Patrick (Pat)

Autumn Spirit

My name is Pat, and I am a clergy student within Horn and Cauldron, Church of the Earth. My own spiritual quest started at the age of 14, when I came across Wicca after briefly exploring Hinduism and Buddhism but feeling that neither quite fit what I was looking for. Wicca, on the other hand, resonated with me pretty immediately, and knew in my heart that it was the right spiritual path for me. Following a solitary dedication rite in the woods near my home only a couple weeks after first learning about Wicca, I have been practicing ever since. My entry into Wicca was purely personal as a result of my own seeking and I didn’t have any Wiccan or pagan friends or family, so I began seeking out like-minded folks to practice my religion with and support each other’s spiritual growth. After about a year as a solitary practitioner I joined Spiral Tree Grove, Horn and Cauldron’s sister coven within the same witchcraft tradition. As I was still in high school, I needed a parent’s signature to attend rituals. Luckily, my parents were supportive and would even drop me off at ritual until I was old enough to drive myself! Spiral Tree Grove was already winding down at this time after over a decade of being an active part of the Rhode Island pagan community, and it formally closed right around the time that I went to college. After I graduated, I reconnected with Horn and Cauldron, a few of whose rituals I had attended while I was a member of its sister coven, and I was thrilled to find a coven within my tradition still thriving. I have admired and enjoyed Horn and Cauldron’s ethos, relaxed personal atmosphere, and style of practicing Wicca since I joined the coven in 2017, and I am grateful to my covenmates for their fellowship. My personal practice at home and in my own life will always be hugely important to me, but I benefit immensely from practicing Wicca with a group of like-minded people, and I don’t take it for granted for a second. After being a branch member and root member, I felt called to become clergy myself, and I am currently an Autumn Spirit on the clergy training path. The rituals that I create and lead often reflect my own personal style. I am a musician by trade and especially love percussion instruments. Though I feel closest to Northern European pantheons, I am deeply interested in culture and enjoy opportunities to honor deities from all around the world, which fits perfectly with Horn and Cauldron tradition. I look forward to seeing the future of our Wiccan and wider pagan community as it reaches new generations of seekers, and hope that through aspiring for the best within myself I may become worthy to help guide them, just as my elders were there for me!