Witches gather to celebrate Samhain

By CONSTANCE SEE / Whitefish Pilot

A group of Flathead Valley witches gathered around the bonfire celebrating Samhain, All Soul's Day, aka Halloween, last Saturday evening at a private home in Ferndale.

Samhain, "summer's end," when the thin veil separating worlds is at its most vulnerable stage, is one of eight holidays celebrated by Wiccans referred to as "Sabbats." It's a time for reflecting upon the past year and honoring loved ones and pets that have crossed over the veil to death.

Part of the celebration involves simulating crossing the veil by walking through shredded fabric to a small altar with candles and lighting one in memory of lost loved ones.

Greg Donnolley and his wife Ann, of Bigfork, are both witches who practice the religion of Wicca. Raised Catholic all the way through college, Greg said he was in first grade the first time he questioned his faith and determined it wasn't working for him.

"A nun told me that dogs can't go to heaven," Donnolley said. "I knew then that something was wrong with that religion."

Camping in the Adiron-dacks every month with his Boy Scout troop, and learning about nature from a mother who was a professional landscaper, Greg acquired a deep love of the outdoors. For Halloween, he dressed like a tree, complete with a bark mask.

Ann is a high priestess. She's qualified to teach students in the ancient arts. She said the term "witch" used to mean the wise one, a healer or herbologist in a small community. She said the term "pagan" meant commoner, one who did not live in the castle on the hill.

"I always realized we are connected to everything," Ann said. "As above, so below, as is out in the universe, so it is in the earth. Hell doesn't play any part in it. It's a connection to life and nature. All religions realize your soul doesn't die. Being able to connect to that veil can be very positive. I think it would be great if people weren't afraid of the term witch."

A second high priestess at the event, Gwen Gardner, of Kalispell, has been studying and teaching in the area for about seven years. She moved to Montana from Washington, where her interest in Wicca was first ignited by a history teacher who taught about cultures that worshiped a female goddess.

Wiccan classes can touch on the elements (earth, air, fire and water), astrology, herbology, past lives, trance work and candle use, and the steps needed to draw down the moon and create a sacred circle.

"When I'm in the circle, I can feel the connection between the earth and the sky," Gardner said. "Once, we were calling to the east, and all of a sudden, a breeze blew in and bonfire flared up. We looked at each other, asking, 'Did you see that?'"

One student, Deborah Bishop, passed her first stage of certification on Sunday, after studying for a year and a day.

Bishop said her interest in Wicca began late in life while she was in her 40s. It started in California when one of her foster children left on her piloow, "The Book of Shadows" by Phyllis Curott, a New York City lawyer.

"I read the book and, it felt like I'd come home," Bishop said. "There's been so many highlights along this path, like accepting myself for who I am and I don't have to feel guilty for enjoying sex or food."

Bishop underwent open-heart surgery this year, with her coven friends by her side all along the recovery.

"Becoming a witch is a real honor," Bishop said. "I'd lay down my life for these people."