Wands, witches, potions and spells. Most people would only associate these things with Halloween, but for the Calgary Pagan community they hold much more significance.

Calgary's Pagan Pride Day was celebrated on Sat., Sept. 23 in MacEwan Student Centre. While the event was mainly attended by Calgary's Pagan community, it was open to the general public in an effort to create understanding around this often misinterpreted religion.

As a result of ongoing discrimination against the Pagan community, many Pagans­--including CPPD co-coordinator Morgan--prefer to only use their first name when being associated with their religion.

"We are here to celebrate that we have our path, but we also want to reach out to the greater community," said Morgan during the opening ritual. "We want to live in a more comfortable, harmonious community."

While the term Paganism pre-dates Christianity, it has since evolved into an umbrella term for a number of different religions movements, such as Wicca and Druidism. One uniting factor of these religions is the belief that an intermediary is not necessary to reach the divine. Unlike the mainstream religions, Paganism is not a revealed religion, but rather is known as a mystery religion.

"Paganism is an organic process of coming to understand where you fit in," explained Morgan. "We can't tell you there's a right way to do it. You have to go out and experience it."

The majority of these religions are also polytheistic. While some branches of Paganism only focus on one god, they accept that other gods can exist. Most of these religions are also eclectic, meaning that individuals or groups can call on the god or goddess who suits the moment. Calling on the gods can be done by asking for their help or by entering a trance, which Morgan described as a conscious dream state.

The value of the earth and nature are integral to Paganism, as it is believed they make up the divine. Pagans believe all the elements of life--earth, air, fire, water and spirit--are connected. This belief is symbolized by the five points of their religious symbol the Pentacle.

Pagan Pride Day volunteer J.M. began reading about Paganism out of concern for a friend.

"I soon realized there was nothing wrong with it," he said. "The correspondence between everything really appealed to me. Everything is synchronous."

It took two years for J.M. to find his own unique path and break the news to his parents, who are Roman Catholic.

"I was scared they wouldn't support me," he said. "At first they were disappointed that I had kept it a secret, but now they accept it."

Acceptance of Pagan religions has been made especially difficult because of the negative connotations surrounding words such as witch. Today, usage of this gender neutral term is a personal decision.

Self-described eclectic hearth witch Hermina has been Pagan all her life, but has only been out of the broom closet for about two years. She credits her new found openness to age.

"I started asking, 'Why am I hiding this?'" she said. "This is kind of silly, this is what I believe."

Mimi is the owner of the Witchery, a ritual supplies store. She moved from Toronto in 1996 and was shocked to find there was no Pagan community in Calgary.

"I had to find a Shaman to study with instead," she said.

Since then, the Calgary Pagan community has grown drastically to an estimated 10,000 people, enabling Mimi to find her place within the Black Ring Family.

"It's been a long and interesting adventure," she said.

CPPD co-coordinator Sheena, who practices Wicca, has been involved within the Pagan Community for 10 years.

"I think the culture has changed a lot," she said. "Wicca has become more and more recognized."

Sheena stressed she has always been very open and accepting of everyone else, which is all the Pagan community is asking for.

"One of the underlying goals of CPP is to put a public face to the Pagan community so that people can come to the understanding that Pagans are a part of their community," she said.