes me different from a lot of other Witches and Pagans, is that away from my practice, I am a pretty mundane person. I love pro football, basketball, hockey, and I do those things religiously. I’m a better Witch because I have these mundane interests. They keep me grounded, I have interests in other things. I don’t want to live in a bubble of being a Pagan all the time.”

 

(This story was originally published in Witches & Pagans magazine, June 2019.)