Last year I interviewed my friend, fellow blog member and author of the book 'Seeking the Green', Tyluann Penry. The interview was posted on another blog of mine last year and I am publishing it again here. Seeking The Green can be purchased here:

http://www.witchcraft.org/shop/Capall_Bann.html

The Interview

WL: Tyluann, thankyou for agreeing to being interviewed. You have just completed your first Book, 'Seeking The Green', which is due for publication soon can you tell me what it 's about and why you wrote it?

Tylluan: 'My first book with Capall Bann is called ‘Seeking the Green’ and should be out in April or May 2008. I decided to write it because as I get older I realize there will be a time when this information will be lost. My original thinking was that I didn’t want my own children to lose this knowledge, because although they have some interest in the Craft this is something that my increase as they get older, perhaps when I’m no longer around to ask. Then I felt that if others could access it too it would mean that they could also get further along in their path than I have. So I sat down with my old magical journal and Books of Shadows, and started putting it all together.'

WL: What is your opinion of paganism today?

Tyluann: I think paganism is a huge umbrella term that covers a wide range of beliefs. One of the most interesting aspects in my opinion is the rise in solitary witchcraft; you don’t have to belong to a group to be a witch. It allows you to explore different paths and ideas, and also to be quite private about what you’re doing. I think privacy is important – you should be able to be private if that’s what you want, so long as it isn’t a cloak to hide something illegal or harmful. But most pagans I’ve met are happy to talk about their beliefs once they know they’re in sympathetic company.

WL: There appears to be a growing interest in Paganism now, particularly from the young, why do you think this is?

Tyluann: I think Paganism is coming back out into the open and it’s a very attractive belief system. Partly that’s because it’s wide ranging and tolerant; but partly it’s the connection with the natural world. Since the Industrial Revolution, people have had to struggle to maintain a link with nature… even fifty years ago there was more of a link than there is nowadays. I read in the papers how children can recognize Daleks but not songbirds and I think that’s very sad.
One of the ways I introduced my own children and grandchildren to my path was by taking them on Nature Walks. We’d go first thing in the morning, or late at night (to hear the owls and see bats and stars); when we had snow I’d keep them home from school and take them on walks so they could see bird and animal footprints and realize how different the world can be under a blanket of snow. When you find this affinity with nature, paganism comes very easily. I think this is partly because we’re seeing things we cannot create, and this gives us a sense of our own limitations.

WL: What one thing would you like people to learn from your writing?

Tyluann: I hope my writing will show people just one of the many paths that are available to them. I also hope it will open their eyes to some of the wonderful things that are all around. Seeking the Green is geared towards the solitary pagan living in a town or city and it tries to show that even if you are living amongst people who are intolerant of your own beliefs, you can still lead a full, spiritual life. It also gives people the skills they need to really get started on the mystical and magical aspects of the craft.
Because so many people are solitaries, I felt it was really important to write a book that made people feel they had someone with them who would answer their questions. So I set out by thinking of all the questions I’ve asked and been asked over the years and then dealt with these. The blurb on the back of Seeking the Green says, ‘it reads like having a calm experienced guide right beside you’ which was exactly what I was aiming for (and no, I didn’t write that myself!)
The book also deals with psychic self defence which I think is very important even for complete beginners. I did a talk on it at Witchfest Wales this year and was amazed at the response from it. Learning psychic self defence can really help you clear out the emotional baggage that weighs most of us down at some point in our lives.

WL: Did you feel or act differently as a child?

Tyluann: I’m still a child within. I think most people are – or at least would like to be! The thing about children is – or at least, used to be – that they could see clearly, without the overlay of ‘sophistication’ that most adults feel they have to have. For me the saddest thing is that childhood is too short. Girls start wearing make up and talking about boyfriends when they’re about eight. It’s a pity because actually childhood is the time when a lot of magical stuff happens to us, and unless we have chance to experience this our adulthood will be so much poorer.

WL: Do you regard yourself as a 'Witch'

Tyluann: I do regard myself as a Witch as opposed to a Wiccan, but this is probably because I am a solitary. When you work in a group there has to be some sort of consensus of belief otherwise you get arguments and ultimately, complete chaos. I’ve never wanted to work in a group although I know there are some wonderful groups around and some people get a great deal out of them. It’s a question of finding a group that’s right for you. I’ve always worked alone because as a solitary I feel I’m a Pagan above all else, and I can choose where I go on my path. This also means I’m free to make my own mistakes and can’t blame anyone else for them! But you know, making mistakes isn’t always such a terrible thing. I think you can learn a lot from them. I always told my children ‘the man who never made a mistake never made anything.’

