Deaf Pagan Crossroads

As a practicing Pagan and an ordained Wiccan High Priestess, occasionally I am contacted by parents (both Deaf and hearing) asking me for tips, resources, or books on teaching about the Pagan Path to their children.

I recently became acquainted with Pagan author Edain Duguay, who has written a number of books related to Paganism, which are published through her own company, Wyrdwood Publications – a small eco-friendly publishing house which specializes in Pagan eBooks (electronic books).

Edain, who was born and raised in the United Kingdom, currently resides with her husband in Ontario, Canada. She has written a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction…some of which have been published in actual print, others as eBooks.

To learn more about Edain, check out this interview conducted with her by Angie of The Pagan Writers Community:

http://www.edainduguay.com/interview2010pwc.htm

One series of eBooks which Edain has written might appeal particularly to parents, and especially to their children…as it was written specifically for young readers (although adults might enjoy the books too!) This series is known as “The Witchlets of Witches Brew.” All together there are eight books, although currently only five are available, with the other three in the works.

As Edain explains it, the premise of the Witchlets series centers around eight friends, who are young Witches. They live in the modern day Pagan village of Brew… commonly known by the name of ‘Witches Brew’ because everyone who lives there is a Witch.

The villagers of Brew worship the land and the seasons; they celebrate the wonders of life and nature during their eight special festivals each year – the eight Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Each of these eight Pagan celebrations sees deep changes in each child’s life and every tale is relative to the yearly celebrations around which it is set.

Many of the characters you will meet in the series are in more than one of these tales. Each of the children have the attributes and personalities of the plants or trees they are named after and throughout these stories of change, they learn to become better people and to appreciate life, family and nature more.

In sharing the premise of the series, Edain talks about how the Witchlets books came to be:

I was inspired to write this series while raising my daughter, Melissa. There was a huge lack of Pagan related children’s books around and even less that were realistic, even if still fiction. Yes, I could read with her about magicians and strangely deformed bad guys, but after working in a school and observing the many problems that children go through in their lives, I wanted to create more realistic stories that would connect with them.

“The Witchlets of Witches Brew” series may not be high adventure, but it can be associated with real life problems and hopefully give children a good Pagan related base to help them work through these problems.

As stated above, there are currently five eBooks in the series available. The first one Holly the Hasty Witch is set during the Sabbat of Yule. This is followed by four others, each set at a different Sabbat, although it appears they did not necessarily come out in proper Sabbat order. Currently the four Lesser Sabbats of Yule/Winter Solstice (Book #1), Ostara/Spring Equinox (Book #2), Litha/Summer Solstice (Book #3), and Mabon/Fall Equinox (Book #4) are completed; and the first of the Greater Sabbats is now represented with the recent release of the fifth book which is set at the time of Imbolc (our most recent Sabbat). I’m going to venture a guess that the next book will focus on Beltane, to be followed by Lughnasadh and Samhain.

Edain has also created trailers for the first four books and I’m sure one for the fifth is forthcoming. I will post the appropriate trailer at the proper time as part of the Crossroads celebration of each Sabbat. Be looking for one in the next week or so as we prepare for the upcoming Sabbat of Ostara on March 21st. For my deaf and hard of hearing readers, these trailers are all accessible with printed words and captioning as necessary.

It would seem these books are getting positive feedback:

…my “inner child” loved it! …it was an excellent story for your target age group on taking responsibility and following through. That being said, I think it was also a great reminder for the rest of us to remember our responsibility too, doing what we say and taking care of what takes care of us!

~ RJ McDermott, Canada

I would encourage anyone seeking to teach their children about Pagan Ways, or wishing to fulfill their own inner child, check out Edain Duguay’s books.

For those interested in learning more about Edain Duguay’s books

and wishing to purchase copies of such, check out her website:

http://www.edainduguay.com/

For more information about Wyrdwood Publications:

http://www.wyrdwoodpublications.com/