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This Life: Leeds witch talks paganism
Debra Scott is a 51-year-old witch and organiser of the Leodis Pagan Circle.
She has been married to Ken for 28 years and the couple live in Woodlesford with dog Jasper and cat Jessie.
By day she is a medical technical officer at St James's Hospital and has also worked as a pagan chaplain at Wakefield Prison.
"There are far more pagans in Leeds than people realise. It's just that a lot of them don't tell their friends, family or work colleagues because they're worried about the reaction they might get.
People think we're godless, but that's not true.
"We worship the energy around us, which we believe has both male and female forms.
"We worship nature because that's where we see deity. It's living, breathing evidence of the god and goddess's presence.
"We believe we can communicate with them directly, that we are all priests and priestesses in our own right.
A lot of people seem to think we worship the devil but we have no truck with him at all. We simply don't believe in him because he's part of the Christian pantheon, not ours.
"Paganism is a broad spectrum – you could have a dozen of us in a room and there would be a dozen different belief systems.
There are a variety of ways of practising. Some people use crystal therapy, I do ritual as part of a group.
We meet eight times a year and light candles, meditate and make shrines. Some people can journey in their meditations and meet loved ones on the other side.
"Hallowe'en is known as Samhain in the pagan world.
It's an important festival because it's the time when the veil between the material world and the spirit world is at its thinnest.
It's easier to contact the spirit world so it's the time when we honour our departed loved ones and ancestors in our rituals.
"I'm not a big one for spellcraft but anyone who has ever blown out candles on a birthday cake and made a wish has performed a spell.
It's about using your will and your energy to affect a course of events. When my great-nephew was gravely ill I lit a blue candle for him, because that's a healing colour, and said some prayers for him.
"Other times I will maybe put a crystal and a relevant tarot card by it and ask the god and goddess to protect someone.
"My childhood was a happy one apart from the fact I was always ill.
I had rheumatic fever, jaundice, a dicky heart valve and a brain tumour.
I think that's why I work in a hospital now – it feels homely.
"The best advice I've ever been given was from my mum.
I was really depressed years ago and she told me there was no point sitting back and expecting a good life to just happen to me. The only way I could guarantee a good life was to make one for myself.
She said: "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, accept it, move on and get over it."
"I can honestly say that my life changed from that day on. The thing people might find surprising about me, apart from being a pagan, is that I only get between two and four hours' sleep a night.
"I used to sleep so much but now I think life's just too interesting to waste it in bed.
"The person I'd most like to speak to, living or dead, would have to be my dad, Harry.
"There are a few famous people like the Dalai Lama that I would like to meet but, to be honest, I'd much rather talk to my dad than anybody else.
"I always enjoyed his company immensely and I'd trade years off my life to have five more minutes with him.
"He was an intellectual with an extraordinary wit and great sense of humour so, as much as I would love to meet the Dalai Lama, he pales into insignificance when compared to Harry.
"The best thing about Leeds is that it's all happening here.
You've got the nightlife, the shopping, the theatres, the galleries and the culture but there's also beautiful countryside and it's right there on your doorstep.
"It's hard to say when I last cried because I'm soppy in that sense.
Some people are clairvoyant but I'm clairsentient, which means I can feel what other people are feeling.
That makes me very emotional, even if I'm just watching television.
* For more information on Leodis Pagan Circle visit: www.leodispagancircle.co.uk
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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