WL: What do you think makes someone a 'Witch' as opposed to Pagan?

Tyluann: Pagan is a large umbrella term that covers many beliefs, such as druidry, heathenism, wicca, witchcraft etc. It’s often easier to define it as what it’s not rather than what it is…. So, for example, Paganism is not Christianity etc. Many people who feel ‘there must be something more’ but don’t feel drawn to any of the major religions will often describe themselves as Pagan.
The strength of Paganism as a descriptive term is that it is virtually all embracing. Its weakness is that it can come to mean anything or nothing. But this is true of many other things too and it’s not a drawback per se. In my book I say that minds are like umbrellas and work best when they’re open, but the trick is not to have such an open mind that the sea can get in and allow your brains to float out!

WL: Is Paganism a religion in your opinion or is it a way of life?

Tyluann: My own opinion (and I’ve no doubt that others will disagree!) is that Paganism is a way of life. It’s not just something you believe, it’s something you have to live, however imperfectly. You have to try. Our spiritual beliefs must touch every area of our life, you can’t compartmentalise and say, ‘this is my religion’ ‘these are my politics’ etc. They all influence and affect each other. Otherwise you have a situation where basically you’re saying that you pray in Church (or wherever) on Sunday and prey on everyone else the rest of the week!

WL: Who in your life has had the biggest influence and why?

Tyluann: The biggest influence in my life has to be my family – both now and when I was a child. A good family can be wonderful, a bad one can be hellish. But ultimately families tend to make us what we are, for better or worse. I’m very family orientated, but that said, I don’t expect my children to follow my path. I think they all have a certain ‘witchiness’ about them, but this sort of thing develops over a lifetime. And of course we each have to follow our own path, nobody else can walk it for us.
Mr Penry has been a huge influence, not only because he is an excellent psychic medium, but because he has such a huge store of good sense!

WL: Do you think you would have become a witch if you had come from a conventional family?

Tyluann: I don't think background matters much. I have some Celtic background, but I have an awful lot of other things too. Our cultural or racial background may be something we’re born with, but I think we can choose our spiritual background for ourselves. If you feel drawn to say, the Celtic gods, or the Egyptian ones, then go with it. I suspect the gods call each of us in their own way and at their own good time. Your spiritual path is a lifelong quest.

WL: Do you cast spells?

Tyluann:I do and always have. In my opinion a spell is the art of influencing chance and the natural world. They do work if done properly. The problem nowadays is that an awful lot of spell work has degenerated into simply chanting spells and lighting candles – in other words people are just going through the motions. Real spell work comes from deep inside us, and it’s motivated by the sort of people we are. Magic can be used for a wide variety of purposes, which is why I have written another book called ‘Magic on the Breath’ for Capall Bann.

WL: Who in your opinion is The Geen Man?

Tyluann: The Green Man and the Green Maiden are, in my opinion, the spirits of nature that make things grow, the force that through the green fuse drives the flower, as Dylan Thomas so eloquently put it. Working with them helps open the gateways into the natural world where we can recover a great deal of lost magical knowledge that helps us on our path. In a world that has become increasingly industrialised and impersonal, the Green Man and Maiden are valuable guides who are only too willing to help us re-learn the things that really matter in our lives.

WL: Why do you think some people are frightened of Paganism and why is it often associated with the negative?

Tyluann: Paganism – especially Witchcraft - has had a bad press. Over the centuries, Christianity has tried to either Christianise and absorb certain aspects of Paganism, or it has demonised them. The result was that some deities of the old religion such as the Irish Goddess Brigit became saints, or else they became the devils and demons of the new. It’s important to remember that witch hunts occurred at the same time as the established church of the area (whether it was Catholic or Protestant) was also hunting down ‘heretics.’ The emphasis was always on making people conform, telling them what to believe and how to behave. Even now people speak of ‘witch hunts’!

WL: What one thing about you do you think would surprise people?

Tyluann: I think what probably surprises most people about me is that I’m pretty down to earth. I don’t actively try to look or act like a witch. Yet most people who get to know me realise at some point, without my telling them, that I am a witch. Must be something in the air!

Tyluanns book 'Seeking The Green'is Published by Capall Bann and can be purchased from the Children of Artemis website here... http://www.witchcraft.org